He was at the forefront of her mind, always, and she hadn’t been prepared for that. It had been a long time since Dina had met a man she was attracted to. And she’d never met one who affected her as Connor King did. It was stupid, she knew, to even indulge in idle daydreams about a man who had the power to take her children away from her. Connor made her want all sorts of things, but at the same time, she knew she should be keeping him at a safe distance. It was as if she were waiting for two shoes to drop. What were his plans for the kids? What were his plans for her?
“I don’t know, Abuela,” she finally said. “He really enjoys the triplets when he’s with them. Naturally, he’s angry. With Jackie and Elena. And with me.”
Nodding sagely, the older woman said, “I told Elena what she was doing was wrong, but like you, she was cabeza dura. A hardhead.” She paused, made the sign of the cross and whispered a quick prayer for Elena’s soul, then reached out to pat Dina’s hand. “His anger will pass.”
“I know.” Dina sighed. No one could hold on to anger forever. It would eventually burn itself out, leaving bitterness behind, and it would be up to Connor if he chose to hang on to it or let that go as well. Right now, she thought it was a toss-up as to which way he’d go. “But what then?”
“Well, he has a decision to make, doesn’t he?” her grandmother said. “He must decide how involved he wants to be with his children.” Her gaze swept over the three babies playing and babbling together. “I’ve read of the King family. They are not the kind of people to walk away from their children.”
Dina’s heart sank. Different members of the King family were always in the news or the tabloids or national magazines. And in interview after interview, one thing they all had in common was just how close they were and how important family was. “I know.”
Her grandmother heard the disappointment and worry in Dina’s voice and laughed. “That’s a good thing, querida. He’s their father. They’ll need him.”
“And what about me?” She shook her head and watched as Sadie and Sam had a tug-of-war over a stuffed bunny. The thought of losing the triplets made her chest hurt. Yes, they were a lot of work, and yes, her life had been turned upside down at their arrival, but now she couldn’t imagine living without them.
“The Kings are also really rich,” she pointed out, more to herself than to her grandmother. “If he wants to take the babies from me, I won’t be able to afford to fight him. He can hire a fleet of lawyers and I’ll be down at Legal Aid with my fingers crossed.”
Her grandmother laughed, handed a baby doll to Sadie and smiled as she watched Sam chew on the stuffed bunny’s ear. “Wealthy doesn’t mean evil, Dina.”
“No, but it does mean powerful,” she argued as worry nibbled at her insides. “No judge is going to pick a struggling caterer over a member of the King family when it comes to custody.”
“Worrying won’t change that,” her grandmother warned.
“No, but I’m so good at it.”
The older woman laughed. “Yes, you are. But just this once, you should try not to excel at something.”
Dina sighed, shook her head and dropped one arm around her grandmother’s shoulders, pulling her close for a brief, hard hug. “I’ll try. Really.”
Giving Dina another pat, her grandmother said, “This is a good thing, for you and for the babies.”
“It doesn’t feel that way,” she said, though her hormones might have disagreed.
“Dina, you can’t care for them on your own. You’re making yourself crazy by trying.”
“I can do it,” she said stubbornly. “I’m getting a routine and—”
“And wearing yourself to the bone trying to be all things to all people,” her grandmother told her quietly, almost as though she were hoping to keep the triplets from hearing—though they wouldn’t have understood her anyway. “Their father is here now. Share the work as well as the joy.”
“It’s not that easy, Abuela,” Dina said with a sigh. “He’s one of the richest men in the country and he’s furious at being lied to.”
“You didn’t lie to him.”
“I don’t think he cares,” she said thoughtfully. “If he decides to, he could take the babies from me and no judge would ever choose me over him.”
“It doesn’t have to come to that.”
“Maybe not, but I think it will,” Dina said, remembering the look on his face the night before. He was bonding with his children and digging himself deeper into all of their lives. Connor King wasn’t going to back off. It wasn’t in his nature.
She’d done some checking on him. Granted, it had been on the internet and she knew you couldn’t believe everything you read there. But she had no other options.
He and his twin, Colton, had built their own business outside of the family fortune. They were rich in their own right now, after spending years providing risk to thrill seekers. A little less than two years ago, the twins had shifted their business model to family vacations and hadn’t missed a step. According to financial websites, King Family Adventures was even bigger than its precursor, which made sense, since their potential client base was so much bigger.
From everything she’d read, Connor was a hard, cold-eyed negotiator and didn’t tolerate mistakes. He was the kind of man who laid down the rules and expected everyone else to fall into line. Since Dina didn’t take orders well, she couldn’t see any way this situation was going to have a happy ending.
“I see another problem on the horizon as well,” Angelica said softly.
“Great. Just what we need.” She blew out a breath. “What problem?”
“You like him.” Her grandmother smiled knowingly.
“Please.” Dina laughed and ducked her head to keep her too-knowing grandmother from reading her eyes. She grabbed Sadie as the baby toddled past and plopped the tiny girl onto her lap. “You’re wrong, Abuela. I don’t like him.”
“So you didn’t lie to him, only to me,” the older woman said, “and to yourself.”
Reluctantly, Dina lifted her gaze to her grandmother’s. It was pointless to keep avoiding this particular truth anyway. “Fine. I admit to being...intrigued. He’s so different from every other man I know. But—”
“Different is good, mija,” she said, scooping Sadie off Dina’s lap and onto her own. “And who knows? Maybe this man’s arrival in your life is a good thing.”
Dina wouldn’t go that far.
* * *
A little after midnight, Dina pulled into her driveway with three sleeping babies in the backseat. Glancing at the house, she muttered a soft curse because she’d forgotten to leave the porch light on.
With a sigh, she climbed out of the car and then as quietly as possible closed the door behind her. The street was silent, houses dark, with families tucked in for the night. It was so quiet, it was as if the whole world had taken a breath and held it.
And then she heard a voice.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Dina jumped, slapped one hand to her chest and spun around all at the same time. Heart in her throat, she watched Connor stalk across the yard toward her.
“You scared me to death,” she