you were supposed to be relaxing after your conference.” She tut-tutted. “You’re one of those overachievers, always on the go, unable to unwind even when you get the chance. It’s not healthy, you know.”
He chuckled. This was exactly what he needed, a healthy dose of Izzy’s life observations.
“Can I get a word in edgewise or do you want to lecture me some more?”
She waggled her finger at him. “You know I only do it out of the goodness of my heart. Who’s going to care about you if your old gran doesn’t?” Her shrewd eyes narrowed. “Especially when you don’t have a wife, despite my insistence you rectify the situation stat?”
“Stop watching those hospital dramas,” he said. “Nobody says ‘stat’ in real life.”
The corners of her mouth tugged into a smile. “Don’t distract me. Tell me what you’ve been doing since the conference ended.”
He couldn’t tell his gran the best part of his R&R, even though sex with Harper had definitely been the highlight.
“I’m doing all the touristy things in Lake Taupo. Hiking, soaking in thermal pools, checking out the falls.”
Her nose crinkled. “Sounds boring.” She tapped her lip. “Though as I recall, the last time we spoke a few days ago, I inferred there must be a woman involved in your jaunt to Lake Taupo and you didn’t correct me.”
“You know I never kiss and tell.”
“Yet if you don’t tell your dear old gran, how will I tell you if she’s suitable or not?”
He refrained from pointing out he’d been choosing his own dates for a long time now. “I like her; that’s all that matters.”
Izzy’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ve never told me you like any girl. What’s so special about this one?”
Before he could respond, she jumped in with, “Is she Indian? Anglo-Indian?”
He should’ve known: the million-dollar question Izzy had asked repeatedly over the years when he’d admitted to taking a date to any number of hospital functions.
Usually, he’d fob off his grandmother. But Harper’s funk had left him strangely vulnerable. He’d wanted to be distracted by Izzy, not have her catch him at a weak time.
“Actually, Harper was at Nishi and Arun’s wedding.”
Izzy’s brow knit together in a formidable frown. “That Aussie girl you were panting after?”
She made it sound like Harper had been running around the wedding naked. Which would’ve definitely had him panting, now that he’d explored every inch of her delectable body.
“We ran into each other in Auckland. We’ve been out a few times. It’s been fun.”
Izzy leaned close to the screen, so close he could see every wrinkle bracketing her mouth, the dark circles underscoring her eyes. He expected another of her classic, You need to marry a nice Indian or Anglo-Indian girl, preferably in the medical profession like you, a melding of the minds.
“Fun. Yes. That’s what you need after working so hard. And that’s what rest and relaxation is all about. Good, good.” She nodded in approval, but he knew what was coming. “Have your fun, Manish, but at some point in your life you’ll have to get serious, and at forty, you’re not getting any younger.”
And there it was.
She pressed a hand to her chest. “And I’m not getting any younger either. You know my greatest wish in life is to see you married before I die, and that could be any tick of the clock now.”
Yeah, more classic Izzy-isms.
Izzy adored him, and while she badgered him constantly about getting married, she never overtly pushed. Her chastisements were always done in jest, as if she believed mentioning his marital status often enough would jar him into doing something about it.
Now it was his turn to surprise her.
“What if I said I was serious about Harper?”
She pursed her lips in disapproval, with a disparaging pfft sound. “You know my thoughts on this, Manish. You need a woman to complement you. A woman befitting to be a doctor’s wife. What does this woman even do?”
“Harper is a food stylist.”
He deliberately used her name because Izzy made “this woman” sound like a hooker.
“A food stylist?” Izzy’s nose crinkled. “What does that even mean? Food is for eating, not styling.”
Manny sighed, wishing he’d waited until he was in the same room as his grandmother to have this conversation. But he liked Harper, and despite her bizarre behavior he had no intention of giving up on her, so the sooner his gran wrapped her head around the possibility of him dating her, the better.
“All those magazines you pore over, and those foodie sites online? The