The Christmas Triplets

by Tanya Michaels

  “No argument here. Kate and I like her more and more each time we deal with her.”

  But however great Megan might be, the romantic relationships Will favored these days weren’t relationships at all. They were fun, consensual flings. Based on her past scathing comments about his love life, he strongly doubted Megan would consider a short-lived affair. But anything more than that between them would be fraught with unwanted complications.

  They were next-door neighbors. How uncomfortable would life become after their relationship ended? Every time he went to the mailbox or took out the trash would be a potentially unpleasant encounter. Not to mention the awkwardness of running into each other with new lovers. Proximity was reason enough not to get involved, but her girls were an added factor. He and Megan had been lucky yesterday that the triplets had been distracted, but short of buying them a golden retriever, he couldn’t keep them from noticing if he and Megan were in a relationship. The first time his nieces, Alyssa and Mandy, had seen their dad kiss Kate, they’d asked if they were getting a new mommy. If the relationship hadn’t worked out, those girls would have been devastated. And Megan’s girls were even younger. It would be so difficult to manage their expectations or talk to them about the complexities of adult relationships.

  He suddenly realized Cole was watching him intently, the way he might scrutinize a suspect he was about to question. “I spent months trying to get Megan to like me. Now she does, and we’re friends. End of story.”

  Cole hitched one eyebrow in such a sardonic, skeptical expression that Will kinda wanted to punch him. Next to socking his brother, his strongest instinct was to deny, deny, deny. But protesting too much would only convince Cole he was onto something. So Will went with the unpredictable. “Maybe I’ll ask her to the wedding.”

  The surprise that washed over his brother’s smug face was supremely satisfying. But Cole recovered quickly. “Um, she’s the florist. She’ll already be at the wedding, distributing corsages and making sure the pew bows are right, et cetera.”

  “Well, this is depressing.” Shrugging out of his tuxedo jacket, Jace joined them. “I used to look up to my badass older brothers and now I find you discussing pew bows.”

  “Wrong,” Cole said, “we were discussing Will’s date, the woman responsible for said bows.”

  “This would be the woman you were making out with at Leonard’s Tree Farm?” Jace asked.

  Will’s jaw clenched. “The tailor’s ready for me now. It would be rude to keep him waiting.” He stepped forward, but unfortunately, both of his stubborn brothers followed. “You two are making a big deal out of nothing. I’m allowed to have a plus-one, which would make the reception much more enjoyable, and it occurred to me that since she’ll be there anyway and since we’re friends, I might as well ask Megan.” Going on the offensive, he asked Jace, “And your date would be...?”

  His brother glared. “I don’t have one. But I could if I wanted to! A family wedding isn’t exactly a casual outing, like bowling.”

  “Which is why I didn’t ask anyone, either,” Will said. “But since Megan will be there, and I’ll be there, we might as well dance together and have a little champagne after the best man duties and the pew bows are all finished. Plus, if I have a decoy date, I don’t have to worry about Mom shoving single women at me all night.”

  Jace looked suddenly horrified. “Oh, hell. I didn’t think about that. I’m going to be unprotected, vulnerable! And the ladies won’t be able to resist me in a tux.” He nodded at his own reflection. “This is the kind of suit I was made for, not red polyester. I’m far too young and sexy to be Santa.”

  “What are you talking about?” Cole asked. “Did you bring a flask to the fitting?”

  Will was starting to wish he had.

  “The bar is doing a winter wonderland event, and my boss has decided that I should be Santa, so I’ve rented a Santa suit.”

  Santa. Will had a sudden recollection of Iris throwing herself down on the sidewalk when she’d realized she was being denied her chance to meet Saint Nick. Her cries had been heartbreaking. “How long do you have this suit for?” He grinned as an idea struck him.

  “I need to have it back Sunday morning, why?” Jace’s expression turned wary. “Oh, hell. I know that smile. I’m not going to like what you’re about to say, am I?”

  “Nope. But you’re going to agree anyway.”

