Mickey put the book back while Elijah stepped over to a chair in front of Mickey’s desk and sank down. He hummedtunelessly and stared into space. It was only when Mickey coughed he came back to the present.
“What’s on your mind Elijah, tell Uncle Mickey all about it.”
“I fucked up,” Elijah said.
“Well this, I know, what have you done in particular?” Mickey asked.
“I had the perfect opportunity to tell Lilly everything, and I bolted. I just don’t know how to tell her,” Elijah said.
“There is nothing wrong with being adopted, you knew who your birth parents were and what happened to them, so what is the issue?” Mickey said.
“What if we decide to have children and she wants to know about the family history? What if our kids want to trace their family tree?” Elijah said.
“These are your concerns? Seriously dude you need to get over yourself, I thought you were stressing about the other thing,” Mickey said.
“Well I am stressing about that but am trying to ignore it, channelling all my worry into the adoption thing instead,” Elijah said.
“You’re ridiculous and you know it. Lilly’s besotted with you and you need to find courage and tell her. She’ll accept you for who you are. Now let’s move on to William, what are we going to do about him?” Mickey asked.
“I think we need to tread carefully, he needs help as well as a good hiding. I’ve a plan that should work. I’m pretty sure he’s either following his sister or is tracking her. If we can set something up, then I think everyone will be happy.”
“All right, spill your ludicrous plan, I’ll fill in all the loopholes and you can sod off and make up withyour girl. She’ll get snapped up if you hang around any longer,” Mickey advised.
Elijah talked Mickey through the plan and Mickey laughed for most of it but got the basics. He kicked him out of his office and Elijah had no choice but to head over to Lilly’s place to grovel.
He hoped he wasn’t too late.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lilly paced back and forth in her morning room, she was too distracted to paint more of Elizabeth’s portrait. Elizabeth gazed back at her, almost screaming advice, but she couldn’t think what it might be. The wooden floor beneath her bare feet felt cool, and it helped her focus. She needed to speak to Elijah but didn’t know how to approach him. She’d successfully avoided him for days. The incessant ringing of her phone and hammering at her door drove her mad.
She needed time to think. In her heart she knew she loved Elijah but she didn’t like his quick temper. Her rational thoughts led her to understand that whatever he had to tell her must be difficult. It didn’t excuse the ugliness that came out of him when she asked a simple question.
Jack and Olivia’s question came to mind a few times over the last couple of days. They had warned her that if she wasn’t all in then walk away. Walking away was not an option for her so she needed to talk things through with him and see what happened next.
The connection between their families intrigued her.For a passing moment she hoped that there weren’t any blood links between the two. If her mother did have a fling with Elijah’s dad when they were younger maybe they did have a child. She needed to find out and also needed to talk to Elijah about it.
Maybe he already knew.
Her pacing ceased the moment she heard the intercom buzz in her apartment. Her heart raced, and she hoped it was Elijah. Hurrying through the morning room and out into her living room, she picked up the receiver and prayed it was him.
“Hello,” she said.
“Will you please let me in this time?” Elijah spoke back.
She didn’t hesitate and pressed the button that opened the door release. She looked in the nearest mirror, pinched her cheeks to add colour and fluffed her hair. There was no time for anything else. He’d seen her at her worst in hospital, she assumed she looked a damn sight better than that. The thumping on the door made her jolt out of her vanity and she hurried across the room to her door.
Opening the door, she looked into his green eyes and smiled. She had missed him so much. Standing on tiptoe, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him hard. Nestling her face into his neck she breathed in his aroma and it comforted her. Lilly could have stood there in the doorway wrapped in his arms all day.
“Are you going to let me in or shall we have this conversation for the entire corridor to hear?” Elijah whispered into Lilly’s hair.
“I want to stay here, I’m comfy,” Lilly said.
Elijah chuckled, took a firmer hold of Lilly and lifted her up so that he could move them from the doorway. Once they were a few steps into her home and kicked the doorshut, he released her from his grip and set her down. He cupped her cheeks and simply stared into her eyes. He barely blinked as he tried to read Lilly’s mind. He tried to work out what she was thinking and how she was feeling. It was a coward’s way of finding out, he needed to ask her and find out the hard way.
“Elijah let me go so that we can sit down and talk. I’m ready to hear what you have to say to me,” Lilly said.
“Thank God for that, because if you didn’t want to listen, it would break my heart. I hope you’re ready,” Elijah said.
