It's All Relative (70 page)

As she hugged her potential grandson-in-law tight, she murmured into his ear, “You’ll always be family to me, Kai. I love you.”

As he squeezed her back just as tightly, she heard him respond with, “Blood or not, I love you too.”

Sniffling like an old, sentimental fool, Millie pulled away from him. Kai was handling the news so much better than she’d believed he would, but she knew he would have his good moments and his bad moments. Learning something hard about family was never an easy thing, especially when the family in question was your parents. Children tended to idolize them, put them on slim-footed pedestals that were so easy to fall from. Learning they were fallible human beings, just like everyone else, could be crushing. Jessica Marie had taken care of Kai in a way Millie hadn’t anticipated, but was immensely grateful that the caring woman had; Millie was certain that Jessica’s presence was the reason for Kai’s acceptance.

Smiling at the pair of beloved people before her, Millie pushed away from her chair and gingerly stood up. “Well, since I seem to be such a frail, near-death woman to the both of you, how about you stay and make sure I eat something.” She smirked at Kai as he stood and offered her his elbow for support. “You wouldn’t want me dying from malnutrition, would you?”

Kai nodded, his face quite serious until he broke out into a soft laugh. Millie chuckled, patted his arm in thanks, and then looked down at her seated granddaughter. Shaking her head, she sighed, “I suppose I’ll have to stop trying to set you both up with people?”

Jessica Marie stood as well, and also offered Millie her arm. Raising one corner of her lip, she sullenly replied with, “Please do. I don’t need any more Simons calling me up twenty-four seven.”

Millie laughed softly as she pulled her children into the kitchen so they could all have a late lunch together. As Kai led the way, he looked back at Jessica with a small frown on his face. “Who’s Simon?”

Looking over at Jessica, Millie shared a moment of secret knowledge with the younger woman. Jessica’s eyes twinkled as she gave Kai a coy smile. “No one important, sweetheart.”

Millie shook her head at hearing the loving nickname, and wondered again how she’d missed the signs. They were so easy to see now, as the two of them set her down at her hard kitchen table. Kai gave Jessica loving looks as he went about preparing one of the meals Mille had taught him to make. Jessica Marie gave him light touches and brief kisses as she rinsed off some lettuce for the salad. Millie supposed she’d just glossed over the affection as a brotherly/sisterly bond, but it was clearly so much more than that. It pleased her that even at her age, life could still surprise her.

And of course, that was what made every day worth getting up to see.

T
his book would not be possible without the help of my beta readers—Sam, Lori, Becky, Kyla, and Nicky. Your input means the world to me!

A huge thank you to Sarah at Okay Creations, Madison and Chelsea at Madison Seidler Editing Services, and Julie at JT Formatting. Thank you for your patience with my ever-changing schedule! And thank you to my agent, Kristyn Keene of ICM Partners, and everyone at my publishing house, Forever Romance, for helping me get this book out into the world.

Last but not least, thank you to the fans! Your passion fuels mine.

S.C. Stephens as a
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author who enjoys spending every free moment she has creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance.

Her debut novel, Thoughtless, an angst-filled love triangle charged with insurmountable passion and the unforgettable Kellan Kyle, took the literary world by storm. Amazed and surprised by the response to the release of Thoughtless in 2009, more stories were quick to follow. Stephens has been writing nonstop ever since.

In addition to writing, Stephens enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading fabulous novels, loading up her iPod with writer's block reducing music, heading out to the movies, and spending quality time with her friends and family. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her two equally beautiful children.

Connect with S.C. Stephens

Email: [email protected]

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Website:
authorscstephens.com

Also by S.C. Stephens

Thoughtless

Thoughtful

Effortless

Reckless

Untamed

Collision Course

Conversion

Bloodlines

‘Til Death

Furious Rush