The Grandma

Melinda's phone burst into song, startling her from where she sat in the stairwell, Daniel's arm still wrapped around her. Despite the cold concrete, she hadn't been that comfortable in a long time. She pulled her phone out of her purse and saw that it was her mother.

"I better take this," she told Daniel, and unraveled herself from the floor. She stepped back into the hallway to avoid the echo in the stairwell. "Hi, Mom. I know we should have been there ages ago," she said. "We had a wardrobe malfunction and—"

"None of that matters now," her mother said in a voice that was unusually shrill, even for her. "Your sister, it appears, has come down with something—she's 'puking her guts out,' as

Locked Chapter

Continue to read this book on the APP

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Related chapters

• Borrowing Amor   The Wedding Dinner

  Melinda knocked on the door and waited for Bree to answer. When she didn't come right away, Melinda knocked again. "It's just me," she called.The door opened and revealed Bree wearing a bathrobe, her hair in a ponytail. She held a tissue in one hand, her eyes red and puffy. She didn't say anything but motioned for Melinda to enter.Once the door had shut behind Melinda, Bree started crying again. She sank into the closest couch, her sobs escaping like machine-gun fire. "Apparently Mark has told everyone that I'm sick and unable to make it to the dinner tonight. Mom called to see if I was all right and Grams called to make sure I wasn't planning on ruining the weekend for everyone. She said I better be standing at the altar tomorrow, because she can't come out to my wedding twice."

• Borrowing Amor   The Realization

  Daniel held Melinda's hand as they waved goodbye to Bree and their mother. Dinner had been delicious, and despite the initial shock of Bree's appearance, everyone had seemed happy to have her there, with Mark and their grandmother being the exceptions. Even their father's business associates thought it was nice that Mark had found a girl who was so “down to earth.”“I can’t believe she didn’t tell them,” Melinda muttered under her breath as they left the restaurant. “That was the whole point, wasn’t it? She was supposed to show up in her bathrobe and declare the engagement over. After we ate up all the incredible food, of course.”“Do you think she is having second thoughts?” Daniel asked. Maybe the lavish lifestyle that

• Borrowing Amor   The Only One

  Daniel raised an eyebrow. He didn't like the sound of that. "You mean like…steal?""I wouldn't call it that," Melinda said. "It's just that we don't really have another option, considering that the office is closed, and we need one of their golf carts."Daniel didn't want to seem like the stiff who didn't do anything adventurous or risky. But he'd been there and done that, and it had only led to trouble. “I’m sure they lock up the keys. Let's just come back in the morning."Melinda laughed and pulled him toward the doors that would lead them toward the golf course. "You’re probably right, but let’s check it out for the fun of it. We would have the cart back before they knew it was gone. B

• Borrowing Amor   The Proposal

  Melinda woke the next morning with a smile on her face. What had she been dreaming about? It must have been pretty good, because she felt like nothing in the world could bring her down. And then she remembered, it hadn't been a dream. It had been Daniel, lying with her in the sand under a full moon. She snuggled deeper under the covers, wishing it never had to end. But Bree was supposed to get married today. And then tomorrow, Melinda would be back in Amor. If there were only a way to convince her mother to stop listening to Grams and allow Melinda to move on with her life.Except, nothing was how it was supposed to be. The elation Melinda had felt instantly vanished. Bree couldn't marry Mark, which meant there'd be no celebrating. And with everyone in such bad temper, there was no way they would agree to sell the diner. A sense of dread washed over Meli

• Borrowing Amor   The Wedding--Sort Of

  Daniel couldn't believe this was really happening. He stood in front of a full-length mirror, dressed in a tuxedo. He didn't realize people wore those things anymore."We don't have time to have it tailored," Mr. Garrett said, walking around Daniel as if he were an exhibit. "But for not being custom fit, that tux fits you quite nicely. How does it feel?""Like I'm glad I'm only getting married once," Daniel said, smiling.Mr. Garrett shook his head, apparently not appreciating Daniel's attempt at humor. "If you aren't comfortable, you are going to remember your wedding day by how many times you wished you could rip your tie off and by the number of blisters on your feet. And from the way you were looking at my daughter

