Bryce shifted in his seat, and I realized he was nervous. Instinctively, I reached my foot out under the table, brushing it against his leg.
He caught my eyes, giving me a grateful smile for a fraction of a second. Focusing back in on Glamma, he said, “Meredith?—”
“Yes, dear?” She batted her eyelashes at me.
I suppressed a snort that Glamma ignored.
Bryce smiled a bit, nudging my leg under the table. “I know you don’t know me from Adam?—”
“I googled you plenty,” she said, as if that told her everything she needed to know about him.
“Glamma, let the man speak!” I protested.
She gave me the side-eye and then nodded at Bryce. “Go ahead, honey.”
Bryce and I exchanged a glance, and the smile in his eyes made my chest feel light. He was starting to love Glamma too.
“If my dad showed me anything, it’s how to be a devoted husband. In sickness and health, richer or poorer. I can’t promise to be perfect, but I can promise to follow in his footsteps. You have my word that I’ll never give up on Jada long as she’ll have me.”
His words were so full of feeling that he made me wonder if he really meant them. It scared me how easily I could fall for the words I desperately wanted to hear.
When I looked at Glamma for her reaction, I found tears welling up in her eyes.
She took a shaky breath. “I know I won’t be here forever, so I’ve been praying my granddaughter won’t have to be alone when I’m gone.”
My eyes stung at her words. “Glamma...”
She dabbed at her eyes with a napkin, then reached across the table and squeezed my hand. She reached for Bryce’s hand too. “Bryce Madigan, you are an answered prayer.” She sniffed again, a tear rolling down her face.
Bryce looked at the table for a moment. I wondered if he was feeling as guilty as I was. But then he looked up and said, “That means more than you know.”
Glamma nodded, then released our hands and straightened up. She narrowed her gaze at Bryce. “I also promise that I will set a glitter bomb off in every property you own if you cross my granddaughter. I will leave one-star reviews on every app—once Jada teaches me how—with as many emails as Google will let me make. And then I’ll get the ladies at bunco and mahjong to do the same. And when I die, the trouble won’t end there. Oh no, I’ll come back and haunt you as the world’s most persistent and stylish ghost.”
She meant every embarrassing word. I covered my face, hiding my flaming cheeks.
Bryce’s voice was even as I heard him say, “I think I’d rather be faithful to a beautiful woman, all things considered.”
Glamma let out a laugh from deep in her throat. “Smart man. Now eat your cake. You could use some more meat on your bones.”
Bryce met my gaze for a moment and then followed her instructions. By the time we were done eating, Glamma had us on the couch watchingJeopardyand laughing about all our outlandish guesses.
When he said it was time for him to turn in, I almost forgot this was all fake. But then I walked with him onto the front porch to say good night.
We stood again under the buzzing light. Most of the lights on our street were out, save a few dim bulbs. Bryce’s face was cast in shadows, giving his strong features a more chiseled look. But there was a delicate light remaining in his eyes.
I tilted my head toward the front door. “Thanks for that. You made Glamma’s whole week when you asked for her blessing.”
“She made mine when she gave it,” he responded with a smirk.
I shook my head at him. The two of them were going to be trouble. I could already tell.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow at four for our date,” he reminded me.
I dipped my head in a nod, having added our dating schedule to my calendar.
“Dress in clothes you don’t mind staining,” he said. “And close-toed shoes.”
My eyebrows arched.
