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"I guess anything before midnight for you," Gabe said, looking at Cade.
“It was an intense day. I wanted to take my mind off it."
"And you met Natalie for ice cream." Cade sounded perplexed. "Now I understand why Grandmother is so pleased about it."
Pleased was an understatement. Grandmother was positively smug. "She's a wonderful girl, and she already found a place for my party. By the way, let's get something out of the way." She glanced at me directly. "Your half brothers will be there too."
“You’ve told me that.”
"And you will be civil," she said.
I stopped in the act of reaching out for the chicken quesadillas—my favorite.
"I'm always civil," I replied quickly. That was true. I didn't go out of my way to be friendly, but I wasn't an asshole. I simply didn't view them as my half anything. I was determined not to spoil Grandmother's birthday; it was her party, after all. She could invite whomever she wanted.
She glanced at Colton as well. "The same goes for you."
Colton didn't even muster a smile. He simply reached for the roast beef.
"This isn't awkward at all," Cade said.
"Don't worry, Grandmother. We’ll keep an eye on those two and make sure they don't sour the mood at your party," Gabe added.
"Thank you, Gabe." Grandmother said. "Now, any of you boys bringing a date to the party? I should know for the final number of guests." Her voice was innocent. Her intention wasn’t.
Spencer whistled appreciatively. "No. This will be yet another event where you get to complain to your friends about how awful your grandsons are, not giving you any great-grandkids or anything."
I looked between Spencer and Grandmother. He was oblivious, apparently under the impression that the conversation had finished. Grandmother smirked as if she had a smartass reply but didn't actually say anything. That was dangerous for more than one reason. First, it meant she actually had a comeback, and that in itself was worrisome. And second, she didn't want to say it out loud, which again meant we were in for a surprise.
“Boys, don’t sass your grandmother,” Grandfather said, and we all nodded in acknowledgment.
We ate in silence and then moved into the living room, where Cade prepared drinks for everyone except Grandfather. He was under strict orders not to go anywhere near alcohol. Grandmother was watching him like a hawk.
Spencer and Gabe came over to me, holding up their glasses.
"To the first Whitley to fall prey to Grandmother's schemes," Spencer exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Honestly, I don't know," Gabe said, looking at our brother.
"Grandmother is definitely scheming," Cade said quietly. "And judging by the look she gave you, she feels very good about it."
"I have enough to worry about with Whitley Advertising than to try and guess what Grandmother might be up to."
"Wecan try guessing," Cade said.
Spencer shook his head. "Makes no sense. We were never right about any of it in the past."
After we all finished our drinks, we made our excuses one by one. Grandfather was clearly not in his best shape yet because he went to bed early.
"Grandmother, are you sure you don't want me to stay? I can keep you company," I said after my brothers left. “Help you clean up.”
"Nonsense. Don't you worry about me. I know how to entertain myself. That company you hired to help with the housekeeping is arriving tomorrow morning, and they’ll finish what I don’t get to.” I’d gotten my grandparents some help around the house. Even though they did a lot on their own, I didn’t want them to overly exert themselves as they were both inclined to do. “And tonight, I have a plan. I'm going to call all my friends and ask them if they need a party planner. I’ll recommend Natalie."
I frowned as I put on my suit jacket. "How so? You mentioned she has another job lined up. Something that uses her degree, right?"
"Unfortunately, her job didn't pan out, so now she's in a bit of a lurch. I want to help her."
