“I didn’t realize you werethatexcited for alone time,” I teased.
Muzo slammed into me, pointing frantically at the tank. “Cobalt, Cobalt, Cobalt—”
I was starting to think his explosive excitement wasn’t about sex. “What is it?” I asked, following his gesture. Aside from the seven illicit apple slices, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The tank looked the same as ever.
“The snails!” Muzo cried. “They did it!”
“Did what?”
Muzo grunted in exasperation. “Oh, justcomeandsee!” He ran behind me and shoved me closer to the aquarium, then jabbed his finger against the glass. “There!”
I focused on where Muzo was pointing—and then I saw it.
The baby river snail.
There werethreeChromatimaeus river snails in the tank.
“They did it,” I breathed, shocked and elated to my core. “They actually did it.”
Muzo shook my arm, unable to control his excitement. “I told you! They literally did it! I don’t knowhow,‘cause I don’t know anything about snail sex, but that’s okay because they had a baby together!”
His giddiness infected me. I chuckled and hugged him as he bounced up and down. His zest for life always uplifted me. I couldn’t remember what my life had been like before him, and I didn’t want to. The only thing that mattered was our bright future.
“We gotta name the baby snail,” Muzo announced.
“Sure. But the parents don’t even have names,” I reminded him.
He pointed at the big snails. “Okay, how about this. That one’s Apple, and that one’s Cucumber.”
“I see you’re a fan of food-themed names.”
“Oh, just wait until you hear the name I had in mind for the baby.” Muzo grinned. “How about... Raspberry? ‘Cause it’s small and cute like a raspberry?”
I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Raspberry is perfect. And it matches with Blueberry.”
I wondered if I should tell him about Blueberry’s latest disappearance, worried it might distract from his happiness, but Muzo was currently too enthralled by the infant mollusc to worry about his adventuring plushie. It was sweet how his parental instincts extended to the smallest of creatures.
Emotion swelled within me and I hugged Muzo tighter. Of course my fated mate cared about baby snails—they were part of my hoard, after all. We were truly destined to be together.
In the shimmering blue light of the aquarium, Muzo took my breath away. The ever-present joy in his eyes was a gift that soothed my soul. Yet he was more than the happy-go-lucky clown most people saw. He was kind, compassionate, and strong. We saw the truth in each other, and that was more than I could ever ask for.
“I love you,” I murmured in his ear.
He lifted his head to beam at me. “Love you most-est.”
“Love you most-est-er.”
He laughed. “Okay, that one issonot a word.”
“Let’s make it one. I’ll have Jade add it to the official dictionary.”
Muzo tilted his head curiously. “Is that a real thing he can do?”
I smiled. “Why don’t we go and find out?”
Muzo grabbed my hand, eager for any adventure we embarked on together.
Twenty-Seven
