Page 52 of Ruthless Secrets
I smile. “She’s fine. I think she’s just excited to be around another baby. She doesn’t get much opportunity other than the few hours she’s at daycare.”
“It’s so nice that the girls now have each other.” Lila starts serving up the pancakes. “I didn’t think Holly would get a cousin until Rosa starts popping out kids. But that won’t be for a while yet. Or not at all if Andre has a say because that would mean her actually having sex which is strictly forbidden until she’s thirty.”
“Rosa?”
“Andre and Marco’s baby sister.”
Marco has a sister?
Lila frowns as she looks at me.
“Did Marco not tell you that?”
“Marco and I don’t really know each other.” For some reason, my cheeks burn as I admit that.
Lila pours us both some coffee. “Well, I can assure you that Marco is a great guy. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a real pain in the ass, but a good guy nonetheless.”
When I don’t laugh, Lila sets down the coffee pot and offers me a sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry if this is all overwhelming. I can leave you to have a quiet breakfast if you like?”
“No, you’re fine.” My eyes start to well with tears. “It’s just I’ve never really had the whole extended family experience. It’s a little…overwhelming.”
“Oh, really?”
“I was raised by my mother, but she died when I was eighteen.”
“Oh, that’s so horrible. My own mother died giving birth to me, so I sort of know how you feel.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Lila shrugs. “I feel like I’m making up for it with Holly, though, by getting to give her all the experiences that my mom missed out on with me.”
“That’sexactlyhow I feel with Zoe.”
Lila offers me a warm smile and for the first time in days, I feel a spark of hope.
Could something good come out of this mess after all?
Lila takes a bite out of one of her pancakes. “So, was it just you and your mom?”
I bounce Zoe up and down on my lap as I think of Ben. “No. I have an older brother, but we haven’t spoken in years.”
“How come?”
“He got caught up in some stuff, so I ended up cutting contact. Last I heard, he’s in prison. My mom did have a sister who she never spoke to, so even if I did have cousins, I wouldn’t know them if I passed them in the street.”
“Families can really suck, sometimes.” Lila stabs another piece of pancake with her fork. It seems there’s a story there, but I don’t feel comfortable enough to pry.
I sigh. “Yeah.”
Lila turns the subject onto the girls, and we spend the restof breakfast comparing newborn horror stories and laughing at the similarities between them while I feed Zoe small bits of pancake.
The past twenty-four hours have been overwhelming in terms of Zoe going missing and me being shot at like I was in some kind ofFast and Furiousremake. But I will say one positive thing that’s come out of it is meeting Lila and Holly.
I love the idea of Zoe being a part of a big family, and I find Lila to be great company. I’m sure over time we could become firm friends.
But then I remember the reality of this family, and I worry that at any point something is going to go wrong, and Zoe and I are going to end up hurt.
