Page 14 of Twice as Tempting

“No, but thanks for reminding me.”

Emma ignored her sarcasm and forged ahead. “How would you like to babysit your new niece?”

Kelly must have hesitated for a bit too long, because Emma hurriedly continued. “It would only be for a couple of hours. Just long enough for Zack and I to go out to dinner. We haven’t had a date in what feels like forever, and…”

“I’d love to, Em.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You don’t need to convince me. I would love to watch Ava for you.”

Emma breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Great! Can you be here at six?”

“Sure. Will Gracie be there too?”

“No, she’s with her mom this weekend. It’ll just be you and Ava.”

Kelly felt a flicker of nervousness, but she quickly squashed it. She didn’t have much experience with kids, not having any nieces or nephews by blood, but she had already formed an attachment to Gracie and Ava. Besides, it was only for two hours. How hard could it be?

“Ok. I’ll be there at six.”

“Thanks, Kell. I really appreciate it.”

Now that Kelly had something scheduled for the evening, she was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. She escaped into her new romance novel, which was an angst-filled story of forbidden love between a boss and his secretary. Cheesy, yes, but engaging nonetheless!

She drove into the Village of Clarkston for lunch at her favorite deli and returned home to accomplish a few housekeeping chores. All in all, it wasn’t a bad day, and she only looked out the window for Damian three or four times. Not too bad!

When she knocked on Emma’s door at six o’clock, Zack and Emma were standing in the foyer, anxiously waiting for her.

“Geez. You two act like you’ve never been out of the house,” Kelly teased. “Where’s the baby?”

“She’s sleeping in her bouncy seat in the living room, but she’ll probably wake up soon. Bottles are in the fridge, and instructions on how to heat them up are on the counter. I just changed her diaper a little bit ago, so you should be all set for a while,” Emma said in a rush.

Kelly thought they were both acting a little strange, but she could understand their need to be alone. She hugged Emma goodbye and pushed them out the door, calling, “Don’t worry. Go out and have fun!”

Kelly shut the door behind them and tiptoed into the living room to have a look at her beautiful niece. Ava was sleeping peacefully in her pink and purple bouncy seat, with a fuzzy pink blanket tucked right up under her chin. Her skin looked like porcelain compared to the shock of thick black hair that stuck straight up from her tiny head. The hair had obviously come from the Kostas’s side, but the baby’s face reminded her of Emma. Amazed that a sleeping baby held her so rapt, she was startled when the doorbell rang, and Ava’s eyes jerked open.

Kelly scowled as she rushed to the door. Whoever was there obviously didn’t know that a baby lived here; otherwise, they never would have rung the doorbell! Ava started to whimper while Kelly quickly swung open the door. She shook her head at Damian, who was the culprit for the second time that day.

“What are you doing here? You just woke up the baby,” she scolded.

Ava’s cries became louder, and Kelly walked away, leaving Damian to trail after her.

“I came over to babysit. What are you doing here?” he asked.

Kelly bent over and carefully lifted Ava out of her seat. The minute she was in Kelly’s arms, Ava’s cries died down to a soft whimper. “I’m babysitting. What does it look like?”

Damian shoved his hands in his pockets and gave her that irritating smirk, the one that made him look like he had a secret. “Oh, I get it. I’m going to kill Zack!”

Damian plopped down on the leather couch while Kelly paced back and forth in an effort to soothe the baby. “What do you mean? What did Zack do?”

“He called me about an hour ago and asked if I could babysit, but he didn’t say anything about you being here.”

“That’s odd, because Emma called me this morning. Unless…”

“Bingo! They’re trying to play matchmaker,” Damian said without a hint of anger in his voice. If anything, he almost sounded pleased.

“Well, that’s ridiculous,” Kelly muttered. “Ava doesn’t need two babysitters, so you’re welcome to leave if you want to.”