by Chris Cannon
I held up the scarf and eyed the previous row, checking to see if it was even. “You wouldn’t go out with him because of me?”
“Of course not.” Light flashed off her pink metallic crochet hook as she worked on her latest afghan. “I couldn’t spend time with a man whose grandson hurt my granddaughter.”
“Thank you. I guess now you can go have dinner with his lovely daughter-in-law.”
“No way. I’m insisting we go out to eat.”
…
Grant
I hadn’t planned on mentioning the fact that I’d asked Zoe to be my girlfriend, but my grandfather outed me at dinner by saying, “I heard you worked things out with Monica’s granddaughter.”
“I did.”
“Maybe you two should go on a double date,” my dad said from behind his tablet.
“That has bad idea written all over it.” I glanced toward my mother’s vacant chair. “And we probably shouldn’t mention any of this to Mom.”
My grandfather chuckled. “I heard about the scene at school. Even when she was a girl, Monica was not one to keep her opinions to herself.”
My dad set his tablet down. “Your mother told me about what happened that day, how she insisted Zoe be kicked out of school and honestly, I don’t think it’s that she dislikes Zoe.”
“Really, because that’s exactly what it looked like.”
“I think your mom liked seeing you with Lena because she and Lena have similar personalities. She thought Lena would take care of you the way she’s always taken care of me.”
Huh. “Maybe that’s true but the last time we talked about this, you seemed to resent how she handled you.”
“I thought I resented her for hovering over me. When she backed off, I missed having her around.”
My mother entered the dining room with a smile on her face. “Missed having who around?”
“You.” My dad smiled at her, and his emotions seemed genuine.
She blushed. “Thank you.”
Should I confess my relationship with Zoe and risk ruining the first harmonious family dinner we’d had in ages?
“It’s nice to see you two happy around each other again,” my grandfather said. “Every marriage goes through rough spots. The key is to hold on to the people who make your life fun.”
“I think you’re right.” She sat and took a sip of her wine. “And I might have been wrong about something else. Grant, does this Zoe girl you’ve been seeing make you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll give her a chance.”
“Thank you.” It felt like the last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. Zoe made my life fun. I didn’t know what would happen long term, but for now, she made me happy. The one thing that would make the situation better is if I could get Aiden on board with Delia. I bet if Zoe and I put our heads together we could make it happen.
…
Zoe
I held my breath as the bake sale auctioneer announced our entry. “Here we have a dozen edible cupcake roses, also known as, I’m-sorry-I-was-an-idiot flowers.” She laughed. “Men, take note. This is something you could all use from time to time.”
“What if no one bids?” I whispered to Grant.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”
“How?”
“I asked my grandfather to bid on it.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll start the bidding at ten dollars,” the auctioneer announced. People around us held up their numbered paper paddles. The auctioneer went so fast, I wasn’t sure what the final bid was, but it was more than a hundred dollars. It might not have been the highest price of the evening, but it was in the top half.
“Thank goodness that’s over,” I said. “Now I can finally relax.”
“Hello, Grant.” I heard two feminine voices say in unison.
We turned to see who was talking. The tall, tan, blonde twins from the Chinese restaurant were back. Fabulous. A tingle of insecurity trickled down my spine.
“Hello, Georgette, Angeline. I believe you’ve met my girlfriend, Zoe.”
“That’s right, “Georgette said with her fake smile on high-beam. “Hello.”
“Hello, nice to see you again,” I lied through my teeth.
Angeline’s smile was a little weak as she nodded at me. “Nice to see you, too.”
I smiled and nodded as they talked with Grant about places I’d never been and would probably never go.
By the time they walked away, my face hurt.
Grant looked at me like he expected me to say something.
“What?” I asked.
“Better than the Chinese restaurant?”
“Much better. Thank you.”
“Maybe I should write a guide on how to be a good boyfriend.”
I laughed. “Seriously?”
“I aced that situation, thank you very much.”
“You’re right. You did. So what would you call this guide?”
He squinted like he was thinking. “What about the Boyfriend Book, or The Best Boyfriend.”
“Or, How to Be the Best Boyfriend You Can Be.”
“Too wordy,” he said. “Wouldn’t look good on a book cover.”
“True.” I thought about it. “You know, it’s not such a ridiculous idea.”
“There you are,” a woman said from behind us. I turned to see Grant’s mother, wearing a polite, if somewhat strained, smile.
“Hello, Mother. I’m sure you remember Zoe.”
“I do.” She nodded at me.
“Hello.” I had no idea what else to say.
“You seem to make my son happy.”
Why did it feel like I was walking into a trap? “He makes me happy, too.”
“I think we started off on the wrong foot. If you could avoid landing Grant in detention, I’m willing to start over.”
“Okay.” I glanced at Grant. “But it’s not always my fault.”
Grant laughed. “We will make a sincere effort to avoid detention.”
“Good. Now I better go see what your father is up to. He thinks he wants to bid on a box of smelly cigars. Can you imagine?” And she walked off.
That was a little odd, but one fact stood out. “Your mom doesn’t hate me.”
“Now the only person left to convert is your brother,” Grant said.
“I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.” Not that it mattered.
Another auction started. It was for a set of paints Delia would love. I scanned the crowd for her and saw her next to my brother, which was weird. And she was bidding on the paints.
“Look over there.” Grant pointed to Aiden who was on the other side of the room holding up his paddle. “He doesn’t paint.”
“Maybe he’s buying them for Delia?” I really wanted them to get together. “Has he said anything to you about her?”
“He thinks they’re good as friends, for now,” Grant said.
“I bet we could get them together, if we tried.”
“Agreed. Now all we need is a plan.”
We put out heads together and talked about different scenarios we could set up to encourage our best friends to date. It was funny that Grant was all for getting his best friend a girlfriend when he’d sworn not so long ago that was something he himself didn’t want.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked.
“You, us, the plot to make our best friends happy.”
“We do have a lot to celebrate.” He glanced around. “There are teachers from Wilton here, and technically it’s a school event, but I’m willing to risk it.”
“Risk what?”
“This.” And he leaned down and kissed me. Sliding my arms up his chest to his shoulders felt just as natural as it had the first time I’d kissed him. Funny that it was Jack, my temper, and my drama queen ways that had brought us together. Whatever the circumstances, the bet, or my interfering brother, we fit together perfectly. Only time would tell how long it would last. But I plan
ned to enjoy every minute of it.
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Acknowledgments
It takes a lot of people to bring a book to life. I’d like to thank Erin Molta and Stacy Abrams for editing my Boyfriends into shape. I’d like to thank Entangled Publishing for investing time and money in my books. I’d like to thank my family for all their encouragement and support.
About the Author
Award winning author Chris Cannon lives in Southern Illinois with her husband and her three dogs: Pete the shih-tzu who sleeps on her desk while she writes, Molly the ever-shedding yellow lab, and Tyson the sandwich-stealing German Shepherd Beagle. She believes coffee is the Elixir of Life. Most evenings after work, you can find her sucking down caffeine and writing fire-breathing paranormal adventures or sweet snarky romances. You can find her online at www.chriscannonauthor.com. Subscribe to her newsletter at http://www.chriscannonauthor.com/connect/
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