“I should be getting to bed,” she said. “I have a long day of traveling tomorrow.”
“Can we talk for a minute first?”
I wanted to ask her here. This was the place she’d turned from a house into a home. This was where I wanted to become a family, to raise our family. This kitchen was where we’d had countless laughs and spent nights falling deeper in love.
I’d spent these past few years estranged from Benoit afraid to let anyone else in, afraid of the hurt. I’d lost too many people who were important to me, so I’d buried myself in my work in an effort to hide my heart from the world. But that was no way to live. If I hadn’t offered up my arrangement to Zoe, I would have missed out on all of this, on the greatest love I could imagine, simply because I’d been too afraid.
Over the past few months, I’d grown to realize that you can’t keep pain from your life without keeping joy from it, as well. And Zoe brought me all the joy in the world.
I needed Zoe to know how deeply I cared about her. I’d tried to deny it, to hide it, to push it down, but I couldn’t do it anymore. I’d thought it would make things easier, but it had only made things far more complicated. I couldn’t imagine just co-parenting with Zoe, because I wanted so much more than that. The amount of pain denying my feelings caused was worse than any rejection Zoe could give me. It was now or never. We couldn’t keep doing this.
I took both of her hands in mine and looked deep into her questioning eyes.
“How would you feel about not getting on the plane tomorrow?”
My breathing was shallow, my nerves overtaking me. She stared blankly at me, looking for some sort of direction.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I love you,” I said, placing a hand to her soft cheek. “And I’ve tried to ignore these feelings, but they’ve only grown deeper since you’ve been here. I want to be with you, not four thousand miles away from you. I want to raise our children together as a family. I want it all with you.”
Zoe blinked back tears. “I love you, too.”
Those were the most wonderful words I’d ever heard anyone say. It was all I’d thought about for the past three months and all I knew I’d continue thinking about if I didn’t get it off my chest. She felt the same way. She loved me, too. This was the best feeling in the world. I didn’t want to make any assumptions about her answer to my question, though. I knew confessing her feelings was a long way from agreeing to stay.
“What do you think about staying?” I asked. “We can be a family. All five of us.”
The floodgates unleashed, and tears streamed down Zoe’s face like a waterfall. She leaned into me and let my body envelop her.
“There’s nothing I’ve ever wanted more,” she whispered.
The words slowly registered in my mind, and then my eyes filled with tears too. We were really going to do this. We were going to start our lives together, to be a family. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, because this was everything I’d dreamed about having for so long.
I pulled Zoe in toward me and pressed my lips against hers with all the passion in the world. This time, I wasn’t kissing her as part of a one-night stand or an attempt to get pregnant. I was kissing her because I loved her and couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Chapter 21
Zoe
Six Months Later – December
“Is there anything I can get for you, Ms. Green? Perhaps a mid-morning snack? A glass of water?”
I looked up to find Moira, my assistant, standing in the doorway.
“I’m good for now, Moira,” I said. “But thank you.”
She smiled her signature toothy grin. “All right. Mr. Cadieux told me to make sure you’re getting enough to eat and drink. He knows how lost you can get in your work.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I’d been at the new Brussels extension of Borroni Chocolates by Cadieux since it had opened a month ago, and, every day since, Lucas had depended on Moira to make sure I was taken care of. He was so incredibly sweet with me and our soon-to-be-born babies. He’d spent weeks searching for the perfect assistant for me, insisting that she have both administrative and nursing experience, just in case any issues with the pregnancy arose.
“A glass of water would be great,” I said, and she jumped for joy at the chance to oblige.
One of my favorite parts of my new position at Cadieux was my new boss, Mr. Benoit Cadieux. It was as if Lucas and Benoit had never missed a beat, and, though Benoit had told us that he knew he hadn’t been meant for the chocolate business, my month working with him had taught me otherwise. It truly was a family business, and I enjoyed the chance to get to know my sort of brother-in-law, the future uncle to my children.
As much as I’d loved living in Chicago, Brussels was fantastic. I’d formed a great group of friends, a combination of women I’d met working at Cadieux and others who were the wives of Lucas’s friends. I’d never imagined that I’d fit in so seamlessly in a foreign country, but it seemed as though the pieces of my life were finally all coming together.
Lucas’s house had become more than just a gorgeous mansion. It had become a home. We’d worked together over the past few months to get everything set up, and I was beyond proud of what we’d accomplished. We’d worked tirelessly on converting one of the guest suites, the largest one, into a nursery fit for three babies.
In addition to working on the children’s room, we’d decided that the house needed to be more personal. Lucas had arranged to have some of my furniture and artwork sent over from my condo in Chicago, so we’d dispersed it throughout the house so that it would feel like the home belonged to both of us. I didn’t need any amount of décor to make it feel like home, because Lucas already did that for me, but it was a sweet gesture.
