Page 101 of Star-Crossed
“I know that,” Lyra said, reaching up to lace her fingers with his. “That’s why I want to do this, Cy. I want to do thiswithyou.”
He stared down at her, and the walls of the room dissolved away as he let himself sink into the green-eyed gaze he’d thought forever lost to him.
“I want to have this baby because it’syourbaby. Because I know what a wonderful father you’ll be.” A fresh sheen of moisture welled in her lower lids. “From the moment you showed up at Star-Crossed with that ridiculous tool belt, you’ve made my life easier even when it makes yours harder. You put up with me even when I’m being a royal pain in the ass.”
“I don’t put up with you,” Cy said, no longer able to resist molding a hand to her downy cheek. “Ienjoyyou.”
“Hey.” Lyra sat up straighter in the bed. “It’s my turn to make declarations here.”
“Sorry,” he said, taking his hand back.
She reached for the plastic water glass on the rolling bedside tray and took a sip. “Where was I?”
“Pain in the ass?” he reminded her.
“Right. Even when I’m a royal pain in the ass, you drive me all the way home to make sure I’m safe.”
“I’m pretty sure I was being the pain in the ass that time,” Cy said. “Seeing as I’m the one who ruined your picnic.”
“Ruined it to make sure that I wouldn’t miss out on an opportunity that you thought would be best for me,” Lyra said. “Even if it meant letting me go.”
With each word, Cy felt warmth flood through him, a mixture of pride and gratitude that left him feeling sympathetically lightheaded.
“I know you think that everyone around town only appreciates you because you’re always showing up to do random favors,” she said, finding his hand again. “But that’s not true. They love you because you’re you.” The dark fans of her lashes descended as she glanced down at the thin white blanket covering her legs. “And so do I.”
Too overcome to speak, Cy drew her hand to his lips and kissed it before holding it to his heart.
“And anyway,” she said, “I figure that if the universe went to all this trouble to shove us together, it would be fun to fuck with it by cooperating for once.”
Trouble.
Cy had seen enough of it to last him twenty lifetimes. The pain. The loss. The broken hearts. The broken bones. The accident that cost him part of his leg but brought him back to Townsend Harbor, where with Lyra, he’d regained part of his heart.
In this moment, Cy couldn’t regret a single scar. Not when this present reality was the result.
He gently cupped Lyra’s face in his hands, tracing circles on her cheeks before moving his thumbs to the dips of her temples.
And then he kissed her.
The kiss seemed to last an eternity, and yet it felt like only a moment. The warmth of Lyra’s lips spread through him like a wave, and he could feel himself melting into her, the sensations intensified by the knowledge that returned to him again and again.
She was carrying his child.
A life they’d made together as accidentally as an acorn falls from an oak.
And they would watch it grow, together.
“Awww!” Gemma’s voice swelled from the doorway. “You guys.”
Lyra laughed, and it was the purest sound Cy had ever heard.
As they pulled away, he couldn’t help but notice that the world around them seemed brighter, more vibrant.
“Can I assume that all of Townsend Harbor already knows I’m knocked up?” Lyra asked, glancing over his shoulder.
Gemma gave a huff of exaggerated outrage. “You’ve got to give me a little more credit than that.”
A beat.
