Page 23 of Egotistical Jerk
"No, no." Bridget waved me off. "You sit and relax. I'll be right out." And then she was gone.
I slowly made my way to one of the couches and with my hands planted beside me, I carefully perched on the edge just as Eleanor and Elizabeth wandered back into the family room, arms filled with toys.
Both Simon and Bridget were absolutely gorgeous, and these two were no different. Shooting curious glances my way, the girls arranged their toys around the coffee table still holding their little teapot and teacups.
"I like your hair," one of them finally said.
I seriously had no clue how their parents could tell them apart.
"Thank you."
"Can I touch it?" the same girl asked.
"Eleanor!" the other one, who I now knew was Elizabeth, huffed. "Mommy said we have to behave."
In true six-year-old-logic, Eleanor turned to her sister and drew her shoulders up. "I'm not being naughty. Daddy always says we should ask if we want something."
They were so adorable; my ovaries were tingling. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, to stop myself from laughing, I said, "Sure, you can touch it."
Eleanor might've asked, but both girls rushed me as if I was offering them a bowl of candy. Their small fingers toying with the ends of my hair the instant they were able to do so.
"You're pretty." Elizabeth beamed at me.
I tapped the tip of my index finger against her nose. "So are you."
To my right, Eleanor tugged on a strand of my hair until my gaze skittered her way. "Wanna have a tea party with us?" She blinked slowly; long black lashes fluttering through the air as her eyes opened and closed. I couldn't even begin to imagine the things she achieved with that look. It was the human equivalent to big puppy eyes.
"I love tea parties!"
Both girls let out a delighted sound before gripping my hands and dragging me off the couch. Once we're at the coffee table, a little plate was pushed in front of me, followed bytreatsmade of Play-Doh. The girls then went to work on pouring each of us a cup ofteabefore plonking down on their own pillows on the floor. They brought their cups to their mouths but paused. It was a bit freaky when both of their gazes shot to me at the same time.
I quickly lifted my cup too, but Elizabeth shook her head.
"Your pinky has to stick out. Like this," she curled her little finger in before flicking out until it was pointing straight at the ceiling.
There was a knock on the door followed by Simon yelling that he would get it, so I stayed focused on the important task of holding my pinky in the correct position. I pretended to take a sip and never in my life was I more thankful for swallowing air, because had there been liquid in my cup, it would've come spraying right back out when Simon opened the door.
Chapter 12
SEBASTIAN
I blinked and then blinked again, not entirely sure if the eyes looking my way were real or a figment of my imagination. Before I could find out for certain, Simon stepped in front of me, and blocked my view of the woman sitting on the floor.
"You feeling all right?" he inquired. "You look a bit pale."
"Mia's here?"
Simon's light eyebrows rose and fell in quick succession. "Yup." I was certain he popped hispjust to annoy me. Still glittering with amusement, he narrowed his eyes at me. "No funny business today, okay?"
When all I did was give him an incredulous look, he snorted.
"I'm serious. Verbal sparring might be some form of foreplay for the two of you, but not here and not in front of my kids."
Holding my hands up in surrender, I grinned at him. "I'll be good."
Simon pinned me with a stare for a second longer before he stepped aside, allowing me to venture further into the family room. I took two steps before I couldn't ignore the urge to look at Mia.
She was smiling at something one of the twins had said. It had to be a genuine one too because a dimple that I hadn't seen before popped at the side of her mouth. Behind my breastbone, my heart jumped around uncontrollably. What would it feel like to be on the receiving end of that brilliant smile or to be the reason it was there?
