I'd planned on taking her and the boys out for a quick walk but Liv had arrived, entourage in tow. We'd spent the day doing posed pictures and filming shots of me with the boys. Laura had explored the house while I'd been otherwise occupied.
I gritted my teeth, going in search of my sister.
"Liv," I called, tracking her down in the twins’ room. "We need to talk."
She made a dismissive gesture, directing the camera man to film something in the boys’ toy chest. Of all the rooms in the house this one was the cleanest. I made sure of that.
"Liv," I barked, finally losing my patience. "Now!"
She sighed, straightening and moving to me, "didn't figure you for a diva."
"Liv," I sucked in a breath, forcing calm into tone. "Here's the thing. You can't do anything that could put me at risk of losing the boys, or bring my business into disrepute."
She frowned, "why on earth would you assume I'd allow that to happen?"
I blew out a breath, crossing my arms over my chest. "This is overwhelming, Liv. I legitimately don't know if I should be grateful or shitting myself. There are people everywhere, you hired someone to nanny my kids, there's a woman currently picking through my junk drawer." I shook my head. "Everyone has dirty laundry, mine’s now gonna be on TV."
"Yeah," Liv replied, getting close and laying a hand on my arm. "But only in a way that makes it seem like you're overwhelmed."
Which I am.
"Which you are," she said, giving my arm a slight squeeze. "And that's okay. The narrative we're pushing is great dad, loves his kids, successful business man, just overwhelmed by the changes in his life and needs a little help." She smiled. "I got this, bro. You're safe. The boys are safe. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize your life."
I let out the breath I'd been unwittingly holding. "Right, of course. Thanks."
Liv chuckled, "you've got nerves. You're fine, Erik. Just breathe. We're all only here to help."
I nodded, still not entirely convinced but willing to try.
"Great, gotta get back to it. Go find Laura in the kitchen, she'll fill you in on her first suggested change and we'll get that filmed in an hour once the kids go down."
With that, Liv turned back, directing the camera guy to take a sweeping shot of the room.
Dismissed and only slightly less anxious, I left, heading for the kitchen.
Laura stood at my island bench, a clear laundry tub filled with soapy water on one side, a pile of dirty bottles on the other.
"You ready?"
I came around, standing beside her. The production crew shuffled about, everyone getting into place.
"I mean," I nodded at the people avidly watching us. "Sure?"
She chuckled. "Just concentrate on me. It gets easier, promise."
Oh, baby. I'll concentrate on you every day.
I shoved the thought aside, subtly shifting. Turns out Laura was a magnet for my dick.
"Okay," Liv called, settling in beside the camera guy. "Let's get this started." She looked at us, "quiet guys, and action!"
Laura smiled straight at the camera. "If you're not a parent who breast feeds, then today we're going to be talking about one of the most important cleaning actions a parent can do in the kitchen when they have young ones, sterilizing bottles."
She proceeded to explain the importance of good sterilization and the reason behind it – stopping bacteria. I listened, interested and at the same time a little aroused by how good she was at this. Laura… sparkled. She gave off this energy and warmth that said, I'm not here to preach, I'm here to help.
And I lapped it up. I watched her dip the bottle into the soapy water, explaining where people should pay particular attention when cleaning.
"These days, most bottles are dishwasher safe, but it's worth us knowing what to look for when we pull them out. Dishwashers do a great job, and save a lot of time, but they're not perfect." She then turned to me, "Erik, can you assist?"
