Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
MEET THE GRANDMAS
Addison
Thanksgiving was a disaster, which wasn’t a surprise since life had been relatively calm since Beckett left my apartment Sunday night. Something eventually had to give.
Our chef called out sick, and I had to rush to find a restaurant that was open and willing to cater Thanksgiving dinner for fifty people.
Thankfully—which would be funny if it weren’t a disastrous start to the holiday—Ray’s, the best barbecue in the city, was more than happy to help us out.
I hung up the phone with them with a promise they’d be at Lake Hills within the hour as I hustled out of the front doors. And straight into a rock-hard chest.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so—” Sorry was supposed to be the rest of that sentence, but words failed me when I looked up into smiling hazel eyes.
“Damn, Bubbles. Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“I-uhh—” I stuttered, apparently forgetting every word in the English language.
Beckett had to make a last-minute trip up to Chicago to see his brother and their new office, so I hadn’t seen him since our date several days before. He’d called me, though. And texted a lot.
But still, seeing him in person for the first time since then did funny things to my brain.
“I have to pick up my grandmothers,” I said quickly. “What—what are you doing here?”
Tucking my much too light jacket tighter around me, I tried to hide from the chilly breeze that whipped around us. Beckett was wearing a sleek black coat, which looked much warmer than mine.
“I’m spending Thanksgiving with my aunt.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I guess I just assumed you’d stay in Chicago with your brother.”
Beckett shrugged. “I didn’t want my aunt to be alone, and my brother is spending the day with his new girlfriend. I didn’t really want to tag along when he met her parents for the first time.”
I cringed and glanced down at my phone. Minutes were ticking by, and I had to be back in time to make sure the restaurant was set up properly.
“I’m happy to see you, and I’m so glad you’re back, but I have to go,” I explained. “My grandmothers are waiting, and I have to make sure the restaurant sets up correctly. So—”
“I’ll go with you,” Beckett said like it was a foregone conclusion and the obvious answer. “I’ll even drive.”
Peering around him, I eyed his sleek, low sports car before I glanced back up at him.
“As much as I appreciate that, neither of my grandmothers will be able to get in, let alone get out of your car. I’ll just see you when I get back.”
I took a step toward my car, but Beckett stopped me with a hand around my forearm.
“I’d still like to go with you. I’ve missed you, baby girl.”
And how, how was a girl ever supposed to say no to that?
“Okay,” I agreed. “But no funny business on the ride over. And I can’t promise you how they’ll react to your surprise presence.”
“No funny business,” he said with a nod. “But they at least know about me, right? It won’t be a total surprise that I exist?”
He linked our hands together, and I reveled in the warmth of his larger palm. It was a short walk to my car, and he opened my door before he rounded the car and slipped into the passenger side.
It was almost comical how out of place he looked in my beat-up little car. In his sleek black coat and expensive jeans, he was a stark contradiction to the worn, tan leather seats and peeling vinyl.
But my car had seen me through high school and college and was still running. I was going to keep her until she couldn’t run anymore. Which would hopefully be a very long time in the very distant future. I didn’t have the funds to buy anything new or used anytime soon.
“Yes, they know you exist and that we’ve been on one date. They also know we met at a party.” He whipped his head in my direction and eyed me with raised brows. “But they do not know any of the details,” I added.
“Okay, got it. What else do I need to know before walking in there?”
So much, I thought to myself. I hadn’t forgotten to tell Beckett about my unconventional family situation, and I wasn’t keeping it from him because I didn’t trust him.
I just didn’t find it necessary to tell everyone I met that my parents weren’t around anymore and my grandmothers raised me.
It wasn’t fun to relive every time I spoke it aloud.
So, I usually didn’t share that information until I knew a person was going to stick around long enough that it would matter.
Over the past few days, and after our amazing date, I’d realized that Beckett wasn’t in my life for just a moment.
And he’d made it apparent he didn’t want that either.
It was a realization that had taken me those few days he was gone to wrap my head around, but I’d done it. Which also meant I was out of excuses.
“Yeah, there’s a few things,” I began, backing out of my parking spot and driving out to the main road.
“Should I take notes?” he joked, and I really didn’t want to say what I needed to.
I liked his smile too much, and I didn’t want it to go anywhere.
Sensing my mood, Beckett’s hand landed on my jean-clad thigh.
“Hey, baby girl. I was just kidding. I want to impress your grandmothers, that’s all. I know how much they mean to you.”
Focusing on the road, I took a deep breath and was glad I didn’t have to stare into his caring eyes as I told him my life story.
“I’m going to say this fast, because it’s not my favorite topic, but my grandmothers…
they raised me. My parents died when I was five.
They went on a sailing trip for their anniversary, and…
they never came back. Nana and Grams took me in without hesitation.
So, yeah, they mean a lot to me, but it’s more than you realize. They mean everything to me.”
His palm tensed on my leg, and I waited with bated breath to hear his reaction. He didn’t strike me as an “aww, you poor girl, type of person, so maybe he’d fall into the quiet, unsure-how-to-respond category.
It was always interesting to guess people’s reactions when they found out.
There were a few I experienced most often.
Silent shock was a good one, and then many people wanted to try to relate by telling me about their family member they’d lost. I knew they came from a good place, but their experiences didn’t usually compare to losing both my parents.
The most common was the awkward apology.
But the ones I hated the most were the people who tried to write off my experience or emotions.
The people who thought I should be over it by now.
But losing the two most important people in my life, especially at such a young age, isn’t something anyone should ever be expected to “get over.”
“Well, pressure’s really on now. Meeting the people who raised you adds a whole new level of stress.” I barked out a surprised laugh as I stopped at the next light and smiled over at him. “But I’m genuinely sorry to hear that, Addison. I’m glad you had them, though. Nana and Grams.”
“Me, too,” I sighed. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without them. Both of my parents were only children, and my dad didn’t have a relationship with his parents, so if they hadn’t taken me in, I would’ve gone into the foster system, and who knows where I’d be.”
I accelerated through the light and felt a little relief that he now knew.
“Even without knowing them, only knowing the woman they raised, I can’t imagine they would’ve let that happen.”
Nodding, I willed the tears forming in my eyes not to fall.
“Anything else I should know?” he asked.
“Umm…” I hummed, trying to focus on the road and not Beckett’s hand on my thigh.
“Grams is the sweetest person in the world. She always sees the best in people and is genuinely kind. Nana is also very kind, but she’s less…
sweet.” I chuckled and shook my head, imagining the way she would react to my bringing a new man home.
“Where Grams trusts people until they cross her, Nana is automatically indifferent to everyone until they give her a reason not to be.”
“So, I need to win over Nana,” Beckett said plainly.
I nodded. “You get in good with Nana, and you’re golden,” I said.
“Hopefully those aren’t famous last words.”