"Someone's in a good mood," he said.
"Yep." Andrew pulled out his old blue dinosaur and bounced it on the cushion next to him. He must've smuggled it out of the room when I wasn't paying attention, but I didn't mind at all. It was a comfort item to him.
"So, Andrew," I said, sitting on the couch next to him. "Ulysses and I have something to tell you."
He blinked up at me with big brown eyes shining with curiosity. "New dinosaur?"
I laughed softly. "No, but you're getting a new something."
He gasped. "What?"
Ulysses put his hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention. Back when we had first met, he convinced Andrew to start eating his vegetables, which was a miraculous feat on its own, unicorn shifter or not. Since then, Andrew idolized him and was ecstatic when he learned Ulysses was going to be his new alpha father. It made me so happy knowing Andrew approved of him. It was a massive relief too, because I wouldn't have been able to stay with any man that Andrew didn't like.
Not that that was a problem anymore. Ulysses and I were fated mates, and it didn't get any better than that.
"Andrew, do you still want a little brother or sister?" Ulysses asked him.
"Yeah!"
Ulysses shot me a smile tinged with relief. "Well, do I have a surprise for you! You're going to have a new sibling soon."
Whirling around, Andrew asked, "Really?"
"It's true," I said, putting my hands on my stomach. "Daddy's pregnant again. Look, your little sibling is in here."
"Cool!" Andrew said. He stared at me like I was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen—at least, in the past five seconds of his attention span. I was sure the novelty of my growing belly would wear off.
"And remember," I said, "just because we’re going to have a new family member, that doesn't make you any less special." I gave him a big fat kiss on the forehead, which made him giggle. "I still love you to the moon and back."
"And I do as well," Ulysses said.
"I know," Andrew said simply, waving his dinosaur around. "Go back playing?"
Ulysses chuckled. "Sure you can."
Andrew stumbled off the couch and ran back to his room.
"Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it would be," I said.
"I had no idea two-year-olds were so easily entertained," Ulysses commented. "It seems I have much to learn before the next one gets here." He winked at me. "It's a good thing my teacher is an excellent one."
10
Ulysses
"More chocolate chipcookie dough ice cream?" I asked Ryan.
Since the answer was more likelyyesthanno, I already held the container in my hand. It was brand-new, straight from the freezer, which was overpopulated with gallons of the flavor. I'd never eaten ice cream before meeting Ryan, since I was more of a grass and vegetation kind of man, but the taste had grown on me. My preferred flavor was bubble gum or cotton candy, which worked out perfectly since Ryan found them abominable.
"Yes, please," Ryan groaned as he reached for the container and spoon. He looked close to bursting and it wasn't from ice cream. Our baby was due any day now. I managed to stave off Ryan's misery by plying him with massages and ice cream.
"Thank you," Ryan said. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"Eat a lot less ice cream," I teased. I moved around behind the couch to rub his shoulders. His back frequently ached from the weight of the baby, but the massages helped and I was happy to do them.
He laughed. "I can probably do with eating less ice cream, to be honest. At least with you around, I've eaten more vegetables than I ever have in my life. That counteracts all the junk food, right?"
"I'm sure it does."
