“I heard you were snowed in up the mountain?”
“I was,” she confirmed.
Grandma hummed. “What were you even doing up there?”
“Getting away from my own humiliation.”
“Child, no one cares. You’ve got to learn to live your life and not worry about people.”
“Grandma, it’s not that simple.”
“Well, I told you I wouldn’t surprise you again, so I’m letting you know, I have this friend whose grandson is coming to town this week. We set you guys up on a nice little?—”
“Please don’t.”
“She can’t,” Caleb yelled.
“Is that a man?” Grandma asked. “Were you up there with a man?”
“What are you doing?” she hissed at Caleb.
“Put it on speaker,” he told her.
She shook her head but did it anyway. Did it even matter where this was headed?
“Yes, ma’am. We spent the last few days together, so I’ll have to ask you to cancel that date for her.”
“Who are you?” Grandma asked.
“I’m friends with Mike. We met at The Diner.”
“Oh, the cute new one? My, you moved fast, Macy. I’m proud of you.” Grandma laughed. “I’ll find a new date for him. You two come over for dinner soon.” The call ended.
“What did you do?” Grace looked at him.
“I solved all your problems with your grandma.” He turned his focus back to the road.
“By pretending to be in a relationship with me? What happens when you leave?” Was the man insane?
He opened his mouth and closed it again. “If that’s what it needs to be, then yeah. And I never said I was leaving.”
The rest of the ride was quiet as she tried to figure out what had just happened and why. She was ready to wallow in her feelings for a night with a pint of ice cream and get over him as much as she could, but what was this?
CHAPTER 10
Three weeks.It had been three weeks since he had started dating Grace, and she still believed it was fake. He was over it.
Three days ago, he literally bought a house, and she still didn’t get it. He was staying, and she was really dating him.
Everyone could see it, but she seemed to still be waiting for the bottom to drop out. He was having her over for dinner now that most of the furniture was in the house and was going to level things out.
They’d gone on dates. They were still sleeping together. He’d introduced her to his family via video call. And after each thing, she’d ask if he was sure about this. Stubborn ass woman.
He patted his pocket for the millionth time, making sure the ring was still there. Kristen had gone with him to pick it out this morning.
Caleb checked the time and his phone one more time and then checked on dinner. Everything was coming along, and he hoped and prayed this convinced Grace he was serious.
She didn’t text him first, ever. Every morning, he waited to see if she would send him a message, and she never did. He didn’t ask her why; he knew what it was, but dammit, it was driving him insane.
