Page 142 of Nanny for the SEALs

Speaking of money, finances weren’t really an issue for me anymore. At least, not in the short-term. Six months of nannying had created a nest egg so big that I could coast for a few years, if I wanted to. After all, I didn’t have any real expenses: I didn’t renew my studio apartment lease with Maurice, I lived at the residence with the guys, and they paid for all food and smaller necessities. They even found a way to put me on the HLS Security payroll so I could have health insurance through their company. Which was great, because pregnancy ishellaexpensive. Seriously, if you don’t want to get pregnant, buy condoms. They’re a billion times cheaper than all the doctor visits and birthing classes I attended, and it was only going to get more expensive when the baby was born.

But for now, it was nice to know I had some money in the bank. I wasn’t used to that feeling. It wasmuchnicer than being broke all the time, and surviving off uneaten Outback Steakhouse meals every night.

So yeah, the third trimester sucks. Write that down. It’s worth remembering for all you people out there who don’t take it seriously. Listen to your good friend Heather Hart.

The one saving grace was that Rogan, Brady, and Asher were absolutely perfect throughout the whole process. They took care of my every need, even when I made unreasonable demands for chocolate ice cream in the middle of the night. Brady gave me foot massages every night when he came home from work, despite being exhausted from his own day.

Their support was strong and unwavering. They truly loved me, through thick and thin.

It was a wonderful thing to experience. It made me feel safe.

The three of them even made love to me, despite me feeling grosser than I had ever felt in my life. “It must be like having sex with an enormous couch cushion,” I said one evening.

Rogan gently kissed my cheek. “Heather, I’ve never been more attracted to you.”

“You’re a liar,” I shot back. “But you’re agoodliar, so it works for you.”

Once I got over how bloated I felt, the sex wasgreat. Surprisingly so. There was something about the hormone release that helped ease my cramps. Whatever the reason, I was glad to have three different men to satisfy my every need.

Although Brady still made love to me like I was a glass slipper that would shatter if he pushed too hard.

Everything else about our lives during the pregnancy was great, too. In the wake of catching the Amirah Pratt stalkers, HLS Security was thriving. They signed a dozen other clients from The Weiman Agency. Soon they had so many clients in Southern California that they had to expand the number of security agents on staff.

Rogan even hired some upper-level managers to help run things, which allowed them to spend less time in the office and more time with their family. We took a day-trip to Disneyland, and despite the huge crowds and overpriced food, we had a great time together.

The triplets were wonderful. They took it in stride that they were going to have a new baby brother or sister. Dustin and Micah were especially sweet, and offered to bring me food or drinks. After a particularly messy incident with a jug of orange juice, I stopped taking them up on it. But the gesture was sweet, and endeared me to them even more.

The three of them started Kindergarten, by the way. Dustin and Micah thrived in that environment, and loved being around other children. Cora was the one who took the longest to adjust to the change. She was used to quietly reading her books all day, and suddenly she couldn’t do that in a class with a dedicated curriculum. Those first two months were hard: Cora came up with excuses and fake illnesses in order to avoid going to school. Every morning was a battle.

“Why can’t I stay here with you?” she begged me one day. “The boys can go to school, and us girls can stay home.”

I smoothed back her hair and tied it into a ponytail. “That’s not how it works, sweetie. I didn’t like school either when I was your age, but I’m glad I went. It will be good for you. I promise.”

Eventually, she accepted that school was part of her life, and she stopped dragging her feet in the mornings. I later found out it was because she had made friends with the school librarian, who had recruited her to help arrange the books in the library during lunch. Soon Cora was bragging to everyone that she was going to be a librarian when she grew up.

“Libraries are stupid,” Micah told her.

“You’restupid!” Cora shouted back. “If you say it again I’ll beat you up!”

Micah bolted down the hall to his room. Did I mention Cora was the first of the three to have a growth spurt? She was head-and-shoulders taller than her brothers now, and she wasn’t afraid to use it to her advantage. Kindergarten was helping her come out of her shell.

Kindergarten ended at two o’clock each day. Since I was in my third trimester, Maurice and Jason helped watch the children almost every day. Maurice was good with them, but Jason was an absolute natural. And the triplets loved him to pieces. They called him Uncle Jay-Jay, and were always excited to see his face when they got home from school.

“He’s going to be such a good father,” Maurice told me one evening over cocktails. He was drinking a Jack and Coke, while I sipped on the non-alcoholic version (a plain old Diet Coke). “I want to have a whole house full of children with him. At least three.”

“It’s easy when you don’t have to carry them,” I said, resting my hand on my swollen belly. “You get to let someone else do all the work.”

“I know!” he said happily. “Isn’t it great?”

I threw my empty Diet Coke can at him.

“Hey! Watch the face! I’m filming tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah,” I said. “That college admissions video?”

“Damn right!” he replied. “You’re looking atblack male student number three.”

Maurice and I were both represented by the William Morris Agency now. I didn’t want to do any filming while I was pregnant (even though therewerepregnancy-related casting calls out there) but Maurice was slowly working his way up.

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