• Borrowing Amor   The Thief

  “Furious” didn't begin to describe how Melinda felt in that moment. How dare her grandmother pretend that she was stopping her from marrying Daniel because she cared about her. Because she was trying to help Melinda reach her potential. The only thing her grandmother ever did was stop Melinda from living. From being happy."Did you know that before this man moved to Amor, he was a criminal?" Melinda's grandmother asked. Her voice shook, like she found this so shocking that she couldn't control herself."Yes, Grams," Melinda said through gritted teeth. "Can we take this somewhere else? This seems like more of a private conversation.""No, I believe this is the right time and the right place," her grandmother

• Borrowing Amor   The Icy Fist

  Daniel pulled into his apartment complex, then sat, staring out the windshield at the brick building in front of him. How could he have been so stupid to think that his past wouldn't matter to people? It didn't matter that he'd been doing everything in his power to make things right. It didn't matter that for the past two years, he had been working as a human resources employee in the mayor's office and volunteering at a nonprofit organization that helped the homeless during his free time. None of that mattered because someone had decided to search his name on the Internet, and for the rest of his life, only the mistakes he'd made would surface. Why even try?His phone rang and he looked down. It was Melinda.

• Borrowing Amor   About Time

  Melinda stared. "If anyone was made a fool of, it was my grandmother, going on like that in front of everyone," she said."Oh, I'm sure they saw it like that," Daniel said, sarcasm dripping from each word. "Yes, everyone feels sorry for the conniving criminal, rather than the poor, sweet grandmother who only wants to protect her family.""Stop calling yourself that," Melinda said, her voice rising in volume."I tried, but I can't seem to get away from it."Melinda narrowed her eyes and glared at Daniel from across the room. This was not the romantic reunion she had envisioned. She’d thought she'd arrive at his door, and he'd stare at her, stunned. Melinda would explain how there had

Latest chapter

• Borrowing Amor   Book 5: Borrowing Kisses

  Zoe walked down the sidewalk, arm in arm with her best friend, Ruby. The sun had set an hour earlier and all they were left with was the light from the street lamps, splashing across the road. Summer was her favorite time of year, despite the monsoon rains that would leave as quickly as they arrived, and despite the mosquitoes the rain invariably brought with it. And right then, she loved the scents of the desert mingled with campfire smoke that surrounded them as they walked down Main Street toward the town park.“Too bad Parker couldn’t be here for the star party,” Zoe said, turning the corner by the bike shop. A small path led to the large park that was tucked away behind the buildings, w

• Borrowing Amor   All of It

  Bev stretched out in bed, her toes dangling over the edge. Katie had encouraged her to take a long weekend, and it was the best thing Bev could have done. Of course, that didn’t stop her mind from drifting to Charles, or keep her from constantly looking at the picture that Katie had given her. The one where she was floating in zero gravity, the earth behind her…while she kissed Charles. It was a picture-perfect moment, and one that she kept coming back to.Bev kept asking herself if she had overreacted. Maybe. She would never know, though. She had texted Charles several times over the previous few days. Even if nothing else happened between them, she wanted the chance to apologize. She felt bad about how she had left things, and the things she had said to him.But he’

• Borrowing Amor   The Clandestine Billionaire

  Charles arrived early at the celebratory lunch. They were meeting in a large conference room that had been decorated with glittering stars that hung from the ceiling. The black tablecloth also glittered, as though millions of stars were sprinkled all over it, but he couldn’t enjoy it when all he felt was regret. Charles had watched Bev walk away, and he had done nothing to stop her. But how could he have? Everything he had said, she’d turned it on its head and made him into the bad guy.When he had said her homelessness didn’t matter to him, he hadn’t meant that her experiences weren’t important. He had only meant that he didn’t care if she was a billionaire, or a kindergarten teacher. Or even homeless. It was the money that didn’t matter to him. But he was never able to explain himself. Bev had been so angry, he

