Page 43 of Triplet Babies for my Ex's Best Friend

That would be the practical choice.

Instead, I remain where I am and say, “If you intend to challenge every instruction I give, this will be a short placement.”

“And if you keep talking to me like I’m an HR liability, it’ll be a long one.”

Then a blur of movement cuts straight through it.

Captain.

He barrels into the room with all the grace of a collapsing building, skids against the rug, and launches himself at Addy with shameless enthusiasm. She laughs before she can help it, the sound immediate and bright in a way that alters the room more efficiently than any design choice ever could.

“Okay, yes, hi, you absolute menace,” she says as Captain attempts to climb into her lap while she’s still standing.

He leans his entire body into her legs, tail moving with enough force to knock over a small child.

“He remembers you,” I say.

She glances up while scratching behind his ears. “From the interview?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.” Captain licks her wrist. She smiles down at him. “Well, clearly he has excellent taste.”

“Or no judgment.”

“That too.”

A smaller figure appears in the doorway a moment later.

Oliver.

He stops just outside the room, studying Addy with the same careful attention he applies to anything he considers potentially important. His expression gives very little away.

Addy sees him immediately and straightens, though not so abruptly that it feels performative.

“Hi,” she says. “Officially.”

Oliver considers her. “You came back.”

“She did,” I say.

He ignores me, eyes still on her. “Are you staying now?”

Addy glances briefly at me before answering, which tells me she understands the significance of the question. “That’s the plan.”

He steps inside.

Captain, sensing a shift in focus, abandons all pretense of dignity and sprawls across Addy’s feet.

She looks down. “This seems possessive.”

“He does that,” Oliver says.

“Good to know.” She lowers herself slightly, enough to be closer to his height without making a show of it. “Your dad was just showing me around.”

Oliver nods once, then points toward the suitcase nearest the bed. “That one’s too heavy.”

Addy blinks. “You checked?”