AllFreeNovel
Share Us
To be honest, the whole fucking thing was surreal, and I didn’t think the wedding was actually gonna take place. He may have moved some clothes over to Sandra’s house, and his bedroom had been converted into a guest room, but he was almost always here. Morning, day, night.
I was keeping my cool.
Nikki and Haley freaked out enough as it was. They couldn’t believe him. That he would marry someone he didn’t love.
I wiped some sweat off my forehead as he walked through the gate, and Colin lit up at the sight of him.
“Unca Roe, hiii!” He was quick to get to his feet and run over.
I smiled.
So did Roe, and he picked Colin up. “Hey, my little champ. How are you?”
“Hi, hi, hi!” Colin beamed and smushed Roe’s cheeks together. My boy always found that hilarious.
Grandma woke up in the commotion and grinned fondly at the exchange. “Good mornin’, dearest.”
“Mornin’, Grandma JoJo.” He went over to her and dipped down to kiss her cheek. “How the hell do you look more beautiful every time I see you?”
I snorted softly and tossed the shears into my bucket on the lawn.
“Don’t you butter me up,” she scolded good-naturedly. “I see you haven’t returned that monstrosity of a car yet.”
Tell ’im, Grams.
“I’m keeping it,” he insisted. “It’s good to have a getaway car.”
I cocked a brow and walked closer. “Why, are you plannin’ an escape?”
The runaway groom.
“Funny,” he deadpanned. “You ready to work?”
I nodded with a dip of my chin. We’d timed it well with Colin’s nap time. He was an early napper and got tired around eleven, so he’d be easy for Grandma to watch. Bedtime at night was a whole other shitshow, but that magic hour shortly before lunch was smooth sailing. He’d crawl up on the couch and fall asleep to cartoons.
I helped Grandma out of her chair and guided her into the living room, and I ensured she had everything she needed within reach. Her phone and crossword puzzle, the remote controls, sippy cup for Colin, sweet tea for Grandma. I also locked the patio doors and the front door while Roe put on Colin’s favorite cartoon.
“You be a good boy for Nanny now, Colin.” I dipped down and smooched his forehead. “Daddy and Uncle Roe will be back soon.”
I still wasn’t a fan of “Nanny,” but it was what we had. Nana and Pop were Nikki’s parents, and my own folks were the distant Grandma and Grandpa who occasionally popped up on Skype.
Colin grunted as he wrestled with his blanket.
“Let me help you, sugar.” Grandma adjusted her glasses, then leaned over to tuck Colin in. He was a true cuddler, my boy. “You can go, Jake. This may surprise you, but I’ve done this before.”
I grinned half sheepishly. Sure, she had. Just not at the age of eighty-six. Just because she was sharp and active for her age didn’t mean she could chase down a toddler.
My grandma was cool, though. She’d taken an iPhone class at her community center and drove around in a custom-painted golf cart she’d aptly named Pink, after the singer. She was Grandma’s favorite, along with Cole Porter.
After reminding her to text me—or call—if she needed anything, I told her that Haley would be here with lunch in an hour or so, and then Roe and I excused ourselves to get some work done in the studio. Once we’d brought coffee, obviously. We couldn’t possibly do a podcast without our marketing mugs. Off Topic with Roe Finlay and Jake Denver was printed on a lot of shit these days.
We knew the drill the second we set foot in the studio. I prepared the camera in the corner, and Roe got the laptop running and helped me with the sound equipment. Some viewers had complained about the sound once we’d made our podcasts available on YouTube as well, so we’d doubled up and gone with a separate mic for the video footage. Not unlike the one I used when we filmed on location.
“By the way, we might wanna think about promoting Haley,” Roe mentioned. “She’s starting to get business inquiries through social.”
“Oh yeah? What is it this time?” I got comfortable in my chair and put on my headphones.
I reckoned the next step up for my sister would be management. Lord knew she’d prepared for it. She never stopped studying. She could probably share that responsibility with Seth.
“A game show.” Roe smirked and waggled his brows at me. “You ever hear of Know Your BFF?”
Uh. Vaguely. It rang a bell, maybe. Horrible title.
“Remind me,” I requested. “Wait—isn’t that on CBS?”
“Yeah, they were renewed for a final season,” he replied. “Basically, you compete with your best friend, and they mix it up with both celebrities and regular people. They’re wondering if we’re interested. It’s short notice because two of the original contestants had to bail, so we’d head up to Studio City next week.”
