It wasn’t the same as really getting to know a person - more like a last-minute cram session for a final exam. There was little chance anyone was going to grill her for their personal details, but it would be natural to be asked how they met, how long they’d been together, questions about the kids, and so forth. Past that, it was just knowing enough to seem well acquainted with one another. Because he had been away from the pack for some time and hadn’t been seeing anyone that people might have seen him with recently, they would be able to claim a longer relationship than would have otherwise been an option.
“Ask any questions that you think of or write them down for later in the coming days. I’ll do the same. Anything you might wonder about that will make us seem to know one another better. I really need for this to work. The consequences are dire,” he said as they got up to head off to bed.
“Your brother? What’s the deal with him?”
“That’s a long story and it’s getting late. Go ahead and get some sleep. The triplets, I’m sure, will be up soon for a middle of the night feeding and you have nannies coming tomorrow for interviews. We’ll pick up where we left off after all that.”
“Sounds good. Goodnight, Tucker.”
“Goodnight, Leslie.”
It still sounded strange to be called by a different name, even stranger to be calling the girls by their new names, but she had been doing so to get used to it. This part of their life wasn’t a temporary thing. Even after they were done performing their parts for Tucker per the contract, they would retain these identities. She was still trying to get used to that too, being someone different . . . forever.
Making her way up to her room, she got ready for bed. The triplets were timely, crying just as she finished up with her nightly routine. She fed them and got them settled back in before climbing between the covers herself. The bed was amazing, with a firm mattress and the softest sheets anyone could imagine. She quickly drifted off to sleep, barely registering the twins when they awoke for their morning feeding.
After tending to them, she got them quieted back down and back in their beds for a bit so that she could shower and get ready for the day ahead. There was a lot to accomplish and she already felt exhausted, but it would be completely worth it, in the end. Today, her priority was hiring a nanny. It wasn’t something she’d been keen on when he first mentioned it. It felt like trusting her children to a stranger, but after having slept on it, she was warming up to the idea. It would be a blessing to finally have some help.CHAPTER EIGHTA week later, things seemed so much better. Her anxiety at being here had largely passed. Tucker wasn’t exactly the fun and exciting type. He was conservative and kept to himself mostly, except for at night when they sat down together to share facts. Still, he was polite and thoughtful in his own reserved way. He wasn’t unpleasant to be around and that is all that mattered. With their outing only a little more than a day away, the two of them sat and went over some final questions.
“All right then, I guess that’s us done. I can’t think of anything we haven’t covered. Can you?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“I guess we should get some sleep then. Marla will take care of the kids if they wake during the night, but we will be on our own tomorrow. I think it’s better not to involve a third party in our little deception. There’s not much she can say, but I don’t want anyone to question anything, even the fact that we have a brand-new nanny despite the girls being over two months old.”
“Of course.”
“See you in the morning then,” he said.
“See you then,” she replied, leaving to go to her room, though he didn’t immediately get up to follow.
Her night was restless, anxiety about tomorrow filling her head. What if she messed up and ruined this whole thing for him? She could lose all or part of her upfront payment and the remainder. Then where would she be with three babies to support? She had pumped enough milk to allow Tucker to do some of the feeding while they were among his pack and he had even practiced helping her earlier in the day to get used to it.
At first, he had been all thumbs and obviously nervous. He was holding Sable as if she might break into a thousand pieces right in his hands, but after a while, he seemed a bit less clumsy and bewildered by having such a tiny creature in his large, powerful hands. She cooed happily after he had burped her and then held her out as if to admire the tiny thing such a massive belch had escaped from. He smiled at her and she seemed to smile back.