AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The only reason she’d volunteered the information she had about her own life was in hopes that, in learning about her, Hudson might take that into account if he was tempted to recommend that she be fired over what was happening at the resort.
“Mommy, can we watch a movie?” Layla asked as she came into the room.
Charli looked over at Jay. “Is that okay with you?”
“Yep.”
Charli got to her feet, then followed the kids out of the room to help them get a movie going. Ciara was being passed around the table, spending a few minutes with each of the adults there.
Kayleigh had spent a lot of her growing-up years helping take care of the younger kids in the family. So as an adult, kids didn’t hold the appeal for her they once had. It wasn’t that she didn’t like kids, she just didn’t seek them out. Layla and now Peyton and Ciara were the only ones she enjoyed spending much time with.
She’d finished her pizza by the time Ciara made it to her, so she pushed her plate forward and took the toddler. Ciara crowed in happiness as Kayleigh seated the baby on the edge of the table facing her.
“Show Kayleigh how you clap, Ciara,” Misha called out.
“Can you clap?” Kayleigh asked the little girl.
Without hesitation, Ciara clapped, then laughed, clearly proud of herself. Then she turned her attention to Hudson. She stared at him for a moment, probably trying to figure out if he was a familiar face or not.
“Can you wave, Ciara?” Kayleigh asked.
Ciara waved both hands, then, at Misha’s prompting, she blew a kiss.
“It’s almost like having a puppy,” Wilder said with a laugh. “One trick after another.”
“Wilder,” Jay protested, even though he was also grinning.
Wilder lifted his hands. “Hey, tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re not,” Misha said. “But you can’t tell me that a puppy is cuter than Ciara.”
“No,” he agreed. “Ciara is much cuter, and as an added bonus, she’s not having accidents on the floor.”
That got a chuckle out of Hudson, and he held out his hand to Ciara. She smacked his palm, then grabbed onto one of his fingers.
“She manages to capture hearts wherever she goes,” Jay said.
Ciara held out her arms to Hudson, her little hands opening and closing. The man didn’t immediately take her. He glanced at Kayleigh, then at Misha.
“I don’t think I’ve ever held a kid this little before,” Hudson said. “Are they breakable?”
“She can be a bit squirmy,” Misha said. “Just hang onto her, and you’ll be fine.”
Kayleigh helped scoot Ciara along the edge of the table until she was in front of Hudson. He gripped her around her torso as she kicked her little feet and beamed at him.
Hudson stared down at the little girl like he wasn’t sure what to make of her. His reaction to holding Ciara at least answered the question if he had children of his own.
Kayleigh assumed that if he were a dad, he’d be more familiar with how to hold a child. It was interesting to watch him with Ciara. The baby was infinitely more comfortable with Hudson than he was with her.
“I suppose you all are more used to kids,” Hudson said. “Since you’re such a large family.”
“That’s very true,” Gareth agreed. “I think the first baby I clearly remember holding was Charli.”
Kayleigh didn’t have a clear memory of holding Charli, but there was photographic evidence that it had happened.
Ciara soon tired of the new guy and held out her arms to Wilder. He took her into his arms, then stood her on his lap. She immediately started jumping up and down, clearly on board with the new position.
“You’re so good with kids,” Misha observed. “Why is that?”
