6. Tristan
CHAPTER 6
TRISTAN
I t was all Tristan could do not to let out a long, frustrated sigh as he climbed the stairs to the triplets’ room. Ria had been in his home for less than twenty-four hours, and she’d already destroyed an extremely expensive vase. Tristan had lost enough of his prized possessions to the boisterous play of young toddlers. He didn’t need the nanny smashing things, too, even by mistake.
Worse than the vase was the fact that she was lying. She had to be. Tristan had never seen all three triplets sleeping at the same time, at least not before midnight. One of them was always up, crying, needing water or a diaper change, or wanting to play. Ria must have just left the kids alone upstairs.
Yet as Tristan approached the triplets’ room, he heard nothing but the soft whoosh of ocean sounds from the kids’ white-noise machine. The door was ajar, and when he pushed it open, he saw the three kids, bathed in the soft glow of their nightlight, asleep. They were all tucked into bed, their eyes closed, their tiny chests rising and falling rhythmically.
Tristan leaned against the doorway, breathing in the sight of the children so soundly asleep. They looked like little angels, all tucked up in their beds. Even though he’d tried to hold himself back out of respect for their mother, Tristan loved these kids. He just wished he could be a better father for them.
Slipping into the room, he kissed each child on his or her forehead, lightly, so as not to wake them. As he did, he breathed in the scent of baby shampoo — they were all freshly bathed. The warmth in Tristan’s heart was soon replaced by guilt. He’d chewed Ria out over a vase when she’d given him something much more precious: help with the triplets.
Carefully, he slipped out of the bedroom, closing the door most of the way behind him. As he went down the stairs, he noticed that the house looked tidier than it had in a long while. Yet in the doorway, Ria’s suitcase was still standing where she must have left it when she’d arrived.
Tristan’s guilt intensified. He passed through the playroom, which was also neatly tidied, and back into the living room. Ria was sweeping up shards of the vase with a dustpan, but she straightened when Tristan entered, her expression a mix of guilt and determination.
“They really are sleeping,” she said.
“Yes, I know. Thank you.” Tristan stepped forward and took the dustpan from her, their hands brushing as he did so. “Don’t worry about the vase. Clearly, you have some superhuman toddler-wrangling skills that I desperately need — and I’m trying to be more of a minimalist anyway.”
“So, I can keep my job?” Ria’s eyes widened slightly.
“Of course. Clearly, you did an amazing job with the kids today, so break as many things as you’d like. Maybe just aim for something a little less expensive next time.”
Ria blushed. “Like what?”
“I don’t know — there’s an ornamental duck in the sitting room that I received as a gift, which I absolutely hate. You could go after that.” He smiled, and Ria visibly relaxed. The tense encounter about the vase was over.
“Aren’t we in the sitting room?” Ria raised her eyebrows as she gestured to the couches, fireplace, and TV.
“No, this is the living room.” Tristan felt even worse as he realized Ria hadn’t even had a tour yet. “Would you like me to show you around?”
“That would be lovely. You can point out objects for me to smash as we go.” Ria breezed by him, tossing her hair, and Tristan chuckled as he followed. They stopped off in the kitchen, where he disposed of the vase shards in the garbage.
“Did you clean up in here, too?”
“Yes, after I made dinner. The triplets sure are messy eaters.” She smiled.
“You can say that again. Anyway, of course, you’re welcome to help yourself to anything in the kitchen. The stuff for the toddlers is in those cabinets and the middle shelves of the fridge, but I also have a few more grown-up items you can feel free to try.”
“Coffee?” Ria’s eyes lit up.
“Definitely not.” Tristan opened a cupboard to show rows of matcha boxes, mixture for green drinks, spirulina powder, and green tea. “Coffee is terrible for you.”
“Do you drink anything that isn’t green?” Ria asked. Tristan was sure he could hear more than a little judgment in her voice.
“Sure; I have water with turmeric and lemon each morning.”
“I see. So… no coffee.”
“No coffee.” Tristan shut the cupboard. “But you’ll find the green tea is quite nice, especially with a little honey.”
