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THIRTY-TWO

Leo had reluctantly left Lily in the shower, so that he might explain things to his mother before Lily appeared.

The moment he appeared in the kitchen, though, it was Mum who spoke first. "Congratulations. So you found your fated mate after all."

Well, they hadn't been particularly quiet last night. Both on the lawn and when they'd come inside.

But Mum didn't look the slightest bit surprised.

"Did you already know?" he demanded.

Mum shrugged. "Laima said it was likely. But nothing is ever certain about these things, especially when fated mates are involved, so we had to let fate take its course. Or not, as the case may be. She said she's been wrong before, though it's rare."

Leo blew out a frustrated breath. If she'd only told him sooner, he and Lily could have been together on their wedding night. Now he had an employment contract and a prenup to get rid of. "I hope you factored that in when you drew up her employment contract. I will not have my wife working as a maid in her own house. She doesn't need to work at all."

Mother coughed delicately. "I believe that is Lily's decision to make, not yours. Though I did receive a call from Mrs Parker last night, saying that her son-in-law is entitled to paternity leave, and he's going to be at home with her daughter and granddaughter from next week, so she won't be needed there any more. She'd like to come back to work on Monday."

"So you don't need me any more?" Lily appeared in the doorway, dressed in her maid's uniform.

"I won't need your services as a housekeeper as of Monday," Mother said. "I will, of course pay you in lieu of the short notice, but maternity leave cover is one of those things you can never be certain about. Sometimes it's only a few weeks, and other times, it's the full year, with job share afterwards. Of course, if what my son tells me is true, that you are his fated mate, you have a place here indefinitely, not just for the duration of the marriage contract."

Ah, yes. He'd almost forgotten about that. "I'll go find that contract and make sure it's destroyed," Leo promised, heading for the library.