Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26723 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Jeremy had no problem playing McKenna’s not-so fake fiancé…especially if it got her down the aisle for real.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
MCKENNA
“Stop pestering me,” my grandfather muttered, glaring at me.
I was used to his grumpiness, so it didn’t bother me. Plus, I was willing to cut him some slack since he was my favorite person in the world.
He’d stepped in every time my crappy parents flitted off to one country or another, never taking me with them. No matter how busy he was, Grandpa dropped whatever he was doing to make sure I had whatever I needed. He was the one who took me to dance classes when I was little, helped with my math homework, and checked under the bed when I was convinced there was a monster.
I beamed a smile at him. “I’m not pestering. I’m taking care of you.”
“You’ve brought me a milkshake, fluffed my pillows, and read me a book for the past hour.” He pressed his lips together, his eyes narrowing. “What more can you possibly do?”
He was more of a parent to me than my mom and dad, and seeing him struggle after hip replacement surgery was a major wake-up call. My grandfather always seemed invincible to me, but I finally accepted that he wouldn’t be around forever.
“I’m sure I’ll come up with something else you need while you’re stuck in that bed.” I handed him a glass of ice water. “Since I’m not leaving anytime soon.”
He heaved a deep sigh, but I caught a glint of relief in his eyes. “If you insist, I suppose I’ll find a way to persevere through your coddling.”
“If our roles were reversed, you’d hover around me too.” I leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “And we both know it.”
“Of course I would,” he harrumphed. “But that’s different. I’m the grandparent.”
“That argument might have worked when I was a kid, but I’m twenty-one now.” I shook my head with a soft laugh. “I might be the granddaughter in this relationship, but I’m also an adult who is more than capable of making sure you’re being properly taken care of after your surgery.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, McKenna. I have a nurse here around the clock, as well as a physical therapist who comes every day.”
The gentle reminder wasn’t necessary. I knew how good his home health care team was because I’d been the one who’d coordinated everything with the social worker at the rehab center before he was discharged a few days ago. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried about him. “I know, but as excellent as their qualifications are, you’re still just a job to them. They don’t love you the way I do.”
“Nobody does, dear.” He patted my hand. “I’m lucky to have you.”
I shook my head. “You have that backward. I’m the lucky one.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that.”
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed, fighting a smile at the faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes. It was good to see him acting more like himself. “Besides which, it’s not as though it’s a hardship to hang out with you. We haven’t been spending nearly enough time together lately, and you know how much I love this house.”
So many of my happiest childhood memories had taken place in my grandfather’s Malibu home. I learned how to bake chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. The first time I swam in the ocean was right out back. I trick-or-treated in his neighborhood, with my grandfather driving me in a golf cart from house to house. He even set up an Easter egg hunt for me out on the beach one year that was so much fun…until a seagull swooped down and stole one right out of my hand. It had freaked me out, and Grandpa had carried me into the house so I would stop crying. Once I calmed down, he let me eat an entire solid chocolate bunny, which more than made up for the scare.
“I miss having you around all of the time, too.” He patted my hand. “But it’s good that you’re out there on your own, spreading your wings.”
I quirked a brow with a laugh. “That’s not what you said when I told you that I wanted to move into the apartment above my studio.”
“Luckily, you convinced me how wrong I was.” His brown eyes twinkled with humor. “Or you might never have painted your flower series, and that would’ve been a shame.”
My neighbor across the street was quite the gardener. They had plant stands lining their balcony with so many flowers in an array of colors that caught and kept my eye each time I looked out my window. It amazed me that I’d barely noticed them before I moved into the apartment, but perspective was everything. I hadn’t even lived there for a full day before I was sketching snapdragons, poppies, wild canterberries, and asters from my balcony vantage point.
Those drawings turned into a dozen paintings that included some of my favorites I’d ever done. Including the one hanging to my left that my grandfather had tried to buy and grumbled over when I’d gifted it to him instead. “Yeah, the apartment has done wonders for my creativity.”