Page 88 of Nothing to You
Roxie jumped.“Teenager?Oh, God, I’ll have him sassing you long before then.Roux will help round him out.Make sure he can see how fun it can be to poke and prod.”
“Lola,” Zairn warned.“This is a big responsibility.”
“Oh, I’m only kidding,” she said.“You think I want to turn their kid against them?Turn about is fair play.If we screw up their kid, imagine what they’ll do to ours?Do you know how good they are at math?”
“Accounting?That’s what scares you?”Kintyre asked.“I am so happy I know that.”
“He’s coming to the Halloween party this year as an actuary.”
“Ha, ha, laugh it up,” Roxie said, because everyone was.“I have a secret weapon.”
“Secret weapon?”
“Jane would run circles around both of you,” Roxie boasted.
“We’re giving her a kid.What are you giving her?”
Roxie’s smile fell.“Huh, checkmate.”
But she could still rely on Jane because the beauty diverted the subject… sort of.“Knox and I were talking about babies,” Jane said quietly, though she glittered with excitement.
“Having babies?”Lilya asked.
“He just won’t be outdone on anything, will he?”Kintyre asked, grinning.
“Oh, I don’t think he meant to—”
“Relax,” Roxie said, reaching over the table to pat Jane’s wrist.“Having babies is a great idea.Then the little ones can have playdates together.”She slid from Zairn’s lap, still touching Jane’s wrist.“Z and I had a baby today.”
Everyone gasped.
“It’s not a baby, it’s an embryo,” Zairn said.“Not the same thing.”
“Depends on who you ask,” Rourke muttered.She twisted around to show him a glare.“Back in your cage, Hilda.We’re not getting into that tonight.”
“Do you have a fertility problem?”Kintyre asked, seeming honestly concerned.
“You can use Radley’s uterus if you need one.It’s superfluous; she won’t be using it.”
“No, I will not.Are you eager to rent out every part of me or just the reproductive ones?”
“Any part I can make cash out of, I’m good.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you’re so short of it.”
“I don’t make money out of you because I need it.I do it because I can.”
“Haven’t managed it yet.”
“This looks like gold, right here,” he said, twisting them both to the side to give her a quick glance at the bustling room.
“I should get back to—”
“Enjoy it,” he said, squeezing her tight.“You won’t get this group together again anytime soon.”
“It’s my—”
“It’s nothing.Mieux is on it.She’s in charge tonight.”
