Romantic Acquisition Page 0,50
house, not wanting him to see the mess she’d created the previous day.
She tried to greet him casually, but she suspected that her excitement came through because he reached down and kissed her hard when he walked up to her, standing next to his car, the autumn sunshine spilling through the colorful trees and dappling his dark hair with light brown sparks.
“You look beautiful,” he said with his deep voice.
She liked the way his jeans fit his body, showing off his muscular legs. “You’re not too frumpy yourself, sir,” she replied saucily. The gray, cashmere sweater hugged his muscles, showing her again how strong he really was. The white tee-shirt underneath the sweater was only a tease for her to wonder what his skin was like.
“Where are we going?” she asked when they were on the road.
“My family gathers for church and lunch each Sunday. Whoever is in town just shows up at by oldest brother’s house.”
“Hmmm…sounds interesting. You’ve told me too many stories about your brothers though.”
“Don’t worry, if you don’t bring a Barbie doll within their reach, you’ll be fine.”
Kate didn’t wonder about the significance of lunch with all his siblings. She was sure he’d brought other women to the lunch so it was probably not an odd occurrence to bring a guest to the family gathering.
What she wasn’t prepared for was the chaos inside the monstrously huge house. Upon first entry, there was no noise. Then suddenly, a beautiful little girl with curly black hair screamed into the foyer, throwing herself into “Uncle Carlo’s” arms.
Kate took a step back as two smaller, but equally enthusiastic boys arrived, both looking like identical twins. Following slowly behind, but with just as much joy was another little boy who was thrilled to be included with the big kids.
“Where have you been?” one of the twins demanded once the hugs were completed. “Dad’s grilling burgers again and you know how Uncle Sal gets when someone takes over the grill!”
“Excuse me,” Carlo said, and he turned in his kneeling position to look at Kate who was standing behind him, watching the whole scene with astonishment. “Where are your manners? There’s a lady behind you. Perhaps all of you could introduce yourselves?”
“I’m Emma,” the first little girl said and she walked right up to Kate and shook her hand. “Are you Uncle Carlo’s girlfriend?”
Kate was dumbfounded. “I’m Kate,” she said, as if that would answer all the questions.
“Oh, okay. You’re her,” she said and was immediately pushed out of the way by one of the twins.
“I’m Dennis and this is my brother Josh. Our sisters are around here somewhere, but they’re too little to walk yet,” he said importantly, his chest puffing up with pride.
“Pleased to meet both of you,” Kate said and took the offered hands, shaking them with a serious expression on her face, mimicking their own.
She then bent down to the smallest boy. “And what’s your name?” she asked, the shy boy standing behind Carlo’s leg.
“I’m Adam,” he said then hid his face on Carlo’s arm. It was a little difficult to understand him and Kate guessed he was around two, maybe slightly older.
“Adam, it is very nice to meet you,” Kate said, charmed by his smile. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
He nodded. “Danielle, but she’s just a baby,” he explained shyly.
“Ah! So you take good care of her, don’t you?”
The boy nodded, feeling important now that he could show how big he was.
”Come on, let’s go see who’s grilling now,” Josh said and pulled his little cousin behind him.
Kate was thrilled with the small kids, wishing desperately that she had a future that included them.
“They’re wonderful,” Kate said, standing up again.
Carlo nodded in agreement. “They’re pretty neat,” he said smiling, “but they can be a handful when they’re all together. Don’t let them intimidate you,” he joked. “But don’t find yourself alone with a group of them. They can sense your fear,” he said and Kate laughed at his semi-serious expression.
Kate was seeing a new side to Carlo. He introduced her to his sisters-in-law, all of whom were in the family room, each with a small baby in their arms. Josh rushed back into the house and grabbed Carlo’s arm. “Come on, Uncle Carlo. Uncle Michael has the spatula. Come quick!”
Carlo laughed but he allowed the small boy to drag him out into the crisp autumn afternoon to the patio where five other men were standing and discussing something serious, all staring at the grill.
“Come on in,”