He reached out, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
She pointed to the two suitcases next to her. “These are Pip’s. There are still a couple more of hers in the car, as well as Belle’s, but there’s no rush on grabbing stuff right now. Belle said she’ll get everything once I’m gone.”
“I’ll get the damn bags,” he countered. That was another thing about Belle. The woman never asked for help, always insisting she could do everything on her own. Speaking of… He glanced around the foyer. “Aren’t you missing a couple people?” Victor asked, wondering where Belle and Pip were.
His sister smiled, then tilted her head in the direction of the kitchen. “Pip decided she was absolutely ‘starving to death’ the second we pulled into your driveway, and she insisted she needed a snack immediately. I suspect what she really wanted to do was check out the pantry.”
He grinned evilly, the look purely for his sister’s benefit. “Got a grocery delivery last night. She’ll be pleased.”
Vivian rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to even think about how spoiled my daughter is going to be by the time I get back.”
“It’ll take you years to undo all the damage,” he said, only half joking.
She shook her head. “No, it won’t. I’ve got an ace up my sleeve. Belle will keep you in check.”
He smirked. “I wish her luck trying.”
Vivian sighed. “Youwillbe nice to Belle, right?”
“What the fuck is wrong with everybody? When have I ever been mean to the goddamn nanny?”
Vivian tilted her head. “I’m not sure what part of that to address first. While I’m curious to know whoeverybodyis, it’s hard for me to bite my tongue on the second part. Probably because you still refer to her as ‘the nanny’ rather than use her name, and you always manage to say the title like it tastes bad in your mouth.”
He didn’t realize it until she said it, but now that Vivian had pointed it out, he realized that hedidhave a tendency to refer to Belle as the nanny more often than not. “I’ll be fucking nice toBelle.” He exaggerated her name, prompting Vivian to roll her eyes yet again. “Which is exactly what I said to Rook and Coulton,” he added, answering her “everybody” question.
She patted his forearm. “I love your teammates.”
Victor growled, not bothering to point out that they loved Vivian too. Hell, most of his buddies probably preferred his sister to him, but he didn’t bother to saythataloud, either. Because they both already knew it.
“We better go make sure Pip hasn’t already eaten you out of house and home,” Vivian said, as the two of them turned toward the kitchen. Victor heard Pip giggling when they got closer, and despite his preference for a quiet house, he liked hearing his niece’s laughter even more.
When they walked into his large kitchen, he spotted Belle and Pip sitting next to each other on the high stools at the island. Pip was wearing more of the chocolate pudding than she’d eaten, her lips and the area around her mouth smeared with the gooey stuff.
Pip and Belle both looked up as they entered, and he was struck by how at home Belle already looked, sitting in his kitchen. Probably because she was no stranger to the place. In addition to the Stingrays Christmas Day celebrations, she’d alsobeen there for occasional cookouts or firepit nights with Vivian and Pip.
Belle had pinned up her long, light brown hair in one of those messy ponytails she seemed to favor, though he wasn’t sure if that was a style choice or one of practicality. He suspected the latter, because it was easier to chase the Energizer Bunny that was Pip around, without her hair hanging in her face.
Belle was wearing denim bib overalls and a bright yellow T-shirt, and the only makeup he could detect was the shiny gloss on her full pink lips.
Stop looking at her lips.
“Uncle Vic!” Pip called out loudly, clamoring to climb down the stool. Belle offered a helping hand to steady her.
Once on the ground, Pip launched herself at him, smearing his clean white T-shirt with the chocolate pudding. “You got pudding! And ice pops! And Goldfish!”
He cast a sideways glance at his sister, who sighed dramatically.
“So much junk food,” Belle said, though unlike his sister, she looked pleased by his efforts on Pip’s behalf. She stood, nodding at him. “Hello, Victor.”
“Belle.”
He drew in a deep breath, trying to ignore how good she smelled, working overtime to steady himself. Mentally, he cursed Coulton. The Stingrays goalie had earned himself the nickname Gentle Giant. People probably took one look at Coulton’s size and made the assumption he was a brute. Nothing could be further from the truth. Coulton was their team’s emotional barometer, empathetic and astute, and he frequently saw things the rest of them were oblivious to.
So Coulton had been the first—and only—person to point out that Victor seemed to have a larger-than-normal fascinationwith Pip’s nanny, when he’d started warning the other players away after the holidays.
Not that Victor had confirmed his friend’s observation.
Because he couldn’t.