Free Key To My Heart (Love Conquers All) by Victoria Wells

“Lately Zoe’s been asking for a mommy. At times she becomes withdrawn and sad, which isn’t like her at all.” Letting out a deep breath, he stopped pacing as he looked at Ava. “I couldn’t take seeing my Love Bug like that. So last night I told her that I knew where her mommy was.”
    Nervous energy and excitement coiled through Ava. She stood and went to Langston. Looking up at him through moist lashes, her lips trembled when she spoke. “What did she say?”
    Gently he ran a finger down her satiny cheek. “She cried and said she wanted her mommy.”
    “I want her too, Langston. I’ve always wanted her.”
    Pulling Ava into his arms, he held her tight. “I know, baby. How soon can you be ready?”

Chapter 11
    “Good night, Charles. Thanks for watching Zoe,” Langston said quietly as he walked the older man to the door.
    “You know I don’t mind.” Peeping around Langston, Charles wished Ava a good night. He smiled when she returned the sentiment. Leaning in, Charles whispered for fear he might be overheard since Ava wasn’t too far off. “Son, you’ve made the right decision. That precious little angel upstairs deserves both her parents.” He wanted to add, “and not that evil mother of his.” But that would have been completely out of line. As close as he and Langston were, the younger man was still his employer.
    Langston patted his friend on the back. “Thanks.”
    “What was that all about?” Ava asked, lifting a perfectly arched brow.
    Shrugging broad shoulders, Langston said, “Nothing, really.”
    “Whatever,” she mumbled as she took in the surroundings of Langston’s beautiful home.
    Langston chuckled. “Come on and let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”
    She followed him to the second floor of the massive three-story townhouse. Her heart did a pitter-patter as she approached a room with the door slightly ajar and soft light streaming through the opening. Touching the door with the palm of her hand, she glanced over her shoulder at Langston.
    His full lips curled into a smile as he nodded, giving her the OK to enter.
    Gingerly taking soft steps, Ava gently sat on the edge of the bed next to Zoe’s tiny, slumbering body. Bending down, she placed soft butterfly kisses all over her face. Her touch was like feathers as she smoothed her soft palm across her baby’s face and then her thick, dark hair.
    The doorjamb supported Langston’s weight as he watched Ava. He swallowed the large lump in his throat. Things would have been so different if he had been a stronger man and stood up to his parents. If only he had taken Ava, ran away with her, and married her, then they’d be a family now.
    “Langston?” Ava called softly, pulling him out of his reverie. “You gave her my name?”
    He smiled. “I did.”
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    After making love in his off-campus apartment, Langston would hold Ava in his arms in the dark. They’d talk for hours about their future. They discussed everything from what kind of wedding they wanted, where they would buy their first home, and how many children they would have. “If we have a little girl, I want to name her Zoe,” Ava once told him. And Langston had remembered.
    eee
    “How’d you sleep?” Langston asked as he sat a cup of mint tea in front of Ava.
    “Not too good,” she answered truthfully.
    “Nervous?”
    Picking up the honey that was already on the table, she began pouring it into her steaming mug. “Yeah, a little bit.”
Grabbing his cup of coffee, Langston pulled out a chair and sat across from Ava. “Don’t be nervous. Zoe’s going to love you.”
    She sure hoped so. What if the child actually didn’t want her for a mommy? What if she became angry, demanding to know why she’d left her? And what if she plain ole just didn’t like her?
    “Oh, Langston, what if she’s mad at me? What if she thinks I abandoned her? That I didn’t love her?”
    Reaching across the table, he held Ava’s