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"And you, too, Meredith." Her eyes were a bit glassy.
I looked at Cade and back at her, then stepped inside, hugging her. I hoped I wasn't overstepping, but I was a very huggy person. Jeannie returned it wholeheartedly.
Stepping back, I noticed Abe was behind her. I didn't have too many memories of him from when I was a kid. "Welcome, Meredith," he greeted me.
"Thank you so much for asking me to dinner. I'm honored, and I brought you a little keepsake for Christmas. You can put it on your tree or anywhere in the house, really."
Jeannie helped lift the bag for me, opening the box. "My God! This is beautiful. Is it from that pop-up store near Copley Square?"
"Yes!" I answered, stunned she was aware of the shop.
"You know, it's one of my favorite places. I do need to drop by this year and see what they've added from last year."
"Are you sure, darling? Don't you have quite enough?" Abe asked, sounding much like my dad.
"There are never enough Christmas decorations," she answered briskly.
Oh, I loved Jeannie Whitley, a woman after my own heart.
"Anyone happy to see me?" Cade asked from behind me.
Jeannie sighed. "Of course we are, darling boy. How was your trip?" She kissed his cheek.
"Grueling. But today's all about Meredith.”
“Exactly. Besides, I don't like business talk at the table either. All it does is make people antsy.”
“We don't really talk business anyway," I explained.
"Oh, true, since you're competitors." For some reason that seemed to highly amuse Jeannie. She squinted her eyes.
I peeked at Cade and saw he was looking at his grandmother with a strange expression. I couldn't decipher it.
"Shall we go inside?" I asked.
"Of course!" He put a hand on the small of my back, guiding me through the house.
"By the way, I didn't bring my brothers up-to-date about us," he whispered in my ear.
A strange pressure formed in my chest as I glanced up at him. What exactly did that mean? He hadn’t told them that we weren’t pretending? Did he want to keep us a secret? Was he ashamed?
Way to ruin this day, Meredith. Give the man some credit. He had a horrendous week.
But still, a small weight settled in my chest, and I couldn't seem to wish it away.
I nodded. "We'll improvise."
