Here is an exclusive excerpt from the book:
Stacy hung up the phone and hurried across the kitchen to grab the toast and butter it before it got cold.
“Who was on the phone, dear?” Addie asked.
“It was Henry Guthrie,” she answered, bringing the toast to the table. “He’s giving me a ride to work today because we have to run some errands together.”
Nodding, Addie put a little marmalade on her toast and smiled. “He’s a nice young man,” she said. “You should ask him out on a date.”
Stacy’s toast dropped from her fingers and landed on her plate. “Grandma, I couldn’t ask him out on a date,” she stammered. “That’s not the way it’s done.”
“Oh, fiddle faddle,” she responded. “I watch those talk shows. They all talk about women being more assertive and grabbing what you want. If you want Henry, you need to grab him.”
“Grandma, I don’t think Henry wants to be grabbed,” she replied, choking back her laughter. “We’re working together. That’s all.”
Grandma took another bite of toast and shook her head. “Nice young man like that, it’d be foolish not to grab him,” she muttered.
“Grandma, can we please stop talking about grabbing people?”
“Who are you going to grab?” Sam asked as he let himself in the back door.
“I think she should grab Henry,” Addie announced.
“Grandma,” Stacy admonished, turning bright red. “Please.”
Sam chuckled. “Well, I guess it depends on where she grabs him,” he said.
“Don’t encourage her,” Stacy pleaded and then turned to Addie. “Grandma, Henry is my friend, but if he thinks I’m more interested in him than I should be, he’s going to distance himself from me. He’s had too many girls chase after him. I’m not going to do that.”
Sam sat down at the table and nodded. “She’s got a point there,” he said to Addie. “A man isn’t interested in what comes easy. She needs to make him work for it.”
Addie grinned at Sam. “You’re absolutely right,” she agreed. “Play hard to get, Stacy. That will show him.”
“Of course, I’ll do that, Grandma,” she said with a sigh, saying anything just to appease her grandmother and change the subject. “So no more talk about grabbing, okay? It will give away our plan.”
“What plan?” Henry asked at the back door.
“Come on in,” Sam encouraged. “We were just giving Stacy some dating advice.”
Stacy wanted to crawl under the table and die.
Henry leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. “Dating advice?” he asked, the smile dropping from his face. “Who are you dating?”
“Oh, the phone’s been ringing off the hook,” Addie replied before Stacy could answer. “I can’t keep track of how many beaus she has. A different man every night.”
“Grandma!” Stacy choked.
Henry’s eyes widened. “Wow, Stacy, I had no idea,” he said, tightening his lips as he felt the burn of jealousy. “A different man every night?”
She shook her head. “No, really. It’s not what you think.”
“Well, I guess what I think really doesn’t matter,” he answered, straightening up. “Are you ready to go?”
She stood and nodded. “I need to get my purse and my jacket,” she said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Addie and Sam watched Stacy hurry from the room, and then Addie turned to Henry. “Did that make you want to grab Stacy?” she asked casually, spreading a little more marmalade on her toast.
“I beg your pardon?” Henry gasped.
Sam shook his head, chuckling softly, and looked down at the floor.
“I told Stacy that she ought to be more assertive and grab a man,” she explained. “But Stacy told me that men don’t like women who were grabby. And then Sam said that men preferred women who play hard to get. So when I told you that Stacy was dating all of those men, did you want to grab her?”
A slight smile played on Henry’s face. “So, she’s not dating a new man every night?” he asked, not questioning the relief he felt.
“Heaven sakes, no,” Addie replied, shaking her head in disgust. “All she does is take care of me and this house. She’s got no life. None at all.”
The smile spread wider, and he nodded. “Well, I should have known Stacy would have been too sensible for that,” he said with an assured nod. “I can’t see Stacy with a new man every night.”
