Page 106 of Recon Rendezvous

“These are for you.” He hands Mom a lush bouquet of tulips and my dad a bottle of whiskey.

“Gerald, I hear you are a connoisseur of sorts. We may have to crack that baby open today so you can let me know what you think. If you like it, I'll bring a case by for you.”

Dad holds the bottle, perusing the label. “Son, you’re saying all the words I love to hear.”

“Yes, he is,” Mom says, cradling her flowers. “And these are lovely, thank you so much.” She turns, giving me a wink. “Alright come, come. Everyone else is already here. And they're hungry. I’m going to put these in water then we can sit down.”

Everyone else?My brow furrows as we follow behind them into the family room as Xander's arm comes around my shoulders and I can't help but slide my arm around his waist. Expelling a breath, I sink into the warmth of this body. That went smoother than I thought, but again that's Xan for you.

Smiling up at him, I mouth,thank you.

“You're welcome, babycakes.”

“Look who’s here,” Ty calls out as we step into the family room.

“What's up, man?” Xander walks over and they do the man hug thing, and Sasha squeals as she runs over, wrapping me up and all her exuberance.

“Surprise,” Sasha whispers.

It's the best surprise.

But my attention is on the other people in the room.

An even bigger surprise.

Mr. and Mrs. Grant.

Xander’s parents.

My heart squeezes.

“London! It’s so good to see you again,” Mrs. Grant says, as she pulls me into a hug.

My brain to mouth function is no good right now, so I just gape, and I allow myself to be pulled into her warm embrace.

Xander approaches, slapping his dad on the back. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. When your son invites you to meet the future in-laws, you make it work.”

My eyes bug out and shoot to my parents. Mom sees something in my face and nods her head to the kitchen before calling out, “Make yourselves comfortable. We have a few things left to prepare and then we’ll eat.”

We excuse ourselves to the kitchen and I throw over my shoulder, “Dad, you be nice.”

He holds up his hands as everyone laughs. “Don't you worry. I'm always nice,” he says, all indignant.

Laughing to myself, I concede he’s right and that's probably why that whole debacle with Travis wasn't brought to my attention sooner. My stomach churns at the thought and I turn to my mom ready to interrogate her.

“Do you need help with anything?” Sasha says, as we wash our hands.

“No, thank you, girls. Everything's done.”

She's made a feast of all my favorites. Eggs, French toast, sausage, bacon, and biscuits and gravy. With the hashbrowns and all the fixings for breakfast tacos, I had a feeling I’d need a wheelbarrow to get out of here later.

“So,” I say, climbing onto one of the stools around the large island. “You both did a pretty good job keeping this secret from me. How long have you known about this?” I ask.

Sasha offers me an impish smile and shrugs. “I can be sneaky for a good cause. I'm glad you’re both finally on the same page.”

But Mom doesn’t say anything as she wipes down the pristine countertop.

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