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Grandma leant in with a small smile. “Then perhaps you should try it, Max.”
I looked down at the book. She had a point—to understand Ellie’s point of view, perhaps I had to read her book. Get inside her head. See what she meant about the journey being more than the happily ever after.
“All right,” I said, nodding. “I’ll try it.”
“I’ll cut you some flowers for yet another apology, shall I?”
“How do you know I took flowers over for her?”
She hovered in the doorway, smirking at me. “I know everything, Max. You’d do well to remember that.”
Shit.
•••
I got it.
I understood what she meant. About the journey. About the ending. About the characters being fucking real.
And shit, I was mad.
I didn’t like romance. I avoided romance—in all aspects of my life—so it wasn’t a genre I sought out for reading material. I didn’t watch it on TV either, so this one hit hard.
Ellie was fucking right.
The journey she’d taken her characters on was one of great growth, and although the happy ending was the ultimate goal, it was about what they went through to get there.
Fuck.
I wanted to read another.
“Is that a bloody romance novel?”
I looked up at the familiar voice and grinned. “Fred. You’re here early.”
He dropped onto the sofa opposite me with a grin of his own. “My mother was doing my bloody nut in, so I decided to get the hell out of there before I committed murder.”
I nodded. “I understand that. Who is she trying to set you up with this time?”
He flicked his auburn hair to one side. “Funnily enough, your cousin.”
“Penelope?”
“The one and only. Apparently, she’s just aristocratic enough to be tolerable.”
“Does your mother know she’s not from my paternal side?”
“Yes, but apparently her close affiliation with you is good enough.”
I fought back a smile. “I’m sure Pen will be delighted.”
He snorted. “Not flippin’ likely. I asked her out five years ago, and she told me to fuck off.”
“That sounds more like her.”
“Indeed. So what are you reading there? A romance?” Fred leant forwards and picked up Ellie’s book. “The Rules for Dating an Earl. As heir to an earldom, I can confirm that there are a lot of people who need this. Least of all my ex-fiancée.”
I took it back from him and tossed it down. “My grandmother.”
