Page 323 of Manhattan Bossholes

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“I’m not in the business of making exceptions,” she said, poking the laminated sign on the wall that read THREE VISITORS MAX. I frowned. Last I checked, Natasha, Jimmy, and I made three. “But Dee’s a sweet lady. So, I’m gonna look the other way for the next ten minutes. As long as you keep it quiet. Got it?”

I had no idea what she was talking about until she shoved the door open, and the Lost Boys, their families, and Bernie Branson came tromping in. I couldn’t help the little laugh of disbelief that tumbled from my lips as Hailey exclaimed, “Nana Dee, look at my braids!”

Rhonda cocked her head and gave us a stern look. “Ten minutes. Then I’ll be back to kick you all out!”

“What are you all doing here?” Dee exclaimed.

“You didn’t think we’d miss the party, did you?” Aiden asked. He glanced at me, and I knew I shouldn’t have expected anything less. I looked around the room, now packed to the brim with the people Dee loved most in the world. The people I loved most.

Natasha wound her arm around my back, squeezing.

Bernie took a seat beside Dee’s bed and took her hand, clutching it tightly. The older women shared a smile, a silent conversation that left them both misty-eyed. “Marie wants to FaceTime the second you wake up from the anesthesia,” Bernie told her.

“It’ll be far too late in Ireland for that.”

Bernie tutted. “She said she doesn’t care what time it is, or what you think you look like. We have to call.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a good friend there, Nana Dee,” Vincent said and plopped Violet on the corner of Dee’s bed, and she babbled, balling up the blanket in her fists.

“Apparently so,” Dee said, beaming and opening her arms as Violet crawled toward her, immediately going for her glasses.

Piper scooped her up, blowing a raspberry on her cheek. “She’s obsessed with eyewear.”

“Probably because Vincent keeps dressing her up like she’s in Top Gun when you’re not around,” Cora noted.

“She loves her aviator sunglasses! And how is it my fault that Burberry makes a leather baby bomber?” Vincent said.

The group laughed, bringing up photos on their phones to show Dee exactly what kind of shenanigans Vincent and Violet got up to. Hailey took up Violet’s spot at Dee’s side, snuggling in for her own hug. Dee rocked her back and forth, pressing a kiss to her brow. Before we knew it, Rhonda had returned, clearing her throat to politely give us all the boot so they could prep Dee for surgery.

Jimmy leaned over to hug Dee again. I swallowed hard, watching her squeeze him with all her strength and tell him that she loved him. The Lost Boys and their families filtered through next, giving hugs and kisses, wishing Dee good luck and making plans to visit after the surgery.

After surgery…My heart was barely beating.

Soon it was just Natasha and me left in the room with Dee. She took my hand, threading our fingers together. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I wasn’t ready. Instead, I leaned over, pressing a kiss to Dee’s cheek and said, “You know, you brought Natasha and me together.”

“Oh, honey, I know that,” Dee said as I pulled away. “But I figured if putting on a show of dating for my sake was what it took to make this amazing woman part of your life, then playing along was the least I could do.”

I straightened up, looking from Natasha to Dee, perplexed. “Wait, you knew we weren’t really dating that morning when she came over?”

Dee broke into a bout of pleased laughter. “Gosh, her face when I called her your girlfriend! I knew you were lying through your teeth!”

“This whole time?”

Now even Natasha was laughing, mostly at my shocked expression. “I knew she was too smart to be fooled.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” I asked. I couldn’t believe Dee had let us keep up that charade.

“Because I saw something in the way you looked at her. The way you looked at each other,” she amended as Natasha pressed against my side. “Something that reminded me of your grandfather.”

A smile stretched across my face. Having a relationship like the one Dee and Papa Davis had shared was all I could have ever hoped for. “So, you just let the two of us make fools of ourselves?”

Dee lifted her shoulder, her eyes twinkling. “Of course. Anyway, I really did have a good feeling about how it would end. And I’m usually right about these kinds of things.”

“Well,” Natasha said. “I for one am very happy you were right about this.”

Rhonda knocked on the door, giving me a signal to wrap it up.