Page 59 of Summer Kisses

"They are. In spirit. They never left."

It was what Grandma had always said to me, and I felt it to be true. But would they be proud of what I was doing now? I didn't think so. We'd have to deal with this thing between us at some point. But for now, my focus was on the engagement party.

"This is way too many lanterns for us to do. Hopefully, reinforcements will show up soon."

"I think you're right. My hands aren't as good as they used to be."

"Do you want to take a break?" I asked her.

Grandma nodded. "I'm thirsty."

Just as I was helping her to the kitchen, the doorbell rang. I went to get it, finding Brady at the door with bags. He lifted them.

"I brought food."

"You're a lifesaver. There are so many lanterns." Grandma had gone a little overboard on the decorations, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"Do we need to call for more help?"

I nodded. "I already did. They should be here soon."

"You've got a good one here. Don't let him go," Grandma said.

"I know I do," I said with a smile.

"I knew it the first time Brady showed up here on his bike. I told your grandfather that boy is a good one."

"I don't know how you could know that back then."

"It was a feeling I got."

Grandma said Brady was good for me, but she never shared that she thought we were meant to be together. And I couldn't help but wonder if she was right.

Had we gone about this all wrong? Should we have given our relationship a real try and not this fake one? Were we deluding ourselves to thinking we could create something from lies?

We ate dinner, and then everyone arrived to help. On Grandma's porch, we set up an assembly line and worked quickly to assemble as many lanterns as we could. And then Brady and the guys carried them to the trucks.

"You can store them until we need them on Saturday," Grandma said.

"Is there anything else you need help with?" Ivy asked her.

"I wanted to do a game. One of those where the couple has to answer questions about each other. See if they really know each other."

"We've been friends forever," I said, my heart rate picking up at the thought of being quizzed on my Brady knowledge. What if they realize that our relationship is fake?

Brady met my gaze from across the table.

"Then you don't have anything to worry about," Grandma said matter-of-factly.

But I was worried. Did they already question our relationship? Was this their way of getting to the bottom of the situation and outing us? We needed the engagement party to be a success so that Brady could get the family-friendly designation his show needed.

I couldn't allow anything to ruin that.

"I can help you with that," Elena offered. "I'm a writer, after all."

I couldn't say anything because this was the party that Grandma wanted, and we were giving her that. I'd just have to talk to Brady and study everything about him over the next few days. We didn't have much time.

"What else do you have planned?" Brady asked.

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