Page 23 of Knocked Up By the Russian

***

Amy followed him to the car a few minutes later. Lacey and Brittany had helped carry all the wedding gifts while he put his plan into motion. After getting into the car, Ivan double-checked that she had her seatbelt on then pulled into midday traffic.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in her mother's driveway, and Amy stared blankly ahead, a frown on her face. Before he could say anything, she blinked, seeming to realize where they were. She turned to face him, an eyebrow raised. "Why are we at my Mom's?"

"To help her pack," Ivan shrugged, hiding a smile. "Come on."

They got out, car doors shutting as the front door burst open.

"Amy!" Ava squealed, running toward her older sister. At only seventeen, they looked far more alike than he'd ever thought before. She had the same build, nose, and fair-haired appearance, but her eyes were different. They reminded Ivan of a puppy—big and brown. It had to be something she got from her father because Ash's were the same.

"Hi, hon." Amy smiled, gripping her sister in a hug, and Ava gave him a shy smile over her shoulder. "Why aren't you at school?"

"Mom said we could take a few days off while we're moving," Ava said with a shrug. "I'm so excited. Have you seen the place? It's huge!"

A warmth entered Amy's eyes as she followed her sister inside, and Ivan grinned. That was easier than he thought, and she wasn't even arguing about the house he'd bought.

Following the two girls inside, Ivan entered the chaos with a lightness in his steps. Paisley was in the kitchen, placing glasses in bubble wrap before putting them into boxes, her voice raised as she told the boys to leave their gaming console and finish with their rooms. She turned to face them as they entered the kitchen, a huge smile on her face.

"Look who's here," she said, her bright eyes settling on her daughter. Leaving what she was doing, Paisley pulled Amy in for a hug.

"We're here to help," Amy said wryly as her mother squeezed her and then let go to hug Ivan.

"Mrs. Spencer," he greeted with a warm smile.

"Ivan," she mimicked, trilling out a laugh as she went back to what she was doing. "That's perfect. I'm nearly finished here. If you both want to help out, then I'd love that. We going to order some pizzas for dinner if you're both staying."

They were, Ivan smirked. He'd already put the order in after speaking to Paisley earlier.

"You don't have to bribe me to help," Amy rolled her eyes teasingly. "But that sounds good, Mom. Where can we start?"

Ivan watched Paisley look around herself with a hand on her hips and grinned at the familiar expression on her face.So that's where Amy gets it from.There was a pile of flattenedboxes standing against the door, just waiting to be used, and Paisley was quick to put them both to work.

He took off his suit jacket, leaving for a minute to hang it up on the coatstand near the front door, then returned to see Paisley directing Ava and Amy around the kitchen. "This is the biggest part of the house to go through. My room's basically done, but there are so many breakable things here that I wanted to spend most of my time going through it all before the movers get here."

"When are they coming?" he asked as Amy started to go through the pots and pans. She looked them over, a thoughtful expression on her face before packing them away. One or two looked a little rusted, and he made a note to see if Mira would be able to help him get them some new ones—without Amy knowing, of course. That would just lead to another argument.

"They'll be here tomorrow morning," Paisley informed him as she wiped her forehead, tucking a few strands of silver and gold hair behind her ear. "That's why we're rushing."

"Well, put me to work then. I've had enough experience packing houses after my brothers got married. Don't tell them that, though, or they'll have me out organizing the warehouses." He smiled playfully, and she let out a laugh before directing him to a cabinet of fine china.

As he gently removed the cups and saucers, wrapping them in bubble wrap and placing them onto the counter, Ava worked to put them into boxes. Amy's younger sister was a lot quieter than she was, more shy he realized after a few attempts to get her to talk. It was only a few hours later when Amy and he were busy taking board games and puzzles out of a hallway closet that he found a way to win her sister over.

"Oh my gosh, is that Scrabble?" Ava squealed, spotting the box in his hands.

"Sure is," he responded, fingers running across the scuffed box. "I haven't played this before; what's it like?"

Amy shot him a suspicious look, but Ava's eyes brightened as she went into detail about the rules of the game. It was clear his wife loved his family, and if Ivan wanted a way into her guarded heart, then he was going to have to get into theirs first.

"I can't remember the last time we did a family game night," Ava muttered a little while later, and an idea struck that made Ivan smirk at his lovely little wife. She wasn't looking at him, too busy arguing with Ash about the best place to put shoes.

"Why don't we take a break and play for a bit?" he suggested, getting Adam and Aaron's attention as they walked past with a few boxes. Paisley had tasked them with putting all of it in the living room, her organizational skills another thing he saw in his own wife.

"I don't know," Ava replied, scuffing her shoe on the wooden floor.

"Come on, let's go ask your Mom. You guys have been working hard all morning; I'm sure she'll say yes."

Paisley did, seeming charmed by the idea of playing a few games for the evening. The pizzas arrived on time as they were setting up, and the rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of laughter.

---