"And if she rejects me? Like I deserve?"
"Think of it this way." My dad took a long sip of coffee. "What if the car would have made it to prom? What if you would have walked into that gym and seen Beth, with those pretty green eyes, staring at you."
"I would have kissed her," I croaked. "And probably made an ass out of myself."
"You would have told her you were going to marry her someday."
I didn't respond. I couldn't. My chest felt so heavy with emotion that I wasn't able to take deep breaths. I wheezed, coughed, and took a few steps away from my dad before stopping and turning.
"Were you in on it?"
"On this?" Dad spread the napkin across his lap. "Why, son, it was my idea."
He said it so calm that I thought he had to be joking.
He took another sip of coffee and smiled.
Holy shit.
"Grandma?"
"Offered her expertise. How else do you think I was able to plant the media outside the hotel? Grandma can't be in two places at once. She slipped something in your drinks, made sure you made it safely to the hotel, and I took care of all the rest of the details. Right down to sending media to the airport."
"But—"
"Grandma was with you the whole time," Dad laughed, "texting me details."
"But the resort we're staying at? She's a therapist here."
Dad looked at me like I was stupid. I hated being looked at like that. "Titus Enterprises owns several hotel chains. You're staying in one. How else do you think Grandma could infiltrate the staff so effectively?"
"I think I'm going to be sick."
"Good." Dad's eyebrows quirked. "At least you're finally feeling something."
"But…"
"Son... it's when you're at the end of your life that you start thinking about the beginning. Choices made, things you should have said, people you should have forgiven. I don't want that for you. I saw you going down a path that I knew would end in heartache. Travis and I went golfing soon after you confessed about second chances. That's when I put two and two together. It was easily done, and when I saw you at the wedding. I knew…"
"You mean when you drugged us at the wedding."
"My idea was to get you caught in a compromising situation on camera, not drug you, fly to you to Hawaii make you bleed your feelings all over a therapist, and get your first experience with Viagra."
I winced.
"But Grandma had a point. You two needed time to get to know one another, and she provided a safe media-free environment for exactly that to happen. My only question is… did it work?"
"Did what work?"
"Our plan?"
I was silent for a few seconds.
"Son, do you love her?"
"I do." I licked my lips, feeling like a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off my shoulders. "I really do."
"Then chase her."
"What if she doesn't want me back? How do I even know that she would have dated me had my car made it back to the gym?"
Dad smirked., "Son, that's why they call love a leap. It's a bit like faith. You know it exists, though you can't feel it."
"I have no faith in myself."
"That's okay," Dad nodded, his eye welling with tears, "because I have enough faith in you for the both of us."
Chapter Thirty-four
"Well," the agent scratched his chin, "you can keep a secret. I'll give you that."
"Thank you."
"But the senator is still missing, and by the looks of it," he checked his watch, "it's been over forty-eight hours."
"One more hour." Grandma smiled.
"One more?"
"And then I'll bring you the senator and his lovely wife."
"Wife?"
Grandma smiled. "Then again, I can't be in two places at once, or can I?"
"I may need more coffee."
"Trust me. The rest of the story is my favorite part."
Beth
Two weeks had gone by, and I hadn't heard anything from Jace. Though, lucky me, I kept getting really pathetic and sad looks from Jake and Char every single time I went over to their house.
We had dinner every Sunday.
They thought they were helping me get over my sadness by feeding me enormous amounts of wine and food. Jake, bless his heart, also felt the need every once in a while to pat my hand. You know, like I was a three year old. Other times, he'd just stare at me really hard as if by him staring and giving me one of those Aww–looks, I'd soldier on.
This Sunday I just wanted to forget everything that had happened. I expected to have a nice quiet meal, where Jake sent me concerned looks while filling my wine glass to the brim, and Char cursed men everywhere, except for her husband, who, since getting married, had earned saintdom in her eyes.
So when Grandma threw open the door to Jake's giant house on Lake Washington, I almost fell ass-backwards.
She pulled me in for a hug and squeezed so tight I think I felt a rib pop. "Oh, honey bug! How are you?"
"Great," I lied, forcing a smile. Emotionally I was feeling a bit wrecked, add that to the whole flu bug I'd somehow caught the day before last, and I was just one giant ball of fun.
I wasn't sure if it was the rib-popping squeeze or maybe just the emotional stress of seeing Grandma again, but I suddenly felt like I was going to puke. I pushed past her just in time to throw open the bathroom door and empty the contents of my stomach into the porcelain toilet that probably cost more than my rent.
"Beth?" Grandma knocked softly on the door. "Sweetie are you alright?"
I flushed the toilet, rinsed out my mouth with water, and opened the door. I hated puking. Nothing was worse. I hated the way it tasted, and I hated how it made my stomach clench so tight that I wanted to curl into a ball and die. Plus, puking always made me want to cry.
Why was Grandma smiling? My eyes narrowed.
"A touch of the flu?" Now her eyes were twinkling as she rubbed her hands together.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I've been queasy these past few days."
"Interesting." Grandma nodded, her smile growing by the second. "Positively… perfect."
"Perfect that I'm sick?" I asked, confused as my stomach clenched again.
"Oh honey, you just let me take care of you." She patted my hand then shouted so loud my eardrums nearly burst. "Jake! Grandma's staying a few weeks!"
"The hell you are!" Jake shouted back from somewhere in the house.