“But then I would feel terrible and have to tip them extra. And what if it was a man?”
“Could be a gay man and still work out,” I pointed out.
“True.”
Declan answered the door with pants on and we gorged ourselves on pasta and rolls and cheesecake before falling into a sex and food coma that we didn’t wake from until the next morning.
He was up first, and woke me by kissing the tip of my nose. My eyelids fluttered open and I met the blue pools of his eyes. Those eyes were extraordinary. As was the rest of him.
“Hi,” I said.
“Good morning.” He rolled on top of me and I could tell he wanted to make this an extra good morning.
“Subtle. Very subtle,” I said as he stroked his hands down my body.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said as he put his hand between my legs and started stroking me.
“Ah, I think you do, ohhhh, right there.” My protests were cut off as I submitted to his hands. There was something great about starting your day with an orgasm. Better than coffee. Now that’s something I never thought I’d say.
He must have planned this because he had a condom ready and before I knew it, he was inside me, and I was definitely, absolutely awake. Good fucking morning.
Declan finished fast.
“Sorry, I’ve been thinking about you all night and I couldn’t help it,” he said as he rolled off me.
“No worries.” I turned my head to the side and we shared a smile. “I can’t get enough of you either.”
“It’s Sunday,” he pointed out. “I don’t have to go to work or class and Ada is with Drake. Do you have anywhere to be?” The image of spending an entire day in bed with Declan, with the addition of room service, sounded just about perfect. But there was a fly in the ointment in the form of my grandmother.
“I can’t. I have to have tea with my grandmother. I know that sounds like a made-up excuse, but she’s eighty-four and I have this fear that I’m going to cancel and then she’s going to die and I never will have said what I wanted to say and then I’ll always regret it.”
“No, no, that’s quite all right. Family comes first. I should spend the day with Drake anyhow. I’ve been so busy he hasn’t seen me much. He’s been asking me to go to the park for ages.”
I’d much rather play with Drake and Declan in the park than have tea and be judged by my grandmother.
“I have an idea,” he said, grabbing the room service menu. “What time do you have to meet your grandmother?”
“Two.”
“How about we have breakfast here, then we can go get Drake, and you can come with us to the park? I’m sure he’d love to pester you to push him on the swings and then afterward I can take you to see your grandmother.” I loved the idea of the first part of the plan, but the second part made me nervous. If Declan dropped me off at Gran’s, then she’d definitely want to meet him, and I sure as hell couldn’t say no to her without her calling my mother and turning this into a shit storm I would never escape from.
“What do you think?” he said in response to my silence after he’d announced his plan.
“Okay, don’t take this the wrong way, but, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to take me to Gran’s. She’ll read into the situation and you’ll have to meet her and be interrogated and that’s not fair to you at all. This is a woman who survived the Depression. She’s tough as nails in a sweet tea and pearls package.”
Declan laughed. This was not a joke.
“She sounds like my great-grandmother. The woman worked for Bletchley Park breaking Nazi codes and wore a brand new hat every Sunday for church. I think I’m more than able to handle her.”
I sat up and put my hand on his shoulder.
“No. You don’t understand. This woman will eviscerate you and keep a smile on her face the whole time. Everyone is terrified of her. I haven’t even told her about the books I write because I’m worried the shock would actually kill her.” Declan burst out laughing and I smacked him on the shoulder.
“Why aren’t you taking this seriously?”
“I’m sorry, Blair. I’ve never seen you so serious before. She must be terrifying if you’re scared of her.” Oh, she was every bit as scary as I said. And more.
I threw my hands up. “Fine. Fine. You come and meet her and we’ll see who’s shaking in their boots.”
“I accept that challenge,” he said, sticking out his hand so we could shake on it.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” I said, now actually looking forward to Declan meeting Gran. She was going to eat him alive.
“Higher Blair!” Drake shrieked as I pushed him on the swings a few hours later. Declan watched the two of us from his seat on a bench nearby, laughing at me.
This kid had energy. We’d already done the giant slide, the monkey bars, the seesaw and I was so tired I just wanted to lie down on a picnic table and take a nap.
“Where’s his off switch?” I yelled to Declan. He got off the bench and walked over toward me.
“I’ve yet to find one.”
“Daddy, watch me!” Drake yelled.
“I’m watching, Drake,” Declan assured him. “Want me to take over?” My arms ached from pushing Drake and carrying him around. It had only been a little while and this kid had already worn me out. How did parents do this all the time?
“No, I’m fine,” I said, wanting to prove that I could hang out with Drake for a few hours without needing a break. I could do this. “He’s different at the library. Much quieter. And more still.” Drake threw out his arms and whooped, as if to prove my point.
“I think it’s the environment. And perhaps the influence of the lovely librarian.” He put his hand on my lower back and I leaned into him, resting my head on his chest.
A warm feeling spread in my own chest, like a bird unfurling its wings.
“I can’t believe he’s going to preschool in the fall. I wasn’t sure about sending him, but I think he needs to socialize with other children his age. Might calm him down a bit. At least, that’s what I hope,” Declan said. Drake screamed again with joy and I couldn’t help but laugh. His enthusiasm was infectious.
