7. Ria
CHAPTER 7
RIA
R ia sat on her new bed, hardly able to believe that this was her room — even her temporary room. The bed was enormous and downy-soft, with a duvet so fine it must have had a thread count in the millions (or whatever was good for a thread count — Ria had no idea). The view over the backyard was gorgeous, especially now that the sun was setting, casting rays of light between the apple trees that grew at the edge of the property. Both the bed and the desk were modern and sleek, which wasn’t exactly Ria’s style, but she appreciated it all the same. And she had her own bathroom! The whole of her studio would have fit in this one room with plenty of space left over.
She had stayed in numerous spare bedrooms while working as a live-in nanny, but this was by far the most luxurious place she’d ever set foot in. On top of that, the kids were great. The only problem was her new employer, the workaholic, too-cool Tristan.
Ria rolled her eyes slightly as she remembered his comments about coffee and yoga. He was clearly one of those tech CEOs who did his best to be Zen, although by the way he’d flipped out over the vase, he didn’t seem to be succeeding. Plus, Ria didn’t like that he’d disappeared all day, leaving his kids with someone who was little more than a stranger. His work might be important, but parenthood was, too. He hadn’t even checked her credentials or shown her around before disappearing.
Despite her annoyance, though, Ria had to admit that there was something about Tristan that she found intriguing. Perhaps it was just that she’d never met anyone quite like him before. Perhaps it was that he was very handsome (even Ria could admit that). Or perhaps it was the way he’d joked with her after he’d gotten over his upset about the vase. Ria appreciated people with a sense of humor.
Whatever it was, Tristan was going to make the next few weeks or months very interesting. If she was able to keep her job. Ria winced again at the price Tristan had put on the vase. Of course she’d broken something very valuable on her first day. She’d have to be extra careful tomorrow.
Yawning, Ria went into the attached bathroom and washed her face. Then she found her toiletry kit in her suitcase and brushed her teeth, changed into pajamas, and climbed under the sheets of the bed. It was barely nine o’clock, but she’d had an exhausting day and needed a break. She considered working on a potty-training plan for the kids, but instead she found herself pulling out her laptop and putting on her guilty-pleasure reality show. While she watched, she munched on a bar of chocolate she’d packed. Probably, Tristan didn’t keep chocolate in the house, so she’d have to find a way to build her own stash. She’d need to find some coffee, too.
A while later, sleep overcame her, and Ria lay down and let herself drift off.
The next morning, Ria woke to her alarm. She quickly shut it off and slipped into the bathroom, where she took a shower and changed into a pair of yoga pants and a dark purple T-shirt. She planned to spend the day running after kids, so she chose functionality over fashion, as usual. She pulled her hair back into a quick braid before going downstairs.
She’d purposefully aimed to wake before the kids, and a glance at the baby monitor confirmed that she’d been successful. She set the monitor on the kitchen counter and began rummaging through the cabinets in search of breakfast food. A few minutes later, she was listening to music and dancing while mixing a bowl of pancake batter with a few handfuls of blueberries.
One of Ria’s favorite songs came on and she sang along under her breath as she put a frying pan on the stove and turned on the heat. When drops of water bounced off the surface, she ladled out the first pancake, then turned to slice bananas and wash a few more blueberries for toppings. Gasping, she almost dropped her spoon.
“Tristan!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.” Tristan stepped into the kitchen, wearing a pair of shorts and a sleeveless tank top that left his muscular arms, chest, and legs on full display. He was a little sweaty, probably having just come from his home gym. “I’m just here to grab a drink.”
“Right, don’t let me stop you.” Ria switched off the music, which she’d been listening to through her portable Bluetooth speaker, and pivoted to the cutting board to continue her fruit prep. “Would you like some pancakes? They’ll be ready in a minute or two.”
“No, thanks. I usually fast in the mornings — it’s good for digestion.”
“Right.” Ria popped a blueberry into her mouth a little pointedly and sneaked a glance at Tristan. He looked different this morning somehow. She blinked — and spotted the difference. “You don’t have your glasses on.”
“No, they’re for fashion more than function.” Tristan shrugged as he squeezed a lemon into a glass of water. “I don’t really need them.”
