21. Ria
CHAPTER 21
RIA
W hat are you doing? The question replayed in Ria’s mind with every footfall as she followed Tristan towards the kitchen. She’d been firm with herself when she’d decided to come to the party. She was here for the triplets, nothing else. She would stay for the party and perhaps a little longer, but then she would go. She couldn’t hesitate. She couldn’t let herself be drawn in by this beautiful little family.
Yet now, she had agreed to join Tristan for dinner. It was a mistake — clearly. For Tristan, dinner was just dinner, but for Ria, it was yet another glimpse into the life she’d had to leave behind. Seeing him and the triplets today had been difficult enough. Ria had enjoyed the party and her afternoon with the kids and Tristan more than she could say. Yet each smile, each piece of cake, each toddler hug, and each glance she exchanged with Tristan, had been tinged with the knowledge that this was just temporary. At the end of the day, she’d have to leave all of it behind again.
“I may have made a mistake,” Tristan said, and Ria blinked as she flew back into the present moment. What did he mean by a mistake ? Could he possibly be referring to the way they’d ended things a month ago? Her heart began to race — until she saw that he was looking in the refrigerator. This must be a culinary mistake.
“Oh?”
“I didn’t know if you would come, so I didn’t prepare anything for dinner. We have toddler snacks or leftovers from their dinner.” He made a face. “Groceries are coming tomorrow morning.”
“Maybe it’s a sign that I should just head out.” Ria smiled, though her heart had begun to ache again. “After all, I didn’t tell you I was coming — I don’t want to be an intrusive guest.”
“You aren’t.” Tristan closed the fridge and stepped closer. “Let’s order something.”
“Are you sure?” This was Ria’s mistake. She should leave now — she should have left right when the triplets went to bed. Or, better yet, she should have left when the other party guests did.
“I’m sure. Come, sit. How about that Chinese place?”
“All right.” Ria crossed to the table and gripped the back of a chair. They’d ordered from the local Chinese restaurant several times in situations like this. “I’ll have the usual.”
Tristan took a seat across from her, tapped at his phone for a few minutes, then set it face down on the table and looked at her with those intense green eyes.
“Ria…” He smiled slightly. “Please, sit.”
“All right.” Ria pulled back the chair she’d been gripping and slid into it. “But I can really only stay for dinner.”
“When’s your flight back?”
Ria hesitated. She didn’t want to admit the truth to Tristan — that she’d booked a last-minute, one-way flight when she’d finally decided a few days ago that she wanted to be here. The Robinsons had given her a week off, so she had a loose plan of seeing some of her siblings and hanging out in San Francisco for a little while before going back down to LA.
“I have a bit of time,” she said.
Tristan nodded. He took a sip of water before bringing his gaze back to Ria.
“I made another mistake, too.”
“Did you?” It was probably another culinary crisis. Ria wouldn’t let herself get her hopes up.
“I shouldn’t have asked you to leave so quickly. And I shouldn’t have spoken to you so harshly when you told me about your new job. We both knew you were going to leave eventually.”
Ria nodded and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry for springing the new job on you. I didn’t apply for it, but I was registered with the agency. I’d expressed interest before I took the job with you. And just to be clear, I wasn’t announcing that I was going to take the job. I just wanted to know how you felt about it.”
Tristan looked down at his hands. “I understand that, now. I know you would never have done anything that wasn’t in the kids’ best interests. I was the one who made things difficult for them by asking you to leave so quickly.”
“Well, it’s water under the bridge now.” Ria’s heart was aching so hard that she was tempted to press her palm to her chest. Finally, she and Tristan could resolve the misunderstanding that had led to such an abrupt and tense end to their time together. But the resolution had come weeks too late. Perhaps she and Tristan could still be friends, but there was no way she’d ever have the kind of closeness with him that she’d dreamed of.
“That’s the thing, Ria.” Tristan leaned forward. “I don’t want it to be water under the bridge. I don’t want us to be water under the bridge.”
“What do you mean?” Ria bit her lip. One of her hands lifted to tug on a loose curl.
“What I should have told you, back when we talked about your new job, is that I didn’t want you to leave. That’s why I reacted so poorly — because I wanted you to stay.”
“I didn’t want to leave, either.” Ria folded her hands. “But there was always going to be a time when you didn’t need me as a nanny anymore. You’re a wonderful father, Tristan. You don’t need my help.”
“I know. What I’m saying is…” Tristan sighed. “I’m making a mess of this. Do you know what Jamie said to me the other night?”
Ria shook her head.
“He said that he loved you, and he missed you, and he wanted you to come home.” Tristan met Ria’s eyes, and she felt a spark there, the spark they’d always had between them. “That’s what I want to say, too. I’ve missed you, Ria. I love you. Please, come home.”
Ria’s breath caught in her chest. “I—” But she didn’t know what to say. This was all so completely unexpected that it caught her off guard. She’d hoped that she and Tristan could stay friends, but that had seemed like the best she could hope for. Now, he was saying that he loved her and asking her to come home, and her mind couldn’t process what that meant.
“From the first day I met you,” Tristan continued, his lips quirking in a smile, “you turned my life upside-down. You broke my vase and made fun of my glasses.” Ria winced, and Tristan’s smile widened. “That was a good thing. Especially since you also taught me how to be a father instead of just a CEO. More than that, you taught me how to love. I’ve always held myself apart from people. I never thought I could truly know someone or truly be known. But with you, I realized that love and family might be closer — and much better — than I’d imagined.”
