babe.”
I let out a quiet sigh. “Yeah, I suppose I do,” I admitted.
Nathan Hayes was definitely the curve ball I hadn’t seen coming. And he was definitely better at playing the game than I was.
Chapter 18
Nathan~
Pretty sure I was in trouble.
It’s been over two weeks of Andie spending every weekend with me, and I was falling fast. Hell, not falling at all. I was pretty sure I’ve already fallen.
“So, you still haven’t met the ex-husband yet?” Sayer’s voice came over the phone. Me, him, and Gideon were all on a call together because I needed advice and a little support.
“No, I haven’t,” I told him. “She wants to take things slow.”
While that first weekend had been phenomenal, the following weekend she had told me she had wanted to take things slow. No meeting the parents or anything like that. Andie had admitted to being gun shy, and I really couldn’t blame her. Two years was two years, but two years were only two years when you considered how long she and Steven had been together and Grant.
So, I got it. I really did. But it still sucked.
“Think he’ll get jealous,” Gideon asked.
“I don’t think so,” I told him. “From what she’s told me, he was the one to move on first.”
Sayer snorted and I winced. “Yeah, because that matters,” he scoffed. His wife’s ex-husband had started dating almost immediately after he had divorced Monroe, but that hadn’t stopped Thomas from losing his shit when Monroe had started dating Sayer.
“Okay. Point made,” I conceded.
“And when are you going to tell Mom,” Gideon cut back in. “You saw what she did to Sayer when she found out he’d been after Monroe for a while already and hadn’t said anything.”
This time Sayer winced. “Yeah,” he grumbled. “It wasn’t pretty.”
Like I had told Andie, though she hadn’t believed me, Louise Hayes was that meddling old woman, who had too much time on her hands, but had a temper that could make her grown sons run for cover. She believed our love lives were her business, and we’d better not tell her any different. The woman wanted a score of grandkids, and she wasn’t letting up until she got them.
“I’ll tell her soon,” I promised. “But you know if I tell her now, the first thing she’s going to want to do is meet Andie and Grant. Andie’s not ready for Louise Hayes.”
“Is anybody?” Sayer deadpanned.
“Hey, fucker,” Gideon barked. “That’s our mother you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, and our mother is certifiable, Gid,” Sayer barked back. “And don’t act like you don’t know this.”
“Love her to death, but she is insane,” I added, siding with Sayer.
“I’ll kill you both,” Gideon threatened.
“I don’t hear you saying we’re wrong, though,” Sayer fired back.
Gideon hung up on us.
I chuckled as Sayer shook his head. “He’s in denial.”
“No,” I argued. “He’s got no choice but to be a part of Mom’s madness since he works with Dad.”
“Or it could just be that middle-child syndrome he suffers from.”
“That, too,” I agreed.
“So, is it love?” Sayer asked, changing topics.
“I think it is, Say,” I told him truthfully. “I’ve never felt this way before.” Sayer was a great big brother and wasn’t as moody as Gideon, so it was easier to talk to him. “She…Andie fucking dazzles me, Say.”
“Dazzles?” he choked out. “Okay, that’s a little too vaginal for me.” Then the fucker hung up on me. So much for being a great big bother.
The asshole.
Before I could call him back and let him know that he was an asshole, in case he was unaware, my doorbell rang. It was programmed through the regular elevator, and if someone was visiting me, they had to push the penthouse button in the elevator to ring me. However, there were only two people who used it and that was Andie and Grant. My parents, brothers, and Sergio used the penthouse elevator whenever they visited. Which made me realize I was going to have to give Andie a copy of the penthouse elevator key and see if I could get a third made for Grant.
I walked out into the guest foyer and hit the accept button on the panel near the elevator doors, knowing it could only be Andie or Grant.
And I was right.
Grant came strolling out of the elevator with a big grin on his face, and it made my chest ache with happiness. The kid has been on cloud nine ever since his parents told him he’d be going to a live football game. Season opener,