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"Let me go fix you a plate. Do you want anything else?"
Holly shook her head. "I just want..."
Eli stared down at her. "What do you want?"
"When I'm done eating, will you hold me?" She swallowed. "If you don't mind."
"Wilkes, I love holding you," he whispered, kneeling in front of her and cupping her face. "Let me take care of you, okay? I know that you're not used to that, but I want to."
"Okay, but just for tonight."
Eli kissed her forehead. "Whatever you say."
He went out into the kitchen and pulled the cartons from the fridge. Smiling, he scooped the General Tso chicken onto a plate.
His girl needed him. Tonight, he was going to be her soft place to fall.
And if he got his way, it wouldn't be just for tonight. It would be for as long as she'd fucking have him.
19
The soft noise of the SUV's windshield wipers was the only sound she'd heard since picking up Eli at the team's hotel in Tampa when he finished practice for the day.
It was storming like crazy, and it reflected her somber mood. Her doctor had confirmed her Myasthenia Gravis diagnosis, and she was now on medication. Thankfully, it was only one pill per day, and it was working. Her symptoms were under control
And right now, they were on their way to visit Eli’s biological father, Troy Cross.
He hadn't seen this man in at least twenty-three years. She couldn't imagine what was going through his mind right now. Considering he wasn't talking, all she could do was speculate.
"There's the exit," she said, pointing.
A few seconds later, the vehicle's voice navigation system announced the approaching exit, and she gave him a sheepish look.
"Sorry, I'm not used to riding around in cars that tell me where I'm supposed to turn. You've met my shitty car, so you know what I mean."
He flashed a quick smile, but it didn't touch his eyes, and she began to worry.
Maybe she'd been wrong to bring him the letters. What if this screwed up his mindset for the rest of the playoffs? Hell, what if it screwed him up emotionally, forever? He'd been used to not having his father in his life. Had she made things worse?
Eli turned off the highway, navigating through a few intersections and down a side street until they reached his father's apartment complex. The building wasn't anything fancy, but it was nice enough. He pulled the SUV into the parking lot and killed the engine.
"You don't have to do this," she said, turning in her seat to face him. "I don't want you to think I'm pushing you into something you don't want to do."
"You aren't," he assured her. "I need to do this. For me."
"As long as that's how you really feel."
"It is."
After he locked the SUV, they walked in silence together toward his father's front door. Before he could knock, she grabbed his hand.
"Eli, are you sure?" she whispered, searching his face.
He squeezed her hand. "I am. I promise."
"I'm here if you need me. Give me a signal if you want me to help you fake a quick exit. Say..." She paused, scrunching up her nose. "Say ‘discombobulated.’”
Eli cocked one eyebrow, an amused look on his handsome face.
