Page 31 of Triplets for the Dark Elf
One mate.
One happy family.
17
ANNALISE
“What am I going to do?” I groan as Phoebe stands opposite me in the kitchen.
She shrugs. “You know I’d offer but I’ve got a shift.”
I nod as I drag a hand down my face. Phoebe just saw Lucy on her way in from gods know where. Apparently there was something urgent in the city Lucy needed to tend to and asked Phoebe to let me know that she couldn’t watch the kids.
“I appreciate it, Phebes.” I sigh. “There’s no way for someone to cover my shift this late, either.”
My hands tremble as I try to get control of myself. I don’t have anyone else to watch the triplets and I can’t lose this job. We’re barely surviving as it is and this shack is falling apart. There’s now way we’ll be able to manage with even less money.
By the time Phoebe is heading out – at the same time I should be – I am in full blown panic mode. The kids are playing in the living room as I suck in deep breaths and try to come up with a solution.
Hazel tugs at the edge of my shirt, and I jump, not having heard her come up to me. “Lucy?”
I gulp. “Uh, not today, sweetie.”
She nods. “Mimi?”
I can’t help but grin. It took her so long to come around on Miothro, but now she’s as attached as her siblings. I know we need to have the dad talk soon, but I’ve been putting that off.
And right now is not the time to add to my anxiety.
“Later.”
She stands there a moment longer watching me, and it makes me even more fidgety. Finally, she just pats my leg and goes back to where Maeve and Indie are arguing about some imaginary game they’re playing.
A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts again, and nervously, I go to answer it. I’m trembling as I pull it open, and my eyebrows pinch together when I see who is on the other side.
“Miothro?”
“Mimi!” three little voices shout behind me.
His grin is wide and bright as he crouches down and catches his kids. “Hey,” he says as he squeezes them tight. “Go inside and I’ll be right there.”
Shockingly, they listen.
“I didn’t know you were off work,” he says when it’s just the two of us. I can hear the question in his voice.
I shake my head. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes light up as he lifts a basket that I didn’t notice was dangling in his hand. “I was bringing a gift for everyone to enjoy. It was supposed to be a surprise for when you got home.”
Curiously, I take the basket and step out of the way so he can come inside. I peek into the basket and see my favorite jam filled cookies that he used to special order for me. Miothro always claimed that he would buy them whenever he passed the bakery, but I knew from experience that they didn’t keep them in stock.
My heart soars as I lift one out of the basket, the back of my throat burning. I try to bury the feeling, but I can’t. I’m already filled to the brim with emotion and it seems I can’t swallow back any more.
It isn’t lost on me that Miothro has been trying to win me over as much as the kids. And it’s working. We’ve been spending more and more alone time together, and I find myself unable to keep my distance from him.
It’s hard to fight the attraction and desire we have for each other. I do love him, and I do want him. It’s almost painful at this point to keep denying what is so plainly there.
What am I supposed to do at this point? He’s had my heart this whole time, but I don’t think he’s realized it. And just like with the kids, I have yet to muster the courage and right words to tell him the truth.