“Call me Elsa, boy. Makes me feel old when I’m addressed as Mrs,” Gran says, and the sight of them getting along so far makes me feel all warm inside. If Gran had doubts, then it would unsettle me, but I’m pleased to see that she doesn’t seem to have any.
“Now, kids, what do you want to drink?” Gran asks when she’s finally satisfied all of the food is on display as she wants it.
“Gran, we’re good with water, just sit and enjoy your meal,” I tell her.
“Hush, child. Honestly, Caleb, I’m not sure where her manners are sometimes,” she says with a roll of her eyes. Caleb is trying his hardest not to smirk as he tells her that he’s fine with the water on the table. “As long as you’re sure, boy, because this will be the one time I wait on you hand and foot, after this, you’re part of the furniture and will be required to get your own beverages.”
Caleb chuckles. “I’m good with that.”
“Planning on sticking around then, eh, boy?”
“Gran,” I whisper, because dear God, I knew she would speak her mind, but Jesus, give the guy one night until you unleash on him.
“Yes, child?” she asks, feigning a look of innocence. “You know me, Cameron, never one to mince my words.” And then she winks. Fucking winks at me, and I can’t help but love her sass a little bit more. Also makes me want to laugh every time she calls him ‘boy.’
Caleb chuckles before he speaks. “In answer to your question, yes, I plan on sticking around for as long as your granddaughter will have me.”
Fucking puddle of goo. It’s what he does to me. Some call it cheesy, and others call it romantic. I call it being totally in love with someone and having them love you back just as hard.
“Well, that’s great,” Gran says. “Now, eat up, don’t let my hard work in the kitchen go to waste.” And just like that, it’s as if Caleb has been a part of our lives all along.
ChapterThirty-Five
Caleb
Last night went great, Cameron’s gran is fucking stellar, and my life seems to be slotting into place. It’s like once I found her again, everything just started to make sense.
She’s gorgeous, smart, funny, compassionate, dynamite in the sheets, and she’s all mine. Such a lucky bastard.
“Caleb, we have a problem,” Anthony says from my office door, interrupting my calm and serene moment.
“You look pissed,” I comment.
“You could say that. Come with me. Now,” he demands, and I wonder what the hell has happened, because he’s usually so laid back he’s almost horizontal. I follow him silently as he marches down the corridor and towards the big windows that overlook the outside of the offices, and when he points to what I need to look at, I feel fucking embarrassed at the scene before me. Danny’s mother. Bliss. Causing a goddamn ruckus. At my work. What the fuck is she doing here?
My face must say it all because Anthony turns to me and says, “Yeah… I figured you’d look like that when you saw.”
“What is she doing? I haven’t seen her for years… Sure, she’s been trying to phone me, but I never thought she’d turn up here and do… what is she doing?”
Anthony and I watch on as she starts lifting her legs one at a time, almost like she’s trying to act out some really crappy karate scene.
“Good luck, buddy,” Anthony says as he pats my shoulder and walks off.
Jesus Christ.
With annoyance fuelling me, I make my way downstairs, each step feeling like I’m walking to my doom. And when I approach the front doors and step outside, she stops dead, her eyes roaming me up and down as she licks her lips and then says, “Took your time, baby.”
The shudder of revulsion that rips through me is instant. I can’t stand this woman, and with very good reason.
“Bliss, what are you doing here?” I ask, as people who were watching start to disperse, some going to their cars and others going back inside. I have no doubt they’ll be watching from the windows though. I’m standing in the middle of two security guys, who are clearly not going anywhere.
“We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t,” I tell her firmly. I gave up talking to this woman the minute Danny turned eighteen, and apart from a few months of hell when I cut all ties with her, that was the last time we had contact, until she started calling me again and then showed up here today. I should have answered the fucking phone.
“Come on, Caleb, baby, just a few moments of your time won’t hurt.” She looks a mess. Her curly brown hair is streaked with grey and wild, much like the woman. Her makeup is like something out of the seventies, and her choice of clothes make her look more dogs’ dinner than glamourous mother. I mean, she’s wearing bell bottoms and a crop top for crying out loud. Her skin is a shade of orange that can only be fake, and her teeth look like they need a damn good brush—or hygienist.
“You want Danny to fucking drown, is that it?” she snarls, showing a little of the woman I know and hate.