Page 97 of How to Rescue Your Surprise Baby

“You really are committed to this,” Telos marveled.

Mav looked over his shoulder with a tiny smile. “You’re worth it.”

And now Telos’ heart was pounding, all over again.

When Mav returned with the clean bucket, Telos blurted, “I think... I think I could try spending a few nights at your place.”

Mav perked up, lookingexcited.“Yeah?”

“I’ll have to pack a bag—”

“I’m on it,” Hilly-Billy yelled.

Telos scowled. “But what if I want the—”

“I’ll packallyour sexy-times stuff in there,” Hilly-Billy said. “Even your secret toys.”

“My secr—” Telos spluttered and buried his face in his hands. “They were supposed to be asecret.”

Mav stepped close, easing Telos’ hands away from his face. Then he pressed a soft kiss to Telos’ lips and grinned. “I’m not sure how many secrets you can keep from him, when you make so much noise in bed.”

“We’re going to leave him here when I stay over,” Telos muttered.

“We’re going to have a Butler Bros party at Mav’s,” Hilly-Billy said from Telos’ bedroom. “I invited everyone.”

Telos groaned. “There won’t be any fucking space! Our brothers will swarm the place. We won’t even be able to move from one room to the other.”

“We’ll just camp out on the grounds and listen to your every moan.” Hilly-Billy popped his head out and gave an exaggerated wink.

Telos flipped him off. “That’s it, I have no use for a butler. I want a pet shopping cart right now. I’m done with Mav’s streak of bad luck whenever we try to get one.”

He dragged Mav to the nursery, where Estie was shaking a rattle and flinging it at the crib’s headboard.

“C’mon, hon. We’re going to find you a new cart friend.”

Estie wriggled as Telos and Mav dressed her. She reached for Mav; Mav sucked in a slow breath and glanced at Telos.

“Go on, don’t keep her waiting,” Telos said.

Mav grinned brightly and scooped her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You and your dad make me so happy, little one.”

Estie babbled and smacked Mav’s face. Mav blew a raspberry into her palm.

The three of them took the elevator down to the ground level. When they stepped out of the building, they found a few shopping carts wheeling around on the sidewalk, chasing each other. Telos vibrated with excitement.

Metals contained magic. When ores were purified, their magical energy accumulated, more so when the metals were turned into objects. When those metal parts moved against each other, their magic changed, and the objects became sentient. This was why locks could smile, faucets could bite, and shopping carts were only too happy to frolic and play.

“Don’t scare them off,” Mav said dryly. “Are you going to shift into a cart?”

“You know I can’t. Living things only.” Telos approached them carefully. Then he took Estie from Mav and showed her to the carts, careful to keep his tone friendly. “Hello there. I’m Telos and this is Estie, and the grumpy guy there is Mav. We’d like to be your friends.”

The carts turned toward them, wheels flipping curiously. Estie stuck her fingers into her mouth. With her safe in one arm, Telos reached out and petted the nearest cart.

The cart wheeled closer, bumping against his legs. Its friends circled Mav, and Mav met Telos’ eyes. “Do you think they’d...”

“I think they might want to be ours,” Telos said, his breath catching. “C’mon, let’s all go for a walk to the grocery store.”

The carts squeaked their wheels and raced alongside Telos and Mav. At the grocery store, Telos had to grab the carts, setting Estie in one while Mav wrangled the other two. Then they walked down the aisles, filling the carts with boxes of donuts and cookies. Each new item excited the carts further; they flipped their wheels and raised their flaps.

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