“I’m not saying the other projects weren’t great,” River said, leaning in to whisper. “I mean, some were terrible, and some were great, but completely objectively Juno should win this thing.”

“Completely objectively, huh?” Jess bit back a laugh. River’s competitive streak ran deep; second-grade art-science competitions were apparently not immune. “Win or lose, I’m impressed with you both.” She pulled back his sleeve, glancing at his watch. It was already six thirty. “Don’t you have to leave soon?”

He followed her attention to his wrist. A couple of months ago, Jess imagined, River would have bolted up at the sight of the time. But he just exhaled, calculating, and said, “They’re about to do the awards. I’ll leave after that.”

“How’re you feeling about tomorrow?”

The moment of truth. “Nervous,” he admitted, “but mostly relieved that it’s finally here.”

He took her hand in his, and she lifted them, kissing his knuckles. It was as if David’s betrayal had eased some tension in him: Things had gone horribly wrong, but it’d turned out okay in the end. Better, even. The new executive team was invigorated and had a tight, instant connection. River had personally retested hundreds of samples. There was so much media buzz about GeneticAlly lately, Jess was aware that many parents knew who she and River were and not because their children were in school together.

And as much as he insisted it didn’t matter, Jess knew that their new Diamond score had confirmed that once upon a time he had discovered something authentic, and he’d actually managed to do something with it to make the world better.

Beside him, Juno was busy talking to a friend in the row ahead, enthusiastically debating the merits of corn snakes versus California kings. Jess made a mental note to remind River not to give an inch on the snake front.

“Juno is such a curious, creative kid,” River said, following Jess’s attention. “We need to make sure we get a house with enough space for her projects—”

His words came to an abrupt stop, their eyes meeting as they each seemed to register the magnitude of what he’d just said. We need to make sure we get a house. They were together—of course—but they hadn’t really talked about what came next.

River turned his face to the front, giving Jess a sweet view of his cheeks darkening. “I was going to talk to you later, but”—he cleared his throat—“one of the teachers earlier mistook me for Juno’s dad. Juno explained, but she paused for a second first. It made me think that maybe I haven’t been clear enough about what I want.”

Jess’s heart pounded and her palm grew clammy against his. She briefly turned her eyes to the left, to confirm that Fizzy and Pops were still cracking up together over some goat videos on Instagram. “You have an IPO tomorrow,” she reminded him. “This conversation can wait.”

“Why?” he asked, angling his gaze to her and grinning. “Is it going to be hard or stressful in some way?”