Romantic Acquisition Page 0,51
a beautiful blond woman said, smiling as she waved Kate into the room. She was holding a smallish baby girl in her arms and there was another one at her feet that looked similar. “Would you hold Olivia for a moment? I think Sophia needs her diaper changed.”
Kate immediately sat down and took the small little baby into her arms, eager to hold the beautiful child. Kate and Olivia stared in wonder at each other. Olivia was the first to break the silence by making gurgling noises and grabbing at Kate’s nose. Kate laughed and enjoyed the feeling of the tiny hand gently touching her face. “You like that, huh?” Kate said, liking the way the baby moved her hand to her cheek and teeth.
“She’s a beautiful baby, Victoria. How old is she?”
Victoria smiled her thanks for the compliment. “She’s eleven months old tomorrow,” she explained. “And this is her twin sister Olivia.”
“Wow! Twins. What a handful,” Kate said. “Who has the other set of twins?”
Victoria smiled again. “Those are mine as well. For some reason, I was blessed with two sets of twins.”
Kate laughed at Victoria’s harried expression. “Oh my. That must be a handful. What are the odds of that happening?”
“Well, let’s just say that I had better odds of winning the lottery,” she laughed.
Antonia, the youngest sister who was a feminine version of her brothers with the dark, curly hair and long, black eyelashes, sat down and took little Sophia away from her sister in law. “You lucked out, I’m thinking. These two are too much fun,” she said.
Victoria laughed. “Yes. I’m just glad that I have Thomas to help me,” she said.
“And Libby,” Laci, Sal’s wife chimed in as she carried her fourteen month old daughter in her arms.
“Who is Libby?” Kate asked.
“Libby is my nanny. She comes over and helps out during the day,” Victoria responded. “And yes, she’s a godsend.”
“This little one,” Laci said, referring to the bundle of energy dressed in a pretty pink, frilly dress and trying to escape from her mother’s arms so she could play with the babies, “is Danielle. She’s our second. I think you met Adam at the door. He’s my son.”
“He was very much a gentleman,” Kate assured the woman with soft brown hair and twinkling blue eyes.
Michael, Carlo’s older brother by eighteen months, came into the room with yet another little boy under his arms who was giggling uncontrollably. “Antonia, this little guy thinks he’s big enough to light the grill. So I had to give him some tickle torture to show him who is boss.”
Antonia rolled her eyes as her son was pitched upside down onto the sofa and tickled some more. “I can see he’s trying to fit into his daddy’s shoes already,” she said and reached over her free arm to help Michael tickle her son. Danielle, who had been trying to reach for Sophia, instantly stopped and moved towards her brother, eager to join in the fun.
“How many children are there in the family?” Kate asked, watching with amusement as another man came into the room, carrying five year old Emma and four year old Josh under each arm. “I have more that are becoming a nuisance and need tickle torture,” the man said.
“That’s Brett, Antonia’s husband,” Laci explained. “He’s harmless although he looks pretty mean,” she said and winked at her handsome brother in law.
Brett growled at her, trying to scare her as he teasingly reached down as if he were going to bite her neck. At the last moment, he stopped and kissed the soft head of the wriggling Danielle, who reached up and clasped her arms around his neck. Brett just picked her up and carried her over to where Kate was sitting.
“Good to meet you, Kate. I’ve known Carlo for five years now and I can only give you one piece of advice. Run,” he teased. “Run as fast as possible away from this family. I can guarantee that Carlo is evil and can’t be trusted,” he said but spoiled his warning by winking at Emma who just covered her mouth and giggled her delight.
“No he’s not,” Emma admonished. The little girl then wriggled out of her uncle’s arms and started running through the house, ‘Uncle Carlo! Uncle Carlo! Uncle Brett is saying mean things about you to your girlfriend,” she yelled.
A few minutes later, Carlo came into the family room and shoved Brett out of the way. He then walked over to Kate and took her hand,