She’d fought visions of Zach the entire time the family was gone, and now he was back to confirm she was indeed insane.
She bit her lip as she watched two other men enter who Amanda assumed were Rebecca’s significant others—another Masters, Griffen maybe, and Laurie’s half brother Miles. Sucking in a sharp breath, she couldn’t even blink as she laid eyes on Griffen Masters. He was nearly identical to Zach and could just as easily have been one of the stars in her dreams.
The men confirmed who they were as they politely introduced themselves. Griffen winked as he released her hand. “Don’t worry. We won’t quiz you later.”
She could only nod subtly as she felt her pulse increase. She was losing her mind.
Behind them entered someone’s parents and a grandmother. The older woman was tiny, but her eyes sparkled as she spoke to Amanda. “You’re such a dear. We’ve had the most enjoyable dinner thanks to you.” She held out a small hand. “I’m Laurie’s grandma. Please, call me Mimi.” She winked.
Amanda took her hand, surprised at the strength the woman had.
Mimi kept Amanda’s hand in hers, her eyes widening a bit as if she were shocked by some unknown revelation. In fact, she pulled Amanda in closer to her side and reached behind with her other hand to grab the woman who’d entered with her. “This is my daughter Joyce, Laurie’s mom. Well, mother to half these hooligans, actually. And the man heading toward the kitchen is her husband Gene.”
Joyce. Gene. Amanda tried to memorize the names, knowing she would fail to identify anyone later, especially the brothers who had such an uncanny resemblance to each other and her imaginary lover.
Already the house was filling with love and warmth, and she knew there were several more people who hadn’t come through the door yet. It still stood open.
Laurie came forward with a quizzical look on her face that changed to a grin as she got closer. “Mimi…” It sounded like a warning, which Amanda found perplexing.
As the volume rose in the enormous great room, Amanda met Joyce, and then Laurie tucked Amanda’s arm in hers and led her to the kitchen area. “What can I get you to drink? You might as well stay a bit. The others are right behind. You can meet them. You aren’t in a hurry are you? Wine? Beer? Soda?”
She fired off so many questions in quick succession, Amanda didn’t know which one to answer. “I’m fine, thanks.”
Laurie released her to shove Gene out of the way and grab a bottle of water from the fridge. “Dad, scram,” she teased as Gene wandered out of the kitchen area with several beers perched along his arm. He passed them out to the men. It would seem the evening was just getting started for this large crew.
“How was dinner?” Amanda asked.
“Amazing. Miriam go to sleep for you okay?”
“Yep. Not a problem. All three of them were a delight.” Though I don’t think I’ll be having any of my own anytime soon. She’d been to the preschool Mary owned several times, and each time she’d left there exhausted from just watching. Mary had reminded her at least once a week she would give her a job there if she wanted, but that had only given Amanda the flame under her butt to hit the job search harder. The last thing she wanted to do was work at a preschool.
Laurie handed Amanda a water.
She took it, suddenly thirsty even though she’d denied being so moments ago.
Voices outside told her more of the family had arrived. They didn’t come inside yet, though, and it sounded louder outside than inside.
∙•∙
Sawyer stepped onto Laurie’s front porch and rolled his head from side to side, trying to stretch his neck and relieve some of the stress of the past three hours. To say the evening had been awkward would be an understatement. When Laurie called and invited him to join the birthday celebration, he’d hesitated.
He hadn’t spoken to Logan since they’d met under tense circumstances the day before. And frankly, he was okay with that. They both needed a chance to process the inevitable and wrap their heads around it.
Laurie had other ideas. She insisted both of them join the dinner party. It wasn’t a stretch. After all they were all family. But Sawyer was uncomfortable anyway. Luckily, he got so caught up in meeting the other dozen family members that he didn’t even sit next to the man he’d fought with yesterday.
And damn if the guy wasn’t likeable. It seemed everyone enjoyed Logan’s company. He was the fourth son and much beloved. It was difficult to stay mad at him.
He was also in excellent physical condition.
Sawyer worked hard to stay in perfect shape as a wildland firefighter. It was mandatory and crucial to his survival. Especially now that he’d moved into the more specific designation of hotshot. But Logan wasn’t in bad shape himself. He was a hiking guide in the summer months and a ski instructor in the winter. The guy was buff. Sawyer almost felt sorry for whatever woman was intended to be theirs.