“Tristan…” Ria felt tears prickling at the backs of her eyes. “Do you mean that?”
“Of course I mean that. Ria, you’re amazing.” Tristan shook his head. “I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re funny, smart, clumsy, kind, thoughtful, gorgeous… You’re everything . And getting to know you, getting to love you — even if you don’t feel the same way — has been an immense privilege.”
“You love me.” Ria’s brow furrowed. “You love me. ”
“I love you.” Tristan nodded. “And I know you might not feel the same way. That’s all right. I just thought you should know."
Ria was on her feet in an instant. She barely noticed that she’d knocked one of the triplets’ plastic sippy cups off the table as she stood, until Tristan got to his feet and bent to pick it up. He straightened, sippy cup in hand like a peace offering. They were close now, as close as they’d ever been in one of their near-misses. If Ria lifted her hands and leaned forward, they would be touching.
A half dozen times or more, they’d been in exactly this position, and one of them had moved away. This time, neither did. They stood for what felt like both a millisecond and a decade at once, just looking at each other. Ria saw the familiar five o’clock shadow across Tristan’s cheeks, and his neat haircut that had become messy over the course of the day. She saw the flecks of gray in his green eyes, and the curve of his surprisingly long eyelashes. She saw the ripples of muscles beneath his T-shirt, and the way he stood at least six inches taller than her. She smelled his peppermint aftershave and a faint scent of toddler shampoo and birthday cake.
“It broke my heart, leaving you,” Ria whispered. “I wanted nothing more than to stay.”
“Then stay.” Tristan voice was low and deep now, and it made heat pool in Ria’s abdomen. “Stay with me.” He set the sippy cup on the table, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I don’t know.” Ria wanted to say yes. She wanted to jump into his arms and finally get that kiss she’d been dreaming of for months. But as much as her heart was ready to leap into this, her brain told her to hold back. “I have a new job.”
“Forget your new job.” Tristan’s gaze was intense.
Ria laughed softly. “I’d have to go back and quit.”
“Fine, as long as you come back here.”
“I have an apartment.” Ria’s voice grew softer. She could feel her walls tumbling down as Tristan’s gaze pulled her in like a magnet. He felt like the only person in the world right then.
“Forget your apartment.” His head was tilted now.
“Well, then.” Ria felt like she was poised on the edge of a cliff in a pair of manufactured wings. One step forward, and she’d see if those wings would really hold her, or if she’d crash to the ocean below. “I suppose I could stay.”
A smile spread over Tristan’s face like the sun coming out. Ria felt her wings lift her into the air. “May I kiss you, then?”
Ria answered by lifting onto her toes and bringing her mouth to his. At first, the kiss was soft and gentle. Tristan’s lips caressed hers, sending waves of sensation rushing through her. His hands rested on her waist, as light as feathers, as Ria savored the feeling of finally having him so close. She was flying. The wings held. The ocean stretched far below, sparkling and full of possibilities.
Then Tristan deepened the kiss as his hands slid up Ria’s back and into her hair. They were pressed against each other now, her curves fitting perfectly against his muscular chest. As if Ria were weightless, Tristan lifted her and set her on the counter. Ria’s legs wrapped around him to pull him closer as he pressed kisses to her lips, across her cheek, and down her neck. Every place his lips touched felt warm and tingly. Ria lifted her arms to rest on Tristan’s shoulders as she kissed him back.
“Wait.”
The moment she spoke, Tristan pulled away. “Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s perfect.” Ria hesitated, savoring the look on Tristan’s face and the way it felt to hold each other like this. “But before we continue, I wanted to tell you something.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“I love you, too.”
And then they were kissing again. It was as though they were pouring all the passion, all the love, and all the attraction they’d both been suppressing for so long into each other. Ria’s head spun. The only thing she could think of was that she wanted to be closer. She let out a soft moan as Tristan’s hands caressed her back, and his lips caressed hers, sending waves of sensation washing through her.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Tristan and Ria pulled apart.
“What’s that?” Ria asked, breathless.
“Ignore it.” Tristan leaned in again, but Ria pressed a hand to his chest, giggling.
“I think it’s our food.”
Tristan swore under his breath then gently lifted Ria down from the counter. “I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared down the hallway. Moments later, he reappeared with a paper takeout bag in his hand. He set it on the counter before reaching for Ria again, and they fell into each other.
After that, there were no interruptions. The doorbell didn’t ring, the phone didn’t chirp, and the triplets didn’t wake. Ria felt like this time had been carved for them, a small sliver of their lives when they could simply be together. They kissed, they talked, they made love, and they ate their dinner in bed from paper takeout boxes, their legs still intertwined.
“I never imagined today ending like this,” Ria said as she pinched a spear of broccoli between her wooden chopsticks.
“I hoped it might,” Tristan admitted. “But I was so glad to see you again this morning, I barely thought this far ahead.”
Ria leaned against his shoulder. “Thank goodness I decided to come.”
“Indeed.” Tristan kissed her cheek. “I love you, Ria.”
“I love you, too, Tristan.”
In that moment, everything felt perfect. All the misunderstandings and near-misses felt worth it, because they led to this moment. Ria wanted to stay here forever, with Tristan. She wanted to discover more about him, travel with him, and share many more moments together. She wanted to watch the triplets grow up.
And now, she could. They ate together, talking and laughing about everything and nothing, as the night slipped by and dawn approached. Finally, Ria belonged.