Triplets Make Five

“Bad!” Addison exclaimed. “It’s wonderful! I’ve never seen you this happy.”

My smile got wider than ever. “Thanks. I am happy. I can’t explain it, but Gray and I are really good together. It’s really working—for now, at least.”

Addison sipped her iced tea out of a straw. “Well, tell me what you’ve been up to. You’re in the tabloids just about every week, and they can’t talk enough about your clothes. I suppose you’ve been wining and dining with all the elite on the Upper West Side.”

“Actually, we’ve been wining and dining with all the folks down on the south side. I took him home to my parents’ house for dinner last night.”

Addison stifled a gasp. “You didn’t!”

I nodded. “Gray blew them all away. My father even shook his hand and said he was honored to have him as a son-in-law. Can you believe that? And Mama kissed him on the cheek. He really impressed them.”

Addison clucked her tongue and shook her head. “I never would have believed it. This must be the real deal.”

I shrugged, but I couldn’t stop smiling. “Don’t say that. It’s only for a year. Then I’ll be back to boring old me.” Addison was the only person that really knew the truth. She was my best friend, and I knew that there was no way I could keep this secret from her.

“If he’s meeting your parents and knocking their socks off, I doubt that,” Addison replied. “I mean, look at this.”

Addison handed a magazine across the table. I bent over it to take a look, but I immediately shoved it back. “I’ve already seen it.”

Addison crossed her arms. “And?”

“And what?”

“And what do you have to say about it?” Addison demanded. “They’re claiming you’re pregnant—with twins!”

I waved that away. “You don’t actually believe that, do you? You should know better than to believe anything you read in a tabloid.”

Addison stuck the magazine into her bag on the floor. “I don’t know about that. You know they don’t publish anything unless they have good reason to believe they can back it up.”

I sat back in her chair. “What in the world would make them think I was pregnant? It’s preposterous.”

“I don’t know,” Addison replied. “Maybe it was taking him home to your parents’ house. Maybe the press took a shot of you at an unflattering angle. Maybe it was you strutting around in expensive shoes and diamond jewelry.”

“Stop going on about my shoes and my jewelry,” I shot back. “I bought the shoes on my spending allowance, and Gray gave me the necklace as a gift. It’s not like we’re out there buying diapers and bassinets and stuff.”

Addison shook her head. “You’re going to have to come up with something a lot more convincing than that if you want me to believe it’s not getting serious between you two. Have you slept with him?”

I stared at her. All the color drained out of my face.

Addison froze, but at that

moment, the waitress stopped by with our lunches. Addison waited until the waitress left. Then she dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You’ve slept him, haven’t you? I knew it! You’re getting involved with him. You’re really getting caught up in this guy. What else have you done?”

I dropped her eyes to my plate. I stuck a fork in my salad, but I didn’t eat it. “Nothing. We haven’t done anything.”

Addison rocketed forward. She hissed through her teeth. “Oh, my God! You’re boning Gray Donovan! The President’s brother!”

I darted forward, so my face hung inches away from her. “Will you keep quiet? If someone heard you, do you know what would happen?”

“What could possibly happen that hasn’t happened yet?” Addison fired back. “You’re married to the richest guy on the block. You’re walking around with a massive diamond on your hand and taking him home to your parents. Now you’re telling me you’re doing him and the tabloids claim you’re pregnant. Tell me you’re using birth control. Please please please tell me you’re using birth control.”

I sat very still. I stared at my friend, but I couldn’t be surprised. Birth control? Somehow, neither Gray nor his illustrious PR team ever mentioned that. Tanya had some serious talks with me in the early days about what would happen to me if I did anything to paint Gray in a bad light. I had to show everybody what a good girl I was. Screwing Gray on the side didn’t really qualify me as a good girl, did it? We weren’t even supposed to be sleeping in the same room, let alone the same bed. But our business arrangement had quickly slipped into something more casual. Almost like dating.

If I did anything to make Gray look bad, that witch Tanya would nullify the contract. They would throw me out on my ass, and my spending account and all the thirty thousand dollars I accumulated over the past month would go up in smoke.

I jumped out of my chair so fast it clattered to the floor. I didn’t bother to pick it up. I tossed a hundred-dollar bill on the table and whirled away. “I gotta go, Addison. It was really good to see you.”

Addison cried out, “Hey! What about lunch?”