  * * *

  WHEN DAGMAR WALKED into the florist shop at one thirty, holding out a salad from the local deli, Megan suddenly realized how famished she was. She’d been so busy that morning she not only hadn’t made time for a snack, but she hadn’t even had a spare minute to register she was hungry.

  “You are a lifesaver,” Megan said.

  The short, silver-haired woman grinned. “That’s how I feel about you, too, mouse. Being able to sleep until noon is nirvana.”

  “You don’t actually sleep until noon, do you?” Megan asking, rummaging through the deli bag for a fork and salad dressing.

  “Just once. After my girlfriends and I went to a ladies’ night in Turtle.”

  Megan laughed. “I’m not sure how to feel about my sixty-five-year-old honorary aunt out partying while I’m home reading Goodnight Moon.”

  “Maybe you should come with us next time.”

  “Thanks, but the girls keep me pretty busy in the evenings.”

  “So I hear,” Dagmar said with a cryptic smile. “Busy picking out Christmas trees, right?”

  Oh boy. What else had her aunt heard? Like you don’t already know. Megan should have seen this coming. How many times had she overheard locals having animated conversations about each other’s lives right here in this shop or in line at the bank or while waiting for their food at the Smoky Pig lunch counter? It was rarely malicious, just nosy. People in Cupid’s Bow considered themselves family and seemed to think they had a right to know what their “relations” were up to at all times.

  She decided to brazen it out. “Yep, the tree is at home in its stand. We’re planning to decorate it tonight, if you want to help.” She forked a piece of turkey in her salad. A person couldn’t be interrogated with food in her mouth. “I’d better hurry up and eat this. I have to deliver flowers to Jasmine Tucker, get Tommy from Kate and pick up the girls.”

  Dagmar pursed her lips. “Too bad we didn’t get more of a chance to talk. But who knows? Maybe I will come by tonight for tree-trimming.”

  It sounded vaguely like a threat, but Megan could hardly retract the invitation. Instead, she nodded gamely and hoped that the presence of her daughters would prevent her aunt from getting too personal.

  After scarfing down the rest of her salad, she drove by Jasmine’s boutique a couple of streets over to deliver the flowers her boyfriend, Brody, had ordered. Then she drove to the church; since Kate had to be in town anyway, they’d agreed to meet there. They parked next to each other, and Tommy stayed asleep as Megan moved his seat from Kate’s car to her own van.

  “Thank you so much for meeting me here,” Megan said, checking her watch. She was actually a few minutes ahead of schedule now. That never happened. “It’s been a hectic day and this is a lot more convenient than driving out to your grandmother’s farm.”

  “Tell me about it,” Kate said with a laugh. “I lived there for months without resenting the drive, but as the wedding approaches, I can’t help thinking about how much closer to town the new house will be.” She and Cole had decided not to live in his house while they were engaged, instead choosing to move the whole family into the one they’d had built. Together.

  “It won’t be long now,” Megan said. “I finished the girls’ bouquets, by the way.” Kate, her matron of honor, Crystal, and bridesmaid, Sierra, would carry a bouquet of fresh flowers, similar in shape but each a different color. But Kate had wanted silk arrangements for her stepdaughters that they
could keep as a memento of the day.

  Kate’s eyes shimmered. “I can’t believe I’m this happy. After my husband died, I never thought...” She swallowed hard. “Would you believe I actually fought it at first? I was afraid to be happy again.”

  “I can understand that.” Even in the less drastic case of divorce, you walked away with emotional scars. When your entire life crumbled around you, you developed a new sense of vulnerability, an awareness of how easily joy and stability could be taken away.

  Kate sniffed. “Good grief. I’m an emotional mess lately. The last thing I want is streaked mascara and puffy eyes in the wedding pictures. I don’t suppose you have a tissue?”

  “Of course I do. I travel at all times with tissues, assorted first aid supplies and emergency crackers—so that Iris doesn’t waste away.” Megan leaned into her van to grab a tissue box. “You’ve never met a child who can go from perfectly content to faint with hunger so rapidly.”

