Page 16 of Molly

Her face breaks out in a huge smile and it honest to God, takes my breath away. With the afternoon sun filtering into the room, she looks like she’s glowing.

My fucking angel.

“Ryan, that is all incredibly sweet, really. But dating, when Emma’s involved... that’s big. You have women randomly showing up at your work, women sending you nude photos. That’s not... I can’t date casually, hoping for the best, you know?”

“I didn’t ask you to. And for the record, I’ve removed all of those numbers from my phone and blocked them. I told you the thing at work had never happened before, and it won’t happen again. You have my word.”

She rubs her thumb over her wrist nervously, and as I look down at the tattoo, my brain puts two and two together. “The date. That Emma’s birthdate?”

“Yeah,” she whispers, a small smile on her lips.

“That her? Emma, I mean?” I ask, nodding towards the photo on her desk, even though I know the answer.

She turns her head to look, smiles and then gets up to grab it. She comes back and sits down next to me, passing me the frame. When I get a good look at it, my heart stalls. It’s like looking at the woman sitting next to me as a baby. Same brown, wavy hair, same eyes, shit, even their smile is the same.

Beautiful.

“She’s gorgeous, just like her mumma.”

She looks down at it, love pouring out of her. “I think so, too.”

I want this woman. I’ll prove to her I can do this. I’ll show her that when I want something, I work for it.

She turns her head to me and leans in, her lips parting slightly. Fuck, I want to kiss her. I want to devour her mouth and burn the memory of how she tastes into my brain. But I can’t. Not here. Not like this. “The first time I kiss you isn’t going to be in the back of your shop, Mol,” I say. Her head jerks back, and she looks down at the table. Her cheeks turn red.Shit. That was meant to sound sweet...“Molly, what I mean is that when I finally get to kiss you, I want it to be more than a quick peck in the staff room. I want to take my time. I want all of our firsts to be special.”

She looks at me, surprised, but she recovers quickly, faking a calm expression. “Oh. Okay.”

I love that even after such a short amount of time, I can read her like an open book.

“You want to go to dinner with me this weekend, on a proper date?”

She nods. “I could maybe do Saturday night? I think Evie would be okay to stay at my place with Em...”

“Can’t wait,” I whisper, grabbing her hand and bringing it up to my mouth. I kiss her palm gently and watch the smile pull at her pouty lips.

Saturday can’t come soon enough.

8

MOLLY

“So she’s fine?” I ask Evie through the phone as Ryan and I walk out of the restaurant.

“Yes, Molly. She’s fine. She’s just had a bath, and we’re about to read a book. Go and enjoy yourself, woman, Jesus.”

“Okay, okay. Just call me if she needs me, yeah?”

“Yes, Mum,” she replies sarcastically.

“Evie,” I scold.

“Molly, you’re acting like I’ve never taken care of her before. If I remember correctly, it was me that used to get up and do her night-time feeds while you went to sleep. I take care of her half of the damn week.”

I roll my eyes at Ryan, and he smiles. “I know, and I appreciate that. It’s just taking me a minute to get used to not being there to put her to bed.”

She lets out a sigh. “I know, sweetie. I promise you, she’s fine. I will call you if she needs you.”

“Okay. Tell her I love her.”

---