Months of him tiptoeing around her and the relationship they’d allowed to crumble. He swallowed hard but maintained his smile. “Lucky her. No one’s company beats yours.”
Nora laughed, but it sounded almost tired. “I’m the lucky one.” She settled into her chair once more.
“Grams,” Wynter said. “Don’t bother Marcus with this. You know I can call a handyman to?—”
Marcus sent her a disgruntled look. “My schedule is wide open. And even if it wasn’t, I’d do anything for Nora. I’ll even help get your Christmas decorations set up.” He offered the elderly woman another bright smile. “You’ve always been like a grandma to me. Whatever you need. I’ll handle it.”
Wynter pursed her lips together but didn’t offer another argument. He said his farewell to Nora, then nodded to Wynter and left.
He hadn’t gotten the answers he’d hoped for. In fact, he hadn’t gotten anything at all. But at least he’d tried. He’d help Nora with what she needed and then be out of Wynter’s hair for good.
4
WYNTER
The lights from Marcus’s truck disappeared, and that was when Wynter whirled around and stared open-mouthed at her grandmother. “What on earth wasthat?”
To her credit, Grams looked up at her with blinking innocence. “What are you talking about, dear?”
Jabbing a finger at the door, Wynter said, “You invited him to come back!”
Grams grinned. “He’s always been such a good boy.”
“Argh!” Wynter shut her eyes tight. “He’s not a boy anymore, Grams.”
“And you’re not a young girl.”
Wynter’s eyes flew wide and she gaped at her grandmother. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Standing, Grams folded her arms. “Don’t you try to convince me that there wasn’t something between the two of you.”
“There wasn’t?—”
Grams scoffed. “There wasn’t? Even your grandfather could tell there was something brewing. Why do you think he was always so curious whenever Marcus came around? He watched that young man like a hawk because he knew one day?—”
“What? That Marcus and I would fall in love with each other and live happily ever after? Because I’ll let you in on a secret. That’s fairytale talk. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen every day. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen often at all. More than likely, men and women get divorced and their lives are ruined.”
Grams frowned, and the pain in her eyes nearly had Wynter wishing she could take everything back. But she didn’t. “You don’t believe that, do you?”
Wynter shrugged.
So many unspoken words hung in the air. Wynter could tell her grandmother that, logically speaking, true love didn’t exist. That in the end, people left—whether by their own choice or from passing away. Either way, it was safer not to have to depend on anyone.
“Six years ago, you ran away,” Grams said.
“I didn’t run away,” Wynter insisted.
“You kissed that boy, and you felt something. Don’t bother denying it. I saw it in that moment.”
Wynter groaned and trudged off toward the kitchen with the food Marcus had brought. “It doesn’t matter what you saw, Grams. Six years is a long time. Not only that, but I never wanted to get married. I never planned on falling in love.”
“And you think that you have control over that? Love isn’t planned, dear. It’s a blessing we can only hope to be given.”
Snorting with derision, Wynter started pulling out Tupperware containers of various meals so she could place them in the freezer. “I can appreciate that you’re bored, and you want nothing more than to watch me find happiness or love or some other nonsense. But let me point out something. Marcus and Icouldn’t be any more different. Do you even remember what he was like when we were younger?”
“I remember the way he looked at you.”
Wynter lifted her eyes to her grandmother but didn’t press her for more details. “He was a jock. The popular kid. Everyone, and I mean everyone, loved him.”
