Page 151 of Ruin

“The only thing you’ll look desperate for is a pizza or a cab when you start calling all those fake numbers you were given.”

Laughter bursts out of me. I told you, my hormones are all over the place.

The look on Lo’s face has me laughing more. It’s a mixture of annoyance with a flicker of, Shit, is she right?

“Totally gonna go check those numbers now, aren’t ya?” Missy prods, winding him up.

“You’re a…” Lo pauses, searching for what I’m guessing is a kid-friendly comeback. “Female dog.”

“Female dog!” Missy laughs, and so do I.

God, I love these guys.

“Okay, enough, children.” Zeus takes Gigi from Ares and sets her up on his shoulders. “Can we stop talking about Lo’s dating life in front of my impressionable daughter? And get these lanterns lit before dusk is gone.”

There’s this weird hush between them, and then they all jump to attention with a chorus of…

“Yeah, of course!”

“Okay, let’s get moving!”

“Everyone, move to the pier!”

As I hold Zeus’s hand, we walk down the pier, Gigi still up on his shoulders. With everyone following behind us, we stop at the head of the pier.

Zeus lights a lantern with his lighter and hands it to me. Then, he lights his own.

“Is everyone ready?” Zeus asks.

And we hear a chorus of, “Yes.”

“Let me hold, Daddy,” Gigi says, making grabby hands.

“Be careful, Gigi girl. They can burn you.”

“I’ve got her,” Zeus reassures me.

“Don’t forget to make your wish when you let it go,” I tell her.

She grins this gorgeous cheeky smile, like she already knows what to wish for.

“Okay, so count of three,” Zeus says loudly. “Then, let your lanterns go. Three,” Zeus begins. “Two…one.”

I release my lantern and watch as it starts to make its flight over the water, rising higher, along with everyone else’s lanterns.

Then, I briefly close my eyes, just relishing in the happiness I feel right now. I can’t believe I’m here with Zeus, and I’m pregnant with our second baby.

If you’d said to me a year ago that I’d be here with him, I’d have told you that an asteroid hitting Earth would be more likely.

I hear the gentle sound of Rihanna singing “Umbrella” coming from somewhere behind me, and then the noise of hushed gasps all around has my eyes opening and my head turning.

Zeus is down on his knees beside me.

No. Not knees.

Knee.

Holy crap.