Page 172 of Now and Forever

Chapter 57

We were having dinner at Eleven Madison Park, and the four of us were being ushered to our table when Drew arrived, trailing a few steps behind us.

“Sorry I’m a little late,” Drew said as he kissed my mother on the cheek. “It’s good to see you, Vicki.” He then went to my grandmother and gave her a tight, loving hug. “Grams, you look as beautiful as ever.”

My grandmother blushed before pinching his cheek. “You still look as handsome as ever. So …” she said then looked behind him, as if to check on something, before glancing over at his face. “Where’s Poppy?”

Drew immediately looked puzzled at the unexpected question. “I didn’t realize I had to bring her to see you all.”

“You don’t, silly boy, but I wanted to meet your lady,” Grandma stated as she looked over the menu with a pleasant smile.

While they all busied themselves with the menus and their phones, I glanced over at him, and for the first time that I had known Drew, he blushed deeply. Poppy had that kind of effect on him, I supposed. Well, as long as he was happy, that was all that mattered.

After the waiter took our orders, Drew and Jackson engaged in a conversation about some person they both know while my grandmother busied herself with her phone.

“Courtney has a package for you,” my mother addressed me, catching me by surprise.

Courtney hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but then again, that was typical her. She was thoughtful like that. I made a mental note to call her as soon as I could.

“Really? That’s so nice of her.”

“So nice,” Jackson sarcastically echoed, drawing all eyes to him.

Why was he in such an awful mood?

“Maybe if you guys weren’t always at each other’s throats about every damn subject known to mankind, you’d have a special package, too.”

“I always thought you had a crush on her. It’s too bad.” My grandmother’s statement astonished all of us.

What was she talking about? Color me extra confused.

My mother took a quick sip of her wine before shaking her head. “Jackson doesn’t like Courtney, Mom. Your memory is skewed. Jackson doesn’t like feisty women like her. She’s too much for your grandson.”

“I’m not senile, nor am I blind, Vicki,” Grandma snapped. “They all spent a lot of time together. Hell, I’m flabbergasted Drew and Chloe haven’t fallen in love yet.”

My mother placed a hand over her heart before gushing at Drew, “Chloe used to adore you. I could literally see hearts in her eyes.”

WTF?

“No, I wasn’t. You guys are being so unreal! Stop.” I wanted to crawl under the table when I felt his gaze on me. I had to do everything in my power not to flicker my eyes at him, unable to handle what would be in them.

“What happened to that boy you used to date last year? What was his name again?” Mom, bless her, came to my rescue just as the food was being served.

“She’s seeing someone,” Jackson butted in proudly. “That’s why you’re seeing all of this.” He gestured toward my salon styled hair and the tight laced-up corset dress.

Jackson was being such a dick. What was wrong with him? Did he know that he was killing me slowly? Drew was here, for fuck’s sake. Why was he being so careless? It was so unlike him.

Glaring at my lamb chops, I wished I could stab my brother so he would just shut it.

“What’s his name?” My mother looked worried as she noted me with renewed vigor.

Knowing how she worked, I bet she would have Cori investigated just to know if he had a perfect credit score. Ugh. My mother was as shallow as they came.

“It’s Cori, and no, I won’t tell you his last name.”

“Does he go to NYU, as well?” Grandma carefully asked, her eyes taking in everything my face showed her, which was too much for my liking.

Shaking my head, I feigned showing interest in the delicious food before me. “No, he chose not to go to college.”

---