Twenty

Lux

In the end, Archer said yes to Gunner's mom, giving her permission to come visit. No matter his misgivings, I'd known Archer would say yes the moment he told me about the call. It was just the type of man he was, and one of the many, many reasons I admired him.

Now it was Sunday, and she was going to come over at any moment. Archer was clearly panicking, but he was trying his best to act brave.

Gunner babbled at me, and I smiled down at him, then tapped his nose, which made him go all wide-eyed and stunned, like I didn't do it at least ten times a day.

Picking him up, I held him close, meeting his big blue eyes. "Looks like your dad can use some cheering up, Gungun. You might just be the perfect guy for the job."

Walking across the room to where Archer was pacing from the entrance to the couch, I stepped into his path, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hold him. I want to change the sheets in his crib." I'd done that just yesterday, but right now any excuse would work as long as it got him to hold Gunner.

Archer took him from me, and I turned around with a smile, walking back to the crib as Gunner continued to babble, his focus now directed solely on his dad. Archer murmured something back to Gunner, and I smiled as I changed the sheets. I could hear Archer's heart beat slowing down from its panicked racing, and I sent a silent thank you to Gunner.

Just as I finished changing the sheets, the doorbell rang, and I used magic to send the dirty sheets to the laundry room as Archer froze in place, looking unsure about what to do.

"Sit. I'll bring her in," I told him, patting his arm as I walked past, and he nodded jerkily.

Walking down the short hallway to the front door, I took a deep breath before opening it and smiling at Gunner's mom.

Maya was a beautiful woman, with the same blue eyes as her son, and wavy blond hair that framed her round face. She was curvy, with a full figure draped in a pantsuit that complemented her perfectly. She was stunning, and I could see why Archer had found her attractive.

She blinked at me, a puzzled expression crossing her face. "Uh..."

"Archer's inside," I said before she could get any more confused, and she blinked, then smiled.

"Oh, good. I was worried I was at the wrong house."

"Not at all."

Stepping aside, I welcomed her into the house, then closed the door behind her.

"This way."

Leading her into the living room, I found Archer on the couch, Gunner in his lap. He shot to his feet when we came in, his arm tight around Gunner's hips, and he and Maya gazed at each other for a few moments while I tried not to let my jealousy and envy get the best of me. Even if they weren't together, the two of them shared something I'd never be able to share with Archer, not completely.

Gunner let out a soft sound, then hid his face in Gunner's neck, and Maya's eyes flicked to him. I didn't miss the way Archer's grip tightened reflexively on Gunner, as if he was afraid Maya was going to rip Gunner out of his arms. Walking over to him, I placed a hand on his back, and felt him relax just a touch.

"Please, sit. Can I get you something to drink?" Maya's eyes turned to me, the earlier confusion returning. "Oh, I should've introduced myself. I'm Calux. I'm..." I trailed off, not quite sure which label to use.

"My boyfriend," Archer chipped in, and I blinked rapidly, surprised. It wasn't that I'd thought he would keep our relationship a secret or anything, but I hadn't expected him to tell her about it so readily.

"Oh!" Maya glanced from me to Archer, then nodded slowly. "Um, can I have some water, please?"

"Of course."

Leaving them to it, I hurried into the kitchen, one ear on them as I quickly magicked everything up, too impatient to do it the human way.

Just as I returned to the living room, Gunner started crying, and if the stink was anything to go by, he needed a change of diaper.

"Here you go." I waited until Maya had picked up the glass before placing the tray on the coffee table and turning to Archer. "How about you two talk while I change him, hmm?"

Archer nodded, then smiled up at me. "Thanks." He held Gunner out, and I took him from him, patting his back as I carried him to his nursery.

"It's okay, little one. I'll change your icky diaper in just a minute, okay?"

Eavesdropping with Gunner crying so hard was practically impossible, so I focused on him, getting him out of the dirty diaper, cleaned up, and into the new one.

As always, Gunner calmed down the moment he was clean and dry, and I shook my head at him as I picked him up. "You're going to be a neat freak when you grow up, aren't you? Good for you. At least you'd be less likely to get all the pesky infections you humans keep contracting. Come on, let's go back to your dad."

Heading back to the living room, I paused when I heard Maya ask the question I'd been expecting since she first walked in.

"You let your boyfriend take care of Gunner?"

"Ah." Archer trailed off, and I knew he was searching for an answer that didn't involve the words demon, fated mates, or magic. Of course, he seemed to have forgotten the simplest answer there was, so I quickened my steps, walking into the room just in time to rescue him.

