They wanted that.
Assa lifted Lachie from his crib and hefted him onto his shoulder. At nine months old, the baby was crawling like a champ. It probably helped that he had so many family members to encourage him.
Zinn, Calder, Jordie, and Ked had moved into the Pashuks’ house six weeks ago, since it had enough bedrooms to accommodate everyone. Calder hadn’t decided what he wanted to do with the house behind Felton’s yet. He was unsure about renting it out since it was so close to the bakery.
Assa walked into the living room, bouncing the baby in his arms.
“That was a short nap,” Valentin commented.
“I think he’s getting ready to cut out his morning snooze. Ryde went down to one nap at about this age.”
Valentin nodded. “Are you going into the lab today?”
“No. I worked four tens this week. I want to go to Ked’s soccer game this afternoon.”
“Are you alright if I go to the club? Xan asked if I could come in early to help with inventory.”
“Sure.”
Valentin gave Lachie a peck on the cheek and tilted Assa’s head back to give him a kiss before leaving.
After the families moved in together, Zinn had returned to work part-time. He missed decorating cakes, and with Assa’s flexible schedule and Valentin mostly working evenings, they had tag-teamed watching the baby so Zinn could go into Felton’s a few days a week.
“Daddy will be home soon,” Assa sing-songed to Lachie as he prepared a plate of cereal puffs, peas, and applesauce. “And we’re going to your brother’s game later, so be a good boy and eat something for Pop.”
Lachie giggled and gave him theI will not make this easylook before Assa lifted the spoon to his mouth. At least half theapplesauce and most of the cereal landed on the floor, but he gobbled down the peas, so Assa called it a victory.
Assa was sitting in a dining chair, cleaning Lachie’s face, when Zinn flew in through the back door.
“Sorry I’m late. I was working on a special cake topper and wasn’t minding the clock.”
Assa smiled. He loved that Zinn had his work back, his creative outlet. It reminded him of Ryde, who never failed to lose track of time when he was painting.
“Why special?” Assa asked.
“That’s the coolest part…because they’re like us.”
Assa thought for a moment. “You mean poly?”
“Yeah. Four men. All betas. They’re having a huge commitment ceremony and doing all the typical wedding things, including a big cake.”
“Well, they certainly picked the right baker.”
Zinn nodded slowly. “I actually told them, too.”
“About our family?”
“Yep. The staff know we’ve made it official, and so do our friends, but it’s always interesting to tell random people,” Zinn said excitedly. “And I realize that a cake is only a small part of a ceremony, but having a vendor who respects you, whounderstandsyou—that’s priceless. I think I’ve found my niche, making specialty cakes for people who might not feel safe bringing these requests to other places. Polycules, alpha/alpha ceremonies, stuff like that.”
Assa admired Zinn’s enthusiasm. It was such a contrast from when he and Wes felt like they needed to hide their non-monogamy. Still, it was good to be mindful.
“I’m glad you could tell people,” Assa said. “But please be careful, my omega. Not everyone will be so understanding. It’s better in Bellwether than it was in Warburton, but it’s notperfect. Teal told me the McGinns still get hate mail all the time.”
“I know.” Zinn pushed the highchair back a few inches. Lachie watched with enormous eyes as Zinn eased himself into Assa’s lap, kissing his lips sweetly. “But any backlash we might face is worth it. I’m not hiding. Not after everything we went through to get here.”
Zinn’s words reminded Assa of a discussion he’d been wanting to have with him.
“Precious, before we go to the game, can I ask you something sort of serious?”