“I think I’ll need a little more caffeine than that to keep up with the kids,” Ria said as Tristan led the way into the dining room.
“Try yoga,” Tristan suggested. “Just through there, I have a little yoga studio — mats, bolsters, incense, everything you need. It’s very energizing.” Or, it was supposed to be. Tristan had barely had any time to do yoga since the triplets came.
From behind him, he heard a barely concealed snort, but when he turned around, Ria was admiring the china cabinet.
“What lovely cups,” she said.
“They were my mother’s. I barely use them — there’s never a real opportunity — but I keep them around for her.” Tristan rarely talked about his parents, but seeing the china made him nostalgic. “Anyway, I told you about the yoga room. I had to move it downstairs after the triplets came.”
He led her down a short hallway and opened the door to show her the room.
“I also have a home gym, just here. Feel free to use it. I have a bar, treadmills, all that stuff, and if you need something I don’t have, just tell me.”
“Lugging around toddlers is all the weightlifting I do,” Ria admitted. “And I run, but always outside.”
“Fair enough.” Tristan was starting to get a picture of Ria. She was sweet and a little clumsy, judging by the knocked-over vase, but she was also no-nonsense and self-aware. Tristan admired that.
“Is your office around here, too?” Ria asked.
“Yes, just down here.” Tristan led her to the end of the hall and showed her his office. “The kids aren’t allowed in here, at least not until they’re older. If you need me while I’m working from home, though, this is where I’ll be.”
“How much do you usually work?” The question was innocent enough, but Tristan detected a slight edge behind Ria’s tone.
“It depends, but I always have a lot of work to do. Being a CEO comes with a lot of unavoidable duties.”
“Hmm.” Ria shrugged, the edge still in her tone. “I wouldn’t know. Is there anything else downstairs I should see?”
“No, I think we can head up. You’ve already seen the playroom.” They returned to the entryway, and Tristan effortlessly carried Ria’s suitcase up the stairs. “You’ve already seen the kids’ bedroom. This one is mine, that one’s a spare, and this one is yours.”
The door was already open, so Tristan stepped inside and set Ria’s suitcase on the floor. She followed him, her gaze trailing around the room. Tristan tried to see it as she would. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, neatly made with a duvet printed in a twirling vine pattern. An ornate wooden desk stood beneath the picture window, which looked out over the large backyard.
“Oh, and there’s an attached bathroom,” Tristan added. “I stocked it with towels and everything, but if there’s something else you need, just ask.”
“Thank you.” Ria turned back to Tristan. “This is really nice.”
“I’m glad.” He hesitated. Part of him wanted to stay and chat with Ria a little longer. He wanted to ask where she came from and what she did, when she wasn’t caring for children. He wanted to apologize again for making such a fuss over the vase. He wanted to tell her that his work was important — otherwise he wouldn’t have put Jamie in her arms and run off so quickly.
But Tristan also knew that, no matter how successful Ria’s first day had been, that didn’t mean she would stay in the long term. No nanny ever had. And even if she stayed, there was no reason Tristan should get close to her. He should let her do her job — and he should do his.
“Well, I’ll leave you to get settled in,” he said.
“Right.” Ria smiled again. “Thanks. Are you going to work more?”
“Yep.” Tristan shrugged. “There’s always more to do. Anyway, have a good evening.”
“See you tomorrow.”
As Tristan left, Ria sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed her hand across the duvet. He glanced back at her once more before gently closing her door and stepping into the dark hallway. Tristan took a deep breath. This Ria was unlike any of the nannies he’d tried before. There was something about her, something unique that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Maybe whatever it was would be enough for her to stay.
Still half in thought, Tristan went downstairs, grabbed a green drink from the fridge, and returned to his office. He could easily work two or three more hours tonight before exhaustion took him. And in the morning, he could finally return to the office alone, without the triplets in tow. At last, he’d get some work done.
Tristan’s home office felt strangely quiet and lonely after his conversation with Ria, but there was no time to dwell on that. He opened his laptop and got back to work.