“Okay, tyke, I think that’s enough for now.” Drake whined for a moment but as soon as he’d gotten off the swing, he started running around in a circle and then got distracted by a patch of dandelions and went to pick some.
Declan sat down on the swing Drake had vacated and I sat in the one next to him. I was having flashbacks to elementary school. Any moment now, Declan was going to ask if he could share my Goldfish crackers.
“Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like without him. What I would be doing now. Does that make me a terrible father?” He swayed back and forth on the swing and I matched his movements, swinging opposite him.
“No, I don’t think so. You were young when you had him, so it’s reasonable to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t come about. I wonder all the time what I would have been like if I hadn’t rebelled against my family. I’d probably be married to some boring guy in finance. Oh, no offence.” He chuckled and kicked his legs out to start swinging.
“None taken. I don’t know if I’d be married. I wasn’t sure if it was for me, even before Drake. It seemed like something you would only do if you were absolutely sure about someone. And how do you know if you’re going to want to be with someone for the rest of your life? People change it all the time.”
“Ain’t that the truth? The only person I think I’ll spend the rest of my life with is Raine. We’re heterosexual life partners. There should be a ceremony for that. With cake and presents and everything,” I said.
“Drake, stay close!” Declan yelled as Drake ventured off to chase a butterfly. “Sorry, he has a tendency to wander off and I’m afraid he’s going to be snatched. Being a parent always makes you jump to the worst case scenario.”
“Yeah, that happens with writers, too.”
“Anyhow,
weddings aren’t that wonderful. I should know, I’ve had one. It was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever had the misfortune to live through.” He shuddered.
“I’ve only been to a few myself and they were all pretty terrible. Inevitably some sort of family squabble broke out, or there was an issue with the cake or the music. I decided that if I ever got married, I’d elope. Go to Vegas or something. Tell everyone after and then have a huge party. That’s the way to do it. God, my parents would freak the hell out if I did that.”
Drake interrupted our wedding talk by bouncing over and presenting me with a limp bouquet of dandelions and daisies.
“How sweet, thank you, Drake!” I accepted the bouquet and pretended to inhale the wonderful scent of the flowers. They just smelled like grass and dirt, but I made a production for his sake.
“That was very thoughtful, Drake.” Declan said, stroking his son’s hair. “Very thoughtful indeed.”
“Can we get ice cream?” Drake said, his blue eyes wide and begging. I covered my mouth to stifle my laugh.
“And he follows the sweet gesture up with a request. I’ve taught him well. Come on, you little terror. Let’s get some ice cream.”
We dropped Drake off at Declan’s house with a disgruntled Ada and then I gave Declan directions to Gran’s house.
“I can’t wait to watch her devour you. Because she will. Most definitely,” I said.
“I think you’re going to enjoy this a little too much, Blair. Now I feel as if you’re setting me up and that you wanted me to meet her all the time and she’s a delightful woman and you’re making all this up.”
“You wish. That would have been a brilliant plan, though. But she’ll be sweet at first and lure you in. Like a beautiful poisoned apple. And then you’ll take a bite and realize, but it’s too late. Don’t get me wrong, I love the woman, but she’s scary as fuck.”
He didn’t seem too worried, which was going to make this all the more fun and satisfying when it happened.
“Gran, this is Declan. He’s a friend of mine.” I put emphasis on the word friend, but it didn’t matter in the slightest. Her eagle eyes narrowed and she stared him up and down, missing nothing. He’d worn a suit for the occasion, complete with cufflinks inherited from his father, designer everything and his hair slicked back from his gorgeous face. He was a sight for sore eyes.
“Very nice to meet you, Mr. Bennet,” Gran said, presenting her hand.
“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Walton. I’ve heard so many lovely things about you.” He bent over her hand and brought it to his face, kissing the back of it as if he was meeting the queen. Well-played, Mr. Bennet. Gran raised her eyebrow at me as Declan bent down, but rearranged her face before he rose.
“I’m sure you have,” she said, her voice dry. “Please, do come in.” She ushered us into the house, and Declan hung up his jacket in the hall closet without her even having to say anything. I had the feeling he was practiced in the art of gentility.
“So, Declan, where are you originally from?” she said as we walked toward the sitting room. She’d laid out three places, and waved Declan to the lone seat across from the other two. Interesting. He didn’t try to sit next to me, thus showing we didn’t have a serious attachment. That pleased Gran. Even though a stranger wouldn’t have known she was pleased, I’d studied her face enough to know.
“Ah, originally from England, obviously. Just outside of London.”
“Hm,” she said, pursing her lips. The sound was non-committal. He gave me a look, but I wasn’t doing him any favors. He’d gotten himself into this and I wasn’t going to throw him a life raft. He was going down with this ship.
“And what do you do?” Damn, she was getting to the serious stuff and we hadn’t even had our cake yet.
“I’m at university, finishing my MBA, and I also work for my father’s company as a financial advisor.” He cleared his throat, but otherwise his composure didn’t falter. So far, so good.
