After getting a nod from Flynn, Duncan lifted her from the floor. She blinked at him for a few seconds, almost seeming to take his measure the way Lola’s father had. Then she reached out a finger and lightly poked the end of his nose.
“Boop!”
Duncan reacted instinctively, mirroring her movements by gently touching her nose and saying, “Boop!” right back.
While everyone laughed, Ruby threw her arms around his neck and snuggled in.
Over her small shoulder, he saw Cassie smiling. “It’s her new fun game,” she explained.
“It’s adorable.”
Just then, Bear stood up and leaned against Duncan’s leg, clearly angling to be petted. As Duncan scratched his head with his free hand, Lola laughed.
“Even dogs and babies can’t resist you,” she said, looking proud to be with him.
A few seconds later, Flynn reached for his daughter. “Come here, cutie.”
“She’s absolutely beautiful,” Duncan told him as he transferred the little girl into her father’s arms.
“Thank you,” Flynn said. “She’s a handful, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Duncan could see how in love Flynn and Cassie were with each other and their little girl. Longing gripped him. Longing for a family like theirs. Like the Sullivans, all gathered together in the kitchen of their warm and welcoming family home. Duncan had never experienced a simple family dinner at the kitchen table with a mom and dad who asked him about his day at school. Even before his parents had passed away, he’d been raised by nannies.
Yet again, Lola’s voice pulled him out of his dark thoughts. “This is my brother Rory and my friend Zara, who he somehow managed to convince to date him.”
Where Rory was all movie-star good looks and swagger, Zara looked like an artist through and through. She wore thickly rimmed yellow glasses, bright orange combat boots—and every time she looked at Rory, there was pure love in her eyes, just as there was in his for her.
“This is my brother Hudson and his wife, Larissa,” Lola said, introducing him to the next couple.
While they were both friendly, where Rory and Zara were clearly in the full flush of love, the opposite seemed true about Hudson and Larissa. Then again, maybe he was reading too much into the fact that they didn’t have their arms around each other like Rory and Zara, and they weren’t constantly giving each other loving glances like Cassie and Flynn.
Lola gestured for her other sister to come over to meet him. “This is Ashley. I don’t know where her son, Kevin, is right now, but I’ll introduce you to him once he makes an appearance.”
“He’s in the back room playing on his phone,” Ashley said. “I keep trying to cut his screen time down, but it’s hard when his father lets it be a free-for-all.” Ashley smiled at Duncan, though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Hello. I’ve heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Duncan shook her hand. “It’s great to meet you too.”
Apart from Lola’s father, Ashley seemed the most guarded. Borderline suspicious, even. Lola had explained about her sister’s difficult relationship with Kevin’s father, so Duncan understood why she would want proof that he was good enough for Lola.
“And you already know Turner.” Lola shot her brother a warning glance. “So that’s all of us. I’d say it’s definitely time for you to get that drink.”
Her father handed Duncan his whiskey, then lifted his own glass. “Sláinte.”
Following suit, Duncan spoke the classic Irish toast to good health and happiness, then drank the well-aged whiskey in one long swallow. Though it burned going down, since he clearly had some work ahead of him to win over Lola’s family, a bit of Irish courage wouldn’t go amiss.
Ethan went to refill his glass, but Lola put a hand over it. “Let Duncan have something to eat before you try to drink him under the table.” Then she turned back to him. “You’re in for a real treat tonight. You already know my mom is the best cook in the world, but what she makes at home is even better than what she serves at the café. You have to promise not to tell anybody in town, though. If they knew, all of them would demand her home-cooked food be added to the menu.”
Beth laughed from where she was standing at the stove. “Lola exaggerates. I serve all the same things at the café. There’s just something about being at home surrounded by family that makes food taste better.”
He returned Beth’s smile. “I’ve been looking forward to this meal all week.” And though this wasn’t likely to be a night of relaxed pleasure in the midst of so many assessing gazes, he was also looking forward to spending an evening in a warm family home with people who genuinely cared for one another.
Lola picked up a cabbage dumpling and held it to his lips. “Taste this.”
He was overwhelmed by flavor. “That’s fantastic.”
“I told you,” Lola said. “Best food in the world.”
She wasn’t kidding. He had eaten at some of the best restaurants on the planet, but he’d never had anything quite so delicious. “Where did you learn to cook like this, Beth?”
“County Cork, Ireland. There’s a fancy hotel in town—you might have heard of Ashford Castle?—and I talked my way into the kitchen as a teenager.”
“That’s where I met her,” Ethan said as he moved to give his wife a kiss. “They still haven’t forgiven me for stealing her away and bringing her to America.”
While Lola’s parents had been married nearly forty years, when they kissed they almost seemed like teenagers just falling in love. Duncan knew that was exactly how it would be for him and Lola. They would never lose the spark that had drawn them together.
Lola and her siblings had been so lucky to grow up with their parents as an example of real love. He didn’t doubt that there had likely been some bumps along the way. But love had clearly given them the strength to work through whatever issues cropped up.
Duncan reached for Lola’s hand, lifting it to his lips and pressing a kiss to it. It was his way of silently saying, Thank you for loving me. And thank you for inviting me here tonight to be with the people who mean the most to you.
When she turned to kiss him, he knew she’d understood exactly what was in his heart.
And that it was all for her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
For the next several minutes, everyone worked in concert to get the food dished out and on the large dining table. The room looked out on a beautiful backyard where flowers were profusely in bloom. There was a green lawn where kids and dogs could play, and patio lights hung from the trees. Through the branches, Duncan caught glimpses of the ocean. It was a perfect place to live and raise a family.
Ashley’s son came into the kitchen to wash his hands. “Kevin,” his mother said, “this is Lola’s friend Duncan.”
Kevin nodded hello from the sink. “So you’re the guy she can’t stop talking about, huh?”
Half of Lola’s family laughed, while the other half shot Duncan sidelong glances, curious to see how he’d react.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her either,” Duncan replied easily.