Page 74 of Wild King
Ava beams a smile and holds the baby next to her face. “Let me introduce you to your nephew, Theo Maximilian King.”
I can’t help but tear up at the name of my nephew. Theo. I smile and see he reminds me of that brother.
Quickly, I call Matthias again and hand the phone to Ava. Beaming happiness as tears roll down her cheeks, she angles the phone so he can see his son.
“Matthias, meet your son, Theo. Theo, this is your father. Just wait until you see him, honey. He’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”
Tears fill my brother’s eyes, and he wipes them away as he says, “Theo, I’m so glad you’re okay and you didn’t give your mother too much hassle. I’ll be home soon, buddy. Ava, I’m so proud of you, honey. He’s beautiful. Just like his mother. I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.”
“It’s okay, but don’t get things confused. Little Theo here gave me a ton of hassle,” Ava says sweetly. “It turned out fine, though, because Kellen and Salem were here to help me and Eleanor bring this little guy into the world. Just wait until you see him in person, Matthias. He’s perfect.”
“So is his mother. I love you, Ava. I’ll see you soon.”
The call ends before Ava can tell my brother she loves him, and she hands the phone back to me. “Thank you. I don’t know what we would have done if you two didn’t get here when you did.”
I point at the bowl on the dresser and laugh. “All I did was get some ice. It was all Salem and Eleanor.”
“Don’t discount talking me through it. I wish little Theo wasn’t in such a hurry. I would have liked to have some of your wonderful ice, Kellen. Would you like to hold your nephew?”
Nodding, I take him when his mother sets him in my arms. Tinier than any human I’ve ever seen up close before, he seems to smile when he looks up at me.
“What’s up, buddy? When you’re older, I’ll tell you stories about the uncle you’re named after.”
“You have to make sure you tell him about when Theo convinced you and Ronan to let him make you two snowmen,” Ava says.
I look over at Salem and laugh. “That’s the kind of joker my brother Theo was. Ronan and I stood there while he built snowmen around us. We were only six and four, so we would have done anything he said to, and he actually made us snowmen. You should have seen how upset my mother was when she found us half an hour later covered in snow.”
“Did she yell at your brother?” Salem asks.
“Louder than either of us had ever heard her before that day. We had to sit wrapped in blankets for hours because she was afraid we might be frostbitten. We weren’t, though. We had fun.”
Ava giggles. “I told him he shouldn’t do that to you guys, especially Ronan. He was so small, and all that snow looked like it swallowed him up. All Theo kept saying was that you guys loved it.”
I smile at the newest King and say, “Just wait until you get a baby brother. Then you can do what he did to us.”
“Let’s not rush things,” Ava says. “I just gave birth to this little guy. We can leave talk of brothers and sisters until later.”
As I hand little Theo back to his mother, Eleanor comes back in and says, “I don’t think you two will be able to get back to your grandmother’s house tonight. I just heard all the roads are washed out. I’ve made up your old room, Kellen, and Ronan’s old room for Salem. If you’re not tired yet, I’ve also got your favorite cookies waiting for you.”
Looking over at Salem, I say, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could sleep now if I had to. I’m going to grab some butterscotch cookies and a big glass of milk. Want to join me?”
“That sounds great. I think Mom and baby need to rest, and those cookies sound delicious.”
We begin to file out of the room, but when I look back, I see Ava staring down at her new son in her arms and can’t imagine anything more beautiful. Matthias may not know it, but he’s the luckiest man in the world.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Salem
Kellenand I sit at the kitchen table enjoying the delicious butterscotch cookies that have always been his favorite treat and ice cold glasses of milk. It’s the most wholesome thing I’ve seen from him, and I have a hard time not being charmed by it.
I know I should be fighting this attraction between us. God knows I’ve tried. I really have. I convinced myself that he was the lowest of the low after what he did at the villa, and there have been times during these past months at the house that he made it very easy to loathe him, just as the rest of the world does.
But then there are times like this and when we hung out together while I was making cupcakes and when he had our first date that make it hard to not like him. He’s cute and completely charming without even trying.
“Maybe we should spend more time in kitchens,” I mumble before taking another bite of scrumptious butterscotch cookie.
He looks at me strangely and waits for me to offer some explanation. Since I hadn’t actually planned on saying that outloud, I don’t add anything, which makes my comment even odder.