Chapter 37 Phoebe
PHOEBE
“Do you see them?” Griffin asked me.
I stood on my toes, shifting my weight from one leg to the other, trying to glance above the sea of people.
“No. Not yet,” I murmured.
My parents’ flight had landed thirty minutes ago. They were going to come out any second now, and I was beyond excited. Griffin was just behind me, one hand on my back, rubbing it up and down slowly. He was carrying a huge bouquet of flowers for Mom. It would make her day.
A few seconds later, I spotted Mom’s trademark curly red hair and Dad’s black-rimmed glasses.
I waved at them and then broke into a run.
Griffin was right behind me. My parents beamed when they saw me.
I hadn’t told them Griffin was coming. Dad jerked his head back slightly but smiled.
Mom fell for him hook, line, and sinker.
I could tell that by the way her eyes turned dreamy the second she noticed the flowers.
“Mom, Dad, hi!” I hugged both of them at the same time. I loved a “family sandwich,” as we called it. I’d been very huggy as a kid, and nothing had changed once I became an adult.
“And you must be Griffin,” Dad said as we stepped farther away from the arrivals area.
“Yes, sir. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Joseph,” Dad said, shaking Griffin’s hand. “And this is—”
“Marjorie,” Mom finished.
“These are for you,” Griffin said.
Mom took them from him with a sigh, then looked me up and down before giving me a little nod. “It’s very kind of you to come pick us up from the airport. You shouldn’t have done it. We know how to come to the city.”
“Nonsense. It was no trouble at all,” Griffin assured her. “Are you ready to go to the car?”
“Yes,” they both said at the same time.
They told us about the flight as we went to the parking lot.
Mom smiled at me. “Your grandparents send you many, many hugs.”
I felt a dull ache in my chest. “I promise I’ll go see them soon.”
“Nana sent you cookies.”
Yes, yes, yes! Nana made the best cookies.
Griffin took the suitcases from Dad, rolling them all the way to the car and then loading them into the trunk.
“So, tell me again where we’re staying,” Mom inquired. “I didn’t quite get it. We could have stayed at the B&B where we usually go. You didn’t have to spend money on us.”
“We’re not,” I replied.
“My sister-in-law owns an inn,” Griffin explained, speeding out of the airport. “And she’s got some free rooms right now because it’s not peak season. It’s not a problem for her to have you. She’s quite excited about it.”
“If she’s sure!”
I nodded. “She is.”
“Darling, tell us about your job,” Dad exclaimed.
For the rest of the drive, I spoke about my assignments and colleagues.
Then they asked Griffin about what he did, and he summed it up nicely.
My man was extremely busy, especially since he and his brothers were still working on getting the winery business off the ground.
Maybe it was a good thing that he’d decided not to move forward with investing in Jude’s business after all.
Jude called earlier this morning, telling Griffin that he could still be in the running as an investor. But Griffin told him that he was more than happy with pulling out of it. They were currently planning a boating trip for us all.
As we drove through the gates of the inn, Mom sighed, looking around the property. “This place is amazing.”
Duncan’s car was in the yard as well, next to Chase’s.
Did Hannah tell me yesterday that Duncan, Riley, and Jeremy were stopping by today? It was possible. Last night was a bit of a blur. All I could remember was this amazing man showing up and whisking me to our house, then doing delicious things to me. But everything else was fuzzy at best.
We quickly got out of the car, and Griffin carried the bags inside. I stood back with my parents, taking each of their arms and walking together with them. They could be a bit shy at social occasions.
Mom leaned into me, whispering conspiratorially, “I like Griffin.”
“You’re easily bought, woman,” Dad said, nodding toward the flowers.
She glanced at him. “You like him too.”
“Oh, I do. But it has nothing to do with flowers. He makes my little girl happy.” Dad smiled wider than I’d ever seen him. “It’s good to see you like this, baby girl. We never had the heart to tell you, but we were relieved when you and that asshole broke up.”
I was shocked by Dad’s admission. He was never so direct and rarely used the word asshole.
“Of course, we wished it would have happened in a more civilized manner,” he added.
“It’s all in the past now.” I’d said this before to appease them, but now it was 100 percent true.
My heart wasn’t heavy anymore. I didn’t have a knot in my stomach when thinking about that time.
I’d healed. I never thought this day would come, but here it was.
I was head over heels in love with Griffin, and the past didn’t even matter anymore.
“Uncle Griffin, I’m so happy you’re here.” Jeremy’s voice filtered from the house, and I instantly smiled.
“Is that Griffin’s nephew with the Batman room?” Mom asked as we approached the front door.
