An hour later, Luca had to leave so it was just Leo, the kids and I snuggled up on the sofa.

"Daddy, can we play donkeys?" Cato questioned tugging at Leo's hair.

"Yesss, Daddy pwease pwease pwease," Mathias pleaded.

"Okay, okay," Leo said.

"Donkeys?"

"Cato and Mathias's new favourite game," Leo replied handing me Lili and putting Francesca, who had been on his lap, beside me.

He then got onto his hands and knees on the floor and our two three-year-olds, Cato and Mathias, scrambled onto his back.

"Ohhh," I said, realising hitting me. "I see."

"Go donkey! Go!" Cato squealed as Leo began to crawl around the living room floor.

"Hold on tight boys," I said as Cato threw his hands up in the air with glee. "We don't want a trip to the ER this evening."

Cato, in his short life, had already been to the ER four times on account of accidents. On one occasion he fell off a chair, another he swallowed a lego brick, the third time involved little fingers and a heavy door and the fourth was an incident that followed spinning round in circles in a furniture filled room whilst Mommy was in the shower. And I dread to think what went on whilst I've been away.

In other words, I was very cautious of him ending up there again for fear of Doctor Amanda beginning to question our parenting skills. I blame it on the Alpha blood in him. He has too much energy and I can't keep up.

"Mama, look! I can stand!" Cato said slowly getting to his feet.

"Cato, no," I said sternly. "I just said that we don't want to see Doctor Amanda tonight, do we?"

He looked slightly disappointed for a second before sitting back down next to Mathias and squealing with joy again.

After Leo had been made to carry his sons on his back for what felt like hours, they were finally beginning to tire. We fed them some dinner and began the marathon that is bedtime.

"Cato!" I called as he ran down the hallway still dripping from his bath. "I swear that kid has ADHD," I muttered under my breath and Leo stifled a laugh.

"I was the same at that age and my mother used to call it 'future Alpha syndrome'. I'll get him," Leo replied heading out of the bathroom where the twins and Silas were still bathing and Mathias was brushing their teeth.

A minute later, Leo returned with Cato slung over his shoulder.

"No more running away, okay?" He scolded sternly as he put him down on the closed toilet seat and handed him his pyjamas.

"But Mama's allowed to," he protested and I immediately paused midway through changing Lili's diaper.

There were a few agonisingly quiet moments where the only sounds were the splashing of the twins in the bath.

"Mama is a lot older than you Cato.copy right hot novel pub