to fall at my extreme lack of enthusiasm, which was opposite of what he expected. “Well, it’s great to see you.”
Oliver may be a guest today but that wasn’t going to keep me from greeting my grandpa; as always I pecked his cheek and let him squeeze me tight into his side. “How are you doing, grandpa?”
“I’m just fine.” He seemed uncomfortable when I first entered the room with our addition to dinner—Grandpa was never a fan of Ollie growing up. Upon seeing my lack of excitement at seeing Ollie in his house, pasted an amused expression on his face.
“Good, well you boys enjoy the appetizers, I’m going to go help Gram set the table.”
Thankfully the dining room was on the other end of the house from the living room. I planned to scold my Gram and it was going to be very awkward if Ollie could hear us. A smug grin was already on her face when I got there, which escalated my irritation.
“Why didn’t you tell me Ollie was going to be here?” I snapped.
“Why didn’t you tell me you went on a date with him?” She recanted.
“It was one date, Gram. I haven’t seen him since—you should have told me!” I tried to sound angry, but instead it came out as a whine.
“And he sent you flowers.” A heated sigh blew past my teeth. Sometimes she heard nothing I had to say.
“You’re right he did, and I thanked him for them. That doesn’t change the fact that you should have told me he was going to be here.”
“Oh you look fine,” she said, coming to the wrong conclusion for my stress.
“I don’t care about that, Gram.”
She set down the final place setting and turned to face me, arms crossed. “Or is there someone else that you’re dating that you haven’t told me about? A friend perhaps that gives you rides when you have car troubles.” Shit— how does she always know?
Stand your ground, Dani! “I’m not seeing anyone else. Don’t change the subject, you went behind my back and I don’t appreciate it.”
“Well at least I didn’t do it in front of your house.” Fuck—she saw the very heated kiss between Corey and I.
“Next time tell me.,” I said before I walked back to the living room.
Ollie looked bored in my absence and Grandpa had no problem pretending Ollie wasn’t there as he munched on the bacon wrapped-whatevers. I picked one up and popped it into my mouth. Ollie’s arms reached up to grab hold of my waist and pulled me down onto the couch next to him.
“I’ve missed you, Dee. I hoped by now you’d have some free time and would be looking for someone to help you fill it up.”
I flashed Ollie my sweetest smile. “I’m sorry, we have a wedding coming up in just a couple weeks. There is so much still to do for it.” Lie. “Things will slow down really soon though, I’m sure.” Hope not.
The first half of the evening I thought I endured just fine, and was beyond relieved when Gram called us in to dinner. Gram and Grandpa took their seats at the ends of the table, while Ollie and I sat across from one another.
The conversation was taken over by Oliver and Gram—which was completely fine in my mind. Every now and then I would try and add something to the conversation but my Gram always cast me a dirty look; apparently never pleased with the answer I gave.
Gramps would pitch in with questions, solely directed to me, which made me feel more at ease. Since talking about my personal life would inevitably lead to questions about Corey, I stuck to things I knew would interest them. Not only was Inn talk always welcome, but when I brought up Emily’s wedding, it was enjoyable. We talked about the flowers we’d ordered, the decorations and theme she wanted, and the entertainment. Gramps took a genuine interest in all I had to say, but Gram seemed irritated that I didn’t dive into a more personal topic. Ollie took an interest as well; doing his best to ask follow-up questions to the things I mentioned. All the while, staring at me under hooded lids in what I believed was a blatant effort to turn me on.
The moments I wasn’t talking, I counted the seconds that ticked by—willing it to be time to go. Gram on the other hand had a different plan for the night. This consisted of dragging out every