But Felix smiles, his eyes warm. “Is that any way to propose?”
Kade grins. Felix isn’t saying no, so Kade takes his hand, leaning in so close their lips are a hairsbreadth apart. “Felix Henry, will you marry me?”
Felix’s breath hitches. He kisses Kade softly, tears welling in his eyes, and Kade’s heart pounds in his ears.
Against his lips, Felix murmurs, “Yes.”
It feels like a balloon filling up in his chest. Kade grins, kissing his bondmate hard, breathing in his scent. He had once dreamed of this. And they’re salvaging their dreams now, placing the pieces carefully back, weaving their lives together. Felix kisses him just as hard, his fingers winding through Kade’s hair, their bodies pressed close.
They break apart a while later, Felix glancing down at the ring. So Kade slides it onto his finger, blinking as it sits snug just before Felix’s second knuckle.
“I put on weight,” Felix says, his face falling.
“You’re carrying our baby,” Kade says, scooping his bondmate into his arms. “Wear it on your neck.”
Felix blushes, suddenly shy. Kade kisses him. They’re bonded again, and that’s all that matters.
50
Felix
When Felix wakes the next day, he finds Kade’s pillow empty. Instead, his alpha is curled up further along the bed, nosing at his bare abdomen.
“Hey,” Kade murmurs, trailing his lips over Felix’s belly. “Don’t know if you can hear me. I’m your dad.”
Kade grins to himself, pride and delight in his eyes. Felix stops breathing.
“I can’t believe it either,” Kade says, caressing Felix’s belly with a finger. “Your other dad just told me yesterday. He’s a jerk, but I love him. And I’ll love you, too.”
Felix’s breath catches. He can’t quite believe it, either. Kade loves him. Kade has looked past their history, has looked past his lies, and Felix is so grateful for this man.
“When you get a bit older, we’ll play basketball,” Kade says. “Or maybe dress-up. I don’t know. Felix is the one who likes dresses. My mom made some for him when we were kids.”
When they stepped into the kitchen yesterday, Kade’s mom had smiled, meeting Felix’s eyes. And then she had said, “You did great,” and Felix had cried a little then, too.
Kade nuzzles his belly. “We had a tree house when we were kids, though. Your other dad and I, we met each other when we were ten.”
“Are you going to tell our child our life story?” Felix asks, his voice raspy with sleep.
Kade glances up, his cheeks flushing. Felix hadn’t thought he’d be shy, talking to their child, but it’s adorable. Kade kisses his navel. “Just saying hi.”
“Well, go ahead and talk. I’ll just listen over here.” Felix grins, stretching out. Kade crawls back up the bed to him, wrapping Felix in his arms.
“I’ll talk to it later,” Kade says, nuzzling his forehead.
Felix smiles, burying his face in Kade’s chest. He still can’t believe that they’re this close again, that Kade has marked him, that Kade wants to marry him. He takes Kade’s hand in his, setting it on his belly. “If you keep still long enough, you’ll feel it move.”
Kade swallows, looking down at his hand. It’s wide, almost spanning the width of Felix’s abdomen. Together, they breathe in silence, Felix smelling the spicy pine notes of Kade’s scent, Kade staying motionless, waiting for their child to move.
The baby shifts three minutes later. Kade glances up, eyes wide.
“I felt it,” he says. “It fucking moved!”
Felix beams. Kade looks at him like he’s just discovered a cool motorcycle accessory, and Felix leans in, kissing him on the nose. “It moves all the time, silly.”
“Yeah, but this was the first time I felt it.” Kade sighs, setting both his hands on Felix’s belly. “It feels real now.”
His alpha wants this child. Felix breathes out the tension in his body, leaning closer to Kade. If he’d known Kade would be so excited... If he’d known Kade would accept him despite the things he’s done wrong, they would have saved themselves so much heartache.
“Hey,” Kade says, kissing him on the temple. “What’s wrong?”
“Just thinking.” Felix sighs. “We could have avoided all this—you could have touched the baby much sooner... and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I just... I thought you wouldn’t want it.”
Kade brushes their lips together.. “We’re putting the past behind us, remember? I want you and the baby. That’s all you need to remember.”
And Felix relaxes, leaning into him. “I love you,” he whispers.
Kade grins, and the light in his eyes fills Felix with warmth.
Over the next few weeks, they settle into a new routine.
In the moments between Kade’s programming work and Felix’s painting, they pull a second chair up to the computer, looking up more articles on caring for infants. Kade says Felix needs more nutritious food. Felix protests, saying he has enough. Kade returns home from the store anyway, bringing fresh fruits and veggies.
On the weekends, Kade moves their things upstairs. There are three bedrooms on the second floor: one for them, one for a nursery, and one for Kade’s mom. They convert the room downstairs to a study, and together, they move into their new bedroom. Kade presses Felix up against the window, the doorframe, the closet, and they mark the room with their scents.
In the mornings, Felix finds Kade talking to his belly when he wakes. When Kade looks up to find him watching, he curls up around Felix, stroking his face. The engagement ring is at the jeweler’s, getting resized. Felix forgets about it sometimes, until he looks at the new marking on his wrist.
Then he remembers: they’re getting married. They’re having a baby together.
These thoughts holds him through his hormonal swings, when nothing feels right, or he’s sad, or angry, and he can’t control his feelings.
“Work sucks,” Kade says one day. “New deadlines coming up and no one
