“And hi to you too. Is what true?”

“Did you crash Jake’s wedding?”

My eyes widen. “How do you know about that?”

“Gossip travels fast. So, is it true?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

She whoops so loudly I have to distance the phone from my ear.

“Are you with him now?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, am I interrupting something?”

“Yes, we’re having dinner.”

“I’ll let you get back to your dinner and report to Mom and Dad that you’re fine. But call me back soon and let me know if you can spare two days to come down to San Diego since you’re already in Cali. I’d love to see you.”

“I’ll see what I can do. My card’s sort of maxed out at the moment, but the balance should refresh in a few days. Now I need to sort out what…” I peek at Jake from under my brows. “What my next steps are going to be.”

“All right, I’ll leave you to your sorting. Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“That amounts to more or less nothing.”

“That’s why I said it. Bye-bye. Love yah, and Jake too.”

“Same here. Bye.” I end the call.

“So, where were we?” Jake asks.

“Aw, let me see… You were telling me how I was your one and only…”

A ringtone interrupts us again. It’s Jake’s phone this time. He takes it out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID. “It’s my mom. I should probably take this. She’s going to be worried sick.”

He stands up and says “Hello” into the phone, then walks a few steps away—enough for me not to be able to hear what he’s saying. He scratches his head as he talks to his mom. After a few minutes, he’s back.

“She wants to talk to you.” Jake hands me the phone as he sits down at the table.

I take it with shaking, clammy hands.

“H-hello?”

“Hello, Gemma, my dear.”

“Hello, Mrs. Wilder.”

“Jake’s my eldest son, and he was getting married today.”

“Mrs. Wilder, I’m sorry for…”

“No need to be,” she cuts me off. “I always knew you were the right woman for him.”

“Oh, wow. Thank you.”

“But as I said, today was Jake’s wedding day… Just know I expect to have grandkids sooner rather than later.”

“Aw, well…” I don’t know what to say.

“Have a nice evening, Gemma.”

“Yeah, you too, Mrs. Wilder.”

She hangs up. I stare at Jake, petrified.

“That bad?” he asks. “What did she want to tell you?”

“That she expects grandkids!”

Jake laughs again. “Poor woman, I guess today was quite a shock for her.”

“What did she tell you?”

“Oh, just mundane details.” He waves me off.

“Like what?”

“Like Edward’s going to my house to get all my things before Sharon burns everything.”