"Oh, that's because that's how we met," I said, giving her a smile as I settled on the couch beside Archer. I tried to hand Gunner back to Archer, but his little hands were curled up tight in my t-shirt, so I let him stay, holding him steady as he sat in my lap. "I'm a professional nanny. Archer hired me to help take care of Gunner, and then things changed."

Archer

This was nerve-wracking. I felt like Maya was judging me, and that if I failed, I'd lose Gunner. It was a stupid fear, mostly because I knew there was no way Lux would let Gunner be taken from us, but I still couldn't bring myself to relax.

"Oh, that makes sense," Maya said, then smiled. "Sorry, I shouldn't be asking questions anyway. It's clear you're both taking good care of Gunner. He looks happy."

I glanced over at Gunner, smiling at the way he clung to Lux. Lux said it wasn't true, but I knew Gunner favored him over me. I didn't mind. I loved watching the two of them together, my sweet little family. Returning home to them after a grueling day at work and making dinner together was the absolute best way to end any day.

"Yeah," I said, then turned back to her, feeling marginally more relaxed. "How have you been? How's school?"

"Oh, it's great! I mean, the classes are difficult, and there's so much to do, but I love the things I'm learning, and I've made some great friends, and yeah. It's good." The glow on her face told me more than her words did, and I was glad she was getting to live her dream. We'd found each other for a night of fun, but that one night had changed our lives completely, and I wouldn't change any of it.

Now, more than a year and a half later, we were both living our best lives, and I couldn't be happier about the fact that we'd crossed paths that night. Because if we hadn't, I wouldn't have Gunner. I couldn't imagine my life without my son, especially since without him, I wouldn't have met Lux either. What would my life be like without either of them? I didn't even want to imagine it.

"I'm so glad you're doing well."

Maya nodded, then glanced at Gunner. "I'm glad I made the choice I made. I know people usually expect the mom to take care of the baby, but I just couldn't. I wouldn't have been able to give Gunner a happy home, not like you. I'd have had to get an extra job, and reschedule all of my classes..."

"Maya," I interrupted with a shake of my head, "you don't need to justify your decision. Just because you're the mother doesn't mean you have to give up your whole life for him. You're happy, Gunner's happy, and I'm happy. Who cares what anyone else thinks?"

Maya nodded, then swiped her finger below her eyes before smiling at me. "Thanks, Archer. Really."

She stayed for a while after that, and Gunner even let her hold him at one point. As much as I'd been dreading her visit, by the time she left, I realized I was glad she'd come to see us. It'd erased any lingering fear I'd had that she might want Gunner back, and it was good to know that she was doing well. I thought perhaps seeing Gunner happy had given her permission to let go of whatever guilt she'd been holding on to, and she finally had closure.

We'd talked about her maybe being a part of Gunner's life in some capacity, and she'd settled on being the aunt who visited sometimes and brought gifts for him. I was sure we would have to have a conversation with Gunner at some point about Maya's real connection to him, but we had time, and I wasn't going to worry about it just yet.

"She's a good woman," Lux said as we both sat on the couch, Gunner busy crawling around on his playmat. Lux had placed a few of his toys on the couch to tempt him to try standing up, but he hadn't so far. We weren't in any rush, though.

I turned around, pressing my side against the backrest so I could look at Lux better, examining every inch of his face, mesmerized by how beautiful he was.

"Yeah, she is," I agreed as I remembered what he'd said, and he smiled.

"If she'd wanted to make things work, to raise Gunner together, would you have done it?"

The question gave me pause, and I took his hand in mine, running my thumb over his knuckles as I thought it over.

"Back when Gunner was first born? Probably, yeah. I was so terrified of getting it wrong back then, that if Maya had said we could raise Gunner together, I would have jumped at the chance, even though I didn't have feelings for her. I'd have probably regretted it later, but I would've done it. Now, though? If she'd made that offer today, I wouldn't have hesitated in saying no."

Lux smiled, and I brought his hand up to my lips for a kiss, which made his smile widen. Looking at him now, I could almost forget that he was a powerful demon. Not that I wanted to forget. Being a demon was a part of him, and I wanted to know that side of him just as much as I knew this human side. I didn't know how to tell him that, but I'd figure it out.

Pulling his hand from mine, Lux spread himself out on the couch, resting his head in my lap. Smiling down at him, I started running my fingers through his hair as Gunner smacked his toy on the mat, giggling loudly when the toy made a sound. The moment was so peaceful that I found myself resting my temple against the backrest and closing my eyes, letting the feel of Lux's silky hair against my fingers and Gunner's happy sounds lull me into a sense of comfort. If I could spend every day of the rest of my life just like this, I would ask for nothing more.