My Grumpy Billionaire (The Lasker Brothers #2)

by Nadia Lee

Wait a minute. “Did you just say babies?” She nods and gives me that smile again. And I know that whatever comes out of her mouth next is going to upend my life. Permanently. “You’re having triplets.”

Noah quirks an eyebrow. “Do you know if you read strap-on backward, it spells ‘no parts’?”

“Can you help?” she demands, looking at me. “Nope,” I say. “You can take your own trash out.”

I’m still shaking with disbelief that Killian Axelrod sang just for me. And I know exactly who gave me this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. I turn toward Griffin. He’s looking at me with a small smile, his eyes bright and satisfied.

I hug Griffin hard. My heart gallops against my chest, and I can feel his thumping too. I bury my face in his shoulder as my eyes heat with tears. All the loneliness I’ve felt since Mom and Grandma died starts to shrivel and die. In its place is a sense of belonging and love. Griffin might be my fake boyfriend, but what I feel for him is real.

“Look!” I grin. His eyes narrow. “You’re Purple Girl?” “Purple Girl?” I repeat. “That’s what I called you inside my head.” “So you two met in New Orleans, too?” Rachel asks, nearly breathless with enthusiasm. I nod, my eyes on Griffin. The Midnight God. Oh my God! The Midnight God is Griffin!

Grandma told me everything about a man can lie except the eyes and penis.

Wow. That wasn’t what I thought she was going to say. So my guys are that persistent and strong, huh? It gives me an absurd sense of pride.

Condom failure, partially blocked tubes…and now triplets. What are the odds? My brain’s too sluggish to do the math, but it has to be on the order of getting struck by lightning. Except this doesn’t feel like a disaster.

“If you want something, fight for it. If people treat you badly because of this, you have to fight that to hold on to what you have. Don’t let anything or anyone take away what you want. If you do, you aren’t fighting hard enough.”

It’s good that I found out he loves his career and anonymity more than me before I made a bigger emotional investment. But that doesn’t lessen the pain from the fact that I’m always going to be number two with the man I love.

The weirdly achy throb in my chest I felt when she referred to the triplets as her family but not mine ripples through me again, more intensely this time. She couldn’t make herself clearer. It’s a fuck-you-and-goodbye box.

“Little ones, it’s just you and me. But it’ll be okay. I’m going to make sure that you’ll never, ever feel the lack from not having your daddy around. We’re going to be great together.”

Ellie jumps to catch it, but it bounces off her arms and hits Grant, who grabs it out of reflex. “Shit.” He immediately throws it back in the air like a steaming potato. It flies and lands on Huxley, who acts like he just got hit by a grenade.