Phillip: Triplets (Members From Money Book 33)

by Katie Dowe

  “How do you know?” she caught up to him as he took his coat from the hanger and put it on.

  “You are very likeable.” His grey eyes crinkled in amusement.

  “I know I am,” she said a little impatiently. “But this is the woman who carried you for nine months and watched you grow. I am sure she has some expectations of who should be bearing your children.” He opened the car door for her and then got in himself.

  “Buckle up.” He told her briefly before pulling away. “What I do or who I choose is not her concern.”

  Allison stared at his hard profile for a moment and then responded. “I am sure it does. I am going to be a very protective mother to these children. So much so that they are going to feel suffocated.”

  “Not all mothers are like that,” he said as she looked at her briefly.

  “Would you tell me a little about her?” she asked him softly.

  “Why?”

  She sighed. “Not everything has to have an ulterior motive Phillip. I just want to get to know her.”

  He shrugged a little and for a moment she wondered if he was going to respond. “She tried to be a good mother but she was not happy in her marriage.”

  “Your dad was not the best husband?”

  He laughed at that. “He was not really a husband. He treated her like a staff member and ignored her most of the time. She tried to hide how unhappy she was but even as a child I could see it. She tried to reach out to me but I treated her the way my father did.”

  “Children live what they learn,” she said softly.

  His gaze swung to her and then back onto the road. “She is still trying.”

  “Maybe it is time you gave her a chance. It is not too late, Phillip.”

  He looked at her again and then onto the road. “Maybe it is.”

  He jumped slightly as she placed one small hand on his thigh. His muscles flexed at her touch. “You are both alive so it is not too late. Consider her feelings for one minute. She knew her husband never loved her and it must have hurt her so much but you are her flesh and blood, it is way different.”

  “We are here.” He pulled up outside an elegant apartment building and stopped the car. “Are you always like this?”

  “Like what?”

  “Determined to fix things.”

  She frowned a little bit. “I was not aware that I was doing it. But yes I like things to turn out okay.”

  He looked at her for a moment and then smiled slightly. “Lets’ go in.”

  *******

  Paulette Anderson had changed her mind several times in terms of letting the housekeeper know about the menu. Eventually she had settled on apple cider chicken and for dessert pineapple trifle cheesecake. She clasped her hands tightly as she heard the doorbell ringing and shaking her head at her housekeeper she went to get it herself. A smile wreathed her face as she took in the petite woman with the ready smile standing next to her tall handsome son. “Allison so nice to meet you.” She said taking both her hands. She ushered them in.

  “This is quite a lovely apartment,” Allison told the woman. Phillip had her eyes but little else and she could see the love when she looked at her son.

  “Thank you, my dear. Shall we?” she indicated the elegant dining room. A smiling housekeeper quietly came into the room with a tray and started putting some bowls with a delightful smell onto the large table covered with a foamy lace cloth. “I was not sure what you could eat so I decided to settle with cream of pumpkin soup for starters.” Paulette said as she thanked the housekeeper. “We are also having apple cider chicken for the main course.”

  “That sounds fine,” Allison reassured her. “I am almost six months pregnant now and find that I can eat almost anything.”

  “How does it feel to be carrying three children?” the woman asked her with a smile.

  “Downright scary but Phillip rubs my tummy and I guess that makes it so much better.”

  Paulette looked at her silent son startled and caught his expressionless gaze. “Physical contact is so important.” She murmured remembering that she had been basically alone when she was pregnant.

  “It is.” Allison nodded. Suddenly she stopped and smiled. “They are kicking,” she dragged Phillip’s hand and placed it over her belly and Paulette was amazed at the gentle look on her son’s normally hard face.

  “Would you like to feel it?” Allison turned to the woman.

  “You don’t mind?”

  “You are their grandmother so of course not!” Paulette got to her feet and hurried around to place her hand over the girl’s belly. Her heart lurched as she felt the slight movements of the babies. Her eyes met those of her son’s and for a moment they bonded!

  For the rest of the evening the dinner went pleasantly and with a realized atmosphere. For the first time she saw her son laugh as Allison told them jokes and realized that she was seeing an entirely different side of him!

  Chapter 10

  Paulette hugged the girl as she was leaving. She was like a breath of fresh air and she could see the effect she had on her son. “It was a pleasure meeting you my dear.” She told her.

  “Thank you for having me.” Allison said as he hugged her back. She stepped back and looked up at the silent man standing there. “We should do this again soon.”

  “Of course. I would love that.” Paulette said enthusiastically.

  Phillip nodded and took her arm. “It’s getting late.”

  Allison waved at her and allowed him to lead her down the three flights of stairs. “You mother seems nice,” She murmured as they got into the car.

  He nodded but did not say anything. Allison endured the silence for several minutes before speaking again. “The food was quite delicious. I should have asked for the recipe and make it for us one day.”

  Still nothing.

  She tried again. “I wonder if I could invite her over for lunch-“

  “No.” he said rudely, his eyes on the road.

