Riley studied her mother-in-law’s face. “You are literally glowing. What’s going on?”
Annette preened. “Really? I’m glowing?”
“Oh yeah. You look amazing. Something good must have happened.”
“You’re right. Because I did it.”
Riley blinked. “You…talked to Miles?”
“Oh yes, I did. I called him an hour ago, just picked up my phone, brought up his contact and punched that little phone thingy.”
Riley clapped her hands. “Go you! What happened?”
“He answered on the first ring.”
“That’s a good sign.”
“Yes.” Annette granted Riley a prim little smile. “I thought so, too.”
“What did you say?”
Annette’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink. “I was suddenly as flustered as a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl.”
“No way, not you.”
“Oh yes, I was. I just started babbling, stumbling all over myself, never completing a single sentence. I was ridiculous.”
“Not you, Annette. Never.”
“Yes. Yes, I was. I felt like a fool. But Miles didn’t seem to care.” She pressed her hands to her red cheeks. “I babbled out that I’d changed my mind and that I was wrong, that I was tired of never getting out, never enjoying the company of the right sort of man. That if he ever might consider spending an evening with me, I would like to take him to Arlington’s for dinner—Friday night, if that worked for him.”
“Wow. You asked him out. Bold move.”
Annette gave a regal nod. “I thought so, too.”
“And then Miles said yes?”
“No, he did not.”
Riley sputtered, “B-but… What? He said no?” About then, Riley noticed that Annette was still beaming. “Okay. Stop messing with me. Tell me what really happened.”
“It’s true. He said no. He said no, he would not letmetakehimto dinner—”
“Oh! I get it.He’stakingyou.”
“Yes! He’s picking me up at seven. Oh, Riley…” She grabbed both of Riley’s hands. “You are a treasure. Thank you. If you hadn’t kept after me, insisting that I think about what I really wanted, urging me to go ahead and take a chance, to make that call… Riley, if not for you, I wouldbe sitting at home all alone right now wondering how life had so completely passed me by.”
“Well, thank you—but you’re wrong. This is all you, Annette. You figured out what you wanted, and you made it happen.”
Annette shook a finger. “You helped. You helped a lot. You know that you did—now, come here.” Annette grabbed her, and they hugged it out.
“Grammy!” Dillon stood on the bottom stair, his hair a wild tangle of red curls on one side, smashed flat on the other. He’d brought his favorite stuffie, an ancient Jurassic World T. rex, downstairs with him. “You came to see me!” He dropped the T.rex and made a beeline for Annette. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand. “Let’s go up to my room…”
“Yes,” agreed Annette. “Let’s do that.” She rose and followed him up the stairs, pausing to grab the forgotten toy on the way.
Eventually Annette came down alone. She gave Riley another hug and left for home.
Once she was alone again, Riley wandered over to the sofa and picked up the remote. But then she set it down without turning on the big screen above the fireplace.
