Koa’s deep laugh rumbled around us, amused at his brothers’ panic.
“Cruor! You can’t just drop the C-word without warning, buttercup!” Breathing hard, Zane clutched his chest. “I think I just lost three years of my life!”
“Which C-word? Children? Conceive?”
“Both! Any word that implies tiny creatures that share our DNA!”
Brumous, thoroughly confused, hopped down from the armchair and trotted over to sniff at Zane’s foot, head tilted in canine concern.
“Relax, Zoodle.” I reached over to pat his knee. “I promise there will be no babies until we’re all ready. We’ve discussed it. Extensively. With official charts and diagrams, courtesy of Simmy.”
“Thank you,” Casimir said with his usual seriousness. “Proper planning is essential for—”
“For the love of the eternal night!” Zane erupted. “I cannot handle Dr. Cimmerian’s Supernatural Family Planning PowerPointTMright now!”
“You know,” Casimir ignored him, “there are services online where you can create a high-quality photo book. Professional binding, archival paper, multiple copies available.”
“You’ve researched it?” I stared at him, not sure why I was surprised by this.
“I researcheverything,” he replied without a hint of self-consciousness.
“That’s actually a good idea,” Koa said.
“Of course it is.” Casimir nodded. “All the benefits of a physical memento without any of Seri’s crafting chaos.”
“Hey!” I protested.
“Bunny, we all saw what happened when you tried to make Sebastian a birthday card,” Zane reminded me. “There was glitter in places glitter should never be. For days.”
“I’m still finding it in the weapons locker,” Casimir said.
“That’s becausesomeoneknocked over the entire container!” I said, poking Zane’s ribs accusingly.
“And the Brumeister sneezed sparkles the rest of the day,” he smirked.
“Fine.” I sighed, conceding defeat. “A professionally made photo bookdoessound lovely.”
Koa nodded, but there was something in his expression, a flicker of worry that made me reach for his hand again.
“Even if all these photos disappeared tomorrow, she wouldn’t be forgotten,” I said.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I see her inyouevery day. In how you take care of me, how you protect what you love. In your quiet strength. That didn’t come from nowhere, Koa. That came fromher.”
“She would have loved you.” His eyes met mine, and what I saw in them made my breath catch. “She’d have called youkeikibefore you finished introducing yourself, then stuffed you full of cookies.”
“I would have loved her, too,” I promised.
Casimir cleared his throat, probably uncomfortable with so much raw emotion.
“If we’re going to do this, we should select a service with good reviews. Five-star minimum. And check their privacy policy.”
“Of course you should,” I said, biting back a smile. Some things never changed, and Casimir’s need to vet everything was one of them.
Koa opened a new browser tab and searched for photo book services. Brumous came over and pressed his heavy weight against my legs and laid his head on my chest. I stroked his ears gently as I watched Koa navigate through the options.
“This one has good reviews,” Koa said, clicking on a site. “And they offer leather-bound options.”
