Papa:He wanted it really charred.
I definitely didn’t understand pregnancy cravings, but all my bear and I cared about was our mate’s happiness.
Gabe:Thanks for being there, Papa.
I got an eye roll emoji followed by,
Papa:Silly cub. Of course I’m here. Now get back to work, and don’t worry about your mate.
Now that I knew my mate was okay, I managed to get some work done. But like most days recently, I ended up shopping for baby stuff. Between my brothers, my parents, my grandparents and friends in town, our kids already had way too much.
It occurred to me I should check on the cribs I’d commissioned instead of ordering any more items we probably already had. I couldn’t wait to see them. I knew exactly what I wanted, and after running what crib Kian wanted by him, my friend Dom, who had a high-end carpentry business that specialized in custom pieces, was bringing my vision to life. He’d been fully booked already, but he’d agreed to make them for me. They would look perfect in the nursery, which was already done, just waiting for the cots.
I dialed Dom and waited. Usually, he took a while to get to his phone, especially while he was in his workshop.
“Gabe. How you doing?” Dom, ever cheerful, asked.
“Good! Good! You? How’s Jay and the little one?” I asked.
“Fantastic, my mate is a saint,” Dom said. “Even though they never tell you, you never truly have a clean house ever again or sleep in past nine.”
I chuckled. “Looking forward to it.”
“I bet. I bet,” Dom said. “And I know you’re calling for the cribs. They should be ready before the end of the month.”
“Thanks for doing this, Dom. I really appreciate it,” I said. “I know Kian will feel better when the cribs are in the nursery. He’s been—”
Dom laughed. “Oh, I know. Trust me, but hey, we can never imagine what they’re going through. Although there were days I was sure he was keeping himself from gutting me, I irritated him so much.”
“I know how that feels.” I shook my head thinking about it. “Some days, I get a super clingy Kian. Others everything annoys him.”
“Some days?” Dom snorted. “Lucky you, mine could go from minute to minute.”
He wasn’t wrong. “But we wouldn’t have it any other way,” I pointed out. I would take my mate cranky and annoyed by me, just as I did when he curled into my body and fell asleep on my chest.
“You said it, brother,” Dom agreed.
We chatted a little more before finally getting off the phone. By the time it was time to go home, I wondered which Kian I would return to, but it didn’t really matter because whichever one, I’d missed him. And I couldn’t wait to get home.
21
Kian
“Can’t we just stay home?”I sighed, rubbing my back as Rhys helped me into his car. Being twenty-two weeks along, I definitely wasn’t in the mood to go traipse around from store to store. Just the thought of shopping anywhere but online sounded like a chore currently.
“Nope, you promised me a day out and lunch, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said before closing the door and walking around to the driver’s side.
When he got in the car, I looked over at him and pushed my lips out. “Please, Rhys! We can totally order in from Rosso and watch TV.”
Rhys shook his head. “Nope.” I saw the stubborn look on his face, and I knew I wasn’t getting out of this.
“You look like your brother when you have that obstinate look on your face,” I said and stuck my tongue out at him.
“I see the way you look at my brother. That means you think I’m gorgeous.” Rhys stuck his tongue out right back at me.
I rolled my eyes and buckled up.
“Don’t worry,” Rhys said as we got moving, “you’ll like this.”
