“A morning snack.” He winked, and just like that, I forgave him.

The aroma wafting out of the bag had me salivating. I snatched the bag from him and peeked inside. Warm bagels with cream cheese, a cup of fruit, and herbal tea. I looked up at him with misty eyes as I sighed the words, “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

He blinked, his lips parting slightly.

My heart skipped a beat and I quickly added, “The babes love you, I mean.” I laughed a little too hyena-ishly.

He chuckled. “Now that we’ve clarified that, are ye ready to find out what yer surprise is, lass?”

“At this point I would say yes to anything,” I answered, before biting into my heavenly delight and moaning my appreciation.

“Music to me ears.” He slid the gearshift into drive, and off we went.

Fifteen minutes later, on the outskirts of town, we pulled into the driveway of an adorable ranch. It was a dove gray with white trim and a lovely front porch. Matt cut the engine and hopped out of the truck, jogging around to open my door before I could even wipe my hands after my delicious snack. He placed his big hands on both sides of my waist and easily lifted me down, no running boards necessary.

“Thank you, but I’m not entirely helpless you know.” I sighed.

“Sorry,” he said with a grin. “Force of habit.”

I rolled my eyes. “So, whose house are we at anyway?” I fanned my cheeks from the early morning heat already. It was going to be a hot one.

“Ours.” Matt nodded once, looking very similar to when he’d proposed. No question, just stating a face as if it were set in stone.

My hand stopped moving, and my heart started to pound. “Excuse me?” Living with McShamrock was not an option.

“I have another proposition for ye.” His eyes sparkled.

I dropped my arm to my side, letting my walls slide back into place to guard my heart. “Matt…”

He held up his hands. “It’s not what ye think. Just hear me out, lass. Please? For the sake of the wee babes.”

“The babes card? Really?”

He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a desperate man.”

He was sure something. I blew out a breath and crossed my arms while I still could. “Like I have a choice to do anything else. It’s not like I’m going anywhere at the moment. No wonder you kept this a secret.”

He ignored my response and dove right into his explanation. “Yer apartment is going to get a lot more difficult to climb those stairs when ye are in yer last trimester. Not to mention carrying two infant carriers up and down stairs plus diaper bags and strollers is going to be exhausting.”

He had a point. I used to be able to jog up my stairs no problem, but lately, I was so winded by the time I reached the top. “I’m listening.”

“So, I found this house fer rent. It’s perfect. All on one floor, not too far from town, and it’s four bedrooms. Plenty of room fer us all.”

“Wait…there is no us all.” My tummy fluttered, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t the babies as I hadn’t felt them move yet. “Besides, I don’t take charity, and like I’ve said before, I am more than capable of providing for myself and the babies.”

“Aye, lass, I’m not saying ye are not. Ye promised to hear me out, remember?” He looked me in the eyes with sparkling blue orbs I found hard to resist.

“Fine, go on.”

He shrugged. “That’s where me proposition comes in. I say we both rent out our apartments to friends or family members, while we move in here together and share the expenses fer one year. Then we can reevaluate at that time.”

An entire year of living together?

I didn’t know if I could resist him, let alone worrying about him resisting me. I cleared my throat. “I told you no romance.” My words sounded weak to my own ears.

“And there won’t be any,” he said far too easily.

Why was I annoyed when this was my idea?

“I’m talking about co-parenting,” he continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “It will be much easier fer us to help each other if we both live under the same roof, at least fer the first year. It’s twins we’re talking about, Tiffany. You can’t do that on yer own. No one can. And I’m more than willing to help. In fact, I want to. They’re my children too, and I don’t want to miss out, so please say yes, love.”

There went my heart again. He had no idea his simple terms of endearment melted my heart, but I knew that was just the way he talked. I took a deep breath and focused as I thought about everything he said. Once again, he was right. Middle of the night feedings. Diaper changes. Colic. Daytime baths. Pediatrician visits. Car rides….

Times two!!

Everything he said made sense.

I was lucky that he wanted to be so involved. It wasn’t always like that for a lot of new mothers. I knew nothing about babies, and two of them just seemed overwhelming. For the first time, I could kind of understand how my mother must have felt. Even with my father on board, they hadn’t been able to handle two babies.

What had I been thinking?

I hadn’t, plain and simple. I simply didn’t want my children to go through life feeling unwanted. I studied the man staring back at me with the utmost sincerity, and I really started to believe I didn’t have to do that alone.

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

His eyes widened. “Yeah?”

I shook my head no, but said, “Yes.” I switched to nodding the more I thought about the whole idea of platonic cohabitation. “That makes sense. No romance, and there are plenty of bedrooms to co-parent and still have our own lives,” I said out loud, more for my benefit than his.

“Great!” He grinned wide and rubbed his large hands together. “I guess we’re doing this thing then.”

“I guess so…and sight unseen, no less.” I laughed, trying not to let it turn into hysteria. “There will be ground rules to cohabiting, you know. I have certain standards to maintain and definite deal breakers.”

“I would expect nothing less.” He winked.

I blinked. “Um, okay then. Maybe I should actually see where I’m going to be living for the next year. Lead the way, Mr. McGinnis.”

“Ye got it, lass.”

I followed Matt, watching the way his body moved, and realized I might be in trouble in the no romance department. But then another thought came to me. If we shared a house, that gave me several months to answer one burning question…

Is the father of my babies a member of the Children of the Clover?

That Friday night, I walked into Harmony’s apartment above her New Age shop for girls’ night. I was the last to arrive again, as usual. I’d never been very prompt, and especially now that I had pregnancy brain, my tardiness had gotten worse. There were times I couldn’t even remember what day it was.

“There’s our little mama,” Harm said.