My lip curled, revealing a sharp fang. Who could be better than Chris? Didn't that shit-bag see how incredible he was? Some people had no taste. Then again, Chris wasmyfated mate. I was glad Tripp was no longer in his life.
"That's stupid," I agreed. "Leaving you is one thing, but to abandon his child..." My hand curled on the armrest, my nails digging into the fabric. "That's despicable."
Chris glanced at my nails. Shit, had I accidentally let them grow long? Sometimes when I got truly angry, it was difficult to reign in my manticore side. He wanted to shift and come out and rip off asshole's heads. I took a deep breath and calmed down enough for my nails to return to a normal human length.
If Chris noticed, he didn't comment on it. "It is. That was the worst part, honestly. I don't want Zoey to feel like she isn't loved." Chris's expression was heartbreaking. "I love her so much, but sometimes I feel like I'm not enough, you know? She was supposed to have two dads, but Tripp cut that in half..."
When Chris sniffled and rubbed his forearm over his eyes, I could no longer help myself. He clearly needed to be consoled. I reached over and put my arm around his shoulders.
"It's all right," I murmured. "Let it out."
Chris nodded, his face against my collarbone. The motion caused the scent of him to waft up to my nose. He smelled amazing, but now wasn't the time for that. I simply held him as he rode the wave of emotion.
He sniffled for a few more moments then calmed down. When he pulled away, he smiled. "Thanks, Roshan. Sorry you had to see me like that."
"Hey, we all have our moments. Once I cried because I ran out of cupcakes."
Chris laughed, wiping the last tear from his eye. "Really?"
"Oh, absolutely. I was having the worst day and the only thing keeping me sane was the last red velvet cupcake waiting for me at home. Except I forgot that I'd already eaten it earlier. So glad nobody was around to seethatmeltdown."
"You know, it's refreshing to hear an alpha cry about something like that," Chris said warmly.
"Alpha, omega, beta, man, woman, nonbinary, whatever... sometimes, youhaveto cry when the last cupcake's gone."
Chris grinned. "Well, don't worry. If you babysit in this house, you'll never run out of cupcakes."
My eyes widened. "Wait, why?"
Chris's back straightened as he sat up proudly. "Why do you think I got the job at Puff Patisserie? I'm a seasoned baker. Whenever we have a spare moment, me and Zoey are baking something."
My heart thumped. "Please tell me you're not joking."
"I'm not!" Chris chuckled. "Here, I'll show you around the kitchen."
Oh, fate chose her fated mates, and she chose themwell.
As we gathered in the kitchen, Zoey ran out of the bathroom smelling like rose-scented soap. "Are we making something, daddy?" she asked excitedly.
"Not quite," Chris said. "I'm showing Roshan all our supplies."
Zoey pouted. "Oh..."
Chris and I exchanged a glance. It was like we knew each other's thoughts without speaking a single word.
"Isupposewe can—"
Chris hadn't even finished speaking before Zoey squealed in excitement. "YAY!"
“Same, Zoey,” I said.
Chris grunted as he hauled out a huge bag of baking-quality flour. "We don't usually make cupcakes after we literally just ate half a box of pastries, but I guess meeting our new manny is a notable exception to that rule."
My heart fluttered. It was small and stupid, but hearing Chris refer to me in any possessive manner made me feel good. I washismanny. No one else's.
Chris taught me the location of everything as we grabbed all the ingredients. Aside from the flour, we pulled out sugar, eggs, butter, milk, baking powder, food coloring, and all manner of sprinkles. Seriously, I'd never seen so many types of sprinkles.
"All right. What's on the menu today, gang?" Chris asked.
