Page 96 of A Bossy Surprise

I take a breath and walk over to Adam, then all three of us go and answer the door.

When Adam opens the door, his parents are standing as far apart from each other as possible.

His mother looks like an aging 80s supermodel; gorgeous and very put together with her stylish floral fitted knee-length dress and brown leather boots. Her hair is a healthy looking gray, but she isn’t nearly old enough to be that gray. So I figure she has dyed it.

Adam’s father looks like an older version of him, just more hostile. It’s actually scary how much they look alike.

His mother’s eyes go directly to Brady who is half hiding behind my leg at this point.

I can see tears shining in her eyes as she smiles with a hand on her chest.

Adam’s father, on the other hand, is unblinkingly scowling at Adam.

Adam steps forward and kisses his mother on the cheek then shakes his father’s hand, then they both walk into the apartment.

“Brady, these are my parents. So that makes them your grandparents,” Adam says.

“Hi, Brady.” His mother kneels in front of us and reaches out a hand to Brady. “I’m your grandma.”

Brady looks up at me and I nod.

He steps out from behind me and puts his hand in Adam’s mother’s.

She has tears streaming down her face at this point as she looks up at Adam. “You’re right. He looks just like you.”

“Right?”

“Can I have a hug?” she asks Brady.

Apparently, my son has warmed up to her in the last five seconds, because he throws himself into her arms, and she receives him with an oomph.

She laughs and when she pulls out of the hug, she climbs to her feet and wipes the tears from her face.

She steps back, and now it’s grandpa’s turn.

Standing at his full height, he extends a hand at my son and says, “Hello, young man.”

Brady tentatively shakes his hand, and when he pulls back, that’s it. He’s gotten all the attention from his grandfather that he’s going to get tonight.

“Mom,” Adam says, gesturing toward me. “You remember, Kayla…”

“Yes, I do.” She shakes my hand, but like I expected, there’s a little ice behind her smile. “I’m Sandrine Grant. It’s lovely to see you again.”

“You too, Mrs. Grant.”

She nods, then Adam turns to his dad. “You two have never met. So let me introduce you to Kayla Wood.”

“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I say, as I step forward and extend my hand to him.

He looks at my hand like it’s covered in dog shit and says, “So you’re the woman who kept our grandson from us all these years?”

“Garrett!” His mother snaps. “Not in front of the boy.”

He huffs. “Where’s this dinner we were promised?”

Adam leads the way into the dining room where the table is brimming with gourmet Italian food.

We all sit down to dinner and eat in silence. Although everything looks and smells delicious, I can’t manage more than two bites.