Instead, he watched as Axel put the pot down on the island and turned so he was trapped between the island and his mate. Alfie mentally shook his head. He couldn’t wrap his head around that word—boyfriend, he would use boyfriend… or fiancé, he guessed. Axel said he was just trying to figure out a way to tell everyone what the deal was… everyone being Wes and Ro.
Their mum didn’t need to know everything. Alfie wasn’t even sure Sharon Baines could deal with it.
From the sounds his brother was making, Alfie was beginning to think they’d forgotten he was present.
“Ahem.” Alfie tried before their making out went any further.
“Stop it!” Axel giggled, although he didn’t seem to be pushing Malek away.
“Seriously,” Alfie muttered under his breath.
Thankfully, Malachi walked in with Mason and walked over to Malek. “I believe your son needs a nappy change.”
“So change him. I know you’ve done it before when you watched him by yourself,” Malek said. He didn’t let go of Axel. Instead, his chin was resting on top of Axel’s.
“Yeah, but his parents weren’t there,” Malachi said, holding Mason out to Axel and Malek, but neither of them stretched their arms out.
“I’ll do it,” Alfie blurted.
All eyes immediately fell on him.
“He should get to know his Uncle Alfie,” he said. When he’d hung out with Mason earlier, his nephew was asleep the whole time. Besides, if he could end up a daddy sooner than later, he needed practice.
“Yes, he should,” Axel said. His brother slipped out of Malek’s arms and took Mason from Malachi. He walked over to Alfie with Mason in his arms. “Mason…” He spoke in that high-pitched voice that people got when they were talking to pets and babies, “…this is your Uncle Alfie.”
He placed Mason in Alfie’s arms, who looked down at the baby, all chubby cheeks, dark tufts of hair—but instead of the grey eyes he and all his brothers except Wes shared, he had blue eyes, exactly like Malek and Malachi.
“Hi Mason.” Alfie’s voice did the high pet-and-baby thing too. Apparently, it was contagious. “I’m your Uncle Alfie.”
“Hello, Uncle Alfie. Nice to meet you. Daddy has told me a lot about you.” Axel held his gaze, a huge smile on his face, and Alfie couldn’t help but return it with one of his.
“Someone’s stinky,” Alfie said, but he still couldn’t help blowing raspberries on his nephew’s chubby cheeks. “Stinking cute,” Alfie added, when he got a gummy spit-bubble smile in return.
“He likes you. I think he likes you,” Axel crooned.
For some reason, Alfie’s eyes sought out Malachi’s to find that the other man was watching him. Then and there, Axel’s words explaining things… possibilities… came flooding back.
“I’ll help,” Malachi volunteered, his gaze never leaving Alfie’s.
“Of course you will,” Malek murmured teasingly, but even that didn’t have him and Malachi breaking eye contact.
“I’ll show you where it is,” Malachi said, and walked over to him. When he reached Alfie’s side, Malachi’s hand went to the curve of his lower back, and Alfie honestly felt like he’d just been branded.
Sixteen
Malachi
Malachi wasn’t sure how to proceed now. He didn’t even know he was going to volunteer to go with Alfie, but after spending a whole day away from his mate, he would take any chance he could to spend time with him, even if that meant changing nappies.
From the time Alfie had stepped out of his car until now, Malachi had been thinking of ways to approach him and had completely blanked. Malek had spent the better part of an hour teasing him for chickening out on approaching his mate when he’d come over and heard Alfie in the kitchen with Axel.
He’d imagined how he would have approached his mate in the past, but honestly, now that he was here, Malachi felt like a nervous adolescent approaching his first paramour, and now he was acting like he was back in the fifties or something. Who the fuck said paramour anymore?
Malachi was worried about saying the wrong thing, especially after what he’d overheard about that bastard who had hit Alfie after making him feel like he wasn’t good enough. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing to his mate.
Say something Chi,but nothing came to him, so they walked upstairs in silence. Clearly neither of them knew quite what to say.
When they were finally back in the nursery, Alfie walked over to the changing table, but Malachi stayed by door and watched him. Alfie put Mason down on the changing table and supported him there, then turned and looked at Malachi.
