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“I understand. I mean, I’m used to it, but it can be a lot.” Mandi widens her eyes, and my mom cracks a smile. “How about you come with me, and I’ll introduce you to whoever you haven’t met yet?” Mandi turns to me. “You’ll be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” I give her a smile.
She walks off with my mom, which leaves me with my dad.
“You found the house okay?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
“Good.” I nod, not sure what else to say.
He looks around. “So you wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.” I look away from him at everyone else, not wanting to make direct eye contact with my dad.
“You’re marrying this Greene girl out of the blue. Did your grandma put you up to this? I swear she faked that heart attack.”
I whip my head in his direction. “She did not. They said it was minor and the stent will help her. She’s good as new now.”
Which really is amazing to me and I’m so grateful.
“You should see it as a second chance to have her in your life again, make amends. Honestly, is the money this important to you?” My jaw is clenched hard, upset we’re even having this conversation—again. My mom and grandma have started to open up to each other again. Why can’t he do the same?
“It’s not the money. And I wasn’t talking about your grandma, I was talking about this marriage thing. Where did it even come from? You’ve always said you weren’t going to get married.”
“And Mandi made me change my mind. I’ve been dropping in at her inn for a few years and got to know her well enough that I wanted to see more of her. And then after a while, I asked her to marry me, and she accepted.” None of that is technically a lie. My attraction to Mandi was immediate and her personality drew me back to her every chance I got.
“Well, then I wish you luck, but don’t go thinking this wedding will mend fences between me and your grandma. I see you got your mom all invested, but I’m not going to be.”
We both look toward the kitchen where Mandi, Mom, and Marla are laughing with the little Noah.
“Well, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
Hank comes over, and after a while, I leave him with my dad. Not sure an artist and a carpenter have a lot in common, but I don’t want to stand next to Dad anymore or hear his negative talk. He’s the whole reason I’m doing this, and I can only hope that as the weeks roll on, he’ll soften his stance.
As the night progresses, people volunteer to take over one task or another for us, there’s talk of who will and won’t be invited and the moms talk about taking Mandi dress shopping. For the first time tonight, Mandi’s face lights up. I can see how that’s something any woman looks forward to.
After we’ve all eaten and we’re outside and hanging around the pool, the clinking of glasses commences. I’m chatting with Mandi, and we look around to see all eyes on us, silverware clinking crystal.
“Kiss her,” my grandma says and motions to the two of us.
I place my cup down, and just like in the hotel room, I press my lips to hers in a gentle yet driven way. She meets me more than halfway, and soon I have her completely in my arms. I’m a moment away from my tongue sliding into her mouth when the clinking stops, and I finish the kiss.
Damn, it would’ve been so easy to let myself go with that kiss.
“Told you we practiced the right thing before coming tonight,” I mumble in her ear.
She inhales deeply. “Okay, I’ll admit it. You were right… this time.”
We both laugh, and when I strip my gaze off of Mandi, I notice everyone is still staring at us. Their expressions make me think that maybe we need to up our game a little more.
