Page 37 of Molly

He nods, his smile widening. “The prettiest.”

He stands and walks around to her high chair, looking at me, asking permission to give her the toy by holding it up a little. When I nod, he keeps going and stops to crouch down next to her high chair. “I saw this yesterday and thought you might like it. She’s very fluffy, very soft,” he whispers to her, and my heart just about fucking bursts.

She grabs it quickly and snuggles it into her chest, rocking it back and forth.

“What do we say, Emma?” Penny chimes in.

She stops and looks back at Ryan. “Fank you, Wyan, I wove her.”

“You’re so welcome, little one,” he replies, running his hand over her mop of hair before standing back up and rounding the table to sit back down.

Evie ducks off a few minutes later and brings back an enormous platter of sandwiches, cheeses, crackers and fruit and puts it in the middle of the table. Jess sits in her seat, silent, as we all start chatting and eating.

Penny looks at her from the corner of her eye and angles her body so that she’s facing her. “So, Jess. Car trouble, huh? What was the issue?”

Her head snaps up, and she looks at Penny, cheeks reddening. “Oh, um, it just wouldn’t start. I don’t know anything about cars, so I just called Ry.”

“Mmm, good thing you were heading in the same place then, huh?” Penny asks, one eyebrow raised.

Jess nods her head, ducking a little at Penny’s tone. I decide to break the tension and be nice, for Ryan’s sake. “So, how are you liking Adelaide, Jess?” I ask.

Ryan moves his hand to my thigh and gives it a squeeze, leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. I don’t miss Jess’s eyes darting to him while he does it, jealousy shining through her expression.

She clears her throat. “Yeah, I really like it. I miss my family, but I’m adjusting. The dentist I work for is really nice, and it’s a lot easier to drive around here than in Melbourne.” Her eyes dart to Penny and then back to me. “When my car works, that is.”

I nod and go to respond, but Penny jumps in. “If your family all lives in Melbourne, why move to Adelaide? They don’t have dentists there?”

Beckett chokes on his coffee, mid-sip, and Evie pats him on the back, looking at me, trying not to laugh.

“She was offered a management position here. She runs the clinic she works in now. It was a step forward in her career,” Ryan jumps in, coming to Jess’s rescue. Penny shoots him a withering stare, and he shrinks back in his chair a little. It’s not fun to be on the receiving end of Penny’s‘mum’look.

Beckett finally gets himself together and stands up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Pen, a word?” he says more than asks.

She rolls her eyes, stands up, and walks towards the staff room, gesturing for him to follow.

Interesting.

Evie looks at me after watching them walk away, and I shrug. I’ve got no idea, either.

“Been on any more dates, little fairy?” Ryan asks, looking at Evie.

She lights up, loving his nickname for her. Their relationship is the cutest. They talk more when he comes to the cafe for lunch than he and I do. He treats her like a little sister, and I love that for her.

“I went on one last week. He seemed so nice, then all he talked about was his car. It was disappointing, to say the least.” She huffs dramatically.

“Not a car girl?” he asks, smirking around his coffee cup.

“Do I look like I know anything about cars, Ryan? I ride a bike to work.”

He chuckles and opens his mouth to respond when Jess cuts in.

“Do you go on a lot of dates or something?” she asks.

Evie turns to her, nodding. “I’ve got an Instagram page set up dedicated to it. It’s called, The Serial First-dater.”

“But why?” Jess asks.

“I guess it started because I was going on a lot of dates that were shit. I came up with the idea of talking to them online before actually going out with them. I started writing about it and then thought, hey, why not?”

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