  “Want to share with me why not?” she asked him mildly determined not to allow him to spoil a perfect evening.

  “I just let you meet her out of courtesy. I did my part and that’s the end of it.”

  “Do you work on being a jerk or does it come naturally?” she asked him angrily.

  He glanced at her briefly, his expression unreadable. “This is an arrangement-“

  “Stop with the damned arrangement again!” she slapped her hand on the dashboard. “You are hiding behind the blasted contract and it is getting very old now. We spend every moment in bed making love. We cannot touch each other without combusting! Don’t tell me about a piece of paper because you are not man enough to recognize what we have!”

  The silence in the car after her outburst was awful and Allison wanted to tell him that she was sorry but he needed to hear.

  He did not respond and they traveled the rest of the way in silence. He went inside and went immediately to his study where he locked the door behind him. It was almost ten and Allison wandered into the kitchen and sat heavily around the spotless counter. She had gone too far, she knew it but it had to be said!

  He did not come to bed that night. She waited for him and tossed and turned, finding it difficult to fall asleep. She wanted to go and find him but she knew he would not appreciate her doing that so she stayed. She finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning and when she got up at ten it was to find that he was not there. She wandered around the house and tried not to cry. So they had a fight so big deal all couples had fights! But they were not really a couple and he had made that perfectly clear to her. She made herself something to eat but her appetite was nonexistent and she could hardly swallow the oatmeal she had made. She decided to call him an hour later. “Yes?”

  “Are you coming back soon?”

  “No.” he said briefly.

  “Oh,” she floundered. “Will you be home for dinner?”

  “I doubt it. Is there anything else?”

  Allison felt the fear o
f the way he sounded and was brought back to when they first met! “No.”

  He hung up on her and crawling on the bed she gave in to tears!

  ******

  The place was a little scanty. Maybe it was due to the fact that it was a Sunday morning and more than half of the members had families and would prefer to stay home or it was too cold to go outdoors. He got a table next to the windows that overlooked the now deserted tennis court and waited for the waiter to bring his order to him. He should not have left her but he wanted some time alone to think. He had spent the night in his sleeping behind his desk. Sleep had not come until the early hours of the morning because he had become dependent on her being in his arms. He had been furious at her comment in the car but more so because the contract had become just a piece of paper to him. He had watched her talking to his mother and admired her ability to make friends easily and to put people at ease. He had seen the hopeful look on his mother’s face and knew what she was thinking. It had made him angry for some reason.

  “Here you go sir,” the waiter said politely as he put the plates before him. “Enjoy.”

  “Thank you.”

  He sipped his coffee thoughtfully ignoring the light toast and boiled eggs. He was not really hungry and he could not stop thinking about her.

  He looked up in surprise as a man strode into the room and he recognized who he was. Scott Taylor owned one of the largest organic farms in the country and possibly the world! His wife Kadine Taylor’s vacation spots were the talk of several magazines, not to mention their very talented triplets.

  “Scott Taylor, what on earth are you doing here?” he asked as the man came over to his table.

  “I could ask you the same thing man.” He looked up as the waiter came over. “Just coffee please.”

  “I am here for the food.”

  “I am passing through town and decided to make a stop. Kadine and the kids are in Europe on some business thing. How are you?”

  “Fine.” Phillip wrapped his hands around the cup and looked at the man who was bursting with good health. No doubt due to the fact that he spent most of his time outdoors. “I need to ask you something,”

  “Go ahead.”

  “How is it coping with three children at the same time?”

  Scott laughed at that. “Noisy,” he shook his head ruefully. “They argue for everything and vie for our attention. Kadine is the calm in all of the storms — she keeps us all grounded. But it is fun because we do things together. Why? Are you thinking of adopting triplets?”

  “Mine will be born about the end of February or earlier.”

  Scott stared at the man in surprise. “I did not hear about it.”

  “That’s because it has been kept out of the papers. Not a lot of people know.”

  “And the mother?”

  Phillip told him the entire story.

  “That’s some story,” Scott said slowly. “And she is living with you now?”

  Phillip nodded.

  “You really think you are going to be able to tell her goodbye after this?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  Scott laughed. “Listen to me man. It already sounds as if you have grown attached to this woman. When the children come and you look at those kids and the woman who went through all that for you then it will be a totally different story.”

  Phillip leaned back in the chair. “I keep hurting her,” he said with a bleak look on his face.

  “Then stop,” Scott told him quietly. “It seems to me that this woman has gone past the contract stage and is now seeing you as more than the father of her children.”

  Phillip stared at him broodingly. “My father was a cold son of a bitch and made my mother’s life miserable until he died. I am cut from the same cloth. I was hurt growing up by the relationship or lack of relationship between them and I am afraid of what it might do to these children.”

  “You already admitted that you feel something for this woman and you cannot stay away from her.” Scott pointed out. “I have a feeling that you are far from being your father, man.”

  “I have told myself that I am like him so many times that I have started to believe.”

