“Nah, it’s your tin. I stole it from you.”
“Oh. I was wondering where that went.”
“Were you going to toss it?”
“Well, no.” Ian blushed. “I was thinking of keeping it.”
Brad couldn’t help grinning. “Yeah? Why?”
“Because you gave it to me.” Ian smiled, looking shyly away. “It was special.”
“It’s gonna be more special now. Here, open it.”
Ian took the cookie tin from him. Things tumbled inside, and Ian’s forehead wrinkled. When he pried the lid off, he stared at the mess within—a word search book, a blank sketchpad, some pens, an iPod with a pair of earbuds.
“I put some of my music in there,” Brad said. “Feel free to swap them out if you don’t like them.”
“But... what’s this for?”
“I took your scalpel last night, remember?”
Brad crawled onto the bed, easing up behind Ian. Then he slipped his arms around Ian’s waist, nuzzling his shoulder.
“Instead of cutting yourself... the next time you need to do something like that, try playing with something in this tin. Five minutes. See if you can wait that long.”
Brad pulled out a tiny hourglass he’d included in the tin, shaking it.
Ian blew out a breath. “You think I can?”
“I hope you’ll try.”
Brad kissed Ian’s nape. Ian flipped through the puzzle book, his face uncertain.
“There’s a couple of books on the flash drive,” Brad said. “And some pictures. I stole those off your Facebook.”
Ian chuckled uncomfortably. “How much money did you spend on me?”
“Not so much. That’s an iPod someone gave me as a gift. I don’t use it enough.” Brad shuffled around so he could read Ian’s face better. “Why, you don’t want me spending money on you?”
“It would be terrible if you do.”
“I don’t care where my money goes, you know. If it makes you happy... I’d be willing to spend it.”
Ian cringed. “You’ve been paying my bills. That’s really enough. I don’t need you to do more.”
Brad clicked his tongue. “You’re my omega. I’m thinking of getting rings.”
Ian’s mouth fell open. “You... what?”
So Brad pressed his palm against Ian’s chest, feeling the quick thump of his heart. “I’m serious about the marriage thing.”
“I’m not.” Ian squirmed. “Save the money for something else. Like Gwen. The baby. You know.”
Brad sighed. “Yeah, I’m saving up for them, too. I need a string replacement on my violin, but I haven’t done that yet. Told myself I’m paying for you and the children first.”
Ian’s face fell. “Oh. I mean, go ahead and buy the strings. Don’t worry about me.”
“It’s not so bad,” Brad said. “I want to see all of you happy.”
“That doesn’t mean you deprive yourself of the things you need.”
Brad rolled his eyes. “I have you and Gwen and the baby, Ian. I’m happy.”
“I guess.” Ian looked dubiously at him. “Where do you buy your strings?”
“There’s a music shop downtown. Olivier’s Strings. I’ve been a regular there for years. There’s an omega who works there—we’re friends.” Brad trailed off at the thoughtful look on Ian’s face. “Why do you ask?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s not a ‘nothing’ face, Ian.”
“It so is a ‘nothing’ face.” Ian scrunched his eyes up, so Brad could no longer read him.
Brad snorted, tackling Ian to the bed. He kissed down Ian’s neck, right over his scent gland. “Don’t tell me you’re going there.”
“I’m not.”
“I don’t believe you a single bit, McMillan.”
Brad tickled him, and Ian shrieked. “Brad!”
Brad tickled harder. Ian squealed. So Brad continued the torment until Ian puffed, shoving him off.
“That’s enough,” Ian panted.
Brad pressed kisses all over his chest, sniffing at his omega. “Mine.”
He pinned Ian’s legs open, nuzzling down Ian’s chest. Then he paused at Ian’s belly, kissing the baby bump. “Hey,” Brad murmured. “Your dad doesn’t like being tickled. Remind me sometime.”
“You jerk,” Ian said, smacking him lightly on the shoulder.
“Maybe I am.” Brad smirked. Then he blew a raspberry on Ian’s belly, and Ian shoved him off.
“Brad!”
Ian’s eyes were sparkling, though, his lips pulled up in a smile. Brad paused, admiring him. His omega was beautiful, all clear eyes and flushed skin, and Brad had never seen anyone more exquisite in the world.
“Are you buying me strings?” Brad asked.
Ian made a face. “No, I’m not.”
“Liar.”
“I’m buying clothes for the baby,” Ian said. “But you can name him.”
“Him?” Brad raised his eyebrows.
Ian rubbed his hand over his belly, his eyes pensive. “Yeah, it’s a boy.”
“How’d you know? We haven’t done the ultrasound yet.”
Ian rolled his shoulders. “I just do. It’s a feeling.”
Huh. Brad didn’t know how that worked. “Did you know that with Gwen, too?”
“Mm-hm.”
Ian looked so calm that it couldn’t have been a mere guess. Brad wasn’t going to question it, though. “Okay. What about... Xavier?”
“That sounds good.” Ian beamed.
“What do you want?”
“Whatever you decide.” Ian gave a wistful smile. “I named Gwen, so I thought you should get the choice to name this baby.”
“I wanna name him with you, though. What name were you thinking of?”
Ian paused, his mouth open. “I guess I haven’t thought about it; I’ve just been waiting for you to come up with a name. But I do like Xavier.”
“You sure?”
“I am.” Ian stroked his belly.
“Xavier it is, then.” Brad leaned in close, kissing Ian on his belly. “Hey, Xavier. We’re looking forward to meeting you.”
Ian laughed softly. Then, his smile fell. “I hope the ultrasound will go okay. They’ll probably want to do tests on the amniotic fluid. I had to do that the last time, too. The needle is awfully big.”
Brad winced, imagining a terrible needle piercing Ian’s belly. It gave him the chills. “That sounds painful.”
“Anything for the baby, right?” Ian looked at his abdomen, his eyes soft. Brad wrapped his arms around his omega.
Through the last two months, Ian’s fatigue had faded, and so had his morning sickness. But there was still so much uncertainty over the pregnancy, when Ian’s body was no longer at its prime for bearing children.
Sometimes, Brad thought back to the day he’d asked Ian if Ian wanted three children. That hadn’t been his best idea. If this pregnancy put Ian at risk... what would a third
