"I'll be an excellent distraction, I promise," I said.
Brody's hand landed on my waist and squeezed. "As much as I would like to continue this conversation, we have to go. Jacks is being patient right now, but any second—"
A car horn blared from my driveway.
"She's gonna blow the horn," he finished.
I laughed as he grabbed my hand and hauled me out toward the car. When he opened the passenger door, Jacks was sitting primly in her booster seat, her belt in place. Yeah, I'd have to keep my eye on her.
"All right, daughter dearest. We clearly have to work on your patience," Brody admonished her, an amused twinkle in his eyes.
"We're gonna be late and you know Grandma doesn't like it."
"Grandma?" I asked him quietly as he helped me into my seat. "Marilyn allows that?"
"She actually wants Jacks to call her Grand-Mère."
I bit back a laugh. "I didn't realize your mother's parents were French."
He shook his head. "When she tried to get Jacks to do that, my lovely, sweet daughter started calling her Meemaw."
I couldn't stop it. There was no way. I clutched my belly and laughed. "Oh, my God. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was related to me," I gasped, rocking back and forth in the seat.
Brody grinned and I could hear Jacks laughing in the back.
When he came around the car and settled in the driver's seat, he turned to me and murmured, "I won't lie. I encourage that sort of behavior."
"What sort of behavior?" I asked.
"The kind of attitude you always had growing up. Even when you were pissing me off, you were hilarious."
I grinned at him. "And you're encouraging that sort of thing in your daughter?"
"Absolutely," he answered.
I glanced over my shoulder at his daughter. "Hey, Jacks. Do you think I'm a good example to follow?"
"No way!" she announced.
Then we both got the giggles and couldn't stop until we reached Grandma and Grandpa Murphy's house.
Despite my worries about tonight, just thinking of Brody's parents as Gramma and Gramps made me chuckle.
I only hoped that it would make the evening more tolerable.
Marilyn Murphy was in fine form. She'd barely aged a day from my childhood and she was well into her fifties.
It always surprised me how someone so sour on the inside could achieve something akin to physical perfection. She was tall and slender but not skinny. Her skin was firm and mostly unlined. Her hair had once been a beautiful golden brown but was now blonde, her one concession to going grey.
She greeted me with a close-lipped smile and a martini glass in one hand. The sight of the glass made me clench my jaw so I wouldn't laugh in her face. I doubted very much Marilyn would have been amused.
Thomas arrived shortly after and I realized then that their butler, Vincent, was nowhere in sight.
While Marilyn was "checking on the status of dinner" in the kitchen and Thomas was getting the three of us a drink, I leaned toward Brody. "Where's Vincent?"
"He retired last year."
"Wasn't he a little young to retire?" I asked.
Brody smiled at me, looking a bit bewildered. "Vincent was nearly seventy."
I gaped at him. "No way. The man looked like he was in his mid-fifties. Did your mom take him for Botox injections when she went for hers?" I whispered because I didn't want Jacks to overhear.
Brody laughed then coughed when his dad entered the room. It was odd that Jacks was being so quiet.
While Brody and his father spoke, I looked over at her. "You okay, sweetie?"
She nodded, her face grim. "I need to use the restroom." She got to her feet and marched down the hall.
"So, Cameron, how is your little shop doing?" Thomas asked me as he came over and handed me a glass of wine.
Brody's arm was stretched along the back of the couch behind me, so his hand clamped down on my shoulder before the smart-ass reply flew off the tip of my tongue.
I smiled at Thomas and sipped my wine while mentally plotting my revenge against his son. "It's doing really well, Tom. My partner and I are looking at opening in another location. We're hoping to grow enough to become a franchise."
I nearly laughed at the way his lips trembled with the need to sneer. I wasn't sure if it was because I called him Tom or if because when Crave was franchised, it would make me a very wealthy woman, maybe even wealthier than the Murphys. That simply would not do.
"Oh, dear, Cameron. Franchising absolutely ruins any sort of food or beverage. Once you aim for uniformity, you have to sacrifice originality."
I understood what Marilyn meant, even if her words were redundant. Of course uniformity destroyed originality. They were antonyms.
"Excellent advice, Marilyn," Thomas agreed before he drained the rest of his Scotch.
"You're looking very fit, Cam. Have you been exercising?" Marilyn asked.
"A little," I answered. Brody's grip tightened on my shoulder for a brief moment before his hand relaxed, so I decided to play nice. "You're looking well too, Marilyn. Have you lost weight?"
She preened a bit as she sipped her martini. "I have. Thank you." She opened her mouth but before she could speak, Jacks came running in.
"Hi, Grandma."
"Jacqueline, darling, how many times must I ask you to stop running in the house?" Marilyn asked. Though she did move over to her granddaughter and put a light arm around her shoulder.
"One more," Jacks said with a mischievous grin.
Marilyn sighed, but even I could see the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Wow, a grandchild had softened Marilyn Murphy. I couldn't believe it.
"The next thing I know, they'll be telling me she bakes cookies," I muttered beneath my breath.
Though I was mostly talking to myself, Brody heard me. "I wouldn't go that far," he whispered back.
"It's time to eat," Marilyn announced.
Dinner went smoothly. Well, more smoothly than I expected.
At least until Jacks said, "I caught Daddy kissing Cam on the couch last night." She looked at Thomas. "Does that mean they're gonna get married?"
I choked on my wine and started coughing, so I missed whatever reply her grandfather made. But judging by the expression on Brody's face, he didn't like it very much.
Instead of confronting his father, Brody looked at his daughter. "Remember I said Cam and I were going to try dating for a while?" Jacks nodded. "Well, sometimes when people are dating, they hug and kiss to express their affection."
It was pretty clear that Jacks didn't think much of that ritual, but she nodded and went back to her food.
Marilyn and Thomas let the subject drop, but I should have known that wouldn't be the end of it.
19
I didn't get a chance to talk to Brody on the drive home about his efforts to control me during the dinner with his parents. He had to drop me off at my house with nothing but a quick kiss just inside my front door.
By the time he called me just before bed, I'd calmed down enough that our conversation was actually civil. And he agreed not to do that again.