The Fighter and His Tiger (Unexpected Love #1)

24. Saturday Week Eight

24. Saturday Week Eight

"Stop it, Rei," Eli ordered from in front of me.

I glared at the back of his head, fussing around with his sweatshirt that I was wearing and then my hair, "no, I will not stop it, I look like a hobo!"

Eli knocked on the door again, "you look fine, will you come here?"

We had spent the night at the lake and I had messaged my Nan telling her I was staying with Lana. It was around 9 am now and I was wearing my black cargo trousers, which I had worn last night, and Eli's sweatshirt because I was not going to meet Eli's Gran in a sheer top.

I huffed but stepped up so that I was now stood next to him. Nervous, I reached down and gripped his hand in mine, "I can't believe I am going to meet your Grandma for the first time looking like this."

Eli growled from next to me, "you look fucking stunning, now shut up."

Weirdly conflicted by his words, I tightened my grip on his hand causing him to give mine a reassuring squeeze back before the door swung open to reveal an elderly woman with greying hair and a benevolent smile; she reminded me of Rose.

"Ryker!" She cried. Eli released my hand so that he could hug her back after she threw herself into his arms.

Eli pulled away from the hug and motioned to me, "Gran, this is Reillyn. Tigru, this is my Gran, Hattie."

In the next moment, I was pulled into a warm embrace. "It's so lovely to meet you. I have been waiting for my Ryker to bring a girl home for years!"

I gave her a huge smile as I pulled away, "it's lovely to meet you too, Mrs Ryker. Eli's told me a lot about you."

Shock registered on her face when I said 'Eli' but she soon shook it off and instead tutted at me, "call me Hattie, dear."

My smile grew as she opened the door wider and ushered us inside. Eli lead me through to a lounge not much bigger than my own. It had a very cosy feel to it, the complete opposite of the Ryker mansion. Eli sat down on one of the sofa's but I drifted over to the mantlepiece which was littered with photos.

My eyes were drawn to a photo on the far left, it was a baby photo, I picked it up and turned to Eli, "Is this you?" I asked with a chuckle.

Eli nodded at me from his perch on the couch but then he decided to join me by the fireplace. He picked up another photo and showed it to me, I took it from his hands. There was a boy in the photo, no more than 7 and a man in his mid-50s, there was a car between them; it was Eli's car.

I turned to Eli, "you and your grandad?"

He pointed to his car in between them, "we fixed that up together."

"Took them weeks, but you should've seen the smile on his face when Stan said that he could have it." Stan, I presumed, was Eli's grandfather.

The photo was placed back on the mantlepiece and I turned to face Hattie as she carried in a tray with biscuits on it.

"Would you like a drink, dear?"

"I'll do it," Eli offered and with that he sauntered off to the kitchen.

Hattie sat down on the sofa and then patted the spot next to her as an invitation for me, I happily obliged, taking a seat.

"Eli was telling me how working with his grandad has made him want to become a mechanic."

Hattie gave me a wide smile, "oh yes, he has always loved cars. When he was little I thought it was a boy thing but it seems to have stuck with him all these years. He comes by every few weekends to tinker with the old pile of tin in my garage," she paused for a moment before giving me another soft smile, "it was what he and Stan were working on before he died."