Page 70 of Had to Be You

"Yeah." He nodded, then turned and headed inside the house.

He was going to have to have a talk with Laura about her nephew letting people in her house. He didn’t like that. Sure, he’d met the kid, but that was weeks ago, and it was brief. He should still be treating Knox like a stranger.

Knox stepped in and followed him through the kitchen. There was music playing and a lot of laughing and talking. He walked into the living room and found not only the other twin there, but six other kids there as well. He recognized all five boys as the ones he’d met at the festival. He hadn’t met Laura’s two youngest nieces there because their mom hadn’t come, but he was pretty sure the two girls in ponytails coloring pictures on her coffee table were Pricilla and Penelope.

That made seven kids. That was a lot of fucking kids.

"Hey guys! Are we having a party?"

"Yeah!" the kids cheered.

"Where is your au—"

The sound of a baby crying and Laura walking down the hallway cut off Knox's question.

"I asked you guys to keep it down while I—" Laura stopped short when she saw him. She looked shocked to see him. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Um…I was coming over to…" Knox was cut off when his leg was attacked by Sergio. He reached down and picked him up, then flipped him upside down. The kid cracked up.

"You didn’t get my messages?" Laura asked, sounding more than a little frazzled as she bounced the fussy baby on her hip.

Knox set Sergio down on the floor and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He saw that he had two missed calls, a voicemail, and a text from Laura. They were all sent half an hour ago.

"I was in the shower and didn’t see them."

The baby, whom he hadn’t officially met because he’d been asleep in the stroller at the fair but who he thought was named Santino, started crying again. "Well, obviously, my plans have changed."

"I see that." Knox looked around at her living room, which was overrun with rugrats.

"Tia, can we watch Transformers?" Sammy asked.

"Tia, I’m hungry," Matteo chimed in.

The youngest girl, who he thought was Penelope and was rocking a serious Kool-Aid mustache, stood up and began stepping from side to side. "Tia, I have to go potty."

"Okay, um, let me just—" Laura was still trying to calm the baby as she reached for the remote.

"Here, let me take him."

Laura looked at him like he’d just offered her heroine or something. "What?!"

"The baby. You take care of the kids; I’ve got him."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Knox reached out his hands, and the baby stretched toward him. He walked the little guy over to the window in the kitchen and patted his back as he spoke to him in a soothing tone. Having the tiny tyrant in his arms reminded him of the days when he used to babysit his twin nieces, Ivy and Iris. Ivy was an angel baby. She barely ever cried and could entertain herself. Iris was a different story. She needed constant interaction.

He figured this one might just need a change of scenery and a breeze in his face, so he opened the window and faced him so he could see the trees and feel a breeze on his face. Within just a few minutes, Knox felt the weight of the baby resting on his shoulder and the tell-tale signs that he was drifting off to sleep. His screams had calmed, and now they were just tiny whimpers as he took in shaky breaths. His entire body was relaxed and as heavy as a sack of potatoes.

"Do you see the birdies, and the leaves blowing in the trees?" Knox continued talking about nothing as he rocked back and forth and patted the little man’s back.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard a whispered, "How did you do that?"

Knox turned and saw Laura standing in the kitchen, staring at him in disbelief.

He winked at her. "I’ve got the Midas touch."

She ignored his attempt at flirty. "No, seriously. How did you do that?"

Source: www.allfreenovel.com