• Borrowing Amor   Different Universes

  The spaceship landed with a thud and Bev’s heart thudded with it. They were back on Earth. Their journey was over. But not completely. After seeing the earth, so innocent and small, all of her problems seemed minuscule by comparison. She didn’t feel she had the right to complain about a broken high heel or having to eat spaghetti again for dinner when she’d rather have steak.Bev unbuckled her harness and Charles held out a hand to help her stand. She wasn’t sure why he thought she needed the help, until she tried and her legs wobbled under her. She took his gloved hand in hers, grateful for the support. It wasn’t until they walked down the steps from the spaceship that she let g

• Borrowing Amor   The Dance

  Charles felt queasy, but he didn’t think it was because of the motion of the spaceship. His nerves were clawing at him and his heart beat so fast, he thought it too was trying to escape. He touched the button on the side of his helmet. “You guys okay if I start talking through the techniques a little early? Or at least a little deep breathing?”“Yes, please,” Brady said, practically begging.“Breathe in…and hold it. One…two…three…four. Now slowly let it out,” Charles said. He was sure he needed it more than anyone else, but saying it out loud, and knowing the others were doing it with him, helped calm him down.The pilot’s voice cut in just as

• Borrowing Amor   The Big Day

  Bev woke up long before the sun rose. That would have implied that she slept, though, and she didn’t get much of that. This time it wasn’t because of Charles, however. He had texted her as she was getting ready for bed, asking if she wanted to go for an evening stroll. She had considered it, but in the end decided it would just complicate things. She hadn’t texted him back.Judging by the tossing and turning she heard from the other two beds, she doubted that Cecelia or Katie had slept either. Who could, when they knew they would be going up to space in just a few short hours? They had been prepared. They were ready.Even though Bev had ignored Charles’ text the night before, she peeked through the blinds next to her window, half hoping that he would be out there

• Borrowing Amor   The Simulation

  “Welcome to the simulation lab,” Julie said, stopping and opening a door that their badges didn’t allow them access to.Bev was the first one to step through the door, but it was so dark, she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face. “Is there a light around here somewhere?”“Take about three more steps and it will kick on,” Julie said.It was a little unnerving stepping into the dark, but she did as she was told. As promised, the lights clicked on, but the sudden brightness momentarily sent spots through her vision. When they cleared, Bev’s breath caught in her throat.She was standing in a room that was even larger than the roo

• Borrowing Amor   Money is Money

  “I can’t believe I said that,” Bev said, pacing back and forth in their dorm room. “To a billionaire.”“So what? You told him you know your way around a cardboard box. That could mean anything,” Katie said, studying her reflection in the full-length mirror on the closet door. “I really like this spacesuit. Doctor Randall said we get to take it home as a souvenir. Usually when I get free stuff, it’s a lousy T-shirt that is three sizes too big.”“Can we focus on me for a moment?” Bev asked. “Everyone associates homeless people with living in cardboard boxes. Where would we even get a box that would be big enough to fit inside? It’s not like people just throw those things out on the street.” She sighe

• Borrowing Amor   The Truth

  Charles felt disoriented as he leaned on Doctor Randall. His body had never been through so much torture. But he had done it, and without puking. He had Bev to thank for that. He slid into his chair in the hall, many of his teammates looking similar to how he felt. Only three people were left: Brady, Cecelia, and Katie. With each person who came out, Katie made another phone call to her daughter. The last time she’d returned, she’d complained that her sister-in-law had stopped picking up the phone.“Guess I better show you how it’s done, eh?” Cecelia said, teasing Brady. She smiled as she said it, but her eyes held fire. Whatever anxiety she’d had before had been replaced by the feud between her and the young actor. Who knew someone could gain a nemesis on a space tourism flight?