Page 43 of The Billionaire's Instant Triplets

“Daddy.”

Tristan looked down to see Jamie standing beside him. “Hey, kiddo.” Slowly but surely, the kids had started calling him “Daddy.” Instead of feeling strange, the term was very welcome.

“No Ria?” Jamie stuck out his lip.

“No, honey, but look at all your friends.” Tristan ruffled his son’s hair. “Are you going to show me some cool superhero moves in the bouncy castle?”

“Yeah!” Jamie’s eyes lit up, and he gave Tristan’s leg a hug. Then he ran off to rejoin the party, calling, “Daddy, you watch?”

“I’m watching,” Tristan called back with a wave.

That’s when he heard it. A familiar giggle rang out from behind him, and he turned slowly, his heart already racing. Ria stood on the back porch, dressed in a pretty dark green sundress and holding a stack of three identically sized but differently wrapped gifts. Her red curls were pulled back in a clip at the top, with a few strands free to frame her face. Her freckles seemed a little more pronounced, and her green eyes were sparkling, but otherwise, she looked the same as the last time Tristan had seen her, more than a month ago.

“You came,” he said, surprise, relief, and joy warring within his chest.

“I did.” She looked over one shoulder at the house then back at Tristan. “I just let myself in. I hope that was okay. When I rang the bell, no one answered, so I thought you might be back here.”

“Yes, of course, that’s more than okay.” Tristan was almost bursting with all the things he wanted to say to Ria. He wanted to pull her off to a quiet corner so they could finally talk, but he was also running the triplets’ party. He couldn’t just disappear.

“You look so comfortable amidst the chaos.” Ria waved a hand around the playing kids and chatting parents. “Just a few months ago, you would have been a fish out of water.”

“I do feel comfortable.” Tristan smiled. “It’s thanks to you. Listen, Ria, could we?—”

Just then, Jacob came tearing across the grass, his face lit up in a smile, and a balloon trailing from a string clasped in his small fist.

“Ria here! Ria here!”

Ria scooped the little boy into her arms and spun him around. “Hi, Jacob. I missed you so much.”

“Miss you.” He hugged her tightly. “Miss you.”

The commotion drew Jasmine and Jamie’s attention, as both kids practically flew out of the bounce house and across the garden to Ria. She lifted them up, too, until she was balancing all three triplets in her arms. The kids’ faces were shining — and so was Ria’s. She hugged them close, kissed their dark hair, then carefully set them down.

“You guys have a great party here.”

“Got three cakes,” Jasmine said, holding up three tiny fingers. “Many bawoons. Presents. Hundred kids!”

“That’s amazing!” Ria squeezed her shoulder. “Now, go play with your friends.”

“You no go?” Jamie asked suspiciously.

“I won’t go.” Ria smiled down at him, though Tristan was almost certain he heard an unspoken “yet” at the end of the sentence. Reassured, the kids ran off to play with their friends again. Ria and Tristan were alone. She turned to him.

“Were you saying something?”

“Yes, but it can wait. There might be a little too much going on right now for us to talk. Just promise you won’t leave right after the party, okay?"

Ria nodded. “Okay.” Her expression was solemn.

Tristan wanted to reach out to her and take her hand. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t just want her to stay after the party, but to stay for a very long time.

“Hey, Tristan.” One of the dads was walking over to him, holding his young son in his arms. “Sorry to disturb you, but Mike needs to use the bathroom. Could you point us in the right direction?”

At exactly the same moment, Jacob ran over.

“Cake?”

Ria and Tristan exchanged a look as another feeling of déjà vu rolled over Tristan. They’d tag-teamed hundreds of similar situations before when one triplet needed something, and another needed something else. Falling easily back into well-oiled patterns, Tristan turned to the dad.

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