Page 29 of Ruin

He visibly exhales with relief. “Thank you.”

“But you can’t screw this up, Zeus.”

“I won’t.”

“And we take this slow. Gigi doesn’t know you. You’re a stranger to her.”

He winces.

“Christ, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound so harsh.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. None of this is.”

“Maybe it is. I should have pushed harder to get Marcel to let me talk to you. Or contacted your family…”

“It’s not your fault,” he reinforces. “I cut you off. Made it so you had no way of contacting me.”

It’s my turn to wince with pain. But I keep it hidden inside me.

“I thought it would be for the best…” His voice peters out.

“It’s the past. Can’t change it.”

“No,” he says. Then, he takes a breath and looks at me. “So, how do we do this? Me getting to know my daughter.”

It’s weird to hear him call her that. But she is his daughter, and he deserves to know her.

“Well, I guess we’ll introduce you as a friend to start with, so as not to upset and confuse her, and you can spend time getting to know one another. Then, when the time is right…we’ll tell her who you really are.”

“Her dad,” he says.

“Yeah. Her dad.”

“Will you tell me about Gigi?” Zeus asks me.

“Of course. What do you want to know?”

He stands the picture on the coffee table and angles his body toward mine. “Everything.” He gives me a weak smile.

“Okay, so she’s smart as a whip. Loves to dance—ballet mostly. But she enjoys tap and street, too. She loves My Little Pony. All things Disney. Her favorite Disney princess is Rapunzel, and she wants to marry Flynn Rider when she’s older.”

Zeus chuckles. “I have no idea who that is.”

“Don’t worry.” I smirk. “You will soon.”

“When’s her birthday?”

“April 6.”

“What was she like as a baby?”

“She was really good. Super cute, of course.”

“Of course.” He smiles.

“You want to see pictures?”

His eyes brighten. “Sure, if that’s okay.”