Page 65 of How to Rescue Your Surprise Baby

Telos’ face turned a deeper pink.

“Because ‘checking’ on a baby involves belly rubs,” Hadley said under his breath.

“Oh, oh! I know the perfect pickup line for this,” Hilly-Billy said excitedly, pulling out his accursed pink book. He flipped through it and began reading aloud before anyone could stop him. “‘Even though I didn’t mean to knock you up, there was romance in our bed-creaking courtship. It was when my tip kissed your pucker and I spread my love inside you wetly and deeply, like applying paste in a tooth filling.’”

Mav froze. Their friends recoiled. Telos gave a slow grin, eyes gleaming.

“Yeah,” Telos purred. “Would you read that line to me, dearest?”

Mav shook his head in disbelief. “You want to be romanced withthat?”

“Maybe,” Telos said.

“Tooth fillings?Seriously?”

Telos sniffed. “I refuse to be courted by someone who doesn’t have the balls to read something so terrible.”

“It’s not even romantic,” Mav grumbled.

“It is if your feelings for me run deeper than your discomfort.”

The thing was, Telos wasn’t wrong.

“We’ll see,” Mav said cagily.

Telos grinned. “Don’t forget, you promised me a better line than ‘Your buttcheeks are round and glorious like the moon.’”

Someone whistled. Mav flipped them off without looking.

“Don’t worry, they’re just jealous,” Telos said smugly, rubbing his face against Estie. “They want a baby like the one I have. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

Estie waved her arms around and smacked Telos in the mouth. Telos laughed, bright and carefree.

For a moment, Mav forgot to breathe. That was the Telos he remembered. The one who was all smiles, the one who kept dancing into a room, going up to Mav to tell him his ridiculous thought of the hour.

Looking back now, it was painfully obvious how often Telos had tried to flirt with him at Admiral Johnson’s castle. Mav had responded like a friend because that was all he’d thought Telos had wanted.

He felt incredibly bad now, for misreading Telos and unintentionally hurting him for so long.

But if Telos could laugh so lightly now, if the old Telos was still in there somewhere, if Mav could tease him out again... That would be worth all the terrible pickup lines he had to endure.

More so because he’d never had anyone else harbor feelings for him for three hundred years.

It was humbling, and he didn’t feel deserving of it. How was Telos still single?

“Hey,” Mav began.

“Hmm?” Telos looked up from Estie. His expression was all fondness, same as the feelings coming through their bond.

Will he also look like this, holding our baby?Mav thought suddenly.Will he be just as happy?

Mav thought the answer might be yes. And something inside him unfurled.

“Here.” Telos pressed Estie into Mav’s arms. “Since you can’t stop watching her. You should start practicing for our baby.”

Mav tore his gaze away from Telos, to look at Estie. She was all wide-eyed and innocent, yanking on his shirt. Mav’s insides melted into goop.

He lifted Estie to his face, breathing in her sweet baby scent. Would his and Telos’ baby feel the same in his arms? All small and warm and innocent? Would their child have Telos’ deep brown eyes, or Mav’s amber ones?

---