Page 77 of Our Little Cliche
Cyrus cradles the arc of my neck and I roll my head back for him, complying with the gentle pressure, unable to identify the way he looks at me. His eyes flare between mine and I witness his pupils dilating ten fold.
Is he hesitating about something? Is this disbelief? Trepidation?
Then, in a whole other way than he’s ever done before… he kisses me, but it’s sodeeply intimate, and I know my answer immediately.
I am his.
“Fuck I love you, Holly.”
I.
Love.
You…
“I…” I stumble, but I’m not hesitating. I know how I feel in a heartbeat, but the fear of losing him washes through my mind. I can’t imagine him not being in my life, not even for a second. Even as a surge of emotions bombards me, all I can focus on is him.
Then, somewhere over the white, rocky mountain peaks of Vancouver, my words hum to him. “I love you too, Cyrus.”
Chapter Forty
CYRUS
The Grand HickettHotel is indeedgrandwith its white and gold marble tiles from floor to ceiling, creamy, ribbed columns spread throughout, and transparent elevators with golden trims gliding up and down for the guests. A young boy no older than eight catches my attention.
“I’ll check us in,” Holly says, leaving me in the lobby with our bags.
Anyone I know could rear their heads at any moment, so we keep our distance and our tone casual. “Ten four.” I reply, returning my attention back to the child. His face is pressed up against the glass, holding his mouth in the shape of an O as if he’s totally bewildered by thesee-through roller coaster rideus adults refer to as a ‘lift’. Pure joy. He locks eyes with me as it takes him and who I assume is his mother up a few flights, and waves. I drop both luggage bags to return the favor, nodding with a smile—a laugh, actually, unable to avoid imagining that could be Holly and my son.
A family…
The three of us traveling the world. Side by side, by side.
I’ve never actively considered myself having children because I’ve always been so career driven, especially now. That’s why I had the surgery in the first place. Call me selfish, but I had—have—a career at stake, there’s been no room for mistakes. Not that my child would ever be a mistake. Even if it cost me my career I’d put my child first.
Sadness buries itself in my head for a brief moment, what if that kid has no father? But I’m quickly proven wrong when the kid bolts out from the lift, embracing a man waiting on the other side of them. Giggles and the worddaddybounces through the open lobby air, riding over my skin like a soft lullaby.
That’s no mistake.
That is pure bliss.
“Here’syourkey. Room 308,” Holly says dryly, bringing me into the present, then turning on her feet.Mykey?
I grip her wrist when she starts to wander off. “Oh no you don’t. What’s wrong? Why are thesemykeys? Did something happen with the booking?”
“N—”Don’t you dare say nothing, I merely think the phrase and she adjusts herself. “I umm… I booked two rooms…obviously.”
“Oh, yes. You weren’t mine yet,” I say, and she giggles. “Well that just won’t do. However will I sleep without you wrapped in the sheets with me?”
She leans in to whisper softly, “I’ll just sneak in when the coast is clear,”
“Oh, naughty. I like it.” I hand her back my room’s key card. “You’ll need this. You go in first, I won’t be far behind.”
“Okay.” She grins, tiptoeing to the furthest she can to kiss my cheek.
“Are you ready?” I ask Holly, who’s standing before my eyes putting her earring in, primed and ready for today’s book signing. Though my question wasn’t if she wasphysicallyprepared… I meantmentally.
I know I’m not.
