Zip, Zero, Zilch (The Reed Brothers 6)

He takes another batch of cupcakes out of the oven. I’ve honestly never seen so many cupcakes in one place before. They’re everywhere.

“So what brought you here?” Emilio asks.

I don’t set the icing bag down, because it’s nice to have something to do with my hands, although they’re suddenly shaking. “I wanted to talk to you about Peck.”

“What about her?”

“I wanted to see if you’d have any objections to me asking her to marry me.”

I hear a whoop from the other room. Emilio rolls his eyes.

“Why do you want to marry her?”

Why do I want to marry her? She’s just Peck. And I feel like she was made for me. “Um…”

“The answer is no, if that’s the best you can do.” He points to the cupcakes. “Ice them,” he says.

I ice quietly for a few minutes, trying to gather my thoughts.

“Didn’t expect you to give up quite so easily,” he suddenly says.

I look up. “Oh, I’m not giving up. I’m just thinking.”

“You about done with that?”

I shake my head. “Not yet.”

“Keep icing.”

Suddenly, Marta strolls into the room. There’s purpose in her stride and I back up against the wall, because I’m afraid I’m her target. But I quickly see I’m not. She goes for Emilio, but he must be used to this. He runs around the corner of the center island and she chases him. She picks up a rolling pin and runs, but he runs a little bit faster. Suddenly, she stops and blows a stray lock of hair from her eyes. “Stop tormenting the poor boy,” she says. She shakes the rolling pin at him.

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” he breathes. “I was having fun with it!” He grins. Then he sobers completely. “Did Peck tell you about the day we met?”

“Yes, sir,” I tell him.

“What she didn’t tell you was my side of it.” He rubs at the back of his hand. “I had been hanging out in the boys’ ward at the home, and one of the little assholes bit me on the back of the hand, so I was in a bad mood. I wanted nothing more than to get out of there. I walked around the corner, trying to find Marta, and I saw her sitting beside a little girl. I took one look at that kid and I said to myself, She’s my daughter.” He takes a deep breath. “I know it sounds stupid, and I suppose it should. But she was sitting there on the edge of the bed and she wouldn’t speak. But when she looked at me, she said a million words with her eyes.”

Marta wipes a tear from her cheek.

“I have loved that little girl from the minute I met her. I never doubted that she belonged to us, and neither did she.”

He waits a beat.

“The first time she spoke to me was when she had a set of drumsticks in her hand.” He looks at me. “Do you know what she said?”

I shake my head, and swallow past the lump in my throat.

“She took my hand and said, ‘I’m glad you’re my dad.’ It was one big stutter, and I loved every syllable. She makes me so fucking proud.” He points a finger at me. “She’s fucking perfect, so if you so much as make her cry, I will find you and jam her drumsticks so far up your ass that you’ll taste them ten years from now. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” I swallow again.

“So, yes, you can marry my daughter. And you better make her happy every day for the rest of her life, because I will be watching. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

He points to the cupcakes. “Keep icing.”

“Yes, sir.” I grin.

Marta lays a hand on my shoulder. “Did you get a ring yet?”

“No, ma’am. I wanted to get permission first.”

She looks at Emilio and quirks a brow. He nods.

She disappears into a bedroom and comes back a minute later with a box.

“It was my mother’s,” Emilio says. “Peck used to try it on all the time when she was small, and she loves it. So you can use it if you want to.” He’s grumbling, but I can tell he’s serious.

I pop open the box and stare down at a beautiful antique ring. “It’s lovely. Are you sure it’s okay if I use it?”

He nods. He points to the cupcakes. “Keep icing.”

“Yes, sir.” I smile. I stay until the four remaining Zeroes get there, and then it becomes an estrogen-filled party. Emilio disappears into his office and I get out of there as quickly as I can.

***

I let myself into my apartment and stumble to a stop. Peck is lying on my couch, and she’s not alone. She has a naked baby—well, naked except for a diaper and a pair of pink socks—sprawled across her chest. They’re both asleep. Peck’s hair is sticking out in every direction, and she’s sweating where Kit is pressed against her neck.

Why on earth is Kit here with Peck? And where is Logan? He was MIA this morning and his daughter is here? What the fuck?

Kit has her thumb stuck in her mouth and she’s sucking on it every few seconds.

I reach down and brush the hair from Peck’s forehead. Her brown eyes blink open and she smiles softly at me.

“Hi,” she whispers.

“Hi,” I whisper back at her. “Why is Kit sleeping on you?”

“She got tired and started screaming, and she wouldn’t stop. She cried until she made herself sick, so I changed her, and then she did it again, so I just left her naked.” She lowers her chin to look down at the child. “She’s adorable when she’s sleeping, but the rest of the time, not so much.”