I’m not someone who believes in the paranormal. I deal in facts. Evidence. I follow data to find answers. But something about the way the man in the advertisement is looking over his shoulder at the spectral image behind him has me staring.
My brain rewrites the nameless man with Malin, and I’ve seen that exact expression on his face. The exact way he’s looking at something specific, while others move around him, unaware.
What if what he says is actually literal?
I shut my laptop and leave my office, heading down the hall until I’m standing outside the triplets’ office. Yes, they share one. It’s kind of cute that even at work, they like to be in one place.
However, two of the three desks are empty. Imry is sitting at his, though. He looks up when I poke my head in.
“Hey, Gracen.”
“Hey. Two-thirds at home?”
“Yep. Everything okay?”
“Yes… I have something I want to run by them. You’re welcome to attend if you like.”
He nods, studying me. “I’ll let them fill me in later.”
I raise my hand in departure before heading down the hall toward Malin’s office. He still has a stack of phone books making a tower in the corner. There are crumpled pages all over his office today, as there are at least two or three days a week. But he’s not messing with the phone books right now. He’s sitting behind his desk.
Malin looks up, and I’m gifted with the tiny hint of a smile. Stepping inside, I stop at his desk and lean down to kiss him. “I have to run out for a bit. I’ll be back for lunch.”
He nods. His eyes flicker away. I don’t miss the flinch he tries to hide. Before leaving his office, I peel off one of my shirts and wrap it around his neck. This time, I’m rewarded with something far more reminiscent of a smile than I usually see.
I’ve been wearing two shirts for just this reason. When I have to leave and he can’t come to me when he needs a snuggle, I leave him with a shirt that he promptly buries his face in.
I kiss his forehead. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.”
It doesn’t take me long to get to the two-thirds triplets’ house. One of them is sitting outside in the yard on a blanket with the twins. They look up when I pull in. The twins wave as I approach.
“Hey, cuties,” I greet, putting my hands on each of their heads. “Getting some fresh air, are we?”
“Yes,” the adult Van Doren says. I don’t even try to identify them until I’m certain.
“Your other half inside?”
He nods. “He’ll be out in a minute. Want to join us?”
“Please.” I take a seat with the twins. Brodrie shifts so I’m included in his line of sight. The twins are easy to tell apart. One has brown eyes, and the other has blue eyes. Otherwise, they look alike.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, there’s something I want to run by you.”
“Concerning Malin.”
“Yes,” I answer, though it wasn’t a question.
The other adult Van Doren joins us, taking a seat. They give me a wide smile, and I think that’s Ellory. “Hey, cousin.”
“Hey.”
“He wants to talk to us about Malin.”
“Are you asking for our blessing to marry him?”
