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“Cool!” the little punk replied. “I wanna see that.”
They both left the room, but he could still hear them as they walked away.
Thea shook her head. “They’re gonna be the death of me. Seriously. Ace asked me to cook him up some dinner that he’d found in the garden last night.”
“Okay,” Lottie said, looking as confused as he felt.
“They were grubs he’d found under a log.” Thea shuddered. She sent a curious look toward him, then Lottie. That was when he realized that he still had his hand on the small of her back.
And she hadn’t moved away from him.
Hope surged inside him. This was definitely a sign. If she was scared of him, she wouldn’t have stayed close. There had to be some part of her that maybe trusted him . . . just a little.
As though she’d just figured out the same thing, Lottie took a step away. She sent him an embarrassed smile.
“Are you sure you’re okay to look after them today, Lottie?” Thea asked. “I know they’re a lot, and you had them all day yesterday.”
“We’ll be fine,” Lottie reassured her. “You know I love having them.”
“And they love being here with you. They’re just so full of energy at the moment. I don’t want to tire you out.”
Nico frowned as Lottie’s shoulders curved and she kind of hunched in on herself. It was like she’d received a blow.
While he got Thea’s concern, it was almost like she didn’t have faith in her. As though she didn’t trust Lottie to know her limits.
If her family didn’t have faith in her how could she have faith in herself?
“I’m going to be around today.” He gave Thea a reassuring smile. “I’ll help Lottie.”
“You will?” Thea appeared a bit startled.
Maybe it was the tattoos. They didn’t make him look that trustworthy. Or it could be that he was a stranger.
“I have lots of experience with kids. Big family.”
“Oh, do you have children?” Thea asked.
“No, but I have several nephews and nieces.” Sure, he hadn’t spent much time with them, but looking after children couldn’t be that hard. It wasn’t like they were babies.
“It will be good practice for when I have kids.”
“You want to have children?” Lottie asked.
“Yep. Well, I’d need to find someone who’d want to have them with me, of course.” And convince Liam that it was a good idea. He’d have to ease him into that idea.
“Oh, like a surrogate?” Lottie had a funny look on her face that he couldn’t quite decipher.
“Something like that.”
“All right, if you’re both sure. Remember, if they’re too much of a problem, then call me. Otherwise, Carrick will be by at around five to get them. Thanks so much.” Thea was gone before they could even say goodbye.
“She left quick.”
“She’s running late for work. Jardin has a big case coming up,” Lottie explained.
“Well, what shall we do with the boys first?” At first, he’d been annoyed when they’d turned up, thinking they would cut into his Lottie time. But this might just work in his favor. Give him an excuse to spend time with her.
“You really don’t have to hang out with us,” Lottie told him. “You must have better things to do with your time.”
