I never realized how absurdly small my nursery was until Carrie stood there, humming at my daughters while Dom—the six-foot-something, broad-shouldered, former-island-fling-now-secret-baby-daddy—hid like some kind of overgrown ninja.
Carrie beamed down at the twins, completely oblivious. “Wow, it’s so calm in here. Last time, I thought I was walking into a horror movie with all the screaming.”
I forced a breathy laugh, tugging my robe tighter around me. “Yeah… they’re mellow today.”
Meanwhile, I could practically feel Dom’s presence radiating from somewhere behind me. The closet. Definitely the closet. He was in there, probably folded in half like a piece of badly packed luggage.
And all I could think was: Why the hell had he said that he needed to hide?
This was Dom—Mr. Alpha, Mr. Commanding, Mr. ‘Let me pin you to the wall and ruin you in the best way.’ Yet now? He was playing hide-and-seek behind a row of onesies.
Why did it matter so much to him to keep this secret from Seth? Was it just about work? Or was there something else he wasn’t telling me?
I kept my face neutral as sweat trickled down my back. Carrie might not notice Dom’s cologne, but I could smell him. Warm and masculine and very much trapped behind that door.
Stay calm. Play it cool.
Carrie reached down and stroked Summer’s tiny hand, sighing like this was the most peaceful scene she’d witnessed all month.
Yeah, peaceful—if you didn’t count the giant elephant of a man hiding three feet away from us.
“Let me help you put the groceries away,” she said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Just the basics—milk, eggs, bread, some fruit. I thought you might appreciate not having to drag the twins out to the store.”
“Oh my God, yes,” I said, a little too eagerly. “You are officially my favorite person today.”
I scooped her arm in mine and nearly power-walked to the kitchen like it was the finish line of a marathon. Anywhere away from the nursery—and the six-foot-something stress ball in the nursery closet.
“Everything okay?” Carrie asked, falling in step beside me.
“Yep!” I chirped, slapping a carton of eggs onto the counter like I was performing a cooking show for toddlers. “Totally fine. Just excited to put groceries away. Like a real adult. With a functioning brain and no secrets in her nursery.”
Okay, I didn’t say that last part out loud. But I was definitely thinking it.
She chuckled. “I swear, you’re the only person I know who finds joy in organizing a fridge.”
“You know me,” I said, forcing a breezy smile as I yanked open the fridge door. “Refrigeration is my happy place.”
And right now, it was far preferable to the room where the father of my children was crouched like a sexy game of hide-and-seek. If I didn’t get Carrie out of here soon, we were going to run out of groceries and lies.
I paused and managed a tight but genuine smile. “Thank you, Carrie. You have no idea how helpful that is. I feel like I’m juggling chainsaws most days, and the idea of grocery shopping with two preemies is terrifying.”
She laughed softly, and for a moment, the tension in my shoulders eased. Carrie had always been a comforting presence—she was my boss, yes, but also one of my closest friends. We’d bonded over the frantic intensity of running Suivante and I’d always admired her ability to handle chaos with grace.
Which only made me feel worse for lying to her.
I’d told Carrie bits and pieces—enough to keep her from asking too many questions—but never the full truth. I had never told her that the father of my daughters was the same man currently hiding in my closet. Never told her that I’d met him before, not just as a patient, but at a bar on a tropical island.
The guilt pressed against my chest like a weight. Carrie had been there for me in ways few others had. And I was keeping her in the dark about the biggest thing in my life.
But now? With Dom hiding, with sweat prickling the back of my neck, now was definitely not the time to come clean. I couldn’t very well blurt it out over a grocery bag and two sleeping babies. Oh hey, by the way, the father of my twins? Surprise! He’s your husband’s colleague.
Yeah. No.
But eventually, I’d have to tell her. The longer I waited, the worse it would be.
Just… not today.
“And how about you?” Carrie asked, her voice drawing me back into the moment. She reached out, resting a comforting hand on my arm. “Are you managing? Any luck finding a nanny?”
I drew in a shaky breath, grateful for the small question that didn’t require me to reveal Dom’s presence. “No luck yet,” I admitted. “I’ve interviewed a couple of people, but none of them felt right. I can’t exactly explain it—it’s just a gut thing.”
She nodded in sympathy. “I get it. Letting a stranger take care of your babies is huge. But remember, once you do find someone, you can come back to Suivante.” Her eyes lit up with gentle enthusiasm. “We miss you in the kitchen, especially Giuseppe. You’re the only one who can keep up with his rapid-fire Italian. I’m at a loss.”
I don’t want to chat, I want you to leave, a traitorous voice screamed inside me. Because the man I love is stuck in a closet and I have a million questions to ask him.
The realization stunned me. Love? When had I started using that word, even in my own mind?
Carrie must have seen something flicker in my expression because her brow furrowed slightly. “Ella? You okay?”
“Uh, yeah.” I scrambled to keep my voice steady. “Just tired. You know how it is—feeding, burping, changing. It never ends.”
She squeezed my arm once more. “I hear you. Well, I won’t keep you too long. I’ll just finish up here, then head out. But seriously, call me if you need anything, yeah?”
My heart clogged with conflicting emotions. I was relieved she was leaving but also felt a fresh wave of guilt at wanting her gone. “I really appreciate it, Carrie. I mean it.”
She touched my shoulder lightly in a brief, affectionate gesture. “Anytime, Mama. All right, I’ll see myself out.” She paused, eyes flicking past me to the hallway. “Unless I should say goodbye to the girls again? They were so peaceful, I don’t want to wake them if they’re letting you have a good morning.”
Blood pounded in my ears. “That’s for the best. They’re being good, and I don’t want to jinx it.”
She offered a final wave, and then the door clicked shut. The latch’s sound echoed in my frazzled nerves, and I exhaled a shuddering breath, slumping against the nearest counter. She’s gone. Finally.
I closed my eyes, letting the silence settle around me like a warm bath. Maybe now I could retrieve the father of my children from wherever he’d wedged himself.
And then— thud.
A loud, unmistakable crash echoed from the nursery.
I froze. That was not a baby noise.
Another beat of silence. Then a muffled, “Shit.”
I groaned, dragging a hand down my face.
That could only have been Dom rolling out of the closet.
