In fact, it was happening so often that I wanted to yell at them.
I didn’t know what that was all about, or why they were doing it, but I was seriously at the point where I was about to lose it.
And I really hated the way nearly all of them sounded like they were talking down to Ian with each word that came out of their mouth.
The bigger brother was fighting with the little brother, that I could tell from what little information I knew.
The weird thing was how I knew they were brothers.
I could see their DNA. It was like it was floating in the air around them.
A whole bunch of letters like I saw in science class during college.
They were wrapped around each man like a second skin, and I had to resist the urge to go over there and see if I could move the letters by pressing on it.
“You’ll tell me when we’re alone,” the big man said to the little man.
Then Ian snorted, and I squeezed his hand when all eyes came back to him.
“Do you have something to add to this conversation?” Keifer asked through gritted teeth.
“No,” Ian said, no apology whatsoever in his tone.
Kiefer turned more fully to Ian, giving his brother his back.
“How about you enlighten me about what was so funny, then?” Keifer said slowly.
Derek, Nikolai, and the accented one—Jean something or other—all looked warily between the two men.
I shifted, putting myself even further into Ian’s hold, something in which Keifer caught.
“Maybe we can discuss this in private,” Keifer suggested, his eyes going to me and then back to Ian.
“Keifer!” Blythe called. “Can you get someone to bring the babies to me? It’s time for them to eat.”
My eyes went to the two babies who were asleep and clearly not hungry, otherwise they’d be letting people know.
Nonetheless, Keifer sighed and turned to walk out the door.
“Fucking pussy,” Farrow, the unwise brother, said to Keifer’s back.
Keifer froze, and then turned to glare at his brother.
The baby in his arm, jostled by the movement, woke.
“Take the baby,” Keifer said, handing the baby off to Pierre or whatever the hell his name was.
Pierre promptly passed the baby to Derek, who then looked at me like I would know what to do with him.
I rolled my eyes, loosened my hold on Ian, and held out my arms.
Derek handed the baby over, who stared not at me, but at Ian.
“Why’s this kid staring at you like you know all?” I whispered to Ian.
Tell you later, he said in my head.
My eyes widened in alarm.
Nikolai, the other brother, came over to me with the other baby, and placed her into my other arm without me even saying he could.
“Go up the stairs once you exit the kitchen. First door on your right is the nursery,” he said.
I looked over to Ian who nodded his assent, and I blinked.
“O-okay,” I said. “I’ll be back.”
“Wait until he comes and gets you,” Keifer growled at me.
I turned and stared at him with annoyance.
“How about I come down here when I feel like it, hmm?” I asked nastily. “And how about you stop being so mean.”
His eyes narrowed, and Ian growled before Keifer could say what I could see at the tip of his tongue.
“Go, Wink,” he said softly.
I went, but only because the babies in my arms were starting to wake up and whimper.
“Y’all are just the cutest things I’ve ever seen,” I cooed at them. “But don’t tell my clients that. They think their babies are the cutest.”
Neither kid had anything to say to that, and I chose to ignore the intelligence I could see lingering in their young eyes.
I also ignored the fact that I was walking in someone’s house that I didn’t know. Nor did I feel like I belonged.
The fact that Ian didn’t seem to ‘belong’ either, didn’t help my feelings much.
I could sense an underlying current of hostility from the entire room, and it was quite disconcerting to know that it was directed at Ian.
He may not be the nicest of men, nor the chattiest, but he was actually a pretty good guy.
He made sure to always give me a bonus around the holidays. A generous one.
He paid me triple what I got at my other jobs, and he always made sure to stock the kitchen and fridge with my favorite food and drinks when I was there.
Not many men I knew stocked flavored water bottle mixes for no other reason than their maid liked to drink that when she came over to clean.
“Oh!” Blythe said as she came hurrying out of the room. “I wasn’t sure if they heard me yell.”
I gladly relinquished one of the babies to her, following her into the room where she immediately took hers over to a changing table.
Then I watched in fascination as she chatted and changed the baby’s diaper.