Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 253(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
“No!” Granny says without any qualms whatsoever. She points her finger at me. “So help me Lucas, if you try to bring another nurse in here, I’ll run them off. All of them. I want Issi.”
I hold my hands up in defeat. “Fine, whatever you say, Granny. I just want what’s best for you. You know that.”
She walks toward her chair and sits down with a big sigh. I see the paper on the table, and she grabs it, holding it up to me. “Do you want to talk about this?”
I shake my head and sit down on the chair in front of her. “No,” I answer honestly. “But I have a feeling that doesn’t matter.”
She holds it toward me, pointing at the picture of me at last night’s fundraiser. I’m dancing with the daughter of one of the biggest donors. It was all innocent. It wasn’t like I brought her home or anything.
“I thought I asked you guys to stay out of the paper. Blaze Whiskey doesn’t need any negative exposure.”
I grab the paper and scan it. “It was a fundraiser. You know they’re going to take a picture, Granny. And we’re just dancing.”
She points at the paper. “Read the caption.”
Lucas Blaze is on the Prowl Again.
It goes on, but I’m not interested in anything it has to say. “I can’t help what they write about us. I mean, look. They obviously don’t know. It says five most eligible bachelors. They have to know Beau is married.”
I’m probably going to hell for it, but yes, I’m trying to get Granny off the topic of me and my love life and instead on one of my brothers.
She shakes her head. “Don’t get me started. I’m going to be making a call to the paper later today about that, but what I want to talk about now is you.”
I feign innocence like I don’t know exactly where this conversation is going. “Me? What about me?”
She groans in frustration, and I stand up, pulling my phone from my pocket. I turn on the Bluetooth and connect to the speaker system. A soft slow song fills the air, and I pocket my phone and hold my hand out to her. “Dance with me, Granny.”
She doesn’t hesitate in getting up, but as soon as she puts her hand in mine, she starts again. “This is nice, Lucas, but your charm is not going to get you out of it today. I want to talk to you.”
I slowly twirl her around, holding on to her the whole time. Our movements are slow and a little clunky, but I don’t care. She loves to dance, and I feel like the longer she keeps doing it, the longer she’ll be here. “Fine. Talk to me. I’m listening.”
She pats me on the chest. She’s panting a little, and I slow us down, only swaying back and forth. I’m holding her up, but she’s pretty frail these days, so it’s like holding nothing.
She looks up at me. I take in the small lines around her eyes, and even though she’s still beautiful, she seems to have aged just in the last few weeks alone. “But are you listening? Really, Lucas? Because I need you to hear what I’m saying.”
I nod, not taking my eyes off hers. “I’m listening, Granny.”
She pats me on the chest and leans into me. “You have to be open to love, Lucas. And when you find it, you have to hold on to it.”
I could have quoted her word for word, but I kept quiet. Granny has said that exact sentence to me over and over my whole life. When I was younger, it was just something she said. But as I grew up, I started to think about it. Really think about it. And I know she’s right. I do. But there’s always a part of me that wonders if I’m worthy of love and a bigger part of me that knows that women leave. Why would I want to put myself through that? But I swallow down everything I want to say and tell her what she wants to hear. “I know you’re right, Granny. I’m working on it.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “You are?”
I nod, looking her straight in the eye. I’ve never been able to lie to my grandmother before, but hearing her talk to Isabella earlier and knowing how concerned she is for me, I’d do anything–even lie–to make her feel better. “Yeah, I think it’s time I start working on me. I want to have kids one day–”
She cuts me off. “You do?”
I laugh. “Of course I do, Granny.”
Her hands tighten on my shirt. “What about Issi?”
I stop swaying and then start again. “Uh, what about her?”
Granny looks up at me with so much hope on her face. “I always thought you and she would be perfect together. It’s obvious she loves you. Have you thought about asking her out on a date? Maybe get to know her better?”