Chapter 12
TWELVE
HOT GOS
Addison
“I really wish you didn’t have to deal with all this insurance nonsense,” Nana hollered from her recliner.
Grams gave me a sassy, agreeable look over her shoulder as she stirred the soup on the stove, and I readjusted on the kitchen counter where I sat.
The little house I’d grown up in wasn’t much—it was a cute yellow house in the middle of the suburbs that contained most of the original fixtures and features.
The cabinets in the kitchen were still dark brown, and the carpet was worn.
And the stairs creaked every time someone stepped too hard.
But it was home. And it had kept me safe during the worst years of my life. As had the women who lived in it.
“It’s not a problem, Nana,” I hollered back, and Grams spun quickly—as quickly as she could—with the spoon in her hand, which she pointed at me accusingly.
“Don’t minimize it, Addie Wren. You are our lifesaver, act like it.”
Years of experience taught me that rolling my eyes would’ve resulted in a verbal beatdown I was not prepared for, so I suppressed the urge and nodded instead.
“Of course, Grams, but I promise, it’s not a big deal. I will figure it out. The nurse will be back four days a week. We just might have to take an additional trip to see Dr. Finnegan soon.”
I heard Nana’s groan all the way in the kitchen and knew for certain she was rolling her eyes. She would rather never go back to the doctor if it were her choice. And it made sense with how much time she’d spent in the hospital and doctor’s offices the past few months.
“She’ll go, and she’ll be fine,” Grams agreed.
Her hair that was once as black as night was now more gray than anything else but was just as thick and healthy as ever.
However, she only wore it pulled back, especially since she spent most of her time in her kitchen.
Where she honestly preferred to spend her time, cooking anything and everything for her neighbors or friends.
That’s how she filled her time since she retired from teaching at the university.
She was the epitome of warmth and determination, proven by the beautiful lines around her eyes and mouth.
“I may not walk very well anymore, but my hearing is fine,” Nana said, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to suppress my laughter.
They were so in love yet annoyed the crap out of each other all the same. Just like any normal married couple.
Nana was also long retired. She’d been a photographer, but when she couldn’t move around any longer, she was forced to give up her passion.
We still displayed all her photos, though.
As I would forever. Their entire home was lined with her art, and it was hanging in my apartment, as it was in so many other homes and businesses.
I heard the motor of her recliner and prepared to jump off the counter to help her. But Grams waved me off.
She dropped her voice to a whisper and shook her head. “Let her try.”
It went against my gut to let Nana suffer through getting up and moving elsewhere in their house, but with the nurse dropping to only a few days a week, we had to do something.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t be there as much as I wanted to be.
An entire minute later, Nana shuffled around the corner, holding onto her walker and watching her feet. Her short hair had turned more white in the past few months, and I swore the time in the hospital had aged her another decade. But she was still beautiful and sassy.
She was still my Nana.
“But that’s enough about us,” Nana said, heading toward the wood table on the other side of the kitchen.
I held my breath and watched her intently as she slowly lowered herself into one of the chairs, waiting to see if I needed to hop off the counter at a moment’s notice.
She plopped into the chair and looked back over at us.
Grams had been watching her, too. “Tell us about you, Addie Wren. We can’t be the most interesting part of your life. ”
Shaking my head, I sipped my lemonade and tried not to think about the unanswered message that was taunting me. Beckett had texted me to confirm plans for our date tomorrow, and I was nervous to respond.
Probably because I wanted to so bad. And I wanted it to work so bad.
“I think you are both very interesting.”
Both of them stuck me with unimpressed looks, and I sighed.
“You are twenty-three years old, please tell me you are not spending all your time working and taking care of us old women,” Grams said. She wiped her hands on her apron and pulled a gallon of milk from the fridge before returning to the stove.
“We live vicariously through you now,” Nana argued. “So, tell us the hot gos.”
Lemonade nearly spewed out of my nose, and I had to cough to make sure I didn’t choke.
“Hot gos? Nana, where the heck did you learn that?”
