“You make us sound like superheroes with our very own archnemesis.” Ryder snort-chuckled. That was another thing he now knew about his mate. He was a closet geek. He loved superhero movies—a lot. He had comic books still stored in plastic. It was really cute. He’d even caught Ryder reading Tabby one of his comics.
“My point is,” Jax said because he knew how Ryder could sidetrack him, “I think we should take them up on their offer. Wouldn’t you like to have a quiet night together, just us?”
Ryder sighed but nodded. “Of course, babe, but you know I also love our snuggle time with Tabby.”
“Me too, and this isn’t me saying that we don’t love her like crazy. Or that you can’t have your snuggle time. I just think we could do with a little you and me time. And I don’t mean just after Tabby goes to sleep. I’d like us to go out to dinner, maybe catch a movie. We could enjoy a romantic walk in the park. Come on, babe. Let’s do it.”
Ryder smiled and jumped on his feet. “You know I can’t say no to you if that’s what you want, my love.”
Jax grinned and leaned up for a kiss. His mate’s arms went around him, and like always, his whole body came to life from that simple touch. When they finally broke apart, he looked around the room. “It looks amazing, babe.”
Ryder grinned. “I know, right?” Ryder had done the room in greys and white with a cute wolf theme. He’d shared with Jax how much he wished he’d been able to do the same for Tabby, which was why she’d moved into their room for a few days while Ryder gave her the most princessy of princess rooms.
“Have fun, babe.” He patted Ryder’s chest, and then he left him to call Roman.
Jax went to their room and lowered himself on the bed while he waited for his brother-in-law to pick up.
“This is Roman.”
“Hey Rome, it’s Jax.”
“Jax, everything okay?” He could hear the worry in his brother-in-law’s voice. Goddess, what had he done to deserve this whole family? There were times he wondered if he’d had to go through everything he had to get to where he was.
“No … I mean, yes, everything is fine. I was calling to take you up on your offer to babysit if it’s still on the table,” Jax said. “Ryder and I were hoping that you and Dev would still be willing to watch Tabby for us for a night.”
Roman chuckled on the other end of the line. “Really? Aren’t you pregnant or something like that?” Jax could tell he was teasing, and he chuckled.
“Uh yeah … something like that.” His cheeks heated at the meaning behind Roman’s words. “We figured we should take y’all up on it while we have the chance. What do you say?”
“Of course, did you have a day in mind? Actually, we’re free tonight,” Roman suggested, which brought a smile to Jax’s face. “We’ll expect you at six o’clock.”
“Sounds great.” Jax grinned. He hadn’t expected it tonight, but he didn’t mind because the baby really could come any day now. “Thank you so much, Roman.”
“Don’t even mention it. You’re family, so anytime. We’ll see you at six, okay?” Roman said, then hung up. Jax turned to Ryder, who’d come in while he was on the phone. “They’re free tonight. We can drop Tabby off at six.”
Ryder nodded. “I heard, but why do we have to wait so long?” he teased, then sighed. “You sure you want to do this, though? There’s no rush.”
“Baby, I’m just fine. I’m excited about this. Let’s go have a good time. I won’t mind having you to myself for a night.”
“Well, when you put it like that,” Ryder said and leered exaggeratedly at him.
Time flew by and then they had to drop Tabby off at Roman and Devon’s house.
They pulled up to the driveway at six o’clock sharp, but neither of them moved to get out of the car.
“We don’t have to do this, you know,” Ryder said.
“I know, but I want to.” With that, Jax opened the door, and Devon, who’d come out when they’d pulled up, walked over and met him. They shared a hug, and his friend whispered, “I swear I won’t take my eyes off her.”
Jax sighed and nodded, then opened the door and unbelted his daughter. Devon, Ollie, and River had all spent time at the house with their little ones, so he knew his daughter would have no problem going to her Unkie Dev. Still, it was hard to say goodbye, and he knew his mate was feeling the same way he was.
“You be a good little girl for you uncles, okay.” Jax whispered, kissing the top of Tabby’s head before passing her over to Devon.
“Don’t give her anything that’s not on the approved list of foods,” Ryder said, handing over the list in question. “Our numbers and the restaurant’s number are on there too.” Roman looked down at it and laughed.
“Do you think we’ve never taken care of a baby before?” he teased. “You do know we have one of our own, right? Your niece, Madison.”
Jax saw Ryder roll his eyes.
