“So,” Victor says awkwardly, clearing his throat. “How did your date go last night?” “I didn’t think you cared,” I return. Victor is driving us to a little farm upstate, just for the day. He came to my house yesterday, returning the boys, and asked me to take this little trip so that the boys could
“Papa, did you grow up here?” Ian asks, munching away. “No,” Victor says, “I grew up in a big house. I’ll show it to you some day soon. But we came here a lot to learn about the animals, to ride the horses.” “I want to ride the horses!” Alvin says, excited. “Soon,” Victor promises. “Today, though
“That’s your dog,” I say, my fingers pressed against my temple as the puppy whines in the back seat. The boys fuss over him, fighting over names. “We are going to call him Lucky,” says Alvin. “No. Slug!,” says Ian, laughing. “You are not naming him Slug,” I say, angry, twisting to glare at the
Ty sends me back a thumbs-up emoji and I hurry into the kitchen. “All right, Victor?” I ask, stowing my phone away in my purse. “Yeah,” he says, running a worried hand through his hair. “Are the boys in there with the dog?” I nod and smile. “Please don’t let Ian name it Lizard.” Victor quirk
Victor laughs lightly, considering the truth of this. “Look,” I say, continuing, “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t keep trying to talk to her about your mutual goals. But I am saying that punishing her for taking some time and space isn’t going to have the desired effect.” “I see,” says Victor. “
“Wow, this new office is…really nice…” Susan says, looking around at former dining room in the cottage which I have transformed into my office. It has all the old furniture – desk, velvet couch, my armchair – but Susan is right, the environment is a definite upgrade. The window looks out on my littl
“But if we’re mated…will I ever be attracted to someone else?” “Well, clearly Adrian was,” I say blutly, but hopefully as gently as I can. Susan huffs a laugh and nods, understanding my point. “But, while they are rare, there are examples of people who have chosen to defy their mating bonds and ma
I twirl my fork in my linguini, sorry to see that it’s the last bite. It was delicious. “So, did you like your meal?” Edgar asks. “Yes,” I say, emphatically, scraping the plate with the side of my fork to get the last of the sauce. “It was ama-“ As I raise the fork to my mouth I look at Edgar,
“Me me me,” he says, hardly able to contain his excitement. “My turn, mama. Please.” And he looks down, again, at his little girl. “Well,” I say, shifting her in my arms and leaning forward so Ian can better see her face. She frowns in her sleep, squirming a little and making me smile. “I was think
Several hours later, I’m changed and curled up more comfortably in my bed with Victor by my side, a baby in each of our arms, and our boys curled up like puppies at the end of the bed. Archie is on the bed too, cuddled between them. We sit quietly together, all still focused on the two little babie
“It’s all right, doctor,” I say, giving her a little smile and nodding towards the boys. “We found them.” “Oh my god,” she says, shaking her head and placing a hand over her heart. Then she frowns at them. “How did they…” “Window,” Victor says, gesturing towards it and sighing. “It’s all right. Th
“Come on, Evelyn,” the doctor says confidently as Victor squeezes my hand, his eyes darting between my face and the first baby, which the doula is now wrapping in her first swaddle. “One more push, and then you’ll be done, and you can hold your little girls.” “Okay,” I huff, sitting up and shifting
Slumped on the couch, Ian heaves a gigantic sigh. “What is taking so long,” he mutters, glaring angrily at the steps as if they’ve personally offended him. “You knew it would take a while,” Bridgette murmurs, running a hand over Ian’s soft brown hair and smiling fondly at her nephew. She sighs and
“Oh my god,” Victor gasps, instantly wide awake. “Oh my god,” he says again, grabbing my face and searching it like it has answers. “Are you – are you okay?” “Yes,” I say, nodding but then belying my answer with an immediate moan. I grit my teeth, my hand going to my stomach as I weather the contra
And between them, my three Alphas have kept me sane. Even though every other part of the end of this pregnancy has worked hard against that sanity. Very, very hard. Even though the TV is on, capturing both of our attention, Ian very suddenly turns his head towards my stomach, like a dog hearing a w
As it turns out…I cannot. I cannot spend 3 months in bed, waiting for my babies to be born. Two and a half months later, I’m basically climbing the walls, I’m going so crazy sitting here in this bedroom, waiting for my little girls to be born. I’ve done it this long, though. I’ve stayed in my bedr
“Why?” Victor asks, suddenly serious in the sea of merriment. “Evelyn, why aren’t you here? What’s wrong?” “Um…” she says, her eyes glancing away awkwardly. “Because…I went into early labor…and I’ve been put on bedrest…” The tablet cracks as it falls to the floor. Rafe gasps, reaching down for it