Chapter 17
IZZY
“Something’s different,” Grandma says, seeming almost completely like her old self.
I can’t fight the smile constantly shaping my lips. I feel bright and sparkly, changed, like, after last night, I’ll never be the same person again. But how far can I push this? How long until Aaron demands more?
“Is it?” I say innocently. Despite everything, Grandma is having a good day, or a good hour, at least. That means something.
Grandma smiles knowingly. “I think I know, but I also think you might have a heart attack if you hear your old Nana say it.”
I shrug, the picture of innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking abo—”
“You had sex.”
I laugh, clapping my hands together. “Grandma!”
She smirks, eyebrow raised, reminding me of the woman she was when I was a teenager and she took me in. Illness is a vicious, ugly thing, if it can topple a woman like Grandma.
“That doesn’t sound like a denial,” she says.
“Are you psychic or something?”
“That sounds like a confirmation.”
“He’s my boss,” I murmur.
“Oh, I don’t want to hear that.” Grandma waves her hand shakily. “Don’t tell me everything that’s wrong or could go wrong. I want to hear the good stuff, Izzy. Tell me how he treats you. Does he make you laugh? Do you have a connection? Oh, I have to meet him!”
“He treats me well,” I say. “And yes, he makes me laugh.” Among other things. “I’m not some serial dater, but I think we have real chemistry, a real connection.”
“What about me meeting him, hmm?” she says.
“We haven’t been together for a long time,” I murmur, deflecting.
“Maybe not,” she says. “But don’t talk as if I don’t know you. You care about this man. He’s important to you, which means he’s important to me too.”
“Well,” I say, knowing this might be a mistake. “He’s outside.”
“Here, now?” Grandma says, excitedly.
“Yeah, he said he didn’t care how early it was. He wanted to spend more time with me before work.”
“Oh, how wonderful. So…”
“So?” I ask.
“Don’t give me those puppy-dog eyes,” she says, laughing. “Bring him in here!”
I laugh. “Are you serious? He might not be ready to meet my family.”
Though even as I say this, I remember the look on his face last night when he mentioned coming here. It was like he wanted to be more involved, then he must’ve read the terror in my eyes, the fear I let exist just for a split second. But it was enough. That was when he said he’d wait outside.
I reach for my cell phone when I realize I left it in the car.
“I’ll go out and let him know,” I murmur. “But no promises…”
Grandma chuckles. “If he doesn’t want to come in here, I’ll go out there and drag him in.”
I grin. When she’s in a feisty mood like this, I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t let her do.
Outside, I walk over to my car. Dom looks strange sitting in the passenger seat, his suit too expensive, his general energy too…
rich. I walk to the window, meaning to knock on the glass.
He hasn’t noticed me; his gaze is fixed entirely on the screen.
He’s on FaceTime with a pretty woman and a boy with a big smile on his face.
Dom’s eyes are bright, less troubled than I’ve ever seen them.
He finally notices me, turning. Then he does something that breaks my heart. Without saying goodbye to the woman or the boy—whoever they are—he ends the call and quickly tucks his phone away as though hiding it. Why doesn’t he want me to see those people? Who are they?
Before he ended the call so suspiciously, I could’ve assumed they were family friends, somebody he met through his work, perhaps. But now? If he isn’t hiding anything, abruptly ending the call with a guilty look on his face is an odd way to show it.
He opens the door, all smiles again. He might not be certain I saw his phone screen.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
I swallow, pushing the suspicion down. It’s not like I’ve got any right to judge him for keeping secrets. But somehow, insanely, a secret girlfriend, ex-wife, or whatever-she-is, and a son seem more severe than what I’m doing. Do I seriously believe that? Or do I just want to?
“My grandma said she’d love to meet you,” I murmur.
“That’s up to you, Izzy,” he says.
“No, it’s not,” I reply. “I’m not going to turn her down. She’s happy and energized, for now, so… Do you want to come or not?”
He climbs out of the car and wraps his arm around me, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head. “It is your choice, Songbird.”
“I want you to come,” I tell him, trying to soften my voice.
He can definitely tell something is up. He squeezes my shoulder, then tries to take my hand.
I step away, shame making my cheeks hot.
I might just be one more girl in a long line, and all this passion and closeness is only unique to me.
He could have an entire life, a tucked away family outside the city. Maybe I’m just his latest fuck buddy.
I lead him into the hospital, immediately noticing the way the nurses ogle him, sitting up straighter and turning their heads exaggeratedly to follow him. I want to spin, scream at them, He’s mine, back off. But A—that would be crazy even without all our baggage. And B—well, the baggage.
