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I gawked as I stepped into Gran’s kitchen, which had always felt too small. “You knocked out the back porch,” I gasped.
He laughed softly. “Marley had the same reaction, but a bigger kitchen was a necessity. Plus, I built a new porch out back too.”
The kitchen was twice the size it had once been with all the counter space a girl could ask for and had a new industrial-sized refrigerator, double oven, and cupboard space. I practically drooled over all the little touches, including all of Gran’s favorite plates and little trinkets that made the more modern space feel like home.
“This is even better than my place in LA. I should have had you design the kitchen, apparently.”
He smirked. “It’s almost like I have a good spatial reasoning.”
“Yeah, yeah. Genius.”
I followed him around the rest of the house with Walt leading the way.
“Stay here, you mangy mutt,” Maddox said affectionately, tossing Walt a toy. Walt snuggled into a dog bed and chewed on the toy.
“Is that going to work?”
He laughed. “Probably not.”
In the master bedroom, he’d ripped up the old carpet and added wainscotting to the ceiling. The room was entirely Maddox. All dark colors and carefully artistic vibes. The bathroom was unrecognizably beautiful.
Walt took the stairs to the second floor ahead of us. Maddox rolled his eyes and then started up them. The stairs had been widened. A concept that I was sure had no idea more difficult than I could imagine.
Marley’s bedroom had been converted into a guest bedroom. Gran’s bedroom set took up the majority of the space. It had a female touch that I was sure Maddox wouldn’t have been able to replicate without Gran’s things in his possession.
“And this is now my office,” he said, opening the door to his old bedroom.
Walt entered first, collapsing into another dog bed, clearly exhausted from his display of exuberance.
I stepped inside, and my eyes immediately found the Oscars resting on the new built-in bookshelves along the back wall. “Wow,” I whispered, walking over to them. “Do you mind?”
He shrugged. “They’re just paperweights.”
I rolled my eyes. “Only you.”
“Isn’t your Emmy just a glorified paperweight?”
“It’s not quite as pretty as this,” I admitted.
Maddox scoffed. “Well, what about your Teen Choice Award?”
I scowled at him. “Don’t bring that up.”
“What was it again? Best On-Screen Kiss?”
“Best Kiss, thank you very much. Iris and I still have the hottest kiss on television.” I set one of his Oscars down with a thunk. I wasn’t jealous. I wasn’t … at all. Okay, maybe just a little bit.
“I won’t argue with you.”
I winked at him. “Oh, I bet.”
He leaned back in the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, what do you think?”
“You did an amazing job. I was skeptical when I first heard about the renovations, but it’s perfect. It’s new and still so Gran. From the brass mirror in the entranceway to the little teapot in the kitchen and her bedspread. You did good work.”
He nodded, his eyes softening at the compliment. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I really do.”
“And you? How’s it going at your mom’s?”
I sighed. “Fine, I guess. She’s still the same Rebecca Montgomery, you know?” I took a seat behind his enormous desk, which had a half-dozen monitors on it. “She’s at a charity function with her gentleman caller tonight.”
“Did she say that?” he asked, making a face.
“Yep! Good times. But …” I chewed on my lip. I hadn’t told anyone about the diary, and it honestly felt strange to even think that I was reading it.
“What?”
“I found her diary from when she was young. I didn’t realize what it was when I picked it up. She said I could read it.”
His eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, she said she had nothing to be ashamed of. But it’s like a love triangle between my dad and Edward. They were Holy Cross boys.”
He blinked twice. “Your dad was a Holy Cross boy?”
“On scholarship, like Lila.”
“That makes sense. He doesn’t strike me as an Ash Talmadge or a Derek Ballentine.”
“Obviously not. But Edward Montgomery sure was. And what he wanted was his best friend’s girl.”
“Your mom?” he guessed, and I nodded. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave.”
“I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m starting to suspect she told me to read it so that I’d start seeing her as … a real human being.”
“Instead of the terrible mother she was?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t forgive her for the shit I dealt with, growing up, but it’s still weird.”
“I could see that. I’m glad that I don’t have to deal with my mom anymore.”
“Yeah. No contact since the court case?”
He snorted. “Yeah, right. If only I were that lucky. But I told her if she came by the house again, I’d file a restraining order. She cussed me out and left. Good riddance.”
