Relapse

At least she didn’t go into detail about what she was doing.

“How was your day?” Chase asks and he lowers his voice slightly. Despite being surrounded by a lot of people, it makes this moment feel more intimate. The memory of his hands on me go through my head before I push them away.

I fiddle with a napkin on the table. “I didn’t do anything but sit around,” I tell him honestly.

He nods and continues to make small chat with me. A part of me feels things should be at least the tiniest bit awkward between us but they aren’t. If anything, every time his sensual lips tip up into a wolfish grin, I want to pull him down the hall to my bedroom.

Grandma puts me out of my misery when her and Nathan bring the food to the table.

Nathan gather’s Lilly and places her in the high chair next to me. She speaks gibberish as she sits and I can’t help but smile at her. Grandma takes a seat next to Chase and Tanner sits on the opposite side, staying next to Emmet who seems to have caught his attention.

Nathan takes the free seat beside me and his shoulder brushes against mine briefly, sending tingles up my arm.

“Alright, we need to say grace,” Grandma says and before anyone can say anything, she’s delving into a prayer.

I lower my head and listen to her, used to the act. While my mother was never into religion, it was the exact opposite for my father and his family. Anytime I’d stay with them, I knew I’d have to get up early on Sunday to attend every service going on.

Not that it did much help in saving my corrupt soul.

“Amen,” Grandma says and everyone echoes it back. Grandma starts fixing Tanner’s plate, saying, “Kid’s first.” She sends me a pointed look and I place a spoonful of potatoes on Lilly’s plate. After Grandma is done with Tanner’s plate she starts fixing her own before she notes the men all giving her looks. “What? Surely you don’t expect me to fix your plates?”

“No ma’am, just letting you go first,” Chase says, giving her that charming smile of his.

Grandma just looks at him for a second before letting out a humph but I don’t miss the way her lips turn up in approval at the corners. After she’s done, I fix my plate next and everyone follows. There’s only the sounds of satisfied grumbles as everyone chomps down on smothered pork chops and homemade mashed potatoes. I supervise Lilly’s eating as best as I can, but she still ends up with potatoes in her brown hair.

“So, Nathaniel, you’re a chef, yes?” Grandma asks halfway through.

Nathan nods, “Yes ma’am, chef, restaurant owner, either works.”

“And Chase, you’re with Brookridge’s finest.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Her gaze turns to Emmet and she tilts her head to the side. “What is it that you do, Emmet? I don’t believe I recall.” So she spent the morning drinking coffee with him yet forgot to ask what he does.

“I’m an artist, ma’am,” he says, offering her a smile. “I work by commission mostly.”

Grandma’s lips part slightly and she turns to look at me. “Oh, so you two are both artists.” She says it more like a fact though when I look at the skeptical look on Emmet’s face, I know he’s taken it the wrong way, as more of an insult. I know it’s far from that, since Grandma is one of the people who made sure I had food on my table as I pursued a life as an artist, barely making any real wages. Unlike Kylie, she wouldn’t take no for an answer when I tried to turn her money down.

“Grandma bought me my first real easel,” I cut in. “And she took me to my first art show.”

Emmet’s shoulders relax some as Grandma nods, taking a sip of her glass of wine. “Of course her father beat me to buying her first portrait, but I let it slide.” She continues to engage the men in conversation and I sit back and listen, learning things about them that I never would have thought to ask.

“You’re telling me you turned down the MLB to cook?” Grandma asks Nathan, her eyes wide. I can’t help but to look at him in shock too.

“It’s always been my dream to own a restaurant,” he tells her. “Baseball was always for fun.” It’s obvious his response is genuine but it’s still shocking. I can’t imagine too many people turning down a shot at the MLB no matter what their real dream is. A part of me wonders why he didn’t think to mention it on our date, baseball did briefly come up after all.

Chase rolls his eyes dramatically, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “I’m sure that if I wanted, I could have gone to the MLB.”

Nathan watches him in amusement. “Of course, if only you weren’t too busy chasing tail in college maybe you wouldn’t have struck out so many times.”

Chase opens his mouth to argue with him but his gaze goes to Tanner and Lilly before he closes his mouth. Instead, he settles for flipping Nathan off, blocking the kid’s view with his other hand.

“At least you didn’t get kicked out like Ivy,” Grandma says and all gazes switch to me. I let out a groan and shoot Grandma a sour look, but she only smirks.

“We can’t have that conversation with the kids at the table,” I finally settle on saying.

Grandma nods. “I agree.” She pushes away from the table. “Come on kiddos, so Aunt Ivy can have a grown up conversation.” She doesn’t have to tell Tanner twice since he’s been done with his food for a while now. He jets off to his room. Grandma walks over and takes Lilly out of her chair, inspecting her messy hair and clothes. “Somebody needs a bath.” She leans over and whispers in my ear, “Have fun.”