I cringed a little beneath my phony smile. Grandmother had been worried about my life? Great. I wondered how much of her stress-induced heart troubles were my fault.
I hated the fact that she’d latched onto the idea that everything was peachy-keen because I had Cash “in my life”. This stupid tweed skirt and heels were supposed to send that message, not my too-charming neighbor. I thought humanity had moved beyond the idea that a young woman needed a man in her life to complete her. I guessed Grandmother hadn’t gotten the memo.
But Cash didn’t want to play pretend with me, and I couldn’t say I really blamed him.
It was time for the charade to end. Cash was right not to want to fake out my grandmother. It was one thing to try to appear to be more mature in her eyes; it was another thing entirely to make her believe I was on the cusp of marriage to a man I’d hardly said two friendly words to.
“Grandmother,” I swallowed hard, glancing Cash’s way. My heartbeat pounded in my ears and the room swirled. I was about to become a casualty of my own scheme to impress her. This was going to hurt.
She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Relax, Willow. I know I haven’t always been very approachable in the past, but that’s all changed. There’s only one thing that upsets me now that I’ve been implementing these new coping mechanisms. Dishonesty.”
She spat out a disgusted puff of bitter laughter. “After what your grandfather’s accountant did to us over the span of twenty years, I’ve had more than my fill of it. All smiles and friendship to our faces but skimming off the top of every financial account he got his slimy hands on. What some people won’t do for money! I cannot abide lying lips.”
Well, thanks a lot Mr. Accountant.If it wasn’t for him, her pet peeve might have been something more reasonable, like detesting people who forget to floss. But nope. Theonething that could make her upset just so happened to be theonething I was in the process of doing right then.
Deceiving.
It didn’t sound so innocent when I called my plot what it actually was. I couldn’t blame her for getting riled up about being lied to. I knew the feeling.
I felt the blood drain away from my face for the second time that day. I must have looked as white as a lying marshmallow.
Everything about my appearance was dishonest, and I was about to confess to the fact that I wasn’t in a relationship with Cash. Would she think that I’d lied to her about that, too? I hadn’t done that, exactly. It had been a misunderstanding. Albeit, a convenient misunderstanding for me.
Was being guilty ofwantingto lie as bad as actually lying? It probably was. I was becoming someone I didn’t even recognize, right before my own eyes. How far was I willing to go to get what I wanted? That was a question I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to.
I deserved whatever happened next.
My life was over. Grandmother was going to disown me, I’d lose my life savings to that recording studio, and I’d be working as a barista until I was ninety-seven years old because no one could afford to retire on the money I made.
Cash’s eyes cut over to me, and he cleared his throat. “I think what Willow was trying to say was, are you going to stay for dinner? Because we’d love to have you.”
We?As in Cash and me? Me and Cash? The newest couple in the building?
Gulp!
“How about whatever meal comes between lunch and dinner?” Grandmother said. “It’s early still. I’m famished and feeling adventurous.”
“I think you’re talking about linner.” Cash’s cheeky grin brought a smile to her face. My head spun. What was happening here? The man who didn’t want to be my fake boyfriend just invited my grandmother to dinner. Grandmother was seeing rainbows and sunshine because of some therapist somewhere. And now they were inventing meals together?
Another one of my pesky curls sprung free from the pins wedged against my skull. I tried to tuck it behind my ear, but it bounced right back to where it wanted to be. But that was the least of my worries. Grandmother had just accepted Cash’s invitation to linner, and they were chatting.
And smiling.
On the surface, everything seemed to be going my way. So, why was my stomach in such a knot?
CHAPTERSEVEN
Sunday brunch. High tea. Hors d’oeuvres on the terrace. Those were the kinds of meals Grandmother was used to eating—not linner.
I shoved my head deeper into my sorry little refrigerator, hoping that by some magic, something edible would appear. Unfortunately, I was no cook, and as such, I had no ingredients in my fridge beyond the basic staples of life: ketchup and maple syrup.
My cupboards weren’t in much better shape. All I had inside them was a half-eaten sleeve of stale crackers, a box of sugar-laden breakfast cereal, and a chocolate bar I was saving for a certain time of the month. And I wasn’t about to give that up!
I wouldn’t be whipping up a satisfyinglinneranytime soon.
What had Cash been thinking, inviting Grandmother to stay and eat? I needed to talk to her and send her on her way as soon as possible before she saw through my charade. She might have been trying to turn over a new leaf, but I didn’t want to take any chances. The less time we spent together, the better.
But no. Cash had extended her stay by who knew how long with that invitation. And now I had to feed a finicky woman with no ingredients, no money to buy them, and absolutely no skill to cook them even if I could manage to scrounge some up.
