Page 21 of Ruin

“I hear a but.”

His eyes lift to mine. “You’re fifteen. And I’m seventeen.”

All my good feelings come to a halt. “And?”

Silence stretches between us.

He hasn’t stopped looking at me, and I don’t know what this means or what I’m feeling. All I know is that I want to be with him. This guy I’ve known for only a short period of time. But he’s making me feel things I’ve never felt before, and I want to keep feeling them.

“And”—his lip lifts at the corner, giving me that gorgeous smile of his—“we’ll take it slow, Dove.”

“Whoa! Slow down, Gigi.”

My little ballerina comes flying past me in the kitchen, doing a running leap, and I catch hold of her and scoop her up into my arms. She wraps her tiny legs around my waist.

“Mommy.” She frowns at me, disapproving, that cute little dimple appearing between her beautiful brows. “I was pwacticing my leaps.”

“I know what you were doing, Gigi girl, and it’s good to practice.” I tweak her nose with my thumb and finger. “But the kitchen is not the place to do it. And you’re going to be at ballet class in thirty minutes, so you’ll be doing lots of practice then.”

“We need a dance studio here, so I can pwactice all the time.”

I smile at her. “Now, wouldn’t that be something?”

“Can we have one?”

Her face lights up, and I chuckle.

“No, Gigi girl. Maybe if we lived in a mansion, but not here, in Granny Elle’s house.”

She twists in my arms, turning her face to Aunt Elle, who’s standing at the counter, making coffee. “Granny Elle, can I have a dance studio here, pwease?”

Aunt Elle comes over and takes her from my arms. Gigi wraps herself around her like a blanket.

“Pwease, Granny Elle. I weally, weally want one.” She plants her hands on Aunt Elle’s cheeks and gives her doe eyes.

She has Zeus’s eyes. Big and blue and hard to say no to.

“Of course you can.” Aunt Elle folds like a pack of cards.

“Yay!” Gigi squeals, and I groan. “Granny Elle, you da best!” She smacks a kiss to her cheek. Then, she wriggles out of Aunt Elle’s arms and runs out of the kitchen.

“Stop running! And don’t mess your hair up or get your clothes dirty! And get your ballet shoes from your room. We’re leaving soon!” I call after her.

“You know that girl isn’t listening to a word you say, right?” Aunt Elle chuckles.

“Yep. Because someone just promised her a dance studio in the house.” I give a pointed look, and Aunt Elle laughs again.

“She’s impossible to say no to. Especially when she’s dressed up, all cute, in her ballet clothes. She reminds me of you at that age. Guess I’ll just have to convert the dining room into a dance studio for her.”

I bark out a laugh. “Yeah, and we’ll eat in the living room, balancing our dinners on our knees. Why do you have such a problem saying no to her? You never had any problem saying no to me when I was growing up.”

Aunt Elle pours me a coffee and hands me the mug. I take it from her.

“Because you’re my kid, Cam. It’s easier to say no to your own kid. Grandkids, impossible.”

My heart always swells to combustion when she says things like that. And feeling emotional after last night’s events, I put my coffee down on the counter and wrap my arms around her.

“I love you,” I tell her.