Page 30 of The Wedding Planner's Manny
I followed.
“Grandma,” Ethan said, confirming my suspicions. “So good to see you! Who's the gentleman with you today?”
“Oh, this is Daniel. I've told you about him. You remember?”
“Oh, I remember.” Ethan's smile seemed forced now.
“Your grandmother almost suffered a heart attack in front of the fire department,” Daniel spoke up.
“I'm taking her home just to make sure she gets there okay.”
“Isn't that nice of you,” Ethan muttered. His focus wasn't on Daniel, though; no, he was glaring at his grandmother.
I had no idea why he was so being so grumpy at the poor old lady.
“Who's the young man with you?” Ethan's grandmother asked, eyeing me with interest. “Is that Rhys?”
Ethan had told his grandmother about me? “IamRhys.” I offered my hand for her to shake as I introduced myself. She gave me a wide grin as her hand touched mine. Wait, why was she staring at my fingers like that?
“Ethan told me there was a new omega in his life. He wasn't lying about how handsome you are.”
What? In spite of the chilly temperatures, heat creeped into my cheeks.
Ethan's grandmother paid no attention to this as she spoke on. “I could make you underwear, you know? If you told me your size. And your favorite material, of course. Bamboo? Cotton? Silk? I'm afraid I can't work leather.” She eyed my groin and, before I could even think about it, I guarded the area with my hands. I'd thought she was a sweet old lady, but maybe not. Slowly I was starting to understand Ethan's irritation.
“Back off Rhys, Grandma,” Ethan came to my rescue. “Don't scare away my manny. I still need him.”
“That's no way to talk to your grandma, son,” Daniel spoke up. “Especially not after she's had such a tough day. Who can blame her if she's still a little confused?”
“You're so right, dear,” the old lady agreed. “Honestly, I'm only worried about you. The weather's getting cold! We don't want your man bits to freeze off now, do we?”
“My... man bits?” I repeated. Had I heard that right?
Ignoring me, the old lady leaned forward in her wheelchair, squinting at Ethan... or rather, at the puppy in his arms. Hadn't she noticed him before? “Is that a puppy? Did you get a puppy together?
Have you thought about having a baby together?”
“No, we have not,” Ethan said decisively before I could even think of a response. “It was nice meeting you two, but I think we should get going now,” he added, taking my arm. Since I was wearing a thick winter coat, the contact wasn't skin-on-skin, but I still enjoyed the feeling of his hand on me.
And I totally agreed with the sentiment that we should get going too.
“Don't forget to visit me again soon!” Ethan's grandmother called after us. “I still have a lot of advice to give!”
Ethan cringed visibly. “I'm sorry about that,” he said, once we were out of earshot. “I'd love to blame her age, but my mother tells me she's always been that way.”
“Don't worry about it. We all have an embarrassing relative or two. But did you really tell her that I...” I stopped. This was probably one of those questions I shouldn't ask.
“What?” Ethan prompted, anyway.
If he really wanted to know, I had to come out with it, right? “You told her that I was handsome?”
“Oh, that... Well, she asked if you were 'unfortunate looking', which I denied. She came to the conclusion that you must be handsome all by herself.”
“I see.” I felt myself deflate a little bit, which was silly, but I couldn't help it. For a second there, I'd almost thought Ethanlikedme, and now I had to let go of that fantasy.
Until Ethan spoke again.
“She's not wrong, of course. Youarehandsome.”
