Always A Pleasure [Book 2]

Forty-Eight

"Grammy!" Katherine cooed as the two of them stepped into the large rec room where they were told her grandmother would be, along with quite a few other residents who were scattered around playing games and socializing.

Harrison watched as she walked open-arms to a gray-haired woman across the way that held a large smile on her face.

"Oh, Katy. My darling Katy," the woman gushed as she stood up from a table where she had been putting together a puzzle of a garden scenery.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned as she wrapped her granddaughter in a tight hug.

"It's your birthday, Grammy. I wouldn't miss the opportunity to spoil you," she told her as she handed her the birthday card she held in her hand.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," the woman said as she took the card, which was enough of a cue for Harrison to step up and hand her the box with the bottle of wine in it, "Thank you."

"Now who is this tall drink of water?" The woman asked Katherine, eyeing Harrison up and down with a devilish smirk on her lips.

"Grammy, this is my boyfriend, Harrison," Katherine introduced them as Harrison held out his hand to greet her.

"The boyfriend, huh? I thought he was a birthday present for me," she teased, causing them all to laugh.

"Sorry," Katherine giggled as the woman stepped up to Harrison, ignoring his outstretched hand.

"A man as sexy as you, honey... you're giving this old woman a hug," she said as she set down the box and card on the table, holding out her arms for him.

Harrison was more than a little apprehensive as he stepped into her arms and hugged her. He didn't usually hug people, especially strangers. But this was Katherine's grandmother — an extension of the woman he was infatuated with. Her grandmother was one of the few people in Katherine's family that she spoke highly of, so if giving her a hug made both women happy, he would.

"Happy Birthday," he murmured in her ear.

She chuckled as she pulled back, getting another good look at him.

"Thank you. You can call me Birdie, sweet cheeks."

"Alright."

"My name is actually Sybil, but everyone has been calling me Birdie since I was knee-high to a pigeon," she told him in her thick East Coast accent.

"Birdie it is," he told her.

"Oh, and he's British. Jesus, Katy, where did you find this one?" Birdie gushed, pressing her hand over her heart as she looked at her granddaughter.

"Uh, it was kismet," Katherine said, smiling over at Harrison.

Kismet. He liked that.

"Oh, wait a minute. Your cousin Christine told me about him. You're that famous billionaire, aren't you?"

"I suppose."

Harrison very much disliked the word 'famous'. He did nothing to warrant the title and detested the attention it brought him, whether it be positive or negative. But even so, he couldn't hide from the fact that he had become a recognizable public figure, no matter how hard he tried.

"Well, god damn it, Katy. How did you get the life I always wanted?" Birdie teased, making them all laugh.

"Alright, alright. Sit, sit. Tell me everything. Tell me how you two ended up falling for one another," Birdie insisted before leaning over to, not-so subtly, ask Katherine, "How's the sex?"