“Okay, but in all fairness to Lucas, he really is a psychic and his co-worker was actually a serial killer so I don’t think that counts. Besides, August might like to kill people but he’s a really good dad,” Zane reminded.
“He’s a good dad because he goes out of his way to be. He studies what good dads do and then he does it. He would kill for his girls. And we’d kill for our kids too. We might not know howto love someone in the traditional sense, but we are really good at faking it,” Asa promised.
“And we won’t have to fake our desire to keep them safe. We are wired to protect what’s ours. And every Mulvaney is ours, but any baby we have will be even more protected.”
“That’s part of my concern,” Felix muttered.
Zane frowned. “What?”
“You can’t, like, go beating up other toddlers cause they stole our kids' ball or like threatening a sixth-grader because they made fun of him,” Felix said.
“I don’t know how I feel about you thinking I would beat up a toddler, which for the record, I wouldn’t. It’s not even, like, a fair fight,” Avi said, sounding hurt.
“No promises on the sixth-grader though,” Asa said. “Middle schoolers are fucking dicks. I don’t think their lives are threatened enough, if you ask me.”
Zane snickered. “I’m with Asa on that one.” He rolled onto his side and pushed Felix’s long dark hair out of his face. “Do you feel better now?”
Felix nodded. “Yeah. I-I want to have a baby. I want all of us to have a baby. Together. Is…is that okay?”
“It’s okay with me,” Zane promised.
“Me, too,” Asa said, resting his head on Zane’s.
“Me three,” Avi said. “But for the record, I knew you were going to want a baby the moment you laid eyes on Lola.”
Felix flushed. “Shut up.”
“See,” Avi teased, leaning down and kissing his face so many times Zane lost count. “You took one look at her and started imagining what your babies would look like.”
“She’s so beautiful,” Felix said with a sigh. “Her skin, her hair, her eyes. No offense, but this family needs a little more color in their ink. You’re all very…white.”
Zane couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped. “He’s right. You guys all look like you’re made of cream cheese and mayo.”
Asa poked fingers into his ribs. “Laugh it up, Lois. You’re just as melanin challenged as the rest of us.”
“True, but any babies with Felix’s DNA will hopefully look like him and Jericho,” Zane said.
“Jagger looks just like Jericho,” Avi said.
“Yeah, but not through any help from them. He came to them that way. It is kind of weird though, right? That they each look like one of their parents even though they’re not related?” Zane said.
“They’re biologically related to each other but don’t look a thing alike. Genetics are weird,” Asa said. “The truth is, we have no idea what we’re going to get when we throw all that genetic material into a blender. I assume Felix’s DNA is the first in the dish?”
Felix shrugged. “I figured we could do it like August and Lucas. Use both of our stuff and see what takes. Lola said she’d donate her eggs, but she wasn’t really on board with the whole pregnancy thing, so we’d have to get a surrogate…which is scary.”
Avi stretched his arms overhead. “Money talks, kitten. We’ll find the perfect surrogate. Promise.”
Felix grinned so wide that Zane’s heart sort of somersaulted in his chest. “We’re gonna have a baby.”
Zane leaned forward and captured his mouth in a kiss that lingered. “You might want to prepare yourself. Everyone in this family seems to spit kids out in duplicate. I think it's something in the Mulvaney mansion’s water supply.”
“We can handle it,” Avi said. “And if we can’t, we can afford an army of nannies.”
“You guys are so spoiled,” Zane said around a yawn. “I need a nap. Any takers?”
“Me,” Asa said, dragging Zane back against him.
“Not me,” Felix said. “I’m hungry.” He looked at his husband. “Take me somewhere fancy for lunch?”
