Page 24 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

Ivo blushed. No one had ever said that to him, either. “Oh. You too.”

Ace grinned. “Yeah?”

Ivo kept his eye on the ground, nodding. His stomach growled loudly.

“Oh!” Ace stood and looked around, grabbing the wicker basket they’d forgotten about. “I brought you dinner. Look.”

He set the basket in front of Ivo and opened it, showing him the boxes of food inside.

“I think they’re still warm. C’mon, let’s get you back to your nest, and you can eat.” He lifted Ivo to his feet. “Your nest is looking good.”

“I ran out of grass,” Ivo said sheepishly. “And I’m... not good with the scythe.”

Ace looked horrified. “You tried to use it?”

Ivo grimaced; Ace’s horror grew. “I didn’t get hurt. But I almost did.”

“Fuck,” Ace whispered. He glanced at Mary’s dozing shape under Ivo’s shirt. “Fudge. You really should’ve told me sooner.”

He helped Ivo into the barely constructed nest, making sure Ivo was settled in comfortably. Then he began pulling out the boxes of food.

“This is a ham and mushroom omelet, and these are my special potato wedges. This box is fluffy mashed potatoes, and I managed to stuff three pizza toasts in here.”

“These are leftovers, right?” Ivo said.

Ace shook his head. “After I got back, I went straight to the kitchen and made these.”

Ivo’s chest tightened. “Wow. You... You did a lot for me.”

Ace grinned. “Eat some. Tell me if you like it.”

Ivo attacked the omelet first, then the mashed potatoes. “It’s so good,” he moaned.

Ace’s eyes darkened. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hm.” Ivo tried the potato wedges next. They were savory, addicting, and he had to cram more into his mouth. Then he picked up a pizza toast—pepperoni, sausage, and tomato paste, with melted cheese on top.

“I didn’t have time to make the crust from scratch, so I improvised,” Ace said sheepishly.

“This is all amazing,” Ivo said around the pizza toast. “I wish Mary was old enough so she could try all of this, too.”

Ace’s smile could’ve lit up the entire place. Ivo’s heart fluttered.

Then Mary stirred and made a soft dooking sound. Ace’s expression grew so warm, Ivo wanted to have his babies.

Except hewasalready pregnant with Ace’s child, andfuck,Ivo hadn’t had time to process that yet.

“I’ll let you eat in peace,” Ace said, tracing his knuckle along Ivo’s jaw. He stood up and backed away. “I’ll come back with blankets. The nights can get cold here.”

He didn’t head straight for the mansion, though. Instead, he looked around and grabbed the scythe from the shed. Ivowatched in amazement as Ace cut down more grass, bundling it into another huge armful.

“Just in case you need to keep working on your nest,” Ace murmured. He took the scythe away and came back to give Ivo a parting wave. Then he turned, and finally headed home.

Ivo watched him leave, Ace’s broad shoulders visible for a good long while over the surrounding grass.

“He’s really nice,” he whispered to Mary when the dragon had disappeared into the mansion. “What do I do?”

Mary wriggled against him and chattered softly—the mink equivalent of babbling. It wasn’t an answer, though.

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