  “Give yourself a chance. When I first met Kadine I knew immediately that she was the woman I was looking for and the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Don’t let that get away from you. Have you picked out names yet?”

  Phillip shook his head. “But I am sure Allison has,” a slight smile played around his lips. “No matter what I say to her, nothing stops her.”

  “Sounds like quite a woman.”

  “She is,” Phillip shook his head and stared at Scott. “Thanks.”

  “You are welcome. How about a dash of scotch to bring up the flavor of the coffee?” he said with a laugh.

  “I never put anything in my coffee. Straight up black.” Phillip told him loftily. They spent the rest of the time talking about business.

  *******

  Allison turned off her phone. She knew she should not have done that but she just wanted to take back a little control from him. He called all the shots and if he decided that something should go his way so be it. She turned off her phone and taking a shower she got dressed in faded denims and one of the soft white sweaters that had come with the heap of clothes. She brushed her hair and piled it on top of her head and dashing on a little lip gloss she was on her way. She had no intention of spending her Sunday alone in his big house! She had called her dad and told him she was coming over for dinner. It was a long ride but she did not mind and besides she wanted to see him and Elena!

  ******

  He assumed that she would be there waiting for him. Probably curled up in the living room sofa and watching something on television with the fire on. He frowned as he noticed that her car was not parked at the front as usual. He had meant to tell her that there was space in the multi room garage but he had forgotten. Besides he knew she would not be going anywhere by herself for a while.

  He pressed the button and the garage doors open slowly. His eyes went over the vehicles there and realized that hers was not there. With a frown he parked and switched off the engine and reaching for his phone he dialed the number. It went straight to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message and went towards the house. He opened the door and the first thing that hit him was the silence. Before she came to live with him he had been used to it but the three days she had been there made him aware of how lonely the place was and how silent! He walked through the entire house looking for her and did not find her. He dialed her number again and it went straight to voicemail. He wandered into the bedroom and the scent of her hit him at once. He sat on the edge of the bed with his hands between his legs. He had been harsh to her and cruel and had left this morning without letting her know. She did not deserve it. He got up and went to look inside the huge closet and sighed with relief as he realized that her stuff were still there. Her dad! He thought. She was probably gone there. It was the only place she had to go. He did not even know where the man lived and had never expressed any interest in finding out where! He wandered around the room restlessly. His talk with Scott had kind of put things into perspective for him. He was still reluctant somewhat and wary but he knew that he did not want to spend the time without her. Maybe they could live together after the children were born and see if it could work between them but somehow he knew that she would not agree to that.

  He picked up a scarf she had left on the bed and took up the fine silk to put it at his nose, his eyes closing as his body tightened in awareness. “Christ!” he muttered shakily. “What have you done to me?”

  ******

  “It was so good to see you baby girl! Are you sure you are okay going back at this time of night?” Abraham asked his daughter in concern as he peered outside.

  Dinner had been fired chicken and dumplings and Elena’s famous apple pie and she was full. “I will be fine daddy. I will take my time and be careful on the road.” She went on her
toes and kissed him. “You look good.”

  “You look great.” Abraham told her softly. “That man taking care of you?”

  “I am taking care of me but he helps,” she said with a smile. “I will call you when I get there.”

  Allison took her time driving. She had not turned her phone back on and she wondered if she was being too vindictive. She was not used to this kind of behavior and it pained her not to reach out to him but he had to learn that he could not do this to her! He turned on the music and blast it to almost full volume determined to stop thinking about Phillip Anderson!

  He opened the door as soon as she drove up. He had changed into sweats and a black sweater and looked formidable as he stood there waiting for her. Her heart tumbled inside her breast but she walked towards him with a determined tilt to her chin.

  “Where were you?” he stepped aside to let her in before closing the door.

  “How about you go first?” She said as she took off her coat.

  “I was at the club.” She looked at him in surprise. She had not expected him to answer.

  “I had dinner with my dad and Elena. It was too lonely here.”

  He felt the guilt at her admission. He followed her as she walked into the kitchen. “Did you eat?” she asked as she turned to look at him.

  “Yes,” he was aching to take her into his arms.

  “Look Phillip, I don’t regret what I said to you-“

  “I am sorry,” he muttered as he came to stand in front of her. “I am sorry I hurt you.” His hands framed her small face.

  She reached up to grip his strong wrists, her eyes bright. “I forgive you.” She whispered. “I know that we entered into an agreement and that I have done everything that I am not supposed to-“

  “Stop talking,” he said huskily as he pulled her up to him. His hands went beneath her sweater to touch her skin and cup her breasts. “You talk too much.” He pulled the sweater over her head and unhooked her bra. He had been without her last night and he had to make up for that. He bent his head and licked at her puckered nipple. Allison sobbed and when his teeth pulled it into his mouth she called out his name feverishly. He lifted her up and put her onto the stool, his mouth still on her nipple. He undressed her right there in the kitchen and taking out his erection lifted her legs and took her right there against the kitchen counter, his movements frantic!