Page 80 of Moonlit Kisses

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“Doyou mind if we get some fresh fruit?” Molly fidgets with her bracelet. I noticed how much she enjoyed the fresh fruit we had for breakfast the morning after the first night we slept together, and she always had some in her apartment.

I stop, pulling the cart to the side of the aisle and turn Molly to face me. “Of course we can buy fresh fruit and vegetables and whatever else you need, Dimples. Why are you worried about asking?”

Her eyes skate around me, glancing everywhere but at me. “Fresh fruit was … still is a luxury for me. When I have money, it’s one of the first things I buy. I wasn’t sure if fruit was something you have on the regular and I didn’t want to impose my preferences on you. I notice you don’t seem to eat a lot of fruit and you don’t have any in your fridge.”

Such a simple thing. I’ve always eaten fruit. Mom always made sure we had fresh fruit every day with breakfast and Dad always packed fruit in our lunch box. As an adult, though, I can’t remember the last time I took fruit to work that wasn’t in a pie or muffin. I usually have a small amount of fresh fruit in the fridge at home for snacks or breakfast, but if I skip eating it for a day, I don’t really think about it. Shit! It’s not something I’ve thought about, which means I take it for granted. Here’s Molly, who’s always lived on the poverty line or close to it and she would never take something as simple as having fresh fruit every day for granted. She considers it a damn luxury.

I pull her in close and kiss her forehead. “If it will make you happy, we can have fresh fruit and vegetables for every single meal. I never want you to think you can’t ask for what you want, for what you need. Being on my own, I didn’t bother keeping much in the house. I’d make simple meals for dinner, and I was slack with breakfast. We can do better with two of us.”

We make our way to the fruit and vegetables, and I watch as Molly carefully handpicks fruits and vegetables with glee written all over her face. Glancing at the prices, I note she’s choosing the basic options that aren’t too expensive.

I’m not having it. “Do you like berries?”

Her head snaps up to mine, then she glances across to the berry display. “I love raspberries, but they’re a little expensive.”

“I love raspberries too. Let’s get some.” I push the cart across and grab two containers of raspberries, two of strawberries, and one of blackberries. My girl will never go without the necessities of life again. Shit that we all take for granted.

Molly steps closer to the cart, studying the contents. Her gray eyes slowly creep up to mine and she tucks a lock of her silky hair behind her ear. “Oh, that’s a lot. I don’t know if we’ll get through all of it before it goes bad.”

I shrug. “I’m pretty sure I can eat a whole container in one sitting. I doubt it’ll be a problem.” I peck her forehead. “C’mon, we need to keep moving.” I need to make sure my girl has everything she needs at her fingertips. We move down the aisles, filling the cart with groceries. More than I’ve ever bought before, but I’m not stopping until the cart is full. We’ve got one more section to go. Ice cream. “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”

She licks her lips and studies the freezer for long moments, then she glances at the cart. “I don’t think we need anything else.” She huffs out a laugh. “We’ve already got more than we need.”

“We need to have ice cream. C’mon, what’s your favorite?”

She looks back at the freezer. “I am partial to vanilla caramel fudge. What’s your favorite?” I grab a carton of her favorite and a tub of pistachio for me, holding it up so she can see. “I’ll have pistachio. You don’t need to grab two different cartons of ice cream. It’s too much.”

“Nah. As much as I love you, I don’t share my ice cream.” I press a kiss to the tip of her nose and dump the ice cream in the cart as Molly giggles.

We head to the front of the store to pay as Molly grumbles about how much food we bought. A couple of ladies have stopped in the aisle to have a chat and as we get closer, I realize one of them is Beth. She’s speaking to an older woman. Neither of them has any groceries, so they must have just arrived. Molly hasn’t noticed because she’s still studying our cart with a frown. Beth’s eyes catch on us and her mouth drops open slightly. She glances at the older lady and back to us several times. For some reason, she looks uncomfortable. Almost like we’ve caught her doing something she shouldn’t.

Molly’s feet lock in place as she notices Beth. “Hi, Beth,” she greets, smiling.

“Molly. Max.” I’ve only met Beth a couple of times and I don’t know her all that well, but her usual friendliness is missing. Molly’s smile drops and creases form between her brows; I’m not the only one who noticed the frosty greeting. Beth glances back at the older lady she’s with as we all stand awkwardly. The lady turns around and her eyes widen, her mouth dropping open. Her hand rises to her chest as she grips her blouse. Beth gestures to the woman. “Uh, uhm. This is Joanna. JoannaLewis.” She raises her eyebrows at Molly.

Lewis. That’s Molly’s surname. My eyebrows shoot up.Fuck!

I move closer to Molly and wrap my arm around her. Her eyes skip between Beth and Joanna and I can see her putting one and one together. “Joanna Lewis?” Molly asks Beth.

Beth nods. “Joanna. This is Molly. She recently moved here from Portland.”

Joanna steps into Molly’s space, studying her closely. “Molly? That was my mother’s name.” She raises her hand, almost touching Molly’s face before she realizes what she’s doing and pulls back sharply. “I’m sorry. You look so much like …” She shakes her head as though she’s trying to shift a memory.

Beth steps forward. “Joanna.”

“How about we pay for our groceries and you can follow us home for a chat?” I cut her off. The ladies shouldn’t have this conversation in the middle of the store. I’m not sure if Molly’s come to the same conclusion I have, but if she’s who I think she is, this conversation should happen in private.

Everyone agrees, and we pay for our groceries and load them into my car. Molly’s been silent the entire time, fidgeting with her bracelet. Once we’re on the road, I pull her hand across to rest on my thigh. “You okay?”

She tears her eyes away from her window and glances at me. “Do you think she’s … do you think she’s my grandmother? I mean, her name is Lewis and the way she was looking at me and she said that her mom’s name was Molly. Mom told me she named me after her grandmother.” The words tumble out of Molly’s mouth, each one coming faster than the last.

“I think she might be. How do you feel about that?”What a fucking stupid question.God, I’m an idiot sometimes.

“I don’t know. I never even thought about finding Mom’s parents. They didn’t support her and her dad wanted the pregnancy aborted. Wantedmeaborted. That’s why she left.” The despair in her voice is thick and I glance across to check on her. Storm clouds filled with rain look back at me. “Will she even care that Mom’s gone?” She brings her hand up to wipe away the tears that have escaped. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“I can pull over right now and tell them we’ve changed our mind. We don’t have to do this until you’re ready, Molly.” I squeeze her hand.

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