“No. Not yet,” I murmured.
My parents’ flight had landed thirty minutes ago. They were going to come out any second now, and I was beyond excited. Griffin was just behind me, one hand on my back, rubbing it up and down slowly. He was carrying a huge bouquet of flowers for Mom. It would make her day.
A few seconds later, I spotted Mom’s trademark curly red hair and Dad’s black-rimmed glasses.
I waved at them and then broke into a run. Griffin was right behind me. My parents beamed when they saw me. I hadn’t told them Griffin was coming. Dad jerked his head back slightly but smiled. Mom fell for him hook, line, and sinker. I could tell that by the way her eyes turned dreamy the second she noticed the flowers.
“Mom, Dad, hi!” I hugged both of them at the same time. I loved a “family sandwich,” as we called it. I’d been very huggy as a kid, and nothing had changed once I became an adult.
“And you must be Griffin,” Dad said as we stepped farther away from the arrivals area.
“Yes, sir. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Joseph,” Dad said, shaking Griffin’s hand. “And this is?—”
“Marjorie,” Mom finished.
“These are for you,” Griffin said.
Mom took them from him with a sigh, then looked me up and down before giving me a little nod. “It’s very kind of you to come pick us up from the airport. You shouldn’t have done it. We know how to come to the city.”
“Nonsense. It was no trouble at all,” Griffin assured her. “Are you ready to go to the car?”
“Yes,” they both said at the same time.
They told us about the flight as we went to the parking lot.
Mom smiled at me. “Your grandparents send you many, many hugs.”
I felt a dull ache in my chest. “I promise I’ll go see them soon.”
“Nana sent you cookies.”
Yes, yes, yes!Nana madethe bestcookies.
Griffin took the suitcases from Dad, rolling them all the way to the car and then loading them into the trunk.
“So, tell me again where we’re staying,” Mom inquired. “I didn’t quite get it. We could have stayed at the B&B where we usually go. You didn’t have to spend money on us.”
“We’re not,” I replied.
“My sister-in-law owns an inn,” Griffin explained, speeding out of the airport. “And she’s got some free rooms right now because it’s not peak season. It’s not a problem for her to have you. She’s quite excited about it.”
“If she’s sure!”
I nodded. “She is.”
“Darling, tell us about your job,” Dad exclaimed.
For the rest of the drive, I spoke about my assignments and colleagues. Then they asked Griffin about what he did, and he summed it up nicely. My man was extremely busy, especially since he and his brothers were still working on getting the winery business off the ground. Maybe it was a good thing that he’d decided not to move forward with investing in Jude’s business after all.
Jude called earlier this morning, telling Griffin that he could still be in the running as an investor. But Griffin told him that he was more than happy with pulling out of it. They were currently planning a boating trip for us all.
As we drove through the gates of the inn, Mom sighed, looking around the property. “This place is amazing.”
Duncan’s car was in the yard as well, next to Chase’s.
Did Hannah tell me yesterday that Duncan, Riley, and Jeremy were stopping by today?It was possible. Last night was a bit of a blur. All I could remember was this amazing man showing up and whisking me to our house, then doing delicious things to me. But everything else was fuzzy at best.
