Page 44 of Loving You

“You better get used to it.” He wraps his arms around my shoulders, pulling me close.

Wow, he’s oddly good at this.

“I sure hope there’s room at this table for two more,” Grandma Betty and Mike join us. Her gaze flickers to Miles's arm, then to my eyes. She smiles, but she doesn’t say a word.

“There is always room for you, Betty,” Sadie says.

Conversation quickly falls into the summer activities. In a few weeks, there will be the July 4th Blast, followed by the Lovers 4th of July, which is something only the locals know about. Then there is the end-of-summer party the first week of August before the kids go back to school. The town has decided to make that the biggest one of the season.

“So not only will the contest take place, but the bar and bookstore will have a spot. The dance studio is right next to us, so you can dance, then grab a drink and a snack, then a book, all in one smooth move.”

“Now, we all know I love to read. It’s not a secret in our family that we love books, but I’m not sure that’ll be the first thing on my mind to do when I’m at a town party,” Grandma Betty says.

“Probably not, but since tourists can come and I have exclusive signed editions from some very well-known authors”—Sadie winks at my grandmother—“that will change minds pretty quickly.”

Grandma laughs. “That reminds me. Natalie asked to place an order for some of those blueberry muffins in the morning. I need to go find Brooke.”

She begins to stand, but Mike puts his hand on her arm. “Let me go do it, dear. I’ll be right back.”

Grandma smiles at him and then sits back down.

“Speaking of Natalie, are she and Tobias going to make it tonight?” I ask.

“Not tonight. They are exhausted but finally beginning to set some kind of sleep schedule. If those babies go to sleep early tonight, Mom and Dad will be, too.”

“Makes sense,” I say.

Miles is talking with Hudson and Luca, but he soon shifts his attention to me.

He smiles, which makes me do the same.

“So, how did this happen?” Grandma Betty asks.

“Yes.” Luca rubs his hands together as he watches us.

Miles lets out a laugh as he leans around me to address Grandma Betty.

“Trust me, we are just as shocked as everyone else. But sometimes, things just … work out. Plus, she was pretty relentless when it came to my apartment. I mean, talk about being obsessed with me.”

I let out a laugh and playfully swat his thigh.

He’s not completely wrong.

“Well, I don’t care how it happened. I’m just glad it did.” Grandma pulls me in for a hug and then smacks the table. “You officially have a date for my wedding. Now, I’m going to go see what’s taking Mike so long then probably call it a night.” She kisses the top of my head. “You two come over for dinner soon, all right? Summers with Quinn are my favorite because I don’t get to see her much.”

I give her a quick hug and watch her go toward the bakery.Mike walks out, reaches for her hand, and kisses the back of it. He never lets go as they walk down the street toward their house.

When my grandpa passed away, I wasn’t sure how my grandma would get past that. How do you move on from losing the love of your life? How do you go through that kind of pain and come back from it?

Day by day, I guess. And now she’s in love again.

The guys next to me let out a loud laugh.

Yeah, Grandma’s been in love twice now, and I’m over here faking it.

“I’m goingto put the two of you down as contestants for the bake-off at the Fourth of July festival,” Brooke says as she brings out a plate of treats.

She’s been sneaking different dishes out to tables all night to see what’s the most popular. She says it’s helpful when she actually has a booth set up. She’ll know what to make more of.

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