  “Ha! You’ve obviously never fed a teenage boy. Thanks,” Kate said, dabbing at her eyes.

  “I’ll make sure to bring extras to the wedding,” Megan promised, “and have them stashed in all kinds of subtle, but accessible places.”

  “About the wedding... We talked about your staying for the reception. You do know we mean that as a thank-you, not a you-being-on-call-for-centerpiece-emergencies, right? We want you to have fun just like the other guests. Have some champagne, dance with a handsome date.”

  “Date?”

  “Hypothetically,” Kate said, her expression innocent.

  Megan pressed a palm to her forehead. “Is there anyone in town who didn’t hear about the Christmas tree farm kiss?”

  “That’s kind of a mouthful. We’re calling it the Mistletoe Moment.”

  “Right.” Her sex life now came with catchy, alliterative captions. Determined not to overreact, she told herself that one modest kiss did not equal a sex life. Maybe not, but it’s the closest you’ve come in years. She sighed. “I think it’s time I wake Tommy up and go collect the girls.”

  “Meaning you don’t want to discuss the Moment?”

  “I hate to disappoint you, but there’s not much to discuss.” At least, Will hadn’t seemed to think so. Mere minutes after making her toes curl last night, he’d helped her and the girls to the van, helped set up the tree, then taken Tommy home. There’d been no mention of what had passed between them. Of course, it wasn’t as if Megan had addressed the topic, either. Given her rather barren social life since the divorce, a kiss might mean something very different to her than it did to Will. Her hastily formed first impression of him as a womanizing degenerate was wrong, but the whole town knew he wasn’t exactly celibate.

  She leaned into the car and unbuckled Tommy, speaking softly. “Hey there, buddy. Want to see the girls?” She knew from experience that he often woke up in a mood, and sure enough, his face was already scrunching up into a scowl. He let out a tentative cry, like an opera singer doing warm-up scales before a performance. She patted him on the back, her tone soothing. “Oh, I don’t think there’s really any need for that, do you? We’re all friends here. And friends do not assault friends’ eardrums.”

  Kate chuckled. “He does get cranky when his beauty rest is interrupted, doesn’t he? Other than that, he’s such a good baby. You don’t think all of this is bad for him do you? Being passed around from caregiver to caregiver, all the new environments?”

  “It takes a village, right? The important part is that he has responsible, loving people who keep him safe and healthy.” From what she’d heard about Donovan Anders, Tommy’s biological father might not have accomplished that.

  Still, it eased her mind when she walked down the church day-care hall and Tommy gurgled happily when he saw the triplets. Sometimes Daisy startled him with her exuberance, but overall he seemed very fond of the girls. Maybe his current schedule was a little unorthodox, but he didn’t seem any worse for the wear. Likewise, the triplets didn’t seem to mind sharing their mother’s attention and limited time.

  With all four children in a good mood, Megan wondered if she’d be pushing her luck by stopping at the grocery store on the way home. She knew lots of other moms with young children used their day-care time to run errands, but that was when she needed to be at the flower shop.

  Starting the van, she made her voice as upbeat as possible. “Who wants to help me pick out dinner tonight?”

  Unable to resist a request that cheerful sounding, all three girls chorused, “Me!”

  “Okay. We’ll pop into the supermarket for a few minutes and maybe even see if they have any ice cream on sale.” She was able to get one of the huge shopping carts that was shaped like a race car at the end. With Tommy safely buckled in the front, Lily and Iris “driving,” Megan only had to contend with Daisy running wild in the aisles. She reviewed her goals—make sure she picked up some green vegetables, get a pack of Christmas cards for the girls to exchange at the preschool party, double-check that Daisy didn’t sneak items into the cart and get out of here before anyone had a meltdown.

