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“I think,” I bit out. “You should have asked me first.”
“He did ask you,” Jace volunteered.
“Well, he steamrolled you,” George clarified.
I glared at both boys. “Do you want to wear powder blue tuxedos for the wedding? Take care when picking whose side you’re on. Wedding pictures last forever!”
Jace laughed, but George had the grace to look at least a little concerned. I wanted to reassure him, but I also couldn’t let Vander get away with his constant steamrolling.
Vander put his arm around my shoulders.
I shrugged him off.
He chuckled.
“Ruby-mine, you know I’m not a patient man. The whole family is here, it’s a good opportunity to talk about the changes that are coming. Do you agree?”
“Yes,” I grumbled. Truthfully, it thrilled me to hear him talking about getting married so soon.
I turned to Yiayia. “Vander wants us to move in together.”
“Of course!” Yiayia exclaimed.
I looked at Vander, incredulous. “Well, that was a whole lot easier than expected!”
Turning back to face Yiayia, I continued. “Vander’s house has a nanny suite on the main floor and the kitchen is huge. I think you’ll be very comfortable, Yiayia, and you’re going to love cooking in that kitchen. I can’t wait to show it to you!”
Yiayia laughed. “Oh, no, koritzi mou. I not moving. I stay here.”
My mouth gaped open.
Amber’s eyes flitted back and forth between us.
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to live alone, Yiayia. What if you fall?” I hedged.
“If I fall, I fall. You get me the necklace button. If I fall, I push it. There you go.”
“Will I have to change schools?” Jace asked, his face pinched.
“No, agori mou. You’ll come in with me everyday and go to school from Spuds. At the end of the year, we’ll decide on a more permanent solution.”
“Yiayia,” Amber ventured. “How about you move into the condo with Alex and I?”
“No, poulaki mou. I stay here in my neighbourhood with my friends. Here, I know where everything is. I go to Bayview Village, how I’m going to see everyone? No. I stay here.”
“Why don’t you move in with me?” Gus’s deep, gravelly voice interrupted. “We have the nanny suite on the main floor and we’re in your neighbourhood.”
Amber gaped at him, her fair skin turning red with anger. “How is that a good idea?”
“How is it not?” He challenged her, levelling her with his cool, grey, gaze.
I’d never once seen this side of Gus. For most of their marriage, he doted on her endlessly. After their separation, he acted more like a wet cat than a man. This hard-faced, steely-eyed man was a stranger to me.
“You’re a – a – a single man…”
Gus deliberately placed his fork and knife on the side of his plate before looking at Amber. “I am not, in fact, a single man. I am a married man, living in our family home without my family, and there is no reason Yiayia cannot live there with me.”
“Won’t you be, going out a lot?” Amber sputtered.
