Page 88 of Lovers' Dance

“Grumps,” Natty said, touching his jacket covered arm this time. “Have you spoken to Mum about letting us get a car? She’s being ridiculous. All our friends have their own cars. It’s embarrassing.”

“Natalia, now is not the time to discuss this,” he chastised.

Natty’s lip quivered, but she nodded and was about to pull away when Grumps patted her hand resting on his arm.

“I’ll have a word with her tomorrow.”

She beamed at him, then beamed at me. I grinned back. Nothing quite like getting your first car. I remembered my first car back home in the States. It was a beat-up, old Volvo, but I loved it. It represented freedom.

Grumps signalled to the nurse, and she instantly came around to help him up from the chair. Natty and I stepped back to give her room.

“Ms DuMont.”

“Madi,” I corrected automatically.

“How long have you and my grandson been courting?”

Courting?No one used that word anymore. I played with the thought of saying we’d been doing the nasty for a few months, but I doubted Matt would appreciate me giving his granddad a heart attack.

“We’ve been seeing each other for a few months, Mr Bradley,” I responded, once again very polite. Grumps was eyeing me the same way Matt did whenever he thought I was being secretive—a probing look that made me uncomfortable. Come to think of it, Adam had given me the same look last night a couple of times. Did all the Bradley men act the same? That was a terrifying thought. I could barely deal with Matt.

“I see,” he said. I wondered exactly what did he see. The nurse moved forward gripping his arm, and Grumps huffed in annoyance. “I am fully capable of walking once I’m on my feet.”

She released him and stepped back. If his curt reprimand stung, she gave no outward indication of it.

“How long have you lived in England, Ms DuMont?” he asked, slowly smoothing his dark jacket over his stomach. “You’re obviously foreign.”

“I’m actually English,” I started as Natty came closer to her great-granddad.

“Really?” Grumps eyed me up and down again. “You don’t sound English, Ms DuMont.”

“It’s Madi, and that’s because I moved to the States when I was six,” I explained.

Grumps started moving forward, was quite spry for an old man, and I tried to do a quick mental calculation. Matt was thirty-seven, his parents must be around sixty, so that must make him—

“How old are you?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

“Too old for you, Ms DuMont,” he replied blandly. He walked off, dismissing me without a backward glance.What the fuck was that supposed to mean?I stared at his back, face twisted in confusion. I noticed Matt making his way over to me, and I forgot about Grumps and his cryptic comment. I forgot to breathe, only realizing it when my lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. How cheesy. Matt literally took my breath away.

“Hey,” I said with a smile when he stopped in front of me.

Matt shot Natty a worried look as he took my hand in his. “Did Grumps behave himself, Trouble?”

She nodded distractedly, peering in the direction her twin had gone. “He was fine. Uncle Matt, can you talk to mum? She won’t let us get a car.”

Matt tilted his head, a bemused smirk on his face. “I’m not getting involved, Trouble.”

Natty pouted at her uncle. “She’s being unfair. Everyone else has a car. Nikki and I are still being chauffeured around like babies.”

Matt shrugged. “That’s because you are babies. Now go away, I want to talk to Madi in private.”

Natty stuck her tongue out at him, then scampered away when Matt shook a threatening open palm at her. I laughed at their antics and my heart twisted at the fond expression on Matt’s face as he observed his niece’s departure. This was a new side to him I’d never seen before.

Matt turned his attention to me, intense grey eyes roving my face. “Poppet, there’s something you should know before dinner.”

I was staring at his lips. He had sexy lips. Every time I was near him, it made me horny.

“Poppet, listen to me,” he called and my eyes jerked upwards.

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