It took all Ria’s powers not to let out a derisive snort. She’d known Tristan was a bit too hip, but wearing glasses he didn’t need felt like a step too far. If he were a kid, she’d have sat him down right there for a conversation about peer pressure and being yourself.
“Hey.” Tristan seemed to notice her judgment. “I do need the glasses a little — for reading, mostly.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Ria ate another blueberry. “When will you be back tonight?”
“Late, probably.” He took a sip of his beverage, which appeared to be just plain lemon juice and turmeric in water. “I don’t know when.” As if it had just occurred to him, he added, “Perhaps you should give me your number — that way I can let you know when I’ll be back.”
“Perfect.” Ria gave her number. “And I can text you if I have any questions about the triplets,” Ria added. She flipped the pancakes, revealing their perfect golden-brown surfaces. How Tristan wasn’t tempted by the delicious aroma of cinnamon-infused batter and chocolate chips, she didn’t know.
Tristan looked slightly confused. “I suppose, but I doubt you’ll have any questions you’d need me for. You’re the expert.”
“Sure, but they are your kids,” Ria countered, now equally confused.
Tristan took a long sip of his beverage while Ria flipped the first batch of pancakes onto a plate.
“The kids?—”
But whatever he’d been about to say was cut off by the sound of babbling over the baby monitor. Ria turned to check the screen and saw that the kids were waking up. Jacob was already toddling over to the desk, probably in search of more crayons or markers for his wall art.
“Well, that’s my cue.” Ria smiled and turned off the pan. The rest of the pancakes could wait until the triplets were up. “If you change your mind about the pancakes, help yourself. I made plenty.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” But Tristan just sipped his lemon-turmeric water again.
Shrugging, Ria grabbed the baby monitor and headed upstairs. On the way out of the kitchen, she managed to stub her toe against the bottom of a cupboard and hopped a few steps, hoping Tristan hadn’t seen. A glance back showed that he was watching her, his expression unreadable — though perhaps there was a hint of amusement in those bright green eyes.
“Are you all right?”
“Just clumsy.” Ria gave a thumbs-up. At least she hadn’t broken anything this time. Then she headed for the stairs and her young charges. On the way, her phone dinged with a “hello” message from Tristan and she saved his number.
When she got upstairs, Jacob was sitting on his bed again with a marker in his hand and his truck-patterned pillowcase sitting on his lap, a waiting canvas. Ria quickly swapped the pillow for a sheet of paper before soothing Jasmine, who was asking for water and a hug. Jamie rolled out of bed and onto the floor, a mischievous smile already on his small face.
“Skuw?” he asked.
“School?” Ria repeated, confused. “No, honey, you’re a little young for school.”
“No skul. SKUW!” Jamie’s face lit up. He jumped onto Jasmine’s bed and tapped her shoulder. “Skuw?”
“Skuw!” Jasmine grinned, her desire for water forgotten. “Wike skuw.”
Maybe the kids were supposed to be attending some kind of kindergarten that Tristan had forgotten to mention. Ria wouldn’t put it past him to have left out some important detail like that.
“I’ll ask your dad about school,” Ria said. “For now, I have some delicious breakfast waiting for you downstairs. You just need to get up, and we’ll head down.”
She helped the triplets get dressed, wash up, and brush their teeth, then led them downstairs for breakfast. On the way, Jacob held up his arms to be carried. “Hold me.”
Ria scooped him up, planting a quick kiss on his downy head. Tristan might be a little too self-consciously cool for Ria’s taste, but the kids were a delight. Anyway, by the time they got downstairs, Tristan might well be sitting at the table and digging into a huge serving of pancakes.
He wasn’t. In fact, he was nowhere in sight. He probably left for work, Ria thought as she set Jacob down.
“All right, kids, today’s breakfast is pancakes!” She grinned at them, and the triplets cheered, which was adorable. “Do you like pancakes?”
“Yeah!” the kids called.
“Wike skul,” Jamie added very seriously.
“Hold that thought.” Ria winked at him as she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Tristan.
Do the triplets go to some kind of school? They keep asking about it.
