Page 60 of Molly

I chuckle under my breath and creep into the kitchen.

“Well, we better sort you some breakfast then,” Ryan says, laughing.

A minute later, they both walk in and spot me. Ryan’s face lights up immediately before his expression turns more hesitant. "Morning, baby,” he says, his voice soft and cautious.

I smile. “Good morning, I hear someone's hungry?”

Emma jumps up and down. "It's me. I'm hungwy!”

“Okay, my little love. How about some pancakes?” I reply.

“Yes!” she yells, spinning in circles.

"Em, why don't you go and get your dinosaurs set up? I'll be there in a minute,” Ryan says, not taking his eyes off of me.

“Okie,” she replies, sprinting off to the lounge room.

I turn and walk towards the pantry, not wanting to go first.

“Molly.” I stop and spin around. “Baby, I'm so sorry.”

I sigh. “Yeah, I know. Me too. I think we both need to get better at this whole communicating thing. I should have told you how I was feeling, and you should have told me what happened that night.”

“Yeah,” he whispers, looking down at the counter.

I take a step towards him, and he lifts his head.

“Let's just... move on.” A smile spreads across his face. “This can't happen anymore, Ry. I've said my peace. I can't handle her. If you come to me in a week and tell me she’s apologised again and it’s all good, I won’t be okay with it... If that's a deal-breaker, tell me now.”

He shakes his head quickly and moves around the counter towards me. “Molly, she's gone. I promise. I'm so fucking sorry I didn't see it... I'm so sorry I didn't listen. Like I said last night, given the choice between you and her, you andanyone, it's always going to be you.”

His eyes search mine, screamingI love you, without words.

I nod and close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his waist. I rest my head against his heart and let the sound wash away the anger I was holding on to.

I love you so much, Ryan Anderson. Please don't break my fucking heart.

33

RYAN

“You sure we’re okay, baby?” I whisper.

I won’t lose Molly. I’ll do better. I’ve told her that over and over for the past three days, and she says she’s fine. Says it’s behind us now. I want to believe her, but I’m terrified she’s going to pull back from me again. If I lose my girls... I don’t even want to think about it.

“Honey, we’re fine. I told you that. Let’s just put it behind us and have a good day, okay? I’m so excited to meet your family, and so is Em. Let’s just focus on that for now, yeah?”

I nod. “Yeah, okay, baby.”

We get out of the car, unstrap Emma, and walk up the paved path to the front door. Emma stands between us as we knock, and as soon as it opens, Ma basically jumps on Molly. “It's so nice to finally meet you,” she says while squeezing the life out of her.

Molly wraps her arms around Ma and squeezes back. When Ma finally pulls away, she looks down at my side where Emma is standing, holding my hand. She’s got her fluffy, pink dog in the other. Carries that thing everywhere with her and throws a fit when it needs to be washed. I love it.

Ma's eyes shine like she's about to burst into tears. A watery smile crosses her face. She bends down so that she’s eye level with Em and says, “You must be Emma.”

“This is my doggy,” Em replies, holding her toy out in front of her.

I chuckle and bend down, still holding her hand. “Emma, this is my mum, Lucy.”

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