The further I got in my pregnancy, the more amazed I was by Lucas. I knew it would’ve been easy enough for him to hire someone to do all of the little things we’d done over the past few months, but he’d understood how important it was to me for us to do those things together. We’d painted the nursery together, and baby-proofed every square inch of the enormous house. We bought two copies of every parenting book we could find so we could read the same one before bed at night and discuss over breakfast in the morning.
Of course, reading the book came after Lucas spent ten minutes each night talking to my belly and reading the babies a bedtime story. My heart melted every time.
Every day, I thanked my lucky stars that I’d had the nerve to reach out to Benoit when I had. Benoit and Fleur had become an integral part of our lives, and I knew it meant everything to Lucas to have his brother back in his life.
Benoit and Fleur had spent Christmas with us last week, and spending the day with them and their ten-week-old babies had been a great opportunity to bond and prepare for our own children’s arrival. Michael and Finn were absolutely adorable. I admittedly hadn’t been around all that many infants, but I was certain that these two were better behaved than most. We’d decided to spend the day reliving Lucas and Benoit’s childhood Christmases, and the babies had slept through most of it.
As much as I’d missed my parents over Christmas, it had been really nice starting a tradition of our own, incorporating elements from both of our families. While the guys watched their favorite childhood Christmas movies, Fleur and I had used our own family recipes to bake Christmas cookies. We’d dug out all of their old Christmas ornaments from the storage area and hung them on the same artificial tree they’d used as kids. After we put the babies to bed, we’d made a delicious eggnog recipe from Fleur’s mother and sipped it around the fireplace.
Best of all, I’d finally gotten to hear all of those funny childhood stories Benoit had promised me. I loved every part of Lucas. Learning what he was like as a child had only made me love him more. Even though the stories Benoit shared had been funny, they’d also revealed a lot about Lucas’s character.
We’d all busted out laughing at Benoit’s recollec
tion of Lucas’s attempts to start a business when he was nine because he wanted money for a new video game console. Though his tactics had been completely ridiculous, the story spoke a lot about his character and his family. The boys’ father had had enough money to afford thousands of gaming consoles, but he’d wanted his sons to work for what they had. And, though Lucas’s failed attempt at selling vending machine snacks at a 400% markup had failed, it was a testament to how he’d always been business minded.
Maybe I was reading too much into the stories, but that was how love was. It made you do stupid, crazy things. And I was okay with that.
I was living the life I hadn’t even known I’d wanted. Some days I still woke up and couldn’t believe where life had taken me. But then I got out of bed, felt my giant stomach protrude beyond my body frame, and looked out onto the gorgeous Belgian landscape, and it all became real once again. We were about to become a family of five. I’d gone from workaholic single woman to committed soon-to-be mother, and it has been the most wonderful start to this new chapter.
Each time I looked down at my growing baby bump, I smiled. It wouldn’t be long until I was holding these babies in my arms.
Chapter 22
Zoe
Though I’d read at least a hundred internet articles and books about giving birth via cesarean section, I was still fully expecting to go into the delivery room feeling unprepared. I knew that no number of learning techniques—talking to mothers, watching videos, reading books—could prepare me for the reality of giving birth.
Still, Lucas and I drove to the hospital for my scheduled C-section with a sense of preparedness, more so for life with newborns than for the delivery itself. On the ride to the hospital, he went over notes he’d taken it upon himself to write based on the research we’d done. He’d written down tips for me, tips for himself, things to remember, things to watch out for. I found it extremely endearing that a man who had billions of dollars and hundreds of workers at his disposal had taken it upon himself to go on the internet and do the research on his own.
Lucas was going to be an amazing father. I was more convinced of it every time he came into my office just to make sure I was hydrated, or rubbed my feet after I’d complained about the swelling. He was a nurturer, the kindest soul, and it made me all the more excited that we were about to embark on this new phase of our lives together.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked as he helped me out of the car.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said. “And that’s pretty damn ready.”
We were both practically skipping as we made our way into the hospital. We’d been counting down the days until this appointment since the day Lucas had asked me to stay here in Belgium with him and be a family. We’d crossed days off the calendar, attended birthing classes, live-streamed parenting workshops from all over the globe, and talked to Ellie, Fleur, and Benoit about what to expect with newborns.
Though I thought I might never feel this way, I felt 100% prepared to begin my life as a mother.
Dr. Legrand greeted us and took me into the delivery room to get me settled. He went through what he was doing step by step with me, administering the epidural and making sure Lucas was right by my side when my IV was inserted. Lucas had been right in insisting that Dr. Legrand was the best doctor money could buy, truly the perfect balance of comforting and professional. He told us to take a moment to appreciate these last few moments before our lives changed forever, and two became five.
Luckily, we were more than ready for it. We’d spent months preparing, and it was finally time to meet our sweet babies.
Lucas did his best to distract me as the doctor and nurse began their process. “I prepared a list for you to keep you distracted,” he said.
“A list of what?”
“The things that made me fall in love with you.”
