37. Zane

37

ZANE

Davis tugs on the lapels of his suit as the tailor measures his inseam. "You're really taking this whole ‘hooking up with the nanny' thing to the next level, Z."

I shoot him a lethal look in the three-paned mirror and he holds up his hands. "No nanny jokes. Roger that."

"You've gotta be careful what you say around this one, Davy." Jace wraps his arm around my shoulders. "He's newly coupled and feeling territorial."

"Mira and I are not new . We've been together for…" I've known Mira for almost five months, but we weren't together that whole time. There was some fake dating and then some back-and-forth. She was also gone for an entire month, which I probably shouldn't count.

Jace saves me the trouble of doing the math. "Newly committed, I mean. Something happens when you make a woman your wife."

Reeves whistles. "It really does. Jemma and I paid for this all-inclusive honeymoon package, but I don't think we left the room once. I'd say it was a waste of money, but we put that room to good use."

"Mira and I aren't doing a honeymoon. Not right now."

It was an easy decision to make. Neither of us wanted to leave town without Aiden, not while Dante is still lurking in the shadows. And there are just too many unknowns with traveling. I promised her we'd postpone and I'll take her on the best first anniversary trip anyone has ever had.

"No honeymoon?" Daniel exhales. "What's the point of getting married if you don't get to lounge on a tropical beach somewhere afterwards?"

"I guess I'll just have to settle for a lifetime of happiness with the woman I love," I drawl.

Davis gives that idea two thumbs down, and I'm beginning to severely question why he's in my wedding party.

"Don't worry," Jace assures me. "Rachelle and I would love to have Aiden over for a few days after the wedding while you and Mira test out your new relationship."

"Yeah, test it out in every room of my old house." Davis holds out his fist for a bump that I do not reciprocate. "You're welcome, by the way."

"I'm paying you over market value, so you're welcome," I fire back.

The tailor finishes with Davis and moves on to Daniel. Every one of us has a tux for all of the media and events that come along with the team, but I really am trying to do this right. The bridesmaids are going to be in matching dresses. The groomsmen are going to wear matching suits. It's going to be as legit as a backyard wedding can be.

About the time the tailor is finishing with the groomsmen, Evan pops his head through the front door.

"Are you ready for him?" Evan asks. "We explored every inch of the toy store down the block, but we can find something else to do if we need to."

"We're ready for him," I say. Aiden squeezes around Evan's leg and sprints towards me. I kneel down, catching and swinging him into my arms. "Did you have fun?"

"There's a ‘mote-control dinosaur that has a swinging tail," he announces. "It was green and Evan said it costed one dollar."

Evan shakes his head. "One hundred dollars."

Aiden ignores him, grabbing onto the collar of my shirt. "Can I have it? Please?"

I screw up my face, thinking it over. "Hmmm… How about if you hold still while you get measured for your tux, then we'll go back and buy it when we're done?"

One hundred bucks is steep for a bribe, but I'm trying to make this move as smooth as possible for Mira. Keeping Aiden happy is part of that.

"Yes!" he shrieks, squirming out of my arms to run towards the tailor and then standing straight and still as a statue on the dais. The faster he gets measured, the faster he gets his dinosaur.

Smart kid.

His resolve doesn't last long. Fifteen minutes into the process of trying on suits, I'm glad I have some collateral.

"This shirt is itchy," Aiden moans, squishing up his neck.

The tailor pulls a paper tag out of the collar. "It's just the tag, buddy."

Aiden shakes his head. "It's itchy everywhere. My tummy. And my elbows. Even my butt."

"The shirt isn't touching your butt, bud."

He looks at me like I can't possibly know anything about the pain he's going through. "I don't want to wear this."

"You're saying what we're all thinking, little man." Davis raises a fist in solidarity from where he and the rest of my groomsmen are loafing on the couch. If Mira could see them, lounging and not doing anything remotely productive, she'd kick all of their asses straight out the door.

I put myself between Aiden and the bad influence of my teammates. "We'll be done soon and we can go get your toy dinosaur."

"Then I never have to wear it again?" he asks hopefully.

"Well, you have to wear it at the wedding. But only for a couple hours. Just until the wedding is over."

"But you and Mira are already married," he pouts.

"We're together, but we aren't married yet. That's what the wedding is for."

Aiden spins around so fast that his shaggy blonde hair whips across his forehead. I mentally add haircut to my growing to-do list. "But you live together! Jalen's parents live together and sleep in the same bed and they're married. What does a wedding do?"

"That's true," Reeves chimes in. "Good point, Aiden. Do explain to all of us how that works, Zane."

I flip him off behind my back so Aiden can't see.

"Mira and I love each other very much, so we want to show everyone how much we love each other."

Aiden's blue eyes narrow as he thinks very hard about something. "Does marrying mean you have babies?"

"Oh, shit," Davis hisses through a laugh. "The baby talk. Little man does not waste time."

Reeves leans forward to whisper, "This is probably Jalen's fault. We had a version of the talk with him last week. He's been telling all of his friends."

"Open and honest communication. That's what kids need," Daniel adds. "I vote we tell him."

I wave them all off. "Marrying does not mean we'll have babies. If you're worried about that, don't be. It's just a party."

He lifts his chin and looks directly in my eyes. "I'm not worried. I want you to have babies. Lots of them."

My groomsmen erupt in more childish laughter, and Mira's elopement idea is sounding better and better by the second.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." He nods. "I want a little brother."

I can't help but smile. At the thought of Aiden in the backyard, a little toddler trailing after him, yes—but also at the thought of Mira in her frilly sundresses, her hand on her growing bump. Of Mira pregnant with my baby.

"It might be a sister."

"Both!" Aiden adds excitedly. He grabs my sleeve and tugs. "Can we have both?"

"It's not completely up to me, buddy. We'll have to talk it over with Mira."

"But we have more rooms at the new house," he argues. "You and Mira share one and I can share, so then we can have…" He twists his face into deep concentration. "Five babies!"

"That is one pragmatic kid," Daniel muses.

"I'd love it if we had five babies." I kneel down. "So how about you and I both talk to Mira and try to convince her that you need five brothers and sisters?"

"I won't even get the dinosaur for one dollar. We can save the money. For the babies."

I pull him in for a hug and kiss the top of his head. "You're the best big brother already."