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“Ah, you could’ve fooled me.”

Her annoyance lasted only a few seconds before uncertainty replaced it. “Does that mean you believe me?”

The question sobered him. Beneath all the rambling and indignation, she’d obviously spent the entire day worried that he wouldn’t.

“Yeah.” He took her hand, squeezed it gently, then let go. “I believe you.”

Relief washed over her face. “Thank God.”

“I’ll admit, I was pretty pissed when I got the news this morning. The timing made it look like you had to know about it before last night.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.” She rubbed her palms against her thighs. “I really didn’t ask for any of this.”

“I believe that too. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s going to be a nightmare for my department.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to keep things from getting out of hand.”

He appreciated the offer, although he doubted she had enough control over Vividmark to make that promise. The network seemed perfectly capable of making decisions without consulting the woman whose show they were producing. “You might regret saying that.”

“Probably.” She gave him a rueful smile. “But I mean it. If there’s something I can do to make this easier on you or the town, tell me. I may not be able to stop them from coming, but I can at least try to keep them under control. My circus, my monkeys.”

Before Grady could respond, the front door opened, and Edith stuck her head outside. “Are you two planning to stand in the driveway all night, or are you coming inside?”

Amanda glanced back at her aunt. “We were talking.”

“I can see that.” Edith’s attention shifted to him. “Stay for dinner. I just put a lasagna in the oven.”

His stomach immediately reminded him that lunch had been hours ago. Lasagna sounded delicious, but dinner with his daughter was one of the routines he tried not to miss when work didn’t interfere.

“Thanks, Edith, but I should probably get home. Rissa’s expecting me for dinner.”

“Does she have a vehicle?” Amanda asked.

He turned toward her. “Yeah.”

“Then why doesn’t she drive over and eat with us?”

Grady hesitated. He’d come over expecting an argument, not a dinner invitation. But spending a little more time with Amanda certainly wasn’t a hardship.

From the porch, Edith added, “I made enough to feed an army, as usual. There’s plenty for everyone.”

Amanda gave him an expectant look. “Call her. That is, if you want. It’s okay if you don’t.”

He considered it for another moment before reaching for his phone. Rissa would probably jump at the invitation once she heard Amanda was involved. His daughter had been far too interested in his nonexistent dating life lately, and he had no doubt she’d consider an unexpected dinner with Amanda an opportunity too good to pass up.

“All right. I’ll ask her.”

Amanda smiled, and the sight of it made him even more grateful his assumptions about her were wrong.

As he hit the speed dial for Rissa, he wondered how the hell he’d gone from driving over there ready for a confrontation to staying for lasagna with Amanda, her aunt, and his daughter.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Thank you for inviting us to dinner, Ms. Sparks,” Rissa said as everyone began filling their plates. “It smells amazing.”

“Yes, thank you, Edith,” Grady echoed, reaching for the salad bowl. “This was a nice surprise.”

The older woman beamed at them. “You’re both very welcome.”