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She barely acknowledged Phoebe, which was strangely unsettling.
“What was that about?” I whisper, not wanting her to hear me with her enhanced senses.
“Cade and her had an argument earlier today,” Ben says, not even pretending to whisper. It seems he wants her to overhear. “And she’s come here without him because she’s mad at him.”
“Ah.” Right. Couple drama. Lovely.
“Talia’s just arrived,” Ben warns, adjusting himself so that he’s closer to me. I don’t hear a knock at the door or anything to indicate her arrival, but I’ll take his word for it. “I’ll knock those fucking?—”
“You will not touch my nephews,” Iris snarls, coming back into the room with a can of diet coke in her hand. She’s frosty and is glowering at Ben once more. Is this a sibling thing or is this just her personality?
“You were going to hit six-year-olds?” I hiss, turning to face Ben, who immediately shakes his head. His eyes flash blue, and I know that Fluffy is just as displeased.
“No,” he scowls. “My nephews are my favourite family members. I would never, ever raise my hand to a child.” He waits until I relax before continuing to speak. “But Talia’s mates are annoying fucks. You’ll see and will hate them, too.”
The door opens and an identical copy of Iris steps through, but she’s immediately knocked back between two adorable little boys. They’ve got white blond hair and cute button noses, and their pants are covered in mud. Both boys have bright blue eyes, and my heart stops.
This is exactly what I imagined my child would look like if he were a boy.
With their bright blond hair—which is, of course, a very common hair colour—and their pale blue eyes… I shake the thoughts away and drop a soft kiss to my own little double.
A little boy who looked just like Ryan would be lovely. But my gorgeous little girl who has her own looks is so much more perfect.
“Where’s the baby, Auntie Iris?” one of them cries, a giant grin on his face. It’s so light-hearted, so carefree, that it makes me smile.
“Yeah!” the second echoes, a lot quieter. He seems far more shy than his brother, but both of them are practically bouncing on the heels of their feet at meeting Phoebe.
That’s sort of cute.
“You have to be quiet, boys, because the baby is sleeping.” Christopher says, coming into the room and commanding all of the attention. He crouches down in front of the boys, who immediately grin at their uncle, and it sends a weird wave of warmth through me. “But if you lower your voices and take your shoes off, you can go see my mate, who is holding the baby. Can you do that for me?”
I eye their very, very muddy shoes and think Christopher was smart in getting those off. I don’t know how they’re caked in it, since it’s pretty dry outside, but it’s just another overwhelmingly adorable thing.
“Yes,” the first boy says, grinning. He’s missing a tooth, and my heart swells as tears prick at my eyes. That’ll be Phoebe one day, with a missing tooth, and we’ll do the tooth fairy with her and take a thousand photos to commemorate.
Fuck. I am not ready for her to grow up.
“And Mum told us we had to be really careful with her because she’s so little,” the second boy adds.
“Well done, Liam,” Christopher says, ruffling the bright blond hair of the second boy. He stands and gives me a smile before giving Iris a side-hug. “Did you all come together?”
“No, we just got here.” Talia steps into the room with a warm smile directed towards her brother. Christopher steps forward and hugs her tight before nodding his head at the two older males who enter behind her.
The men have light brown hair, which clearly hasn’t passed onto their children, and they’re both built like brick houses. Like their sons, their shoes are covered in mud.
It’s eerie that I’m in a house with ten other people, and yet, there are only four different faces. I’ve never seen this many identical twins before and even rarer that the adults are still identical. None of them have different piercings or haircuts or tattoos. Or at least, not that I’ve seen.
“Do you want a drink?” Christopher asks, and I’m not sure if he’s addressing me or Talia and her mates, so I stay silent.
“I made you a new smoothie if you’re thirsty, darling,” Ben says, twiddling my hair as he glares at the other men in the room. I’m not sure of the drama between him and Talia’s mates, but if looks could kill, I’m sure they’d be nothing but a pile of ash.
“I’ll grab you a glass of it,” Christopher says, going to join Alex and Seb in the kitchen. I’m not sure why they’re still in there, but there are a lot of people in the room right now, so it doesn’t hurt that there’s one less dominant presence. Talia and Iris are talking quietly in the corner, whereas the other two men are just standing in the back of the room watching Ben and I.
Or maybe it’s Phoebe they’re looking at.
“I took my shoes off now,” one of the boys says, tugging on my sleeve. He’s got a little lisp, and I grin down at him.
“I took mine off, too, Finn,” Liam says, rushing over. “Please, can we see the baby now, Uncle Christopher’s mate?”