She shrugged and fidgeted with the yellow placemat in front of her. “Well, I’m stuck in that dang chair most of the day, and I’ve already read every book we have, so I had to turn on the TV. I’ve picked up a few things.”
I could feel my face growing red from laughing, and I held my stomach as I doubled over.
“Helen, you are eighty,” Grams scolded. “Act like it.”
Nana stuck her tongue out at Grams, and I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I’ll buy you more books, Nana.”
“I don’t give a crap about the books, tell us about your life.”
Groaning, I tilted my head back toward the ceiling and considered what I could tell them.
“I’m working an engagement party later this afternoon, and bingo night went well yesterday. Bri has a crush on her coworker…umm…there’s not much else to tell.”
Grams glanced over at Nana, then they both looked at me. Of course neither of them believed me. I was a crappy liar, and they knew me better than anyone else.
“Fess up, Addie Wren.”
They were going to learn the truth sooner rather than later, so it made sense to tell them anyway. Rip off the metaphorical Band-Aid.
“I have a date…tomorrow.”
Both of my grandmothers gasped, and Nana clapped excitedly as Grams squeezed my knees.
“That’s such good news. You know, we never liked Owen, the little shithead,” Nana said, and my jaw dropped.
No, they didn’t like him. There wasn’t a lot to like, so I understood, but the two of them also never cussed.
They got onto me so much when I was growing up that I still rarely did.
So, hearing Nana call him a shithead…maybe they disliked him more than they’d initially let on.
“Tell us all about him. Is he a nice boy?” Grams asked.
And I didn’t have a chance to answer before Nana added, “Is he cute?”
“He is nice and cute,” I said. Although cute didn’t feel like an apt enough adjective. Gorgeous, handsome, panty-dropping, mouthwatering—those made more sense, but I wouldn’t tell them that. “And I also wouldn’t call him a boy.”
“Not a boy?!” Nana gasped. “How exciting!”
“No, no, no,” I said quickly, not wanting to give them the wrong impression and knowing if I got them on that train of thought, we’d never get back to the point. “He’s a…man.”
“Did you hear that, Gabby? The way she just said ‘man’?”
“You guys,” I sighed, but they were already giggling. “I just meant that once you pass a certain age, the word ‘boy’ doesn’t work anymore.”
“Of course, honey. So, how old is this man then?”
I swallowed nervously and chewed my lower lip while I fidgeted with the hem of my dress.
“He’s…older than me.” I tried, but Nana cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows in warning. “Fine, he’s…forty.”
I closed my eyes and waited for them to blow up or begin yelling. Not that they usually did either, but I’d never dated someone almost two decades older than me before. But when neither of them spoke, I cautiously peeked one eye open.
Grams was still stirring her soup, and Nana was nodding thoughtfully.
“Where did you meet him?” Grams asked, and I straightened, unsure of how to react to their lack of reaction.
“Umm…we met at a party. I went on behalf of Grant Events a couple weeks ago because Caroline didn’t want to go.” Nana continued to nod while Grams stood silently, and I couldn’t take it. “Tell me what you really think,” I pleaded. “I know you both have thoughts.”
“We do not—” Grams began to argue, but I turned on her the same look she’d used on me several times just in the past few minutes.
“Fine,” she sighed. “Speaking for both of us, we just want you happy, Addie Wren. If it’s with this man, then so be it.
I just hope you know we’ll put him through the paces when we meet him. Especially your Nana.”
I laughed and drained my lemonade, slipping off the counter and placing my empty glass in the dishwasher. “We have to make it through the date first,” I said. “You never know, it may go horribly and I’ll never see him again.”
Even as the words came out of my mouth, I didn’t believe them. I knew it wouldn’t be horrible. We had enough explosive chemistry that we should probably be careful walking into any establishment together. And if that was our starting point, I had a good feeling about the rest.
Which was also terrifying.
“It’s going to be great,” Nana said confidently. “And if it’s not, it won’t be because of you. You’re a heck of a catch. Remember that.”