The pilot saluted and headed to do the post-flight check of the jet. Her father grabbed her suitcase and led her toward the terminal.
Tess fell into step beside him. “Is Sandy with you?”
“At home putting together a big family dinner in your honor. Everybody’s coming.”
“Who exactly is everybody?” She hoped she didn’t sound as wary as she felt, but the idea of peopling after the long flight wasn’t remotely appealing.
“The whole family. Sandy’s mom, Helen—you’re gonna love her. She’s a spitfire. Not at all like Grandmother Peyton. Both Sandy’s brothers and their wives. Sandy’s son and his wife, and all the cousins and their respective significant others.” Seeing the wince she couldn’t hold back, he laughed. “I know, it’s a lot for us, but I promise, you’ll get used to it. They’re great people, and they can’t wait to meet you.”
Resigned to the fact that face planting was going to have to wait, Tess looped her arm through her father’s. “Then you had better give me the Cliff’s Notes bios of everybody so I can keep them all straight.”
Mitch Campbell took one look at the coconut cream pie on the diner table and swore. “This is a pie kind of emergency?”
Judd Hamilton laid a protective hand over the clear plastic dome. “Touch this and die. My pregnant wife had a craving, and I am doing my husbandly duty.”
Mitch ignored the twinge he felt at the mental image of Judd and Autumn wrapped in connubial bliss. If anybody deserved happiness, it was those two. He slid into the booth on the opposite side. “Then why am I here?”
“Just wait. Liam’s on his way.”
“Fine.” Mitch folded his hands loosely on the table and dug up a smile for the little brunette waitress who sidled up to take his order. The smile took way more effort than it should have. “Hey Hannah, can I get a cup of coffee and a slice of—what else do we have today in the pie department?”
“Apple, chocolate icebox, and Judd here got the last coconut cream.”
“Apple is a classic for a reason.”
“Warm and a la mode?”
“Is there any other way to eat apple pie?” Dimly, Mitch was aware of the flirtatious grin Hannah shot his way, but he couldn’t summon the energy to reply in kind.
“You got it.”
As she walked toward the counter, he realized Judd was staring at him. “What?”
“You didn’t flirt with her.”
“So?” He didn’t feel like flirting. That wasn’t a crime.
Frowning, Judd shook his head.
“What are we really meeting about? Is this about the design for the nursery? Because I think Liam will kill you if you change it again. You, not Autumn, because we all like your wife.”
“He’s right,” Liam announced, squeezing into the booth beside Mitch. “Your ass I have no problem beating.”
“Not the nursery either,” Judd said. “It’s nearly finished, and she cried buckets over it.”
Mitch braced himself. “Good cry or bad cry?”
“Good cry. I think. The preggo hormones make it hard to tell sometimes. Right now, she and Mom are putting their heads together on how to create a girly Star Wars-themed room.”
“Now I might cry. That’s beautiful, man.” Liam mimed wiping a tear. “You married a helluva woman.”
“Yes, yes, I did.”
“Looking forward to joining your ranks.” Liam relaxed back against the booth, the picture of contentment. “Though I’m starting to think you had the right idea proposing and marrying the girl on the same day. It seems a helluva lot less complicated than planning a wedding.”
“I thought your mom and Riley were taking care of all of that,” Judd said.
“They are. But I’m expected to have opinions on shit.”