Wysdom barks out a laugh. “Hilarious, D-Inferno! C’mon. Everybody back to the table. Lunch’s going to get cold.”
Everyone shuffles back to the giant dining room with an equally-large table. Dishes of entrees and sides cover every square inch.
“D-Inferno, you sit next to Cam,” Wysdom points to the empty chair.
I narrow my eyes at her. She’s up to something.
“What’s the D-Inferno mean?” a scruffy blond dude in a Dr. Who T-shirt asks Wysdom.
Wysdom blushes. “Uh, never mind that. It’s a little nickname I call him that’s probably inappropriate in front of the kids.”
“Mi Amor,” Luke pleads with his wife.
She waves him off. “D-Inf… AARON, let’s make the introductions. You know my husband, The God Among Men, Luke Saber.”
I nod and laugh.
“There’s Celia and Flint Mendota,” Wysdom continues. “They got married earlier this year and now run Saber Security. Celia is Cam’s youngest sister. Then, you probably know Captain Kate Sweeney from the Flamingo Cove Police Department. Next to her is my Uncle Dixon Abreo, who used to be a cop. Now he owns The Squad Room.”
“Where the wake will be held,” I point out.
The table goes silent.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring everyone down.”
Wysdom clears her throat. “Right. You know Chief Dad, Bonus Mom, Luis, and Carmen Saber. There’s Faylor, Carolina, and Rand Kestrel. Carolina and Rand eloped a couple of weeks ago.”
“And they told no one,” Luis Saber shakes his head. “Disgraceful.”
“Papa, that’s the whole point of eloping,” Carolina pleads with her father.
The girl with the pink hair, Faylor, turns to Luis. “And didn’t Rand tell you about the wedding?”
Luis and Carmen laugh.Ah. I see how it is.
“And down at the end of the table are Sienna and Ruston,” Wysdom motions to the two redheaded children. “Our kids. And I think you’ve already met Wil and Carmine.”
I smile at Wysdom. I did indeed meet her twins right after they were born.
“Y’all, this is Aaron Pearce,” Wysdom continues the introductions. “He’s the Flamingo Cove Fire Chief, and we went on a very brief, but memorable, blind date, once.”
Camellia nearly chokes on the wine she’s drinking. “Say what now?”
I pat her on the back. “Right after my divorce. Two years ago. We were matched on a dating app. And I don’t know why I’m talking about this right now.”
I reach for my water, take a sip, then look around the table. Oh, great. Everyone’s hanging on every word now.
“You and Aunt Wysdom went on a date?” Faylor smiles.
“It was right around my 39th birthday,” Wysdom grins. “Spoiler alert. It didn’t work out.”
That gets everyone laughing.
Luke is glaring at me.Shit.
“It was coffee. Barely,” I frown at Wysdom.
She laughs harder. “Oh yeah, and there was no way it was going to work out because he was all twisted up on the one that got away. He never did tell me who that…..”
