“This isn’t bonding,” I snapped. “This is psychological torture.”
Kai looked between us like he’d walked into a telenovela he didn’t know the plot of. “Should I … uh … go help with something? Dishes? Trash? The roof?”
Gran patted his cheek. “You’re fine, dear.”
Kai brightened. “Thanks, Janet.”
I groaned again because it was all too much — his smile, Gran's interference, and the warmth gathering in my chest like an uncontrollable storm.
She gave me a sideways glance. “You’re glowing too, you know.”
“I am not,” I protested, snapping my head to the side to glare at her.
“You are,” Kai interjected, oh so helpfully.
I picked up a dish towel and threw it at his head.
He caught it with one hand, smiling like a fool.
Gran crossed her arms, her eyebrows raised in triumph. “You see? Look at you two. You’re made for each other.”
“We’re not—” I started.
“We’re friends,” Kai said at the same time.
Gran laughed so hard she had to hold onto the counter for support. “Oh, lord, this is entertaining. I should charge admission.”
I glared at the floor, my cheeks blazing. Anything to avoid Kai’s eyes. Because if I met them, if I let myself see how proud he still looked, how happy, how bright — I’d crumble.
Eighty-seven is a plausible age to die of natural causes, right? No one would suspect a thing.
Gran stepped toward me, her voice taking on a softer edge. “Tori.”
I refused to look up.
“You know he adores you, right?” Her rings were cool against my skin as she laid a hand on my arm.
My throat tightened. “Gran—”
“You’re difficult to get to know,” she pressed on. “Not easy to get close to. But he did and he likes youbecauseyou’re you.”
My lungs stopped working for a second, and I lifted my gaze in silence, staring at her.
Kai shifted awkwardly. “Janet…”
She waved him off. “Don’t pretend, dear. You talk about her like she invented sunshine.”
Kai turned bright red, opening and closing his mouth, but no sound came out.
Something trembled inside my chest — a kind of aching, terrified longing.
Gran kissed my forehead. “Proud of you, darling.”
Then she turned and strutted away, boa fluttering behind her like she was the final boss of meddling grandmothers.
I shook my head in disbelief. No one would ever believe my stories once I was her age. I could vividly imagine the nurses at the nursing home patting my back patronizingly and looking at me like I’d gone crazy.
Kai and I were left alone in the kitchen and the silence stretched thick between us.
