I didn’t get to say anything because Ellis came back into the room holding a toy dinosaur. She’d glued a tiny crown to its headlong ago and put one of her pink Barbie tutus on it to make it pretty.
She handed it to E.
“Give this one to Lizard, Mister E. I think he will like it. It’s a dinosaur.”
“It has a crown and a skirt,” E mused softly.
“It was a scary dinosaur,” she said, her eyes big as she stared up at him. “I thought this would make him not scary, but he is still a little bit.”
E chuckled as he stared at the T. rex in a dress and crown.
“Will you give it to Lizard?”
“Yes. I will give it to him,” E said, holding the dinosaur.
“If he scares him, tell Lizard to put him in a drawer. It makes him less scary,” Ellis said matter-of-factly.
E huffed out another laugh. “I will be sure he gets the message.”
“Can he come play with me, though?” she asked. “Please, Mister E?”
“I’m sure you’ll get to meet him soon; then you two can play.”
“And Daddy? Will you tell my daddy to come see me? I miss him.”
A painful expression crossed E’s face. “Yes, darlin’. I’ll tell your daddy.”
Ellis surged forward and hugged E quickly before running back to Ryder and picking up her dolls again.
“Sorry about her,” I said. “She’s been adamant about meeting your boy and seeing Cole. He’s left quite the impression on her.”
“He has that effect on people,” he murmured as he watched Ellis play. “She looks a lot like him, but she’s also Rosalie. It’s so crazy to see…”
“Well, she’s also fiery like Rosalie and has a lot of Cole’s traits,” I said.
“She showed me how to throw a right hook yesterday,” Klaus said. “I’m certain she didn’t learn that here.”
“Cole,” E muttered, shaking his head.
I nodded. Fucking Cole.
I didn’t hate it, though. I liked that he wanted to teach her. I was hoping something could be worked out with him so Ellis could still have him in her life. Rosalie seemed so conflicted and hurt that I didn’t want to push the subject with her.
“Well, thank you for this. I appreciate it,” E said, taking the food.
“Anytime, man,” I said, watching as he backed away.
He left without a word, leaving me to stare at Klaus.
“Who are you going to talk to? Rosalie or Evan?”
He sighed before frowning and looking over to the living room. Ryder was gone.
“Where did Ryder go?” I called out to Ellis.
“He went to see Mommy.” She continued to brush her doll’s hair. “He said Mommy needed a hug from him.”
“What?” I looked at Klaus.
