Page 30 of The Very Naughty List

“Hailey, baby.” She squeezes me in the way that only a grandma can, then welcomes Nick and me inside. “Your parents are at the diner working. Come on in, I’ve got a kettle on the stove.”

Grandma Dee is always making tea. It’s one of my fondest and most frequent memories of her. Have a cold? Echinacea tea it is. Feeling blue? A cup of mint to ease away stress. And then there’s my favorite—Grandma Dee has a “secret stash” ofamaretto tea that she puts a drop or two of liquor in. That’s the tea that she always brews whenever I need just to sit in silence and think.

We walk inside and sit down at the table while Grandma Dee sets teacups down in front of us and then goes to get the kettle, which is already starting to whistle. I look over at Nick, suppressing a grin at the image of this burly, bearded firefighter sitting there with a dainty teacup set in front of him.

But I still don’t know why we’re here.

Sebastian’s date was a plunge in icy cold water, Reid’s date was a dinner out that wound up getting crashed by his brothers, and now Nick’s date is inside my childhood home with my grandma? It’s been a whirlwind of experiences so far, but honestly, I’ve enjoyed every one, so I don’t really expect this to be any different. That doesn’t stop me from being curious though.

“So catch me up, Dee. What did I miss?” Nick smiles up at her as she pours the tea, as if they have some sort of secret conversation going on.

And surprisingly, theydo.

I sip my tea and listen as my grandmother catches Nick up on an episode ofShadow’s Edge, a show that they’ve apparently been watching together. The season finale episode aired earlier tonight, and Nick missed it when he came to the restaurant to find me and take me on a walk.

The two of them talk avidly, and he laughs when Grandma Dee makes a joke about one of the characters in the show. She goes on to tell him how excited she is about the next season of the show, and Nick nods in agreement.

“This strapping young man has been keeping me company through two television seasons already. I have to admit that if I were awholelot younger, I’d think we were dating.”

She bursts into laughter, and Nick’s cheeks flush.

I look over at him, awed and a little stunned. I’m immensely touched by this hidden sweet side I didn’t know he had. All this time while I’ve been off in LA trying to run away from my past and piece together a future, he’s been here spending time with my elderly grandmother.

She looks at him with her soft brown eyes and gives him a wrinkled grin. I can tell by the way her entire face is lit up that what he’s doing means a lot to her. And funnily enough, it seems like Nick is enjoying the show they’re watching together just as much as she is.

“Do you want to see the season finale?” Grandma Dee asks me, clearly brimming with excitement. “I wouldn’t mind watching it again. Nick and I can fill you in on what’s happened up to this point in the show.”

“Sure!”

The three of us go to the living room, and I sit down on the couch beside Nick to watch the show with my grandmother. About halfway through, there’s a surprise reveal where the main character discovers that her long-lost sibling, believed to be dead, has been living under a different identity and is secretly involved in a major criminal organization. Nick’s jaw drops, and he nearly jumps off the couch, shock clear on his handsome face.

In the chair next to us, Grandma Dee is cracking up.

“Look at you!” she chortles. “You’d think you’d seen a ghost!”

“That’s because I had no idea that Lorenzo would be coming back.” Nick rubs at his chin, disheveling his beard as he looks at my grandmother with a teasingly accusatory glare. “You didn’t want to warn me?”

Grandma Dee is still laughing so hard that her second cup of tea is shaking in her hands, the liquid threatening to slosh over the rim.

“No spoilers,” she finally says, affixing a more serious look on her face, although her eyes still dance with amusement. “That’sour rule, remember? Besides, I had to keepsomesurprises for you to find out for yourself.”

I chuckle at both of them, completely entranced by how easily they seem to get along. Nick, who usually speaks only when absolutely necessary, banters easily with her as the show continues. I can’t resist joining in and teasing him a little.

“I’ve never seen you get so excited about anything before,” I point out, nudging him lightly. “Who knew that you were secretly a soapy TV show junkie? I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

My grandmother howls with laughter, and a flush works its way up from beneath Nick’s beard. He clears his throat, leaning back against the couch cushions and relaxing his expression. “It’s the first time I’ve done that. I don’t normally get so worked up over fictional characters.”

I’m pretty sure that’s a lie, given how obviously invested in the show he is. And even if it’s not, I make a secret goal to get him to do this more. I love seeing him so genuinely excited and not as stiff and withdrawn as he usually is.

Beside us, my grandmother snorts. “Oh, bullshit!”

“Grandma!” I laugh at her foul mouth.

“What?” She shrugs, taking a prim sip of her tea. “I’m old enough to have earned the right to curse like a sailor if I want to. And don’t let him fool you. Nick is always shouting at the television screen.”

“Ah hah! I knew it.” I shoot him a triumphant smirk, and his cheeks flush again.

I find myself loving this fake “date” so much more than I expected to. It’s absolutely wonderful, and I still can’t believe that Nick has been coming over to hang out with my grandma. Lucas has never mentioned it to me.

---