the long, incredibly sleepless night, Connor had had time to do some thinking. And some snooping. Sure, maybe he had crossed a line, when he’d poked around in Dina’s laptop, which really should be password protected. But he’d told himself that the triplets gave him all the reason he needed to invade her privacy a little.
Just as his lawyers had informed him, her business was in trouble. She was already in a downward spiral of debt and picking up speed every day. He’d flipped through enough of her records to know that she was using her small savings account to supplement her income and that wasn’t going to last for much longer.
Bottom line? Dina Cortez was in no shape to provide for three growing kids. And he could use that information.
He already had the babies changed and dressed when she walked into the nursery bright and early the next morning. One look was all it took to tell him that she’d gotten as little sleep during the night as he had.
“You’re awake?”
He shrugged and finished pulling Sam’s shirt into place. “Never really went to sleep.” He shot her a sly glance. “Too much on my mind.”
She inhaled sharply and Connor guessed that she’d been thinking about that kiss and what should have come next. Hell, thoughts like that had been tormenting him all night. Knowing that she was just down the hall from him. Knowing that she would welcome his touch. It had taken everything he had to keep from going to her.
But the bottom line was that he wasn’t here because of this attraction and desire he felt for Dina. He was here for his children, and they had to come first. If he made a play for Dina, it would complicate everything. Better to settle the situation here before moving on what he wanted from her.
He took a long breath himself before quipping, “Plus, that couch qualifies as torture equipment.”
“Well it isn’t built to sleep on,” she admitted, “especially for someone as tall as you.”
“That’s for sure.” He lifted Sam off the table, gave the baby boy a kiss, then set him on the floor with his brother and sister. “So. Kids are changed, dressed and ready for the day. How about we feed them and then we have that talk?”
“I need coffee.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, scooping up two of the babies and leaving Sam for Dina to get. Then he walked past her, heading for the kitchen.
The room was bright with sunshine and ringing with the happy chatter of three babies. Despite being tired, Connor and Dina worked together to prepare milk, oatmeal and bananas. While they fed the triplets, Connor glanced at her and said, “Last night brought home to me that things have got to change.”
“What things?”
He would have heard the wariness in her tone even if he hadn’t spotted it on her features. “Everything about this whole situation. You. Me. The triplets. As it stands now, none of it is working for me.”
She sighed and shook her head. “It’s been, like, four days. You could be more patient.”
“Not in my nature.”
“I’m getting that,” she murmured.
“Anyway, it’s been long enough to make some decisions,” he countered and scooped more oatmeal onto a spoon before offering it to Sadie, who opened her mouth eagerly, like a baby bird. “For instance. Your catering business—why catering?”
“What? Oh. Uh. I used to have a food truck and it did really well.” She smiled, remembering. “So well, in fact, that I sold the truck to my cousin Raul. I went into catering thinking I could use that as a stepping-stone to my real goal—opening my own restaurant.”
“A good goal, but hard to meet when your catering business is sinking.”
“Excuse me?” She stopped moving with a spoonful of cereal halfway to Sage’s mouth. The little boy howled and slapped both hands impatiently on his tray table. “Sorry, sorry, baby,” she murmured and fed him before turning back to Connor. “How would you know anything about my business?”
He couldn’t blame her for being mad, but he wouldn’t apologize for doing what he had to do to look out for his kids. If that made the relationship between him and Dina tougher for a while, he could deal with that. Connor had the taste of her inside him now and he wouldn’t stop pushing until he got more. Eventually he knew he’d have his kids and Dina, too.
But for now he said only, “First, my lawyers have a private investigator on retainer—”
“You had me investigated?”
He nodded, ignoring the shocked expression on her face because it was just going to get worse in another minute or so. “And for another, I looked through your bills last night.”
“You did what?” Her voice dropped to a new level of cold that sliced at him like shards of ice. She shot a glance at her laptop, lying innocently on the counter, then looked back at him. “You went through my records?”
“I did, and if you’re waiting for an apology, don’t hold your breath.” His gaze speared hers and he didn’t flinch away from the pure rage spitting back at him. Those dark brown eyes of hers flashed with heat in spite of the cold in her voice. “You’re taking care of my kids and I needed to be sure you can do that properly. As it turns out, you can’t.”
“Is that right? Well, I’ve been managing all right so far. The babies are fine and you know it. They’re fed, they’re happy, they’re loved.” She stiffened, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “The four of us are getting along great. You want to pay child support, I’m happy to take it for them. But I don’t need your help to run my business or our lives.”
Connor could admire her pride even as he dismissed it. Being proud was one thing. Being too stubborn to see the truth was another. “Of course you do, and you know it. That’s why you contacted me in the first place. It’s not just the money and you know it, Dina. You’re running yourself into the ground trying to do everything by yourself. You’re behind on your bills, and you haven’t had a good paying job since before the triplets arrived.”
She flushed and again, it wasn’t embarrassment but anger that flooded her cheeks with color. “I admit, my business suffered some when the babies first came to me. I had to back out of jobs and spend most of my time with them. They were traumatized—not that you’d know anything about that since you weren’t here—because they’d lost their parents and their home. It took weeks to get them settled into a routine. Make them feel safe.”
She glared at him and those eyes of hers were damned captivating.
“I was the one who held things together. And they were my priority. I’m so very sorry if you think my business isn’t doing too well.” She took a breath. “Now that the kids are settled in, I’m bidding on jobs again and—”
“Birthday and anniversary parties,” he finished for her. “Not exactly big-paying jobs.”
Dropping her gaze, she scooped up more oatmeal and spooned it into Sage’s waiting mouth. “No job too small,” she said tightly. “Besides, one job leads to another. Catering is a lot about word of mouth and—”
“Admit
