And she was right. Cam was a good man. “I know.”

“Different than what we’re used to.”

Whitney felt her chest tighten. He was that too. So different. She and her grandmother had never specifically talked about the sexism and neglect in their family. It would have been like discussing ugly furniture. Why mention it when it was right there and so obvious and they both clearly saw it and hated it? But it had bonded them. Didi’s support of her had always meant so much and it was why Whitney really wanted Hot Cakes to be the company it should be—a company that Didi could be proud of, run the way she would have run it.

“He’s definitely very different,” she agreed.

Didi’s hand squeezed hers. “I’m so glad. You deserve that. He sees what you’re worth. And he’ll help you see it too.”

Whitney felt her eyes prickling with tears. She sniffed. “You’ve always helped me see what I’m worth.”

“I’m glad.” Didi leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “But you can never be loved too much. And I think Camden is going to love you like you’ve never been loved.”

Whitney felt her breath catch in her lungs and she had to force herself to breathe out.

Wow. That was… a lot. A lot that she really couldn’t deal with right now.

How many margaritas had Didi had today? Maybe that explained some of this.

Well, there was one person who would know for sure. She should probably go talk to Cam. About the margaritas. And how Didi’s day had been from his perspective. Yes, that made sense. She should for sure check in with him. About the margaritas.

“I love you, Grandma,” she said, lifting Didi’s hand to her lips and pressing a kiss there.

“I love you too, my darling.”

“I’m going to go say goodnight to Cam and then head to bed.” Whitney pushed herself up to the edge of the bed. “Are you good? Need anything?”

“I’m fine, darling,” Didi said with a wave of her hand. “Go spend time with your man. Give him a big kiss for me.”

She winked. Didi actually winked at her.

Whitney was torn. She really should correct Didi about Cam being her man and him loving her and everything being wonderful now going forward. But then again, it was harmless, right? Just like letting her eat burgers at 3 a.m. Okay, it might be a gray area. Just like the middle-of-the-night burgers were. But Cam staying here was temporary and Didi would, unfortunately, eventually forget about it. Just like, eventually, she wouldn’t be able to eat those burgers anymore. At 3 a.m. or otherwise.

Whitney felt her eyes stinging as she headed down the stairs. For as long as she could, she was going to do things that made her grandmother happy. Even if it involved Cam and spicy aioli.

She stepped into the kitchen and found Cam apron-less with the most decadent-looking chocolate bars on the counter in front of him.

As if she needed anything else to make him tempting.

“Hey, you’re home,” he greeted.

“Yeah. A little bit ago. I was just up with Grandma.”

He nodded and stretched plastic wrap over the top of the pan. “She settled down?”

“For now.”

“She had a big day so I’m wondering if she’ll be up a little later than usual.”

Whitney crossed until she was on the opposite side of the island from him. That was closer to him, which she wanted to be, but with a barrier between them. Not that she thought she needed it because of him. She was feeling like she was the one who was on the verge of doing something stupid. Something naked… but stupid.

She was surrounded by the smell of chocolate and he had a smear of it on his left biceps. As if she didn’t want to lick the swirling tattoo there already.

“I wouldn’t bet on it. But tell me about this big day.” She eyed the bars. That were now covered.

“Let’s see. It started with margaritas by the pool.”

Whitney lifted her brows. “So that was real.”

“She told you?”

“Yeah. But she also thinks you’ve been here for a few weeks already, so I wasn’t sure.”

He laughed lightly. He seemed to be in a great mood. And didn’t seem tired. She always felt tired this time of night.

“Well, they were real in that we had drinks in margarita glasses out by the pool, but I didn’t put any tequila in them.”

“Oh, really? I always…” Maybe she shouldn’t admit that she let her seventy-six-year-old grandmother drink whatever and whenever she wanted to.

“You always?” Cam asked, bracing his hands on the counter across from her and leaning in.

She was distracted for a moment by the way his triceps bunched and how big his hands were.

“I, um…” She winced but said, “I let her drink whenever. She gets her time mixed up and I figured it wasn’t the worst thing. It’s not like she’s driving anywhere or going to work with a couple of martinis in her.”

“She likes martinis too?” Cam asked.

Whitney laughed. “She likes all of it. Any of it. I don’t always know what inspires her to want certain drinks. I mean, she wants the hard root beer with burgers and usually saves the margaritas for fajitas or nachos, but she likes martinis and pina coladas and fuzzy navels almost any time. Oh, and Kahlua and cream. She loves Kahlua and cream.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Whitney just stared at his smile. She couldn’t remember when she and Cam had just smiled at each other over a minor shared amusement. That was stupid.

“You think it’s okay I let her drink?” she asked.

He looked surprised for a moment. “I have no idea. I didn’t let her drink because I didn’t know if it was okay and was going to ask you. I didn’t know if it would interact with medications or anything.”

It probably was surprising that she was asking him if something was okay for Didi. Wasn’t she supposed to be the one who knew that stuff?

She shook her head. “It’s not a problem with medications. She’s very healthy. Other than the… Alzheimer’s.” Dammit, she always tripped over that word. Whitney took a breath. “She’s always been very healthy. She’s also always been a big personality. A little…”

“A little what?” he asked when she trailed off.

“I was going to say kooky. That’s what my dad and grandpa called it.” She met Cam’s eyes. “But that’s not right. She was fun. That’s what it was. It was just that they were allergic to fun. Or just incredibly unfamiliar.” She sighed. “That made me sad when I realized it. I think my dad must have thought she was fun when he was growing up, right? At some point when he was little? But my grandpa convinced him it was weird and he got serious and took after his dad instead.”

She sniffed, then lifted her chin. “Anyway, that’s why it took so long to realize something was going on with her mentally. She was always fun and liked to do off-the-wall things. If it wasn’t for her not remembering TV shows and books and how to do basic things, I wouldn’t know now that anything was really wrong.”

“Well,” Cam said after a moment, his voice a little gruff. “For what it’s worth, I think you can stop using the word was. She is fun. We had a great day.”