He grinned, that annoyingly smug grin that said he thought this was adorable. “Aww. That’s so sweet.”
“Mm-hm.” I let it hang a second longer, then mirrored his smug grin before adding, “She told your parents. They’re coming too.”
His grin faltered. “I’m sorry, what?”
I walked over and patted his arm sweetly. “Both sets of parents. And Alan. Here. Today.”
“I told them I’d come home to visit. What the f ...” he mumbled more to himself than to me. “Maybe it will be a quick visit.”
I laughed on my way to change, thinking about the state I’d left him to stew over this in the living room. “Did I mention they’re bringing food? Because I told them the Bar & Grill was still closed, so they insisted.”
“Of course they are,” he muttered, but I caught the way he pinched the bridge of his nose, like he was already preparing for impact.
They arrived in a cheerful clump, hugging us both, gushing over the sight of cement sacks, dumpsters, wood-filled barrels, workers, and scaffolding, like we were building the pyramids.
“They work weekends?” my mom asked, gesturing toward Dave and his team.
“I pay them extra for that. I need this place done before the holidays.”
“Your Aunt Amy should have come,” she said about her ex sister-in-law. “She’s the reason you’ve got this place in the first place.”
“I keep her updated,” I said, biting back a smile. Yeah, that was all I needed, my chain-smoking aunt here with her signature mix of bossiness and nosiness. Dave would run for the hills. He hadn’t run from my own special mix—not yet—but throw Aunt Amy into the equation and we’d be testing his limits.
Alan smiled. “Amy probably feels better knowing it’s in good hands,” he said, ever the peacekeeper.
“I’ll visit her in Riviera View,” I added, mostly to appease my mom—the living reminder that I was capable of driving justabout anyone away.
“You should,” my mom said. “She did well, handing it over to you fresh out of college after your brother passed on it.”
“And I thank her for that.” She had let me manage it when it was on the verge of collapsing. A run-down, half-functioning place that hadn’t gotten love and hardly any guests in two years because the managers she’d hired were worthless. After I’d brought it back to life, she signed it over to me completely. It was the first time I’d been trusted with something real, and I clung to it with all my heart. That kind of trust didn’t usually land in my lap.
We began touring the main building, then the cabins. I explained what had caused the damage, how the process with the contractors went, and Sebastian chimed in with details about the technical plan and current progress.
His mom and Alan quietly complimented us, the work, and the place, greeted the workers and my few staff we passed by, and asked a question here and there.
But my mom and his dad seemed to have joined forces to pester us.
“Oh, look at them,” my mom said as she and Sebastian’s dad trailed behind us on the path to the cabins. “Such a great team. I hope you’re handling the workers, Sebastian. She can get ... a bit much.”
“She knows how to deal with them better than anyone,” Sebastian said, calm as ever.
His dad chimed in with, “Sebastian always did like a good project. But clearly this one’s special.”
“Of course it’s special. It’s not space-related,” Sebastian’s mom replied innocently, probably unaware of the wink her husband gave their son at the word “special.”
“What cabin are you staying in, Sebastian?” my mom asked.
I could already see where this was headed. The gleam in her eyes said trouble. I shot Sebastian a warning look.
He just raised his brows and gave me a slow, infuriating smirk before replying, “Your daughter was kind enough to give me the best cabin on the property.”
“That’s hers,” my mom said.
“No, Mom. Mine’s a cottage. Sebastian is here, in Sea Glass,” I pointed just as we passed by it on the way to the ones under renovation.
By lunch time, we took them to the new deck at the Bar & Grill. I’d arranged for a table to be set for us there under an umbrella. The ocean view made up for the fact that the place was closed, and there was still construction gear scattered nearby.
While the parents unpacked the food they had brought, Sebastian joined me to get a cooled wine and a bottle opener from my house.
