Page 29 of Till Cupid Do Us Part

“Sounds about right.”

“Watch the attitude,” Niko scolds.

“What are you going to do? Rip the baby from my arms?”

“Don’t test him,” I warn, knowing it’s hardly a joke.

Niko would absolutely, without a doubt, rip Junie from Travis’s arms if he pushed too far.

“Right,” Travis says with a scoff.

He lowers his eyes to the sleeping baby girl in his arms, and some of the tension slips from his expression. Junie hasn’t even been in this world for two days and she’s bringing peace.

Maybe she has the potential to do more than stifle a single argument. Maybe . . . she could help fix everything.

I bring Niko’s hand to rest on my still-rounded belly and ask Travis, “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

“We have the same eyes.”

“Brown with the outer ring of deep green,” I whisper.

His jaw goes taut. “Half expected her to be blonde.”

“I’m happy she isn’t. Brown hair fits her perfectly.”

“It won’t change when she gets older?” he asks.

Niko stares at our daughter, that same shine of wonder from last night back again. “It could.”

“But you don’t think so?”

“I have a gut feeling it will stay the same,” I say.

Travis’s throat works with a swallow. “It doesn’t matter. She’s still cute.”

“Do you want a picture together? With you holding her? It would be nice to have for the future,” I suggest.

“You want to take our picture?”

Is that a weird thing to offer?

“I’d like to. Unless you don’t want one.”

He steps further in front of the window, letting the sun shine over his shoulder. The same brown eyes as the girl in his arms and the man beside me meet mine. There’s a sense of déjà vu as we stand here, no longer one word away from ripping each other apart like we were the last time we were together as a couple.

This is the same guy I thought I could love a long time ago. Past the rigidness and dirty, distrusting glares, there’s still a person whom I used to know on a deep level. Maybe I still do know him, just not the big parts he never wanted me to see. The soul-shaping, personality-creating pieces of himself.

Instead, I know the arrogant, cocky, and sometimes incredibly funny guy who used to make me laugh from time to time. It’s a shame we found ourselves in this situation, both of us too angry with the other to move on and create another story.

He clears his throat awkwardly. “Yeah. A photo would be okay. Just me and Junie?”

“Just you and Junie,” I confirm.

Niko reaches for my phone on the small bedside table and swipes open the camera while Travis watches. Junie stretches a onesie-covered leg out against his chest, and I stare in awe as Travis gawks at her like he’s never seen anything as precious as that small movement.

Not waiting for Travis to look up, Niko snaps a quick photo of the two of them in that position. My heart lodges itself in my throat.

Maybe Junie can change things after all.

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