Spice of Love - Completed

Chapter 21- Epilogue

Mary harrumphed again before turning to waddle back into the kitchen. Emily noisily following her wake as she still went on about her latest crush, demanding their mum allow her to go off camping with him.

"You may be eighteen now, Emily Little," said their mum, the use of her full name meaning business. "But you're still under this roof and that means you follow the rules. No going off camping with some guy you barely know." Her tone firm, not brooking any arguments. "Besides, you hate camping." She reminded her.

"But Mama..." Emily stamped her feet and started off on another rant.

"Who's my little baby? Who?" Cat pursed her lips to make air kisses at her two babies, each now cradled in each arm as she juggled them against her and retook her seat. "Who's my coochie coo? Who?"

The papers in Patrick Little's hand shook before the top simply flapped over in shocked surprise. Their dad's bemused gaze peered over the edge taking in his usually staid daughter and her infatuation with her babies. Cat cooed on to her babies in a very un-Cat-like manner and Lucy exchanged a knowing look with their father.

The front door burst open and the heavy thud of boots had them all sighing. A moment later and Blaise strode in, his hand reaching out to ruffle Lucy's shorn hair before reaching down to pluck a random twin out of Cat's arms.

"Hey!" Cat called out in affront and received her own share of rumpled up hair for her efforts.

"Who's your favourite uncle? Who?" Cooed Blaise, lifting the babe high in the air.

Lucy chuckled, and their dad shook his head, repressing a smile before he reverted to the frown he had earlier.

"You've made headlines again, Blaise." began their father, gearing up to take his son to task. But Blaise merely smirked, already knowing where this was headed. "You were seen, no photographed, sneaking out a window of Rachel Pearce's home last night."

Rachel Pearce was Australia's darling girl. The actress practically grew up before them, featuring in the starring role in the popular never-ending sitcom, Home and Away.

Cat and Lucy exchanged a knowing look. Rachel Pearce was also married to Australia's darling boy. The ex-playboy billionaire casino owner and unacknowledged heir to the local underworld, Johnathon Pearce.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" their father demanded, already folding his newspaper and setting it aside as he got ready to deliver a Little set-down to their incorrigible brother.

Just then, a door slammed shut upstairs and a soft thud of footsteps could be heard making its way across the landing. All eyes were drawn up towards the ceiling. Patrick Little's frown deepened. He was still unsure what to think about the additional guests under his roof.

Jace whistled as he slid his feet into his shoes, his stomach already rumbling to the rousing smell of bacon and eggs already sizzling on the skillet just for him. Mary busied herself in the kitchen as she hurried to scoop them out of the heated pan and onto a plate.

In another room upstairs, Sadiq rose from his kneeled position on the floor. He was late again that morning in his namaz. But he'd only arrived at the Littles' near dawn. The two hours of sleep he'd had since left him weary. He rose to settle back on Cat's bed, the urge to go back to sleep overwhelming but then a fifteen-hour flight halfway across the world would do that. What he should have done when he'd arrived to tumble Cat back into bed with him was to wrap himself around her and go back to sleep. But his body had had other ideas. His lips lifted in a satisfied smirk knowing he wouldn't have done it any other way, sleep be damned. These past six months with Cat had been crazy at best. Not at all what he had assumed conjugal life would be like. Only they were not really married. They were what was the new age term called a de facto husband and wife.

Sadiq rose to his feet and moved to make his way downstairs.

"Sadiq," said Jace, on passing by him to the stairs.

"Jace," acknowledged Sadiq, as he too stepped into line behind him. They slowly made their way down the stairs. Each moving with the seductive stealth of a cunning predator, their lips twitching is a sudden smirk as they overheard the commotion in the dining room. Babies gurgled and cried, Emily wailed and ranted and Patrick Little questioned Blaise's moral aptitude. Their smirk broke into a widened grin that they both promptly hid as their feet took them into the room.

"I was escaping Johnathon Pearce's boring company?" suggested Blaise, straight-faced.

"It says here," said their dad, tapping his fingers on the paper pointedly, "that Pearce was away in Paris."

Blaise shrugged. "That's what you get for reading the tabloids. Unchecked half-truths."

Patrick Little's face turned red and Cat and Lucy cringed. "Tabloids? Tabloids??" Calling their father's favourite paper, The Age, a tabloid was akin to an insult of the highest order. Most Aussies were enamoured with their choice of footy clubs, but their father was hooked with his choice of the daily newspapers. To insult his choice there was to insult his entire reason for living.

Cat cringed and rose to take her child away from Blaise's arms, wanting Sara out of the way before their father fried him to a crisp.

But just as she reached for her, another pair of hands swept in to scoop her out of Blaise's unaware arms.

"Hey!" Blaise exclaimed, turning around to face a smirking Emily, as she rescued Sara to cuddle her. Sadiq leaned over to brush his lips against the cherub's face as she passed before he moved in to settle into a seat beside Cat. The front door opened and shut again, and this time the heavy footsteps belonged to the newly appointed Amma. She waddled her way into the dining room, her face split wide with open cheer as she called out happily in a heavily accented voice.

"G'd morning. How are my little babies?" Rani Silvalingam scooped Zaffir out of Cat's arms and cooed at him in her own language. Everyone paused to stare at her with interest and return her greeting before watching her chase after Emily's disappearing form to snag Sara off her arms. There was a moment's dispute coming off the hallway and then Emily's disgruntled face appeared as she moved to plonk herself down on her usual seat. The thud on the stairs marked the nanny's footsteps as she took the babies back upstairs, no doubt to settle them in for their morning nap.

Mary bustled into the dining room, a plate in each hand. She settled the egg and beef sausages before Sadiq and the bacon and eggs before Jace. Eyeing the aromatic food laid out on the table, Blaise promptly moved to settle his own ass down and lift his cutlery to hammer his empty plate impatiently.

Patrick Little watched his antics and harrumphed. It was clear to him, he would not be getting his point across to his incorrigible son anytime soon. Perhaps he would have a word with his father instead. Knyte Starr might get across to him better than he could. Shaking his head, he picked up his cup of coffee, still steaming hot, and blew on it before taking a sip. Conversations broke out noisily across the dining table with everyone demanding everyone else's plans for the day.

"You'll drop me off before you go?" Cat demanded more than asked as she gazed up at Sadiq imploringly.

His nod was perfunctory as he chewed on a mouthful of toasted bread slathered with butter. Cat beamed up at him, before rising to rush upstairs and gather her books. She had classes all day that day and an annoying professor who hated her to deal with. She was back in her groove of things. Annoying her professors and enriching her mind at the same time. She couldn't be happier.

The doorbell rang, and Em shot up from her chair. "I'll get it!" She shot out to answer it before Lucy could question her erratic behaviour. Gone was the wailing girl despairing over her latest love, and the impish girl who'd snatched Sara out of Blaise's arms only to lose her to the nanny, and instead, an excited Emily sprang to the door. She swung it open on an excited gasp expecting to find her latest crush. "Oh." Only to deflate at the sight of Richard. "It's you."

Emily frowned. Her soft gaze running over his dark hair, tanned skin, and equally dark good looks. Her frown deepened. Something about Richard rubbed her all wrong.

"Of course, it's me," said Richard unrepentantly. "Who else could it be?" He rounded her stunned frame and stepped into the Little house, reaching out with his foot and slamming the door behind him.

THE END