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Goldie draws in a breath, something flashes in her eyes. Desire? Need? Longing? Then she turns her palm and twines her fingers through mine. “I love you too Rick. I don’t know why. I often question myself why it is I have these feelings toward you… Why it's you who should elicit this need in me… Why you draw me in… Why, when I’m not with you, I keep thinking of you… Why I miss you even when I’m with you, and then I realize, it’s because the emotions I’ve felt since I met you are so different from anything I’ve ever felt before.”
“They are?” I ask in a cautious tone.
“Mmm-hmm,” she nods. “It’s because I love you. I love you, Rick, and you better believe it, for I’ve never said that to anyone else before.”
“Not even to your twatarse of an ex?”
“Rick!” Grams admonishes me.
“Not even him.” Goldie’s lips twitch.
I lower my gaze to her lush mouth and don’t look away. Her smile fades. Her throat moves as she swallows. And when I tug on her hand, she comes closer without complaint. I fit my mouth to hers, keeping my gaze open as I stare into her eyes…as I take in the sincerity, the intensity, the lust that clouds her eyes when I deepen the kiss. I share her breath, draw in of her essence, suck on her tongue, and when the blood drains to my groin, I pull away before I remember Grams is an eager spectator.
Grams claps her hands. “Now, that’s a kiss!”
Goldie blinks. The expression on her face is dazed. Good. This dinner isn’t going how I planned. That declaration of love was spontaneous, but damn, if it didn’t sound convincing. And her words, even more so. If I were a spectator, I’d have been persuaded we're in love. Which was the entire point of this exercise.
So why is my pulse racing? Why is sweat dampening my brow?
This doesn’t mean anything. They were empty words. I was acting my part, and so was she. That’s all this is.
“You guys, it pleases me so much to see the two of you so in love,” Grams exclaims.
I don’t look away; neither does Goldie. Our gazes seem to be engaged in a dance of their own, one I don’t want to interpret. And as long as it helps Grams buy our story, it doesn’t matter.
“Not sure why you doubted us, Grams,” I murmur.
Gram blows out a breath. "You’d think that it would be the logical conclusion when two people get engaged—that they’re in love. But who knows? Your mother’s generation was bad enough, but you guys? You’ll go straight to anal before you even speak the L-word."
Goldie’s face mirrors my shock, then, “Grams!" She whips her head in my grandmother’s direction.
"Grams!" I’m not only gaping at my nana, but I swear, there’s also a blush stealing up my neck. It’s not every day you hear your eighty-two-year-old Grams mention the A-word.
Grams scoffs, "What, you don’t think I know about a—"
"—Okay, enough. I know you’re with it, Grams, and know your way around the internet and social media—"
"I don’t have fifty thousand followers on my platform for nothing,” Grams reminds me.
"Fifty-thousand?" Goldie exclaims in awe. She tries to pull her hand from mine, but I tighten my hold.
"Apparently, people like to hear me read from my favorite smutty romance novels. They find it endearing." Grams rolls her eyes.
"You read from your spicy romance novels on your social media platform?" Goldie murmurs. Again, she tries to tug her hand away, but I bring her fingers to my mouth and kiss them.
Grams sighs, “You two are adorable.”
Goldie’s face flushes. She darts me a sideways glance, then looks back at Grams, who has an expression of satisfaction on her face.
"My followers love it,” she says with a wide smile.
“In fact, they demand I read from my dark romance novels, which are my favorite, by the way. And my latest book is a hockey romance novel, which—"
"Please, don’t tell me that our love story is what inspired you to read hockey romance," I interject.
"It’s true. Your interview and how you met is what inspired me to pick up a hockey romance, and I was hooked." She snaps her fingers.
Goldie looks at her with awe. "You’re quite something."
