Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
She frowned, tapping a pen on the desk as she studied me. That was not good. Her tapping meant she was thinking. All the women in my family seemed to tap when they were thinking. It was never a positive sign.
“You haven’t been yourself lately. You’ve been quieter. I haven’t seen you much.”
“Like I said, I’ve been busy.”
“Are you seeing someone?”
I hesitated, which was a big mistake. Gracie jumped right on that.
“You are,” she breathed out. “You’re seeing someone.”
I hunched forward. “Keep that to yourself.”
She frowned. “Why?”
I traced the design in the wooden boardroom table with my finger. “I’m not ready to share, Gracie. Her, me, us. We’re too new. It’s too complicated.”
“Complicated?” She snorted lightly. “I excel at complicated, Ronan. Jaxson and I were the epitome of complicated.”
I met her eyes. “I like this girl. She likes me. Me. Not my family. Not my money. In fact, she knows nothing about them.”
She frowned. “How does that work, exactly?”
I shrugged. “I just don’t discuss them. To her, I’m Ronan. Singular. I’m letting her get to know me before I tell her about the whole triplet bundle thing. The family.”
We both heard footsteps approaching, and I shook my head, silently ending the conversation. She leaned toward me.
“They are a part of you, Ronan. Trust me, keeping secrets is not the way to build a relationship. I went through that. You don’t have to keep us secret, keep who you are secret in order to have her to yourself. Let her know all of you. Trust me on that.”
She sat back with a frown. “Don’t break her trust before you can build it. It won’t work.”
Addi and Brayden came into the room, smiling. My sister Ava was behind them, laughing at something one of them had said. I heard Reed’s loud voice in the hall. My brothers would appear soon. I shook my head to clear Gracie’s words. I had to concentrate on work. She didn’t know anything about Beth and me. I wanted Beth to get to know me more. Just me. It was the first time in my life I’d had that happen.
I wasn’t giving it up just yet.
* * *
“What are you doing?” my mother asked, coming into the storage room at the Hub that night. I had driven to Port Albany, enjoyed the last of the evening, then come to find my old Lego sets. I was sure my mother had kept it.
I straightened, moving another box. “Looking for something.”
“Well, that’s apparent. What exactly are you looking for? I know where most things are.”
“My old Lego stuff. I know we had bins of it.”
“It’s on the other side. This is all Christmas and holiday décor.”
“Oh.” I pushed all the boxes back into place and followed her to the other side of the large storage area. Each family had a section to use—most were full, but all of them neat and tidy. My mom indicated some boxes.
“Move those, and they should be at the back.”
I did as she instructed and found the bins. Each one was labeled with our names. I found mine and dragged it out, replacing the others back into the order she had them in.
I opened the lid, grinning. There were some box sets plus a ton of extra pieces. Evan would love them. I looked up to find my mom staring at me.
“What?”
“What made you want your old Lego kits? I was saving them for your kids. They’re always popular.”
“Um, a friend’s son. He’s really into them. I thought I’d show him mine.”
“Do I know this friend?”
“No.”
She tapped her foot, saying nothing. I stifled a sigh. More tapping.
“Look, Mom. It’s just a friend I met at the gym. We’ve been hanging out.”
The tapping kept going. I snapped the lid closed. “Can I take this?”
“They’re yours.”
I lifted the box. “Great. I’ll bring them back.”
“Once your friend’s son is done with them,” she stated.
“Yes.”
I headed toward the stairs, her voice stopping me before I could climb up.
“How important is this friend, Ronan?”
“All friends are important,” I shot back. I had no idea why I was so determined not to tell anyone about Beth. I told myself it was because of how new we were. I had no idea where this was going. I ignored the voice that laughed at those thoughts. That said I was keeping this to myself for other, more selfish reasons.
“So is family,” my mom called. “You missed an important day for your brothers. They wanted you there.”
I faltered in my steps and turned to look at her. She gazed up at me, worry making her frown.
“And I’ll make it up to them, Mom.” I scrubbed my face. “I met Kim and Diane. I like them. I was there last Sunday. There isn’t an issue, so please don’t try to make one.”
“Then where were you?”