Page 72 of A Cheesecake Christmas

“I’ll neither agree nor disagree with that statement.” He clears his throat. “But really. How are things with Theo? Up and down?”

I take in the rise of mountains on either side of me, the thousands of evergreens flocked with snow casting long shadows now that the sun has nearly disappeared. “What makes you think that?”

“How else do I know about anything around here?”

I shoot out a sigh. “The guys at the diner are talking to you about me?”

“Well, I had to brag about you being my granddaughter. I saw your picture in the paper one of them was reading, you know the photo of you in that fancy English dress? Of course, I’m going to say something.”

“And of course, they’re going to feel it’s their right to gossip about me. Great.”

“They didn’t say much. Just that there might be a little trouble in paradise.”

“They know nothing about my life, Grandpa, okay?”

“So you and Attorney Carter are doing fine, huh?”

I groan. “I hope so.” I cringe as I weigh my options. I could avoid these questions, or I can be open and honest. Suddenly, I’m so tired of dancing around the issue. I don’t want to go along, doing a song and dance around my feelings. “Grandpa, I think I love him.”

“My granddaughter is in love with Theo Carter, Esquire,” he says, definitively. His voice is commanding and firm. For some reason, it reminds me of Theo’s fake accents.

“But I can’t rush into anything,” I insist. “My four-year relationship ended only three months ago.”

“It ended a lot longer ago than that, my dear. You two were hanging by a thread for months, maybe years.”

How does he know that? I rarely spoke to him about Rob. “Did your sketchy diner gang tell you that, too?”

He gives another hearty chuckle. “No, I could hear it in your voice every time we talked.”

There’s another example of people around me knowing something I wasn’t willing to see, or at least do anything about. “Well, even if that’s the case, I’m not sure I can move forward. I don’t trust that love can work out long term. People change over time and . . . I’m scared.”

“Changing over time can be good. Change doesn’t only have to happen in negative ways.”

Frustration boils up inside me. “Things can be going along so well, can feel so right and good and then, bam, you’re unhappy and the person isn’t who you thought they were. Who theysaidthey were.”

“Then take your time. There’s no need to rush.”

“I took four years with my last relationship and look how that ended.” My hands close tightly over the steering wheel. “I don’t know how to do this love thing.” I laugh, but it’s bitter. “I refuse to end up like my parents. But Theo’s . . . and this is going to sound strange . . . but Theo’salive. He’s so full of life. He takes up all the space in my mind and then some. But that’s sort of how Mom describes Dad . . . before they got married. Now look at them.”

“It can be frightening to take risks when you’ve seen so many rough examples.”

“Yep,” I say. “It is. And I refuse to be in a relationship where there’s arguing all the time. You can thank my parents for that particular life goal. I have to be opposite of them in that regard.”

He sighs. “I don’t know about that. Seems completely unrealistic.”

“Well, I know. We can’t be perfect on stuff like that. But Rob and I didn’t fight. That’s what I want. Zero volatility.”

“And zero excitement? Geez, this isn’t like you’re buying a sensible beige sedan. You’re finding someone you’re in love with and want to be with for the rest of your life. Just because some of the people in your life, including myself, haven’t managed that too well doesn’t mean you can’t.”

“It’s scary. What if I end up like my parents? No offense, since I know it’s your daughter and son-in-law, but they’re not happy.”

“Oh, Aria. You’re right. They aren’t. But you feel something strong when it comes to that Theodore dude.”

I laugh at his use of the name Theodore and the word “dude.”

But I do. “Feeling something strong” isn’t a strong enough statement.

He doesn’t wait for me to respond. “And if I wish for anything for my grandkids, it’s for them to not settle for the old beige sedan. I want them to be with someone that makes them come alive, someone who gives them all the feels.”

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