Page 83 of Bound by Love
She unbuckled Hope and picked her up, feeling disconcerted by the unexpected change of plans but trying to adjust. “Well…alrighty then. I guess we’ll munch on my fries while Auntie Lea cooks.”
Lea put down her spoon and walked over to them. “Oh, wow! She is getting so dang big, Brie.” She rubbed noses with Hope. “Look how gorgeous this baby is, Liam.”
Liam looked at her, nodding. “A stunning child.”
Lea bumped Brie’s hip. “Didn’t I tell you on your wedding day that you and Sir Davis would make beautiful children? Have you thought of entering her in one of those baby pageants?”
“Are you kidding me? I want Hope to have a normal childhood.”
“Well, I bet she’d win,” Lea declared, heading back into the kitchen.
When Hope suddenly got fussy, Brie looked around for her diaper bag and realized she’d left it in the car. “Dang it, I gotta get Hope’s bag out of the car.”
“I can hold her for you,” Liam offered.
“You sure? Most young guys don’t want to get anywhere near a baby.”
“Not an issue, I assure you. I come from a large family. I know my way around kids.”
“See? Just another reason to love the guy,” Lea gushed as she stirred her sauce.
Brie handed Hope over and ran out of the apartment. She came back a few minutes later and found Liam standing in place, rocking her.
“You look like a natural, Liam,” Brie admitted.
He looked at her with those intense sea green eyes and smiled. “I must say she looks like her mother.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I love that she has her daddy’s eyes and beautiful Italian skin.”
“Where is Sir Davis tonight?”
“He stayed home to hang.”
Brie suddenly remembered Rytsar’s request and walked into the kitchen, smacking Lea hard on the ass.
Lea squealed in pain. “Hey, what was that for?”
“It’s a hello from our mutual Russian friend.”
Lea giggled as she went back to stirring her sauce. “Hey, I have a joke for Rytsar. Will you pass it on?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“If it’s funny. I don’t want to get punished.”
“You know it’ll be great.”
Although Lea’s jokes were generally groan worthy, Lea had surprised her on occasion, so she waited, hoping for the best—ever the optimist.
“What do you call a bossy potato?”
Brie chuckled. Rytsar had complained about being a potato when he was forced to rest after the surgery. She had a feeling this was going to be good and asked, “I don’t know, Lea. Whatdoyou call a bossy potato?”
Lea snickered. “A dic-tater.”
Brie giggled. “Yeah, I think he will like that.”
