Chapter 120

**Blue**


The first few weeks home with the triplets is chaos. Lilly is such a sweet girl and even though she needs a lot of help with things she hasn’t complained once having to share our time. Artemis has made everything so much easier by just being here and helping wherever it’s needed. He was joking about the personal chief either. I mean when does he ever not mean these things? I should know that by now.

He also did have a whole medical room set up in the house. There are plans to expand the house even more thanks to all the plans he has.

Athena found a house down the street from us and has been so happy with her decision to adopt. She’s an amazing mother and it’s been great having her so close by. Rhea, not wanting to be left out also bought a house on our street and has been stopping by with her kids almost everyday much to Artemis’s displeasure. He’s gotten a lot better with having his sisters around but he’s still his grumpy self with them. Now they just find it funny and often tease him about it. There has been an adjustment period with everything changing so much but slowly we are all falling into a routine.

Abigail is due soon and I can’t wait for her little one to join the mob of kiddos around here. She’s working constantly at the group home much to Allen’s displeasure but she’s stubborn. He’s been hovering around her so that he’s ready if the baby decides to come. He can be as bad as Artemis sometimes.

Today is my first day back and I’m not sure how well it will go. Artemis made sure that there was a nursery connected to my office, but we haven’t used the one at home yet because I feel better having the babies closer. Well, I’m not sure if that will be true much longer since I’ve been given the all clear to have sex again. Not that Artemis has been suffering too much since I’ve helped him relieve some of his discomfort on more than one occasion. Still I think he’s wanting a lot more than that kind of pleasure now, and I’m dying to feel him that way again.

Rhea even offered to watch the babies and Lilly for a weekend so Artemis and I can have some time together. I haven’t agreed yet because it would be our first time since that crazy night that we will be away from the babies. She says now is the best time because they are still young and it’s a little easier for someone else to watch them, so I need to decide soon. Thinking about how great Artemis has been and not complaining once makes the decision a lot easier. He deserves this time as much as I do.

Bryant dropped me and the babies at the group home this morning while Artemis took Lilly to school. All the kids were so excited to meet them and were so great at being quiet so as not to wake them. We’re in my office now and the babies are still in their stroller next to my desk. I’m not ready to put them in the nursery…baby steps…

I look over the messages Rhea sent me of some hotels near by and I finally pick one. The link takes me to their website, and I make a reservation before I can talk myself out of it. Once that’s done, I call my husband.

“Hey beautiful.” He says making me smile.

He’s a real softy now. “Hey you! How did it go?”

“She’s fine just like every other day. Although some boy came up to her and they were smiling at each other. I made a note to look up his family for any criminal activity later.” He’s dead serious too.

This isn’t the first time he’s done it, nor will it be the last. He doesn’t seem to understand the workings of little kids love. It’s fleeting and means nothing, but he’s very invested. So, he’s overprotective like every dad in the world.

“Honey bunny leave it alone.” I say sweetly making him grumble.

“I hate being called that and you know it.”

“Why does it make you sound too sweet and cuddly to all your friends?” I say in that baby voice adults use on babies.

“No, because it’s something you would say to a child not an adult man.” He says.

I smile. “Well, you’re not the easiest guy to come up with a nickname for since you veto everyone I’ve tried.”

“They all sound ridiculous.”

“Well then, I’ll just call you Artemis all the time like we’re nothing more than casual friends. Am I even your wife if I don’t have a cute name for you?” I sigh dramatically. “It was nice while it lasted, but this is the end of us.”

“Why do we have to go through this song and dance every time?” He sounds reasonably annoyed but it’s all in good fun.

Besides annoying him is fun!

“I don’t know what you mean.” I fain innocence.

“Sure. How are the little ones?” He asks.

“The little nuggets are sleeping sweetly. All the kids were excited to see them and have been doing a very good job of not being too loud even though I told them my office is soundproof.”

“We are not calling our babies nuggets. Those a greasy heart clogging foods used to bribe children to behave.” He sounds like such a snob.

“Yes, I know all about the dangers of fast food thank you. Not every family has a personal chief and if fast foods didn’t make the bad stuff more affordable than the good people would eat a lot better.” I remind him. “Also, there are some who don’t have food on the best days.”

He sighs in defeat. “I know, but you aren’t one of those people anymore. We can afford to eat better even with the money we’ve been donating to the food kitchens.”

Artemis has been very big into charity donations and building sustainable homes for homeless communities. He even had this idea of buying land and setting up a bunch of tiny houses for the homeless that would look like a small village. It’s one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard, and his sisters have been excited to help as well. The Rhodes name is being spoken about in a whole new light. There is no scandals and corporate buyouts. As far as anyone knows, Rhodes Enterprises has been silent.

Artemis says his grandfather will be back in the states soon to straighten everything out, but we haven’t heard word from him in weeks. He says that isn’t very unusual and the only time they know their grandfather is in the city is when the press posts photos of it. He just shows up and expects the family to be there when he arrives. For now, though, we have no real idea where the family’s business stands since we are no longer a part of it. Artemis hasn’t made any attempts to check in on any of the companies and has left all of that for his grandfather to handle.

I’m proud of him for not being tempted to step in and take his father’s place. As much as he says he despises the business, if we had never met, he would probably still be a part of it. I hate thinking I had such a negative impact on his life, but he reminds me constantly that I broke him from the toxic hold that was drowning him. His sisters say the same, but they give me too much credit, so I ignore most of those comments. All I care about is being with them all. They are the family I never had and that is more than enough for me.

“I’ll come by on my way home.” Artemis says.

A spark of excitement goes through me. We are almost never apart and still I get excited when I know he’s coming. It’s probably not good to be so attached to someone but we’ve been through so much together. He says he feels the same way which makes me feel a little less crazy obsessive.

“Okay! Chief made enough food for the four of us to have for lunch. He made Abigails favorite desert too so she’ll like that.” Abigail has been craving cheesecake for a month now.

“Great, now I’ll have to listen to Allen fret over her for two hours. Are you sure you don’t want to eat lunch somewhere?” He sounds almost desperate not to have lunch with his only friend.

“With three babies? What restaurant would we be able to go to that would be cool with that? We would run everyone away. Nope we are having lunch here and you will be nice to Allen. He’s anxious, and you weren’t any better.”

“You had a high-risk pregnancy. That’s different.”

I sigh and he groans in defeat. “Fine.”

“Yay! I do have something that will make you feel better!”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” His voice drops low and dreamy like it does when he’s trying to get me all hot and bothered.

“Stop being a pervert! I’ll tell you when you get here and if you’re good then maybe I’ll give you a real reward.”

“Yes ma’am.”