Diamonds Dancing

Twenty

"Daddy, you're too big!"

That he was.

Rika tried to keep her inquisitive eyes and obscene thoughts to a minimum, but despite her advances, it was proving to be difficult to ignore said giant when the girls were yelling at him every time he moved even an inch.

As expected she heard his accented reply retort snappily, "have you ever thought that maybe you're too small? When I was your age I was taller than both you and your sister combined."

Ripples of water splashed around whilst the grumpy man situated himself once again. It was truly a comical sight to behold, Lilia and Janessa sat either side of the nanny and Vera next to her older brother who looked anything but pleased.

Janessa appeared perplexed by his words, looking back and forth between her sister and him. Wrinkles formed on her button nose, the steaming glasses of her frames were precious enough to bring about a smile on any stranger's lips.

It took her a good while to respond, he could tell the clocks were turning in her head, trying to imagine him at her age—twice as big.

A concept that clearly terrified her.

"Not true," she drew out, annoyed at herself for falling victim to one of his silly white lies. "I have a brain you know, and I'm not stupid."

He wanted to roll his eyes but decided otherwise, figuring he could rattle her up some more.

Slater mimicked her glare, splashing her in the face with some of the water. "Really? Now, that's news to me." He watched as her pout deepened, coming closer to him, she didn't wait to attack him with even bigger splashes.

"Lovey... Is it true that Daddy was once eight years old like me?" She asked, seemingly stupefied over the revelation.

Rika smiled at her, she couldn't quite answer her question since an abrupt scream sliced through the air. "Ah! Help, help!"

Dark brown eyes enlarged, snapping her attention over, she found Janessa being hoisted up into his strong arms. He pretended to dunk her underwater, forcing her to shriek even louder.

"Hey, let go of my sister!" Lilia shouted, coming to the rescue from the other side.

"If one crybaby wasn't bad enough, here comes her replacement." His tone was sarcastic, full of jest. "Whatever will I do now."

Janessa whined, nudging his chest harshly. Quick to come to her defence, "I'm not a crybaby!" she cried, turning to face her so-called replacement. "Lia, that's it, get him!"

Immediately, the meddling children started to splash their father jointly, leaving his dirty blonde hair a shade darker from being submerged in water droplets.

The nanny beamed, lighting up at the heartwarming scene. She had been so lost in his throaty chuckle that she hadn't noticed her ogling.

Vera snickered, catching the nanny's gaze and pulling a face. "Watch this go on for the next hour," she murmured, going as far as to breathe out a sigh of disbelief.

It was almost like she had predicted the future because the next hour was indeed filled with squeals and plenty of splashes. Eventually, they stopped teasing each other and took turns talking to him about their day.

It always bothered her how this side of him was nowhere to be found in the press, he was the best version of himself around them. Instead, he was painted out as the intimidating hotshot that took no one prisoner.

Don't get her wrong, he was obviously talented—there was no denying that. However, he played a huge role in the current affairs in celebrity gossip outlets. There was a reason why the Ivanov's had an insane security system built around them at all times, they were Hollywood's pride and joy.