Page 36 of Matchmaking the Rival

She gave me a small smile before darting out the door, then glanced at me over her shoulder.

This woman would be my undoing.

Chapter Nine

Cade

Itook my grandmotherto one of the best Italian restaurants in the city.

"I missed this place," she said, looking around. My grandmother usually spoke with fervor. She did everything that way, but today she was even more full of energy. "I can't believe you and Meredith already found your way to each other. It was all I wanted for the two of you, even when you were in high school."

I stopped cutting my pepperoni pizza. This was news to me.

Grandmother was eating cannelloni and had taken a bite when I responded, "All I remember from high school was you lecturing me about not getting expelled."

Her eyes dimmed as she swallowed and said, "Of course you’d remember that because it was the worst time of your life."

She was right. High school had been a blur of parties and living the good life, right until it all took a nosedive. First with Dad leaving and then Mom getting sick. Come to think of it, I couldn't remember anything from those years except how angry I was at the whole world.

"To be quite honest, I'm glad you and Meredith didn't have anything going on back then," she said. "There was no way it would've lasted. You were on a self-destructive path."

"That's a bit dramatic," I said, continuing to cut my pizza.

Antonio, the owner, came back with a bottle of red wine. "Signora Whitley, some more Montepulciano for you?" He spoke with a fake Italian accent. He was Spanish.

She nudged her glass. "Yes, please. I've hidden all my bottles at home. I'll have to dine out more often."

"What do you mean, you've hidden the bottles?" I asked.

"The doctor insists your grandfather shouldn't drink, and I don't want to tempt him."

My grandparents' relationship never ceased to amaze me. They were the "poster grandparents" for a long and happy marriage. How had my father fucked it up so badly? Was it a conscious choice he made? Of course it was, but sometimes I wondered if there was something wrong deep in his DNA. Had he passed it on to us?

"I think I'll have some dessert too. The doctor said he should cut back on sugar, and that was my one saving grace. Whenever he got grumpy, I baked for him."

It dawned on me for the first time that Grandmother truly hadn't come here for a reason. She just needed to get out of the house and do all the things she couldn’t do with Grandfather, fearing he’d fall ill again.

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