Page 73 of Matchmaking the Rival

"I'm healthy as a horse. I don't know why the doctor keeps insisting I should watch my diet." He’d had a few scares with his heart and needed to be careful from here on out.

"How many times do we have to have this conversation, Abe?" Grandmother asked. Her voice was suddenly sharp. Obviously she was getting tired of his obstinance.

"Grandmother, Grandfather, behave," Cade cut in. "We have guests."

Grandmother looked at Meredith. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just trying to keep my husband alive, and it's a full-time job."

Spencer leaned toward Meredith on her other side. "Welcome to the family, Meredith. If someone's not fighting, you know something's off."

"Duly noted," she replied easily.

He looked at me over Meredith's head. I knew he was bursting with questions.

"By the way, Grandmother, Natalie and I want to go see a musical at the theater next week," Jake said nonchalantly. "Want to come with us?"

"Oh, I'd love to!" Grandmother exclaimed.

Thumbs-up to Jake; he did that very elegantly. I knew Grandmother was happy to go, but if she knew we'd had an actual conversation about taking her out more often, she'd brush off our efforts, saying she didn't want to be a burden. It was always a fine line with Jeannie Whitley. The woman was smart.

"Are you sure you want this old bag of bones to tag along?" Grandmother asked Jake.

"Jeannie!" Natalie said, sounding completely affronted. "We love spending time with you. Abe, do you want to join us too?"

"No. The doctor said I should try to avoid events that are very crowded,” Grandfather replied.

Grandmother laughed. "Nowyou're bringing up doctor's orders!"

I had to give it to Grandfather. He was smart as always. He'd once confided in me that even though my grandmother was a theater actress, he disliked plays and musicals. But he'd never missed any of her performances, even back when he was running Whitley Industries.

"Never make your wife feel as if what she does or what she likes is insignificant. Even if you don't understand why she loves it, support her. She will appreciate it."I had no clue that those words had even registered in my mind, but they had. It was great advice. Then again, most of the things he said were useful.

After we finished eating, we offered to clean up the table. Grandmother protested, but Jake put his foot down. "We won't hear of it, Grandmother. The least we can do, after you cooked the whole day, is clean up."

"Oh, you boys! You get more stubborn with every year."

"That we do," I said.

"I can't believe she's fighting you about cleaning up," Meredith said as we finished bringing everything to the kitchen and loaded up the dishwasher.

"Yeah, it's an ongoing battle," I said.

"And what was that about Jake and Natalie taking her out?"

"Remember a few weeks ago when I told you I realized she might need a bit more company?"

"Yes," Meredith replied.

"Well, my brothers and I decided to take turns getting her out of the house."

Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, that's so cute! I can just imagine all of you brainstorming this."

"And now, no more talk," I said.

"Why not?"

"I’ve wanted to kiss you since I got out of the cab."

She smiled shyly, taking a step back and bumping into the kitchen counter. "Oops! Look, I'm trapped here with you."

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