actually quite enjoyable.”
“Coming here or being seduced?” Kiley asked.
Everyone laughed and Rosalyn gave Kiley a look of undisguised approval. “Since it resulted in our son, Joshua, I’d have to say that tips the scales ever so slightly toward the whole seduction number. What about you?”
“Oh, I’m hoping for a big seduction number, too.” She waited for the laughter to die down again before asking, “How old is your son?”
“Not quite a year and walking already,” Joc answered. “That’s why we were late. We needed to settle him for the night and he wasn’t in any hurry to settle. Then I had to talk Rosalyn into putting on the fancy duds.”
“I’d live in jeans if it were up to me,” she confessed.
“You don’t—” Kiley broke off, searching for a more tactful way to phrase her question. “I assumed—”
“That we always live and dress like this?” Rosalyn shook her head. “Honey, if it were up to me, I’d never attend another fancy shindig for the rest of my natural born days. That’s Joc’s thing, not mine.”
“A consequence of my position, I’m afraid.” Joc glanced at Nicolò. “And of being a Dante, too, I presume.”
Nicolò nodded and it wasn’t until then that Kiley became aware of how quiet he’d remained all this time, content to sit back and observe. Observe her, she suddenly realized, while kneading his palm in a gesture that grew more habitual with each passing day.
“I’m not on the frontline quite as much as Sev or the twins,” Nicolò conceded. “But I’m forced to do my fair share when the occasion demands.”
“I doubt I’ll ever get used to it,” Kiley confessed. “I’m a nervous wreck right now.”
Joc’s brows pulled together. “Well, we can fix that easily enough.” He shoved back his chair and stood. “I’ll arrange for dinner to be delivered to our cabana. You and Nicolò can meet us there in say…twenty minutes? Will that give you time to change into something casual? We’ll send the nanny on her way and just relax and eat and have some wine. How does that sound?”
Before Kiley could interject, Nicolò nodded. “Sounds perfect, Joc. Thanks for understanding.”
“Nothing to understand,” he assured.
They met up twenty minutes later and Kiley thoroughly enjoyed every second of the evening from that point on. After dinner, a demanding wail sounded from one of the bedrooms and a few minutes later Rosalyn appeared with a sleepy baby held close in her arms. At first glance his hair seemed as dark as his father’s, but as the two drew closer, Kiley saw it reflected a hint of Rosalyn’s deep auburn. He’d also inherited his mother’s eyes, the color an unusual violet-blue. He blinked at the assembled group for a moment, taking it all in, before offering a huge grin, proudly displaying a pair of bottom teeth.
Kiley couldn’t resist. It was a night of new experiences and fate offered her one more she wanted to add to her collection. “May I?” she asked. “I can’t remember ever holding a baby before.”
Rosalyn instantly melted. “Joshua’s still half-asleep, so I’m not sure how he’ll take to you. Just don’t be offended if he decides he wants to go to Joc. He’s more of a guy’s guy than a momma’s boy.”
Kiley took the baby into her arms, cradling him in her arms, barely daring to breathe. Joshua blinked up at her and she could tell he was weighing his options—scream his little head off or put up with her. To her delight, he gave her the benefit of the doubt.
“He’s almost a year, and yet he still smells so new,” she whispered to Nicolò.
He chuckled, joining her on the couch and wrapping an arm around her and the baby. “Try smelling him when he loads that diaper of his.”
“Amen,” Joc and Rosalyn said in unison.
The rest of the evening passed, possessing an almost dreamlike quality. Contentment settled over Kiley, along with a renewed self-confidence. Maybe she could handle this,
“Coming here or being seduced?” Kiley asked.
Everyone laughed and Rosalyn gave Kiley a look of undisguised approval. “Since it resulted in our son, Joshua, I’d have to say that tips the scales ever so slightly toward the whole seduction number. What about you?”
“Oh, I’m hoping for a big seduction number, too.” She waited for the laughter to die down again before asking, “How old is your son?”
“Not quite a year and walking already,” Joc answered. “That’s why we were late. We needed to settle him for the night and he wasn’t in any hurry to settle. Then I had to talk Rosalyn into putting on the fancy duds.”
“I’d live in jeans if it were up to me,” she confessed.
“You don’t—” Kiley broke off, searching for a more tactful way to phrase her question. “I assumed—”
“That we always live and dress like this?” Rosalyn shook her head. “Honey, if it were up to me, I’d never attend another fancy shindig for the rest of my natural born days. That’s Joc’s thing, not mine.”
“A consequence of my position, I’m afraid.” Joc glanced at Nicolò. “And of being a Dante, too, I presume.”
Nicolò nodded and it wasn’t until then that Kiley became aware of how quiet he’d remained all this time, content to sit back and observe. Observe her, she suddenly realized, while kneading his palm in a gesture that grew more habitual with each passing day.
“I’m not on the frontline quite as much as Sev or the twins,” Nicolò conceded. “But I’m forced to do my fair share when the occasion demands.”
“I doubt I’ll ever get used to it,” Kiley confessed. “I’m a nervous wreck right now.”
Joc’s brows pulled together. “Well, we can fix that easily enough.” He shoved back his chair and stood. “I’ll arrange for dinner to be delivered to our cabana. You and Nicolò can meet us there in say…twenty minutes? Will that give you time to change into something casual? We’ll send the nanny on her way and just relax and eat and have some wine. How does that sound?”
Before Kiley could interject, Nicolò nodded. “Sounds perfect, Joc. Thanks for understanding.”
“Nothing to understand,” he assured.
They met up twenty minutes later and Kiley thoroughly enjoyed every second of the evening from that point on. After dinner, a demanding wail sounded from one of the bedrooms and a few minutes later Rosalyn appeared with a sleepy baby held close in her arms. At first glance his hair seemed as dark as his father’s, but as the two drew closer, Kiley saw it reflected a hint of Rosalyn’s deep auburn. He’d also inherited his mother’s eyes, the color an unusual violet-blue. He blinked at the assembled group for a moment, taking it all in, before offering a huge grin, proudly displaying a pair of bottom teeth.
Kiley couldn’t resist. It was a night of new experiences and fate offered her one more she wanted to add to her collection. “May I?” she asked. “I can’t remember ever holding a baby before.”
Rosalyn instantly melted. “Joshua’s still half-asleep, so I’m not sure how he’ll take to you. Just don’t be offended if he decides he wants to go to Joc. He’s more of a guy’s guy than a momma’s boy.”
Kiley took the baby into her arms, cradling him in her arms, barely daring to breathe. Joshua blinked up at her and she could tell he was weighing his options—scream his little head off or put up with her. To her delight, he gave her the benefit of the doubt.
“He’s almost a year, and yet he still smells so new,” she whispered to Nicolò.
He chuckled, joining her on the couch and wrapping an arm around her and the baby. “Try smelling him when he loads that diaper of his.”
“Amen,” Joc and Rosalyn said in unison.
The rest of the evening passed, possessing an almost dreamlike quality. Contentment settled over Kiley, along with a renewed self-confidence. Maybe she could handle this,
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