Grandma’s face lights up when I lead Dom into the room. She even adjusts her hair, smiling coyly like I remember from when I was a kid.
“Why, hello,” she says.
“Dominic, this is my grandmother. Grandma, this is Dominic.”
“Maggie, please,” Grandma says.
“Oh, yeah. Duh.” I laugh tightly. “She’s not your grandma.”
They both look at me suspiciously. Grandma’s probably wondering why I left five minutes ago, laughing and smiling, and I’ve returned with a black cloud hanging over me. I can’t stop thinking about how smiley Dom was on the phone. He doesn’t smile at me like that.
Because we’re strangers. And you’re betraying him.
But Dom would understand, wouldn’t he? If I explained what Aaron was doing to Grandma? Or he’d hate me for it. And anyway, understanding or not, I still betrayed him. Which means if I revealed the truth, he might push me away… and Grandma would be screwed.
But he said, if I needed help, I could ask him…
“Please, sit,” Grandma says after a long pause, looking at me oddly again.
I’m acting so weird. I need to stop.
I grab a chair for Dom and pull it up next to mine, sitting and wrapping my arms over my middle. Tears are trying to prick my eyes, but I can’t let them. That would lead to too many questions. I need to be strong. I need to get a grip.
“Izzy tells me you’re her boss,” Grandma says matter-of-factly.
“Guilty, ma’am,” Dom replies. “But I assure you, it’s not what you might be thinking.”
“Oh, and what am I thinking?” Grandma says with her old wit.
Dom laughs awkwardly, looking at me like it’s a big game. And it is, it would be. If I hadn’t seen what I saw, and if he hadn’t reacted so suspiciously.
“Don’t be shy,” Grandma says, clearly loving this.
Dom shrugs and says, “You might think I’m some guy who preys on his employees. But that’s not the case. I’ve never dated an employee before. But, ma’am, I have to say… your granddaughter is a special person.”
Grandma eats this up, winking at me. “I know that,” she says proudly. “She’s always been a good girl. When she was little, she’d practice for hours and hours. And now she’s out in the real world, she always throws herself into everything she does. She’s an amazing person.”
“I agree,” Dom says passionately. He moves his hand toward me, as if to touch my leg, then stops himself. I picture the smiling woman on FaceTime, the happiness on her face.
I feel sick.
“Don’t make me ask,” Grandma says after a pause.
“Ma’am?”
“You know the question: the one we have to ask.”
Dom chuckles. “What are my intentions with Izzy?”
Grandma winks again, totally in her element. “Bingo.”
Dom looks at me, smiling tightly, a question in his eyes. Are you sure you’re okay? I turn away.
“I don’t want to rush anything,” Dom says. “But my intentions are good. I want a relationship with your granddaughter, ma’am—”
“Maggie, please.”
“Maggie,” Dom corrects. “But, like I said, I won’t push. I won’t rush. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
Until Aaron pushes too far. Until I’m forced to make an impossible choice.
“How wonderful,” Grandma says, slumping back against her pillow like the interaction has tired her out.
“Grandma?”
She smiles weakly at me. That’s when I realize she hasn’t been magically better this entire time. She’s just able to hide it from me, for a little while at least.
“I’m just tired,” she murmurs.
“We’ll let you get some rest,” I say, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she replies. “And you, Dominic, it was lovely to meet you. Do right by my girl.”
“Grandma,” I say. “It’s early days.”
“I will, Maggie,” Dom says, pressing on her hand before standing.
We go out to the car together. Dom climbs behind the wheel, though it’s my beat-up car. We didn’t even discuss who was going to drive this morning. He just slid smoothly behind the wheel as though it were his right.
“She seems like an incredible person,” Dom says. “Fierce, protective, caring. You’re lucky to have each other.”
“I know,” I murmur, looking out the window.
Do not cry.
“I’m glad she seemed to like me,” he goes on.
Don’t you dare cry.
“S-she definitely did,” I agree, staring stubbornly at the city as it passes by, the shadows still long, the sky gray turning to yellow.
When the first tear slides down my cheek, I quickly wipe it away, hoping Dom didn’t notice. But then he pulls over the car and cups my chin, directing my gaze to his.
“We need to talk about what you saw,” he says, his voice thick with emotion.
“You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“Maybe not,” he says gruffly, seeming more like his work persona than the Dom I’m getting to know. “But you’ve clearly got the wrong idea.”
“You hid your phone,” I mutter.