“Exactly.” I loved that Mom remembered that tidbit.
“By the way, he’s got your grandparents’ vote.”
And now I wasn’t just happy, I was ecstatic. My grandparents approved of him. I honestly couldn’t wait for them to meet him.
We headed straight to the kitchen, where Hannah, Chase, Riley, Duncan, and Jeremy were gathered. Griffin wasn’t here. He’d probably gone directly to the bedroom to deposit my parents’ bag.
“Hi, I’m Hannah. Welcome to my inn.” She held out her hand to each of my parents in turn.
“It’s lovely. Thank you so much for having us,” Mom said.
“We’re very grateful,” Dad added.
Hannah beamed. “Let me show you to your room.”
“I can show them myself,” I chimed in.
“All right.” Hannah smiled. “While you get comfortable, I’ll prepare breakfast for you.”
“There’s no need,” Mom replied quickly. “We ate at the airport before we left Montana. Do you want something?” she asked me.
“No. I’ve had breakfast too.” Besides, I knew Mom brought Nana’s cookies. I wanted to work up an appetite before I dug into them so I fully enjoyed every bite.
I went over to Jeremy, giving him a proper hug. “I didn’t know you were going to be here,” I told him.
“We just decided this morning,” Duncan explained.
“And we’re not staying for long,” Riley added.
“What are you doing today?” I asked.
“We’re going to the fair. My favorite band is playing,” Jeremy informed me.
“It’s on Niagara Avenue,” Riley went on. “Just a mix of vendors selling stuff and entertainment for kids.”
“That sounds lovely,” Mom said. “Could we go too? We miss San Diego fairs.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Why not what?” Griffin said, appearing in the kitchen.
“Uncle Griffin!” Jeremy exclaimed. “You can come to the fair with us. Phoebe said yes.”
I chuckled. The little guy sure knew how to negotiate.
“My parents would like to go too,” I added.
“Sure, we’re flexible,” Griffin said.
“Great! Mom, Dad, come on, I’ll show you to your room.”
“Do you want to rest before leaving?” Griffin asked.
“No,” Mom replied. “The journey wasn’t too long. And we’re not that old.”
Griffin gave me a panicked look, and I laughed. “No one was suggesting that, Mom. Come on, follow me.” I went through the narrow corridor leading to the downstairs bedroom.
Mom stopped at the foot of the staircase, looking up longingly.
“I love Queen Anne buildings,” she said.
“I know. And this one is gorgeous.”
Griffin had put their suitcases by the door.
“This is so spacious,” Mom said.
“We only need about ten minutes to freshen up, and then we’ll be right out,” Dad added.
“I’ll wait for you in the kitchen. Are you sure you don’t want to snack or anything?” I said.
Dad shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Speaking of snacks…,” Mom said, hurrying to the suitcase. She opened it, taking a Tupperware box from between the clothes. “Here are the cookies.”
I immediately grabbed the box from her. My stomach rumbled. “Will you look at that? I wasn’t even hungry. Thanks, Mom.”
I opened the lid as soon as I stepped into the corridor, munching on one cookie while standing there in the hallway.
I closed my eyes and got transported right back to my childhood.
Nana loved to bake in the summer. She typically also made a delicious grapefruit lemonade.
No one else I knew loved grapefruit, but she and I did.
With a sigh, I opened my eyes and headed to the kitchen. “I’ve got cookies for everyone, homemade by my nana.”
Everyone reached for the Tupperware as soon as I put it on the table.
“You know what? Let me take a pic, and I’ll send it to Nana.
” Well, to my granddad. My grandma wasn’t terribly good with her phone.
But Granddad was quite good at using WhatsApp.
“All of you smile and hold up a cookie.” I said, and they did.
“And, Griffin, can you stand a bit taller? Just so, you know…”
“You stand out,” Chase teased. “Yeah, good thinking.”
“Hey, you know what? I’ve got an even better idea,” Duncan added. “What if he’s the only one who holds up a cookie? That should earn him points, right?”
I looked over the phone at the group.
“That is a great idea,” Chase said. “Little bro needs to earn all the points he can.”
“Come on, everyone hold up a cookie,” Griffin said on a laugh.
I snapped a pic and immediately sent it to Granddad.
Phoebe: Thank you for the cookies. Everyone is loving them. Love you. P.S. That’s Griffin in the middle.
“These are very good,” Jeremy said, immediately grabbing a second one, even though we hadn’t even finished the first one.
“I’ve got the recipe. We can bake together when you come over.”
Jeremy looked at me like I’d hung the moon. Oh, kids were adorable like that. I longed for a tiny bundle of joy.