Page 52 of An Engagement for Erica

SAVE YOU A DANCE

“You didn’t answer me, Erica,” his grandfather said. “Are you moving in with Tucker?”

It seemed she found her voice and Tucker wasn’t sure if his grandfather was making this situation uncomfortable or not. Erica wasn’t one to have a cat running off with her tongue.

“Not yet,” she said. “We have to work it all out.”

“I know Tucker said no wedding date has been set, but I’ll be walking and dancing at it. You can mark my words,” his grandfather said.

He looked at Erica, who seemed unsure how to reply. “I’ll save you a dance,” she said, smiling.

He might have fallen in love with her right there with that response.

The way she talked to his grandfather and made him feel as if she was excited to be part of the family.

He wasn’t sure how he got into this and was going to damn well make sure she stayed.

No, he knew how it happened.

He might have secretly wished it’d turn out this way when he could have argued a bit more with his grandfather.

Or steered the topics to other things.

But he didn’t want to.

It was wrong, he knew it.

If he and Erica did end up in a relationship, it wasn’t really hurting anyone.

The sad truth was, he knew they weren’t out of the woods with his grandfather by a long shot.

And though he didn’t want to accept that his grandfather might not pull through, the odds were against them.

Almost half didn’t survive the first thirty days. The fact he was going home was promising.

But it meant nothing. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome. He still didn’t know them all and wouldn’t for weeks and more testing.

Thank God for Michael because he wasn’t sure he could carry both the load of his grandfather’s care and the business.

“I look forward to it,” his grandfather said. “You’re what Tucker needs in his life. Much too serious by far.”

“I’m too serious?” she asked, grinning. “I’ve been told that a lot.”

“No,” his grandfather said, smiling. Only one side of his lips went up. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? Because his grandfather hadn’t smiled once until this moment. He was battling the tears in his eyes. “Tucker has always been too serious.”

“I don’t think so,” she said. “I think he’s been good for me to loosen up some. Or in his eyes, turning left rather than right.”

“Does he do the whole lefty loosey, righty tighty thing with you?” his grandfather asked.

The fact his grandfather remembered that from when Tucker was a kid was very encouraging.

“He does,” she said.

“He was like that with his dog as a kid too. Always felt like he could train him better than anyone else. Turn him left rather than right.”

Tucker frowned. He’d never owned a dog. Or a cat. Not even a fish.

“Grandpa,” he said. “What dog is that?”

---