Page 123 of Their Perfect Daddy

Laughter breaks out around us as Monty nods to my sister to let her know the mix is fine. He’s not really picky, and since he’s working out full tilt again, he can afford the extra sugar. Honestly, I don’t think he’d turn anything Poppy offered him away. He doesn’t want to dare upset the woman who gave birth to his new best buddy.

“Can I hold her now, pleaseeeee,” Monty whines.

Smiling down at my niece, I wait just a second longer than I should and nod. He bounces excitedly on the couch next toa drowsy Danny. Our princess smiles at the eagerness Monty shows over holding the baby.

We’ve all had the talk about whether or not we wanted to be parents. While we all love kids, we’re not so sure we want our own. Mostly it’s an issue of time and attention. We’d all want to be able to commit ourselves to whatever child we bring into this world.

We have enough love to spread to all the children in this world who need affection. There are many who don’t have good home lives. Even more who do fine at home physically, but emotionally they’re left in the dark.

Our first hope is to help those who are here already and need it. The second is to have my siblings give us lots of kids we can spoil rotten. Juni just so happens to be the first.

“Grab the pillow to put under your arm,” I tell him as I lean forward. He’s quick to position it where he needs, then he’s still as can be while I place the bundle in his arms.

My boy sighs and sinks deeper into the couch. “She’s perfect.”

“Damn right she is. All our genetics make it so,” Gale quickly throws out.

Dewey snorts and shoves another bite of food in his mouth. The man has been acting as if he’s starved all day. Part of me wants to check in with him one on one. I have an urge to ensure his needs are being met. It stems from all the years of helping my mom be a parent rather than being a sibling.

While pushing down the emotions, I notice Daisy nervously fidgeting in her chair. I normally wouldn't think anything of it, except her gaze is firmly locked on the bracelet she’s wearing.

The rainbow bracelet.

“Daisy,” I call out softly as I ease into the empty spot beside her. Taking her hands in mine, I squeeze them gently to get herto look up at me. “You know you can tell us anything, right? We won’t ever judge you.”

Whereas the room was once bustling with noise, it quiets at my words. Poppy hands Monty’s tea to Danny, who holds it tight to his chest like he’s protecting a precious item. I ignore how it makes me want to laugh in favor of focusing on my sister.

She swallows thickly, her gaze firmly on mine. “I… I know.”

“Good. I don’t ever want you to think you can’t tell us anything. Even if it’s murder, I’ll be there to help.”

My teasing gets a watery laugh out of her. “We all know I’d call Storm before calling you.”

Gasping with a mocking expression of outrage, I turn to face our brother. “You cannot gloat about this.”

“When do I ever gloat?” he replies with a smirk.

“Always!” the room collectively says.

Daisy takes a deep breath. “I’m gay.”

There’s silence, then Dewey is up and shoving me out of the way. He tackles his sister onto the couch with a shriek.

“I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!”

Daisy laughs and cries as a few more of the guys pile on. “You’re crushing me,” she eventually says, her voice raspy from the exertion.

When everyone goes back to their own seat and she’s upright, I take her hands in mine again. “I’m proud of you for telling us this. And Dewey is right — we love you no matter what. Considering I’m gay and several of your brothers are queer, I’m a bit unsure why you were nervous to begin with.”

“Don’t invalidate her feelings,” Rayne says calmly. “Not every person is treated the same.”

I frown. “It wasn’t meant to be that way. I only meant to imply we’re a welcoming bunch. I don’t care who she likes so long as the person treats her well.”

Daisy rolls her eyes at the dad tone I take on. “I get that. It’s just… seeing how everyone reacts to Juni, I was worried everyone would be disappointed in me for not having kids with a man. Poppy’s ex isn’t anything to write home about.” She winces, saying, “Sorry, sis. Low blow.”

“No need to apologize. The man is a piece of shit. If it weren’t for Juni, I’d have keyed his car and torched his place.” Poppy’s reply makes Rayne groan as he mutters about us discussing illegal activities. “Besides, you could still have kids. It would just be different. There is no one way to build a family.”

“She’s right,” I add in.

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