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“No,” Lana and I both answer at the same time.
She laughs as she begins lighting the first of thirty-eight candles. I grab on to the lit one and help her tackle the rest of the unlit candles while she rocks Esme.
Ilona comes running into the room with Iris on her heels. Based on the guava icing covering Ilona’s mouth and hands, it’s safe to assume she already had a taste of my birthday cake. One quick glance to the side confirms my suspicions.
“Sorry.” Iris winces.
“Don’t worry about it. I always like my food to be checked for poison before I eat it.”
“Lana loves us too much for that.” Zahra beams.
Declan points at me. “You on the other hand…questionable.”
Iris tries to wipe Ilona’s face with a cloth napkin, but she darts off in the opposite direction. Declan snags his kid before she can bolt from the room and places her on his lap. Ilona shakes her head to resist, making the beads at the ends of her braids clink together, but Iris ignores her as she clears the remnants of icing from her face.
“I found it!” Cami dashes inside the dining room and places a crown on my head.
“Perfect. Just what I needed.” I drop a kiss on her cheek.
She wrinkles her nose as she wipes at her face. “Dad,” she whines. “Gross.”
Despite how many times I hear the name from Cami’s mouth, my chest still tightens sometimes at the sound of it. Cami started calling me her dad a year after Lana and I got together and never stopped.
I hope she never does.
I tickle her. “I miss the days when you didn’t think boys have cooties.”
“Ugh. Stay away from all boys. They have flesh-eating bacteria that will make your skin fall off,” Declan says with a serious face.
One of these days I’m going to kill him.
Cami’s eyes widen. “What?” She wipes at her cheek harder.
I wrap an arm around her and pull her against me. “He’s just joking.”
“Am I?” Declan waggles his brows at Cami, making her laugh. It’s strange to see my brother let his guard down around the kids. It makes him seem human.
Lana laughs as she hands me Esme before snapping a photo of me, the kids, and my cake. Half the candles are already melted, so Lana urges everyone to begin singing the happy birthday song. My brothers can’t hold a tune to save their lives, but the girls save the day with their cheery tone and sense of rhythm.
“Make a wish.” Cami grins at me.
I shut my eyes and blow out the candles.
I wish for a healthy baby and healthy wife.
No matter how much I joke about having a boy, I don’t give a damn what the gender is, so long as Lana and the kid are safe.
Everyone claps and hoots. Lana begins cutting the cake for everyone.
“Psst.” Cami grabs my hand. “I want to show you something.”
I shoot Lana a look as Iris grabs Esme from my arms. My wife only offers me a small smile before returning to her task.
“What’s up, kiddo?” I allow Cami to lead me out of the dining room.
“I have a present for you.”
“What is it?”
