“How did you get there so quickly? You’re supposed to be in the Netherlands.”
“We caught a private flight.”
“You ran out before the race?” she asks as if that’s a sane question.
“Nothing,” I say firmly, “is more important than me being here.”
Alyssia frowns. “Will this cost you the championship? Isn’t that what they wanted? For you to lose?” she asks about Gus and Skyland.
“Winning doesn’t matter right now. I’m not leaving this hospital room until you and our son are discharged.”
The baby stirs in her arms, drawing both of our attention. My gaze moves from our stretching baby to Alyssia smiling down at him. I know the next words I’m about to say are the right ones even if it’ll rip a piece of my heart out to do so.
“Which is why I’m planning to tell my team that I’m done ra?—”
“No.” Alyssia shakes her head, but keeps her eyes trained on the baby.
“No,” I repeat.
Alyssia exhales a deep breath. “You’re going stay with us until we’re cleared to go home, and then you’re going to work. To win. Because …” She finally looks up at me with tears in her eyes.
“The one thing Lucky and I want is for you to show us and the world who you are and claim that world championship title.”
My mouth opens and closes a couple of times. Alyssia’s gaze doesn’t waver from mine. I witness the determination in her eyes. She’s made her decision. To love me, to remain by my side, all of me, racing career included.
Most words fail me. All except one.
“Lucky?” I ask.
She nods, laughing. “He was conceived in Vegas, right? And someone once told me he always gets lucky in Vegas.”
We laugh, delirious from lack of sleep, a whole lot of bliss, and way more love than I thought humanly possible.
I sit on the bed, taking him from Alyssia. “How do you like your name, Lucky?”
At that moment he exhales deeply and his lips form a smile. It’s too early for babies to actually smile from happy feelings—I read it in another one of the books I bought—but I take it as a good sign anyway.
Still holding Lucky, I lean in to kiss Alyssia. Then I look down at our son. “Now you just have to tell your mom to give me a date for our wedding.”
Her eyes sparkle anew with unshed tears.
“You know you’re mine forever, right?”
She grins. “After all of this, I better be.”
I give Lucky to Alyssia for a moment so I can remove my shirt and climb into the bed beside her to do some skin-to-skin contact.
The bed of our private room is large enough for all of us to fit comfortably. I take a beat after unswaddling Lucky, to lay him against my chest and wrap my free arm around Alyssia.
She leans her head against my shoulder.
I run my other hand down the length of Lucky’s back until I reach his feet, he makes a little jerky movement with his foot, making me smile.
“Would you look at that?”
Alyssia lifts her head. “What?”
“Ten toes. Five and five on each foot. Maybe you really are telling the truth about not having six toes.”
