“I think it would help if you spoke with Dr. Lovejoy, too,” she added. “I let my grief get the better of me, but now you’re doing the same with your pride.”
She couldn’t be serious.Pridewasn’t my problem, but I was running short on patience. “I’m sorry you came all the way here just to say that, but I have meetings today that can’t be rescheduled.”
“Of course.” My mother unfolded her legs and gathered her purse, smoothly rising to her feet. “Just think about what I said.”
She strolled out the door without another word.
Grandfather showed up the next morning, and I rubbed my temples.
They were tag-teaming me now?
“A phone call would’ve sufficed. You didn’t need to follow me to another country,” I said, then paused. “Should I expect Harrison to show up next?”
He cracked a worn smile. “I’m sure he’ll give you a call soon enough.”
I closed my laptop. “What are you doing here?”
Grandfather took in the room—the fake plants, floor-to-ceiling windows, and the couch I’d slept on. “The better question is, what areyoudoing here, Caden?”
My jaw twitched. “Brokering another deal for your company.”
“You could’ve done that over the phone, too,” he shot back. He glanced over the items on my desk—a laptop, phone, and my third cup of coffee. “Seems like you’re hiding.”
I gave him a flat look, and he settled into a chair on the other side of my desk.
“You know, I chose Ellie because of her blue hair,” he said out of nowhere and with absolutely zero context.
I just…stared at him, concerned he was having a stroke.
“From the very start, she was different,” he went on, oblivious to me not following. “I knew you wouldn’t know what to do with her, and that’s what you needed.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I squinted, studying him. “What do you mean youchoseher?”
He motioned to the phone on my desk. “On that app. Sunshine Cuddle Services.”
What. The. Hell.
I kept staring at him, convinced I’d misheard until I replayed his words three times in my head.
“You’re shitting me. You’re the one who hired Ellie?” I leaned forward, fighting to process this. “Why?How? You can’t even change the input on a TV without help, but you know about professional cuddling apps?”
“My therapist recommended the app a few years after your grandmother passed,” he answered, calm as a cucumber. “I was lonely but didn’t want to jump into the dating pool, and he went on and on about the benefits of just having someone to talk to?—”
“Stop.” I couldn’t listen to him give the same cuddling spiel Ellie had given me. “You know plenty of people. You don’t need to pay someone to spend time with you.”
His brow rose. “Says the grandson who’s too busy working to grab dinner with me.”
I grimaced, then another thought hit me. “So you already knew. The entire time, you knew who Ellie really was.”
“I’m afraid so. Seeing her on the yacht was a surprise, but a welcome one,” he said with a slow nod. “As much as it was a surprise to see you enjoying yourself.”
A strangled groan caught in my throat, and I coughed to clear it. “What was your plan with hiring her, then? Play matchmaker to set us up, and then what—we get married and have a bunch of babies?”
His lips twitched. “Is that what you want?”
That was a loaded question—one I couldn’t even begin to answer. I slumped in my chair. “I don’t know what I want.”
“Sure you do.” He chuckled. “For what it’s worth, I didn’t have any grand plans. I made a last-minute booking after George emailed to say the deal went through. My hope was you’d take the appointment with her and learn to relax a little after you worked yourself ragged in London. I never expected you to put a ring on her finger and bring her along on that trip.”