“A business man. How interesting.” She didn’t sound the least bit interested. “Blair, honey, could you pour the tea?” Finally, she took her eyes off Declan and looked at me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, popping to my feet to do her bidding. I had the tiniest bit of an accent when I was around her and I could hear it coming back in my voice. I was going to start saying “y’all” soon.
“Thank you,” Declan said as I poured him a cup of tea. I gave him a smirk that my grandmother couldn’t see.
“Blair, you never told me you had a gentleman friend. It was a little rude of you to show up with him without notifying me first. What else have you been hiding from me, hm?” She sipped her tea and fixed me with a dragon’s glare over the rim of the cup.
Hell and damnation, this was exactly what I was hoping to avoid. I kicked at Declan under the table. This was all his fault.
“I’m sorry, Gran. We just became friends recently and I said I was coming here and Declan wanted to meet you. I would have told you about him if I’d known you’d be meeting him today, but it wasn’t planned. It just sort of happened.” That was a poor explanation, and I knew what I was in for. But then Gran surprised me for only the third or fourth time in my life.
“Well, I’m glad that I finally get to meet some of your friends. Sometimes I think you’re hiding them from me.” I nearly choked on my tea. She’d mentioned wanting to meet my friends, but she’d only met Raine a few times, and I’d cut those times as short as possible. Gran made Raine nervous and she had a tendency to blurt out curse words when she was nervous. And I’d never even tried with Angie. She’d curse and show her tattoos and try to shock Gran and I wanted to prevent that from ever happening.
“I’m not hiding them from you, Gran. I don’t have that many friends.”
“What about that girl you live with? What’s her name?” Once again, she pretended to forget Raine’s name. This happened so frequently I wanted to scream.
“Raine,” I said with a sigh. “Yes, we are still living together and will continue to do so even if people think we’re lesbians.” Declan snorted into his tea and had to cover his laugh behind a cough.
“Blair Walton!” Uh oh. I’d gotten the first and last name. I was in trouble now.
Declan’s face went red as if he was the one getting reprimanded. I was used to it.
“Sorry, Gran,” I said, ducking my head. I wanted to tell her that she could pretend lesbians didn’t exist all she wanted, but that wouldn’t make a difference. And I wasn’t a lesbian, despite the fact that I wasn’t married yet.
“Sorry, Gran,” I said again, sipping my tea. Gran gave me the obligatory silent treatment for a few minutes and no one spoke. I gave Declan a look that said, “I told you so” and he gave me a look back. Yeah, didn’t listen to me, did he?
The silence lasted until Gran broke it, ignoring me and asking Declan another question.
“I guess I can assume, by the fact that there is no band on your finger that you are unmarried?” Jesus Christ. Could she be more obvious? I almost felt sorry for him, but I was too busy feeling sorry for myself.
“I’m divorced,” he said, refilling his cup of tea and adding cream and sugar.
“Oh, that’s a shame. Was it mutual?” Declan blanched and I said, “Gran. I don’t think he needs to talk about that.”
“What?” Gran acted like she’d been making totally normal non-invasive conversation. Yeah, right. “I’m just asking him about his life. That’s not wrong, is it?” I would have to tread very carefully here. Gran was more than used to getting her way and being able to do whatever she wanted. Sure, she was my elder and had certain leeway. But she was hurting Declan and I wanted to stop it before it went further.
“No, but how about we talk about something else? Or I can serve the cake. It looks beautiful.” That was another skill I’d learned from her. Turning the topic to safer ground.
Gran hesitated but then decided to follow my lead.
“Thank you, Blair. I can get
the recipe for you when you leave.” Wow, a recipe. That was akin to giving me one of the diamonds from her jewelry box. She actually guarded her recipes more than her jewels. True story, this woman had a safety deposit box just for her recipe cards. The only other person who had the key was my father. There was a written agreement with instructions of what to do in the event of her death.
“That would be lovely,” I said, slicing a piece and putting it on her plate. I always served her first, even though I knew I should have served Declan first. You couldn’t win with her rules sometimes.
We ate our cake quietly and I wished I could either go back in time or go forward in time. As long as I wasn’t right here right now.
“I heard about the library, such a shame.” Great, now we were talking about the library fire. Things had gone from bad to worse.
“It is,” I said, not wanting to further discuss it. Gran pursed her lips at my reluctance to make conversation. As if I was purposefully being difficult.
“Blair told me that you’re an avid gardener,” Declan said, and we both stared at him. Gran was actually flustered for a mere moment.
“Yes, I am. Are you a plant lover?” she said.
He nodded.
“Yes, my grandfather had a lovely rose garden and taught me everything he knew about them. I don’t have the time plants require, or else I would have a garden. I don’t want to pay someone else to do the work. I want to do it myself.” Gran’s lips lifted at the corners just a touch. An almost smile.
“Would you care to see my collection of roses?” she said and I nearly slid off my chair in shock.
“Yes, I would like that very much, Mrs. Walton.” Holy hell, he might be almost, maybe, potentially winning her over. God, what would happen if she actually liked him? I’d only envisioned her hating him, but what if the opposite were true? The consequences could be dire.
We finished our cake and Gran took us outside to show Declan her gardens. She had hired help to do some of the weeding and watering now because she had trouble bending over and sitting for long periods.
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