My heartbeat sped up—a fact that became evident thanks to the beeping monitor behind me. Even in the delivery room, he was making me swoon.
“Ready?”
I nodded.
“Number one,” he started. “Your eyes. Besides being beautiful, they’re so expressive. Number two. Your heart. You always want what’s best for others and have the kindest heart of anyone I know. Number three. Your sense of adventure.”
“You’re sweet,” I said.
“Speaking of your sense of adventure, I have a bit of a surprise for you.”
“Is that so?”
Lucas nodded. “I was going to wait until a few weeks from now to tell you, but I can’t hold it in any longer.”
I laughed. “You’re the worst at surprises!” I said.
“Do you want to know what it is, or not?”
It was beyond sweet of him to try his best to make me smile and keep my mind off of the fact that doctors were imminently going to be cutting me open, but the current situation had me more than a little distracted. Still, Lucas seemed really excited about whatever this surprise was, so why not keep myself distracted a bit longer?
“Tell me!” I chirped.
“We’re going to Thailand,” he said.
My eyes went wide. “What? Don’t joke like that!”
His smile was so big it was about to burst. “Sorry, I lied. We’re going to Thailand and Vietnam and Myanmar and Cambodia. I want you to have all of your dreams, Zo.”
“Are you being serious right now?!” I said.
Lucas nodded. “We’re going in July. Since your mom will be on summer break from school, she and your dad are going to fly out and watch the babies.”
“You spoke to them?”
“They’re excited that they’ll get to have a few weeks to bond with them.” His eyes flicked to the other side of the curtain as he said “them.”
For a moment, I’d forgotten where I was. It felt as if I was in some alternate dreamland where everything was perfect. Lucas explained that he’d been working with a travel agent and would hand over the reins to the planning once we were settled in with the babies. He’d remembered everything I’d told him about the places I wanted to see in each country and relayed the information, but he wanted my input to make sure it truly was the trip of my dreams.
“You’re pretty incredible, Mr. Cadieux,” I said. “You know that?”
He grinned. “You’re not so bad yourself, Ms. Green.”
“Here we go,” Dr. Legrand said, snapping back to reality. “Hope you two are ready to meet your babies.”
We smiled at one another and held our breaths as we waited for that first baby cry to sound. When it did, it was absolutely perfect.
“Here’s baby number one. It’s a girl!”
I smiled and squeezed Lucas’s hand, tears leaking unbidden from the corners of my eyes. Our first little princess had arrived.
“And number two is a boy.”
“You’re doing great, Zo,” Lucas said.
He kissed my forehead despite the beads of sweat coating it. His warmth sent a wave of calmness running through me.
It felt like an eternity passed between that moment and when the doctor spoke again, “Baby number three is another little girl!”
With each baby’s delivery, the crying in the room got louder and louder, but it was the most wonderful sound I’d ever heard. Those were my babies, my sweet angels out of my womb and into the world.
I choked back tears and soaked in their beautiful music. Even though I’d gone into the delivery process knowing that I’d have to let my babies go get cleaned up and taken care of after their birth, I hadn’t expected how hard it would be to let them go. I found myself making the nurse promise to bring them right back. All I wanted was to hold my sweet triplets in my arms and never let them go.
At last, the nurses brought them in, two wrapped in a pink blanket and one wrapped in a blue blanket. Together, Lucas and I held our three bundles of joy in our arms. They were perfect.
Lucas leaned in and gave me a sweet kiss, tears forming in his eyes. I could tell he was thinking the same thing that I
was: we had the family we’d always dreamed of, and, even just minutes after meeting our newest additions, we knew that this family was even better than we could have hoped for.
Chloe, Nicolas, and Louise were the most beautiful babies I’d ever seen. Even the chorus of cries that came from the three of them couldn’t dampen my spirits. This was the happiest day of my life, and it was all thanks to a ridiculous request Lucas had given me one April day.
“They’re perfect,” I whispered to Lucas.
“Just like their mother,” he said.
Yet again, he proved to always have just the right words.
I’d considered inviting my parents or Ellie to come to Brussels for the birth, but I was so glad that I’d decided to keep it just Lucas and me. It had been perfectly intimate, the kind of family moment that could never be replicated.
“Before I met you, I could’ve never imagined being this happy,” Lucas said.
I knew he meant it, because I felt the exact same way about him.
“You make me feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.”
“I’ve never been so happy, and I never want to stop being this happy. Zoe Elizabeth Green, will you marry me?”
I’d imagined when I was younger that, should the time ever come to get engaged, my proposal would be magical, the grandest gesture possible. I’d always thought that perfect proposal consisted of some elaborate, public ask, a room full of roses, and a fancy diamond. However, I’d been wrong.
This moment, here with our newborn babies, was the perfect moment.
Fresh tears cascaded down my cheeks. They were tears of joy, tears that represented everything Lucas and I had gone through to get to this point. I couldn’t imagine life ever getting any better than this.
The Deal With Triplets Page 16