She slid her phone back into her pocket. Usually, Ria was careful not to be on her phone much around the kids, though she did keep it on her most of the time for occasions like this. She turned her full attention back to cooking breakfast. One by one, she lifted the triplets onto the counter and let them request what shape of pancake they wanted then watch while she made it.
“Heawt,” Jasmine requested, so Ria made her best heart-shaped pancake.
“Dinosauw,” Jacob put in during his turn. He watched with awe as the steaming dinosaur-shaped pancake came off the griddle. Finally, Ria lifted Jamie onto the counter. He gave her a mischievous grin.
“Skuw.”
“Hold on, honey, let me see if your dad knows what that is.” Ria pulled out her phone and saw that Tristan had replied to her question.
No, they don’t go to school. They went to a nature preschool before, but it wasn’t a good fit.
Hmm. Perhaps the kids were missing their nature preschool. Still, Tristan’s reply didn’t help Ria much in her attempt to make fun pancake shapes. She made Jamie’s pancake in a blob that she hoped looked like a school to the casual observer. Jamie seemed happy, and all the triplets soon dug into their food. Ria piled her plate with the pancakes she’d made earlier and joined them for breakfast, listening to their happy babble as they all ate.
After breakfast — and a quick wash to get smears of chocolate and blueberry off the triplets’ chins — Ria decided to take everyone out for a walk. If the triplets were missing their nature preschool, a little fresh air might do them good. It was a little hard to tell which jackets and shoes belonged to which kid, but none of the triplets seemed to care, so she just helped them into whichever clothes were closest at hand and got them outside.
Despite their occasional rowdiness, the kids seemed to understand how to walk outside. Jasmine slipped her hand into Ria’s and looked up at her with wide, trusting green eyes.
“Go park?”
“Sure, honey. We can go to the park.” She squeezed Jasmine’s hand. The boys, meanwhile, had begun to wrestle a little as they walked. Ria let it play out. They were clearly careful with each other, and it might help get some of their energy out.
Ria didn’t know the neighborhood well enough to know where the parks were, so they wandered a little before coming across an open space lined with oak trees that boasted a large, colorful playground. When the triplets caught sight of it, they ran towards the playground, cheering. Thus followed a morning of pushing kids on the baby swings, catching them at the bottom of slides, and clapping for them as they carefully maneuvered the rope bridge. The air was cool and fresh, the park was almost empty, and Ria could hear birds chirping in the trees. She was happy to stay here as long as possible.
After an hour or so, the triplets began to fuss about being hungry and tired, so Ria gathered them up for the walk back home. When they were almost out of the park, Jamie’s eyes lit up.
“Skuw!”
Ria looked around. Perhaps the nature school they’d attended was nearby? But he was pointing up, towards one of the oaks. Ria followed his gaze as the other two kids began to shout, “Skuw! Skuw! Hold me — skuw!”
Finally, Ria spotted it and began to laugh. Up in the tree, sitting on a branch and cleaning its paws, was a brown, bushy-tailed squirrel with bright eyes. It appeared to be completely unaware of its young fan club on the ground.
“Right, a squirrel,” Ria said.
“Skuw!” Jamie beamed.
“Boo-tiful squw,” Jasmine put in helpfully. “Tree home?”
“I think the tree is his home, yes. So, you guys all like squirrels?”
All three dark-haired heads nodded enthusiastically.
“Well, that’s very good to know. Squirrels like to eat nuts, right?”
More nodding.
“When we get home, we can have a special nut snack, just like squirrels. What do you think?”
“Yay!” It was enough to tear the triplets’ gazes away from the squirrel and get them walking again. Ria smiled to herself. The kids hadn’t been talking about a school at all — she just wished she’d known that earlier, when she was making pancakes, because the blob she’d given Jamie hadn’t resembled a squirrel at all.
Back home, Ria prepared a drink and a snack for the triplets then pulled out her phone to send a quick text to Tristan.
They weren’t actually asking about a school, it turns out — they were asking about a squirrel. Who knew?
Hopefully, Tristan would be as amused by the revelation as she was. Though, on second thought, he probably already knew. As the children’s father, he would have heard them talk about squirrels many times before, especially since they were such squirrel fans.
Ria put her phone away and turned her full attention back to the kids. It was time to start potty training and see if she could get them on a good nap schedule.