Page 64 of Ruined
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“You want to talk about it?”
I tore my gaze away from the flashing images on the screen to look up. My head was resting in Zoe’s lap while her fingers lazily combed through my hair. She’d suggested we veg out in front of the TV after I’d confessed that I wasn’t ready to leave just yet.
Not only did it feel wrong to leave immediately after having my fill of her, but being close to her brought on a calmness that I couldn’t find anywhere else. And when she looked at me with so much understanding shining in her eyes — like she was doing now — I wanted to hit the pause button and simply bask in the moment.
My gaze traveled from her eyes to her lips, and then to the locks tumbling over her shoulder. Reaching up, I curled a few strands around my index finger before rubbing it with my thumb. So soft, so silky. With a heavy sigh, I pushed into a seated position, Zoe’s gaze following every movement.
She waited patiently while I tried my best to gather my thoughts. As usual, I needed to touch her to ground myself. I reached for her hand and laced our fingers together; it never ceased to amaze me how perfectly they fit even though mine swallowed hers whole.
“My mom has cancer.” I couldn’t even say the damn word without a searing pain slicing through my chest. I’d tried and tried to process this, but it was proving difficult. In all honesty, I’d thought if someone was going to get sick, it would be Pops, especially with all the sneaky smoking he’d done.
Mama had always been the picture of health…until now.
“Oh, Eli…I don’t know what to say…I’m sorry.” She nibbled on her lip for a beat, “How bad is it?”
Throwing my head back, I stared at the ceiling. “The cancer is in her brain and Pops said it doesn’t look good. Everything is just so up in the air at the moment. I have a million questions, but I don’t want to overwhelm her with them.” I met Zoe’s gaze again.
Comprehension burned bright in her hazel irises andI knew that she knew Mama’s illness wasn’t the only thing weighing on me. “Have I told you about Melissa’s parents?” When she simply shook her head, I explained to her how they’d contacted me in hopes of meeting Molly, how I’d instantly shot them down and ignored them for the better part of a year.
“What if I’m doing the wrong thing by not allowing them into Molly’s life?” I finally asked.
Zoe studied me for a few moments before she answered, “The way I see it, there is no wrong or right thing here. Only what you and, more importantly, Molly feel most comfortable with. I’m not sure what exactly she knows about Melissa, but I do know that you’re raising an incredibly smart girl. She’ll tell you what she wants.”
I didn’t think it was possible that my feelings for this woman could run any deeper, she proved me wrong when she spoke about my daughter with so much adoration. Without a doubt, I knew that she was the missing piece I’d never dared to hope for and letting her go wasn’t even a possibility.
Lifting our connected hands, I pressed my lips to the back of hers. “Would it be too much to ask you to come with us if she decides she wants to meet them?”
Her eyes glistened as she shook her head. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you and Molly.”
Curling my fingers around her nape, I touched my forehead to hers. “The feeling is mutual, sunshine.”
“Is it okay if Miss Zoe sits next to me, Daddy?” I was about to slip into the booth next to Molly when her question had me straightening again.
She’d surprised me when she said she very much wanted to meet Melissa’s parents. Of course, the subject of her birth mother had brought with it a ton of questions. I’d spent most of the week answering them as best I could.
I never wanted my girl to feel that she didn’t matter enough to someone for them to stick around, so I sprinkled the truth with a bit of sugar by telling her that her mom did a bad thing andhadto go away.
Apparently, I’d been underestimating Molly’s level of intelligence, on the way over to pick up Zoe this morning, she’d randomly blurted out that maybe it was a good thing Melissa had to go because if she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have met Zoe.
At that moment, I realized that my baby girl had fallen for her just as hard as I had.
“Hey.” The feel of Zoe’s fingers curling around my forearm pulled me back to the present. “You all right?”
Covering her hand with mine, I softly admitted, “Just nervous.” Her answering smile had most of those nerves fizzling away. She gave me a wink, then slid in next to Molly. I’d barely taken a seat next to her when Lizzy appeared.
“Auw, don’t the three of you look adorable,” she jutted her hip out and perched her hand on it. “What can I get you?”
“Pancakes,” Molly exclaimed before I even had a chance to open my mouth. “And a milkshake.” I cast a sideways glance her way, she quickly added, “Please, Miss Lizzy.”
Zoe placed her hand on my thigh and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll have a coffee, thanks.” After I ordered the same, Lizzy sauntered off, but not before giving me an approving nod. I’d been getting a lot of those lately; I suspected that walking around with Zoe on my arm had something to do with it.
When Molly tugged on Zoe’s arm, she bent down to hear what my girl had to say. Since she was whispering, only Zoe was privy to her words, whatever they were they caused a huge smile to spread on my woman’s face.
Damn, every single time I watched them together it nearly crippled me. The more time the two of them spent together, the more Molly blossomed into this joyous little girl. Not that she hadn’t been happy, but it was as if Zoe had unlocked some girly part of her that none of us knew was there.
With a sharp shake of my head, I tried to make sense of my scrambled thoughts when a shadow fell over the table. I looked up at the same time as the man hesitantly uttered my name. There was no need for introductions; one look at the woman clinging to the man’s arm and I knew who they were.
