To Cherish and To Hold (Love of a Rockstar #1.5) by Nicole Simone Read Free Book Online Page B

to be threatened to do so.
    To lighten the tension, I cracked a joke. “Since when did you become Dr. Phil?”
    “I have more wisdom in my left pinky toe than that bald headed quack does,” she sniffed.
    “He has a PhD in clinical psychology,” Luke pointed out.
    My grandmother levered a stare at him that could make a grown man cry. “I have a PhD in life and that is far more valuable than any fancy-ass paper embossed with gold lettering.”
    Luke shut his mouth real tight and dropped his gaze to the white tabletop.
    Satisfied, she folded her hands neatly in her lap, slipping into the role of a dignified woman. “ Now, who wants to go first?”
    “Grandma…”
    Ignoring my warning, she swiveled her head over to Luke. “You look like somebody pissed in your tea, so if I had to guess, Marlene did something to warrant that.”
    “Hey!” I said, offended. “Maybe it was his fault.”
    My grandmother arched an eyebrow. “Was it?”
    “No, but it could have been. Luke isn’t a saint either.”
    He scoffed. “I’m more of saint than you are. You haven’t gone with me once to the homeless shelter to give out food.”
    “I went with you last year for Christmas. Don’t tell me you forgot that too.”
    He straightened in his chair, ready to tangle. “What is that supposed to mean?”
    “The garbage, your socks and underwear littering the floor—should I go on?”
    My grandmother whistled loudly, putting an end to our futile argument. Luke and I glared at each other across the table.
    “This hurt you are both experiencing isn’t about mundane house chores,” My grandmother assumed correctly. “It’s about something that cut to the core.”
    The number one rule about pregnancy was that you don’t tell anybody for at least ten to twelve weeks, when the risk of miscarriage drops. If my grandmother found out, so would my mother, which would incite a barrage of unwanted advice and meddling. However, if by some miracle my grandmother could patch the hairline crack that had formed in our foundation, I would do just about anything.
    Sighing, my gazed centered onto his face. “Can I? If not, then that’s fine but I don’t see the harm in it besides fueling the gossip mill.”
    He shrugged. “I guess.”
    Irritation at his childlike behavior simmered through my veins. When comparing his fuck up to mine, his won. Competing in the comparison game though was equally as childish.
    I turned to Grandma. “You have to promise not to freak out.”
    Her fingers swept in the pattern of cross my heart and hope to die .
    As I opened my mouth to speak, Luke beat me to the punch.
    “Marlene is pregnant.” As pissed off as he was at me, the note of pride in his tone couldn’t be dampened.
    My grandmother squealed, then, remembering her promise, bounced silently in her seat while she golf clapped. I couldn’t help but laugh at her infectious joy.
    “Oh! How exciting. This is wonderful news,” she cooed. “Another child. What a blessing.”
    “It is a blessing but unexpected,” I said.
    She waved my statement away with a flick of her wrist. “Pish posh. Life is unexpected, but it works out in the end.”
    Her positive attitude used to annoy me as a teenager but as a grown woman, it was refreshing. She didn’t allow tragic events, like her late husband’s death, jade her. I should yank a page out of her handbook.
    “Have you made an appointment to see a doctor yet?” she questioned.
    “Not yet. I found out quite recently and haven’t gotten around to it.”
    “Not that recently,” Luke mumbled.
    Grandma’s head whipped around and she glowered at Luke.
    This time, he met her stare head on. The tension skyrocketed in the room, neither willing to break eye contact. They had the stubborn gene in common.
    “Ok, enough,” I smacked my hand on the table, putting an end to this madness. “Luke is pissed off because he wasn’t there when I peed on the stick, but Camille was. She knew before him which I have to agree