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“Say no more,” Nana interrupted, slicing her hand across the air with her fork. “How can I help?”
If I were the star of a Christmas movie, this would be where my heart would grow three times its size or I’d discover true love was with me all along. Nana peered over her sapphire studded glasses, waiting for my answer, like my Christmas miracle, or in this case, Fall Fairy.
“I’m working on a solution, anything to keep them from pairing me with, you know…” I laid my fork down with a clink and ran my hand through my hair, pushing the image of Yasmine from my brain. She’d warped and twisted my insides until everything was a jumbled mess.
“Over my dead body, you’ll enter with her. I remember what a number she did on you, Simon. Now, tell me what you’re thinking.”
“It’s crazy.”
“Sometimes the best ideas are.”
“Okay,” I said, glancing at the ceiling before taking out my phone to find that damn article online.
I thought back to Pop Rock. I’d do anything to keep from entering with my ex, even partner with the crust-eating redhead who specialized in rolling her eyes. She’d laugh in my face or ignore my call, but I had to try. I pushed the phone toward Nana with our photo like I had a winning poker hand, arching an eyebrow and waiting.
She pursed her lips and lifted the phone, adjusting her glasses and making a sound I couldn’t decipher, something between a huff and a sigh. “That’s Addison—”
“Allison,” Nana finished, setting the phone down and pushing her plate away. “Her grandmother and I used to play bridge before she moved to assisted living. We still keep in touch. Nice family. Real estate. But you’re not answering my question.”
“Yeah, I know. Since this article made us look bad, I figured I’d ask her to enter with me.” I shrugged and rested one ankle across my knee, reaching for a silver bread knife.
“Hmm,” Nana said, reaching forward to collect my plate and placing it with hers on the serving cart.
“What? It could work. She dropped her bracelet and I had to return it today. We argued and hit it off, maybe. I don’t know.”
“Simon—”
“This will encompass more events and positive press. Maybe she’d want to join me for some of them. Or not.”
“Simon—”
“Huh. Yes?” I said, looking at Nana, her head tilted to the side and one hand stretched toward me.
“Pass me that knife before you cut yourself.”
“What?” I looked at my hands, where I’d been meticulously rubbing circles over the blade’s surface. Shaking my head, I passed it over, reaching for the polish when Nana’s hand darted out, and she popped me.
“Leave this to me. Get the ledger, laptop, and stack of mail in the office. We need to go over the financials.”
I nodded and retrieved what she asked, returning to see she’d moved all the silver safely away from me. Not that I’d complain about getting out of that chore.
“How’s your anxiety these days?”
“My what?” I looked at Nana, but she was focused on the silver knife, pretending she hadn’t taken one of my biggest insecurities and flayed it open for the world to see. “Your grandfather had panic attacks, if you’d ever like to talk about it. Here, fill my lemonade.”
She lifted her glass and I took the pitcher, filling it to the brim before turning on the laptop.
“Do you have Addison’s number?”
I didn’t answer, choosing awkward silence to gather my thoughts and organize the mail. In the time it took me to find her bank statements so I could balance the estate, I’d counted the prime numbers to three hundred in my head and felt calm enough to continue our conversation.
“I don’t see why you were against the family firm handling all this,” I said, waving my hand at the mass of paperwork taking up most of the dining room table. “It’s almost a full-time job.”
“I never said I was against it.” Nana shrugged, finishing the bread knife and moving on to a salad tong. “I was against my son assuming I’d blindly hand him the keys to the kingdom after your grandfather died. Plus, you’re so much better at listening. I trust you fully as the executor, Simon.”
I preened with the praise, nodding as my fingers flew across the calculator, and I made notes on the laptop.
“Have you asked her if she wants to enter the contest?”
