Page 102 of Star-Crossed
“They just think you have hantavirus.”
Lyra rolled her eyes in fond exasperation as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Better than leprosy, I guess.”
“You know that’s totally treatable now,” Gemma said matter-of-factly.
Cy was surprised to discover that, for once, he hoped the rumor wouldn’t spread, and was even more surprised at the reason why.
He wanted to be the one to tell his father.
Father.
Cy was going to be a father.
“Ready to head home?” Lyra asked, accepting a plastic bag of her street clothes from Gemma.
Only when her twin disappeared again did Cy realize she’d been talking to him.
“Home as in my place?” he asked, his heart already lifting with hope.
“Sure,” she said, peeling off the hospital-issue socks. “Unless that’s too fast.”
“Too fast?” Cy laughed as he helped her to her feet. “You’ve obviously forgotten that I still hold several records within the Townsend Harbor High athletics department.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” she said, giving him the smirk that filled his gut with lava. “Because if our track record is any indication, this kid is pretty much guaranteed to be fast.”
And, like the training montage he’d teased her about needing, an entire lifetime came to him in a blink.
He saw their child, a toddler with Lyra’s eyes and his smile, racing around the house as laughter echoed off the walls. He saw them in the stands, cheering until they were hoarse at every one of their kid’s soccer games.
Finally, he saw them standing on the sidelines of a football field, screaming until their lungs burned as their child sprinted into the end zone, victoriously obliterating Cy’s own best time.
Because, like records, curses were made to be broken.
Epilogue
Lyra’s eyestraced the patterns on the ceiling as the ultrasound tech spread the cold, sticky fluid on her stomach. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing for the impending checkup on their baby.
Even though they’d found the best obstetrician in Denver, a part of her always panicked when taking a peek at the little life she percolated.
There was always the chance of bad news.
Beside her, Cy beamed with excitement, his dark eyes glistening like polished obsidian as his smile was joker-wide.
“Can we find out if it’s a boy or a girl?” he asked eagerly, gripping Lyra’s hand.
“We said we would wait,” she reminded him. “I want it to be a surprise.”
“Yousaid we would wait,” he whined, using his best puppy-dog eyes on her. “You know curiosity is killing me over here.”
“Good thing you’re not Larry, then,” she quipped, glancing at him with a teasing smile.
As the ultrasound tech adjusted the equipment, she overheard their conversation and chimed in. “I love a happy couple. Makes my job fun. Tell me what you guys do.”
“I’m an arborist and Lyra is an environmental lawyer,” Cy announced.
Lyra loved that after all these months, he still said it with such pride.
“A lawyer.” The tech’s brows lifted. “Baby going to derail that for a bit? Or do you have help?”
