Page 60 of Babydaddy To Go

Nate twirls a long noodle around his fork and pops it into his mouth. He groans when it hits his tongue. “This is incredible!”

“You mean it?”

“Is this your recipe?” he asks me.

I nod shyly. “Do you really like it?”

“It’s fantastic, Alyssa. You’re very talented.”

The compliment spreads warmth through my stomach. Coming from Nate, being called talented is huge. I’ve seen how he behaves towards fellow chefs in class and he’s not always quick with positive feedback.

“You know, Stanton stopped me in town yesterday to brag about his granddaughter dating a dentist,” Gramps tells the table, talking with a mouth full of pasta. “You can’t eat anything when you’re dating a dentist! I can’t wait to tell him my granddaughter is dating a chef. He’ll be begging his granddaughter to find a new boyfriend!”

Everyone laughs, and this time it’s not forced. Stanton is one of Gramps’s bridge buddies and his biggest rival. They compete over everything. I’m glad Gramps puts being a chef over being a dentist. It is true that dating a chef opens up a lot more opportunities to eat.

Our lunch conversation continues to flow freely. My grandparents are an acquired taste, but Nate is getting along with them so well. That makes me happy. I couldn’t date someone who didn’t like my grandparents. I’d choose them over anyone else, any day. They raised me when my parents died. I think they deserve my devotion for that.

After lunch, the four of us play poker using tri-color tortilla chips to bet. Nate cleans house, leaving Gramps grumbling about young people these days. He’s smiling as he says it, so I know he’s not really angry.

We end up cooking dinner together as a family and settling onto the couch for a movie.

“Don’t you need to get back to the city?” I ask Nate.

He shakes his head. “I cleared my weekend so I could be here with you.”

My heart nearly bursts. “Thank you,” I whisper. I kiss him gently before my grandparents arrive with the popcorn.

After the movie, Grams and Gramps head up to bed. Before disappearing upstairs, Grams pulls me aside.

“I like him a lot,” she admits. “Your grandfather does, too. And you look so happy with him. Really happy, not the fake happy you’ve been putting on all week.”

Grams may not be funny, but she’ll always be intuitive. I should have known she would see through my happy act.

“Goodnight, Grams. I love you.”

She kisses my cheek and follows my grandfather into their room, leaving Nate and me alone.

I settle beside him on the couch. “Thank you for coming all the way out here, and for getting along so well with my grandparents.”

“I know they’re important to you,” he says. “And it was easy to get along with them. Your grandfather is a hoot.”

“He liked you a lot.”

“I’m glad.”

We both yawn, and then laugh. “I think it’s time for bed,” Nate decides.

My room only has a twin sized bed. Nate strips down to his boxers and I change in my pajamas. We climb onto the small mattress. There’s barely enough room for the two of us.

“Don’t push me out of bed in the middle of the night,” Nate jokes. “Though I’d probably deserve it for how I treated you last weekend.”

“All is forgiven,” I tell him, realizing it’s true. Grams was right once again – you shouldn’t stay mad at the person you love. I guess clichés really are clichés for a reason.

“Well, even so, I need to guarantee I’m not going to wake up on the floor,” Nate says against my ear. “I think that means we’ll have to cuddle all night long.”

He pulls me against his chest, offering me the world’s best pillow. I can hear the steady beat of his heart through his warm skin.

“Goodnight, Alyssa,” Nate whispers. “I love you.”