Assa and Zinn took the baby upstairs for a bath after the diaper change Calder attempted ended up requiring something more thorough. Valentin followed to grab his phone from the bedroom so he could order dinner.
Outside the bathroom, he stopped short at Zinn’s high-pitched giggle, a sound he hadn’t heard in a decade. These days, Zinn’s laugh was heartier, more careful. But with Assa, he giggled like the person he’d been before. Decoy hovered on the edge of the tub. Valentin guessed that the cat was the source of not only the laughter but also Lachie’s delighted squeals.
He smiled and backed away, not wanting to interrupt.
In the den, he found Wes watching a baseball game with Ked.
“Aw…c’mon, ump!” Ked scoffed at the TV. “No way was he safe!”
“Totally out,” Wes said flatly.
Ked was a three-season athlete besides being involved in drama. Of the five men, only Wes had played in high school, and he and Ked shared a love of team sports.
“Just letting you know the food will be here in twenty,” Valentin told them.
Wes and Ked gave identical thumbs-ups, keeping their eyes on the screen.
Valentin was surprised Jordie wasn’t in the den. Hopefully, the seventeen-year-old wouldn’t be too mad he’d ordered pizza. With his job, he was probably sick of it.
At the dining table, Ryde and Calder worked on a puzzle together. Calder had grouped the pieces into color-coded piles while Ryde tried to sell him on the merits of starting with the edges.
“You have to do the edges first, Papa C. It’s, like, a rule.”
“It’s really not,” Calder chuckled. “But we can do it your way.” He scooped the piles back into the box and began pulling out edge pieces.
Valentin watched Calder’s eyes as he spoke to Ryde.
He saw something in them he’d recognized in himself last night. Calder loved Ryde as much as Valentin loved Lachie. Because he was Zinn’s. Because he was theirs. Because they were a family.
The older alpha looked up. “Pizza on the way?”
“Twenty minutes,” Valentin said.
“Did you get plain cheese, Papa V?”
“Of course I did. And I’ll even help you fight your Papa C for it.” Valentin made a boxing motion.
“We’ll see about that,” Calder said, giving him a warm look.
Calder had been doing that a lot lately, or maybe Valentin had just noticed it more. Either way, he could no longer deny the awareness it stirred in his belly. He was increasingly attracted to Calder’s solid presence. His calm steadiness. They were both alphas, and he felt very much like an equal, but they were opposite sides of the same coin. Valentin also admired how wellCalder took care of Zinn. Not just as a father and partner, but as a lover.
He almost wished he hadn’t overheard Zinn a few months ago, confiding in Assa about the heat he’d spent with Calder. Perhaps Valentin should have been jealous when Zinn detailed how sexy and surprisingly feral the other alpha had been in bed, but listening to him describe Calder’s embraces—and the knotting—Valentin felt only arousal, imagining Calder’s dominant side.
He needed some air.
It would be safe enough on the front porch, even with Bergam on the loose. He could wait for the pizza delivery there.
Valentin sat down on the porch swing. Minutes later, the front door opened. He expected to see one of his partners, but it wasn’t Assa or Wes.
It was Jordie.
“Hey, um, Valentin. Can I talk to you for a minute? Since we’re alone.”
Valentin had gotten to know the teen fairly well over the past year, but he couldn’t think of anything they needed to speak about privately. Or what might have caused the severe look on Jordie’s face.
“Sure, kiddo. What’s up?”
“I kind of want to ask about…personal stuff.” Jordie kept his eyes downcast as he sat on the swing.