But she couldn’t say no either.
She wanted that time with them both. For however long they were in her life, she wanted to enjoy it. And if that meant one more meal, then one more meal it would be.
‘Yes.’
‘Tomorrow?’
‘Tomorrow?’ She sounded breathless, her pulse racing with a strange mix of excitement and trepidation. ‘So soon?’
‘You really don’t know Lily if you think she’ll wait a day more.’
She gave an anxious laugh. He had a point. And doing it tomorrow meant less time to panic in the meantime. ‘Okay...tomorrow it is.’
‘Great!’
His grin made every anxious flicker worth it. She wanted to make him happy. She wanted to make Lily happy. And if it made her happy too...
‘Are you sure it’s just Lily who’s impatient?’ she teased, hooking her arm through his.
‘What can I say? She has as many of my traits as her mother’s.’
He didn’t pale or tense up over the mention of Elena and she took the change to be a good sign, an encouraging one.
‘So, aside from impatience, what else does she get from you?’
He gave another laugh. ‘Stubbornness, a dictatorial manner, and she’s frustratingly independent, messy...’
‘Wow—please tell me her mother gave her some softer qualities, else you’ll have a monster on your hands when she hits her teens.’ She was purposely light and teasing with it, but she wanted to know more about Elena. More about the woman who had secured his love so completely and given him a beautiful daughter.
His laugh was soft, reflective. ‘Luckily she does.’
‘Like?’ she pressed gently.
‘Her mother’s heart for one, her carefree spirit, impulsiveness, sparkle obsession... The list goes on.’
She smiled at the ease with which the details flowed from him now. ‘It’s an interesting mix.’
His murmured agreement came from deep within his chest.
‘You must miss her...’ she said quietly, giving his arm a squeeze and looking up at him. ‘Elena?’
He met her eye briefly and there was so much in that one look, but she couldn’t label it. It wasn’t grief, it wasn’t pain... It looked more...bewildered, uncertain. ‘We knew each other a long time.’
That was an interesting way to put it. ‘How did you two meet?’
He turned away, his eyes on the passing cars now as he went quiet. So much for her not wanting to bring back his pain. ‘Sorry, you don’t need to talk about her with me. I shouldn’t pry.’
He surprised her with a laugh as he stopped walking and shook his head at her. ‘After all I’ve prised out of you tonight, that hardly seems fair.’
Her laugh was awkward as she realised the truth of it. ‘Fair point. You did get my life story—which has been untold until now, I might add. But still, it’s okay if you don’t want to.’
He studied her for a moment, searching her gaze, and she wondered again if he was surprised by their behaviour. Not only in their actions but thei
r honesty too. She almost asked when he started to walk again, taking her with him.
‘We were placed in the same foster home when we were thirteen,’ he eventually said.
‘Thirteen?’ Her heart pulsed; they’d known each other for ever... ‘You were both so young.’