Page 26 of Till Cupid Do Us Part

“No? He’s made his feelings for me clear. I’ve fucked up every chance I’ve ever gotten from him.”

“And he’s been any better? This isn’t just on you.”

“I’m the adult. The parent. I have to be the one to take the steps to fix things.”

She doesn’t tell me I’m wrong. It isn’t frustration that bleeds through the green in her eyes but understanding.

“So fix them, then, Niko.”

My throat is sticky. “You think he’ll ever forgive me if I try?”

“I think he’d be a fool not to at least listen. Travis can be an asshole, but he’s still a person. We all want to feel close to our parents, even when things go wrong. We’re wired that way,” shemurmurs, stroking my back. “And if he doesn’t want to hear you out or decides afterward that he wants things to stay the way they are, then that’s his choice. All you—we—can do then is try and find closure with that.”

“I know it won’t be easy. I’m not lettin’ you go, Ivy. And if he can’t come to terms with that . . .”

“Then it’s his loss. All we can do is show him that we’re here and willing to listen to him whenever he feels ready to have that conversation. I would never expect him to be completely comfortable with this. We can both admit that it isn’t the norm. That doesn’t mean we don’t really love each other, though. Junie is here, and she alone ties us together for life.”

“He loves our little girl. Does a shitty job of hidin’ that,” I say.

Ivy’s mouth quirks. “Yeah, he does. It’s impossible for someone not to.”

“Are you okay with this, angel? Not just me talkin’ to him, but the potential of him bein’ around more? He hurt you real bad.”

“He did, and I found something even better for me than him because of it. I’d let him hurt me like that a million times if it meant I’d be here with you right now with our baby girl waiting for us at home. My life is better than I’ve ever dreamed it could be. I’ve forgiven Travis already.”

A weight lifts from my chest as I inhale a long breath. The love I feel for the woman in front of me is out of this world. It’s cataclysmic. She’s the gravity that keeps me centred.

Palming her cheek, I drop my head and kiss her temple. “Love you so fuckin’ much, Ivy. I’ve got no idea how a grumpy fucker like me got lucky enough to call a woman like you mine.”

“It was meant to be, Niko. That’s why.” She squeezes me tight and nuzzles her cheek in my hand.

I’m content standing here for hours, just her and me. Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving this place engaged, and soon after that, I’ll be making her Mrs. Ivy Shaw.

10

FIVE MONTHS AGO

IVY

After an exhaustive andslightly traumatizing eight-hour labour, I can hardly keep my eyes open as Niko scoops Junie off my chest and against his. My eyelids droop, the dark light from the bathroom hardly illuminating enough for me to see much.

It’s impossible to miss the shape of a man as big as him, though. I strain to see when he sways back and forth, head tipped down and mouth rubbing over the top of the tiny baby’s head.

Junie was born with more hair than I expected. Both her parents were born bald as hell, yet she came out with the softest dark brown hair that I might be too obsessed with petting. Honestly, I’m just so enamoured with her that even with her off my chest and in Niko’s arms, she feels too far.

“You’re goin’ to be the strongest and smartest woman in the entire world, June Bug. Maybe you’ll win a Nobel Prize or be nominated for an Oscar. My baby girl can do anythin’ she wants. You’ve got one hell of a strong fuckin’ mother who will do whatever it takes to make you happy and a dad who will burn down the world for you. You name it, and I’ll make sure youhave it. I swear it right now. I’m goin’ to love you forever,” Niko whispers.

The newborn is fast asleep, not listening to a word he says. That doesn’t mean that his words don’t leave me with burning eyes and an ache in my chest so deep I know I’ll never be able to rip it out. I long to have him beside me in this tiny, stiff bed just to feel his warmth and the reassurance that we’re all okay.

I’m still a bit shaky from my epidural, and with that, the pain is returning between my legs. All I want is to sleep, but I won’t risk missing a single moment of Niko and Junie bonding. I’ve had her on my chest feeding and sleeping for hours already while he sat and watched in awe at my bedside.

There was not one single moment during the entirety of the birth where he wasn’t beside me, stroking my head and arms and whispering words of encouragement. And when they brought up the possibility of an emergency C-section, I wasn’t as scared because he was there with me.

“We’ve got work ahead of us. Once we get back home, I’m goin’ to have to teach you how to call for me so we can let your mom rest and heal. You’ve got one hell of a wide head, baby girl,” he murmurs, stroking his knuckles down the curve of her chubby cheek. “I couldn’t have dreamed of a daughter more perfect than you. You’re everythin’ that we’ve been missin’.”

I swallow thickly and blink away the tears in my eyes. “You know that she can’t understand you yet.”

He doesn’t look away from her for even a second. “That’s okay. I just like talkin’ to her. Now that she’s here, I just . . .”

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