  She headed for produce first, so that they’d end in the frozen section on the other side of the store. No point in her ice cream melting while they shopped. “Okay, do we want bananas for snacks or—”

  “Will!” Daisy called, taking off at a dead run. Iris and Lily both poked their heads out either side of the car to take a look. Megan turned to see three firefighters in uniform. Sure enough, Will was one of them.

  He was currently high-fiving her daughter. “Guys, this is the wonderful artist I was telling you about. Daisy, I have your artwork with the bunny, fox and dinosaur hanging on my locker at the station.”

  “You do?” They could probably hear her delight all the way back to the pharmacy.

  While Daisy was quizzing the other two men on whether the fire engines had multiple steering wheels, like the shopping cart race car, Will walked over to say hello to the other children, saving Megan for last. She had hoped that by the time he turned to her, she would have squashed her juvenile urge to blush. So we kissed. Was it really that big a deal?

  Her gaze zeroed in on his mouth. Yes. Trying to sound like a responsible citizen and not a sex-starved deviant about to drag a firefighter behind the cantaloupes to have her way with him, she went with the time-honored and socially acceptable “Hi.” If only she’d managed it without the squeak to her voice.

  His self-assured grin told her that he’d heard it. “Just the woman I was hoping to see.”

  “Did you tail me to the grocery store? I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to use county rescue vehicles for stalking.”

  He laughed. “My being at the supermarket is strictly work-related. We make regular runs to stock up the station kitchen, but we’re still on duty.” He pointed to the radio he wore. “If a call comes in, we drop everything and go. Luckily, the store manager understands.”

  “So, why were you hoping to see me?”

  “I have a couple of questions for you. First, and I meant to ask this last night, but got...distracted, what is a ‘well-baby’? Apparently, Tommy has one on Monday.”

  “That’s just a regularly scheduled pediatrician visit, not because the baby is sick, but because the doctor needs to monitor his growth and milestones. Like crawling.” Tommy had actually made it a couple of inches yesterday before deciding it was too much work and collapsing on his tummy.

  “Got it. Now that you explain it, it sounds so self-evident I feel stupid for asking. Question number two, want to be my date for Kate’s wedding?”

  “What?” She blinked, convinced she’d somehow misunderstood him. She’d been expecting another child-care inquiry. “But I—”

  “Trent,” one of the other firefighters boomed. “Are you coming or what?”

  “There in a sec,” Will called over his shoulder. “We’ll talk about t
his later, okay?” He turned toward his waiting crew members, one of whom was nudging the other with his elbow and smirking in Will’s direction. “Oh, crap. One last thing, Megan. There’s a distinct possibility that a few people around town have heard about our—”

  “Mistletoe Moment?” she asked wryly. “Trust me, I’m aware.”

  His expression was sheepish. “Are you angry?”

  “The last time I was the subject of any community gossip, it’s because people felt sorry for the pregnant chick whose husband was screwing around on her—”

  “That bastard!”

  “—and they were speculating on how many lovers he had. So people chatting about the hottest guy in town kissing me is a step up.”

  His eyes crinkled at the corners. “You think I’m the hottest guy in town?”

  “Mommy.” There was a sharp tug at the hem of Megan’s shirt, saving her from answering.

  Grateful, Megan glanced down. “Yes, Daisy?”

  “What’s bast-ard?” Daisy asked, saying the word slowly as if testing it out.

  “Oh no, honey, Mr. Will said... Um. Batard.” She reached into the nearby bin of fresh-baked bread and pulled out of a loaf. “It’s one of these. Here you go, Will.”

  Blue eyes laughing, he accepted it solemnly. “Thank you. Just what we need at the station. See you tonight, Daisy.” To Megan, he said, “We can finish our discussion when I pick up Tommy.”

  Their discussion about whether or not she would be his date for the wedding?

  There were multiple reasons why she should refuse. She was attending in a professional capacity. Mixing Will with business seemed potentially regrettable. Plus, weddings made her a little cranky; she wasn’t far enough beyond her divorce not to wince at vows of fidelity and “death do us part.” So tell him no. But if she said yes...the hottest guy in town might just kiss her again.