Chapter Twenty-Six
Tabitha
”Other passengers?” Spencer looks so thoroughly confused that I want to give him a big hug and a kiss, but I quash that impulse. His jaw drops. ”I thought this was a private jet, not a commercial flight.”
The pilot stares at him for a moment. ”Nobody told you?”
”What was I meant to be told? I”m getting bloody confused.”
”Sorry. Three more passengers are expected, but I don”t know who they are.” A noise outside attracts the pilot”s attention, and he leans out the door to look. ”Oh, this must be them now.” He moves aside. ”Come on in, folks.”
Three people hurry onto the jet.
I leap up and sprint over to them. ”Mom? Dad? Sabrina? What in the world are you doing here?”
My sister explains. ”Dane Dixon arranged it. He said you should have your family around to support you since you”ll be meeting a whole bunch of strangers once we get to...” She looks at Dad. ”What did Dane call that place?”
”Sommerleigh House.”
”Oh, yes, that”s it.”
Mom hugs me. ”We”re so excited to meet Spencer”s family.”
”Me too.”
Sabrina cups one hand over my ear to whisper, ”I”m on the hunt for a British stud of my own.”
I groan.
Once everyone gets settled in, it takes only twenty minutes before we”re in the air and on our way.
After the rush to pack and reach the airport, Spencer and I are both too wiped out to finish what we started in my apartment and in the car---despite the fact this jet has a bedroom. We settle in on a sofa to enjoy a little ”lie-down,” as Spencer would say. Amazingly, Sabrina doesn”t pester us.
Our brief nap ends when Spencer”s phone rings.
”It”s my sister,” he says as he extricates himself from my body. I”d been sprawled on top of him. Now, he sits up on the sofa to take his call. ”Bindy, how are you? We”re in the air right now. Uh-huh. Don”t worry so much about Kendall. Well, I”ll be there within...”
He glances at me and mouths, how long? I do a super-fast search on my phone to get an estimate then hold up six and a half fingers.
”Relax, Bindy, we”re about six hours away, maybe a bit more. Try not to worry, love. Kendall won”t fling himself off a bridge in the meantime. I”m sure Rachelle can handle his anxiety well enough.” He smiles. ”You haven”t bothered me at all. No worries. I”m looking forward to seeing you, Charles, and the children. It will be wonderful to introduce you to Tabitha too. Goodbye, Bindy.”
I raise my brows. ”What did your sister say when you said ”uh-huh”?”
”She insisted that Kendall desperately needs me, and he might suffer a panic attack if I don”t get to Sommerleigh immediately.” He rolls his gaze up to the ceiling, shaking his head faintly, then faces me again. ”I don”t know what rubbish Hugh fed her about Kenny”s mental state, but I can”t believe he”s panicking. My brother doesn”t do desperation.”
”You think your sister is exaggerating.”
”No. But I”m positive someone fed her a five-course meal of bollocks.”
”Why would anyone do that?”
His lips twist upward at one corner. ”To get me to England, of course.”
My parents and Sabrina are too far away to hear our discussion, but I still feel it”s prudent to move a little further away before I ask my next question. ”Do you think your brother might get bombed again and do something he”ll regret later?”
”No, I can”t believe that.” Spencer peers out the window. ”Kendall is the oldest of us, and he never seemed to need anyone”s help. Yet here I am, on a private jet heading for England, preparing to save my brother from...whatever it is he needs saving from. One drunken mistake hardly qualifies as a disaster. This is, at least partly, a ploy to make sure I”m there for whatever barmy nonsense the gang has planned.”
”Hmm, I”m beginning to like these people. And I haven”t even met them yet.”
Spencer glances at me out of the corner of his eye. ”You have no idea what the American Wives Club and their mates will do for love. Things usually get outrageously wild when they”re meddling.”
The pilot announces via the intercom that we”ve leveled off at cruising altitude.
Spencer and I join my parents and take the seats opposite Mom and Dad. Sabrina opts for a chair across the aisle from us. She kicks her feet up, resting them on the seat opposite the one she reclines on, and shuts her eyes. Then she stretches her arms above her head. Leave it to Bree to act like she”s sunning herself on a tropical island when she”s actually on a private jet.
The second the jet levels off, I want to drag Spencer into the bedroom to kiss him for six and a half hours. But my parents invite us to play card games. Since I want my family to get to know Spence better, I agree to their idea. Turns out my boyfriend enjoys those kind of games. Even Bree decides to join in, and she conspicuously sits beside Spencer. He”s now sandwiched between two women, and he seems to relish the attention, based on his self-satisfied smile.
When Bree tries to cheat at gin rummy, Mom snaps her spine straight and aims a squinty-eyed stare at my sister. ”Sabrina Bluebell Remington, you should be ashamed of yourself. What will Spencer think of us when our daughter is a cheater?”
She”s being sarcastic, naturally. That”s a family trait.
My sister makes an overly dramatic huffing sound. Then she whines, ”But Mom, Tabby”s hogging the hottie.”
I scoot over to squeeze between Spencer and Sabrina, flinging my arms around him. ”You can”t have him, Bree. Find your own hot Brit.”
Mom clucks her tongue at me. ”Tabitha Primrose Remington, you”re just as bad as your sister.”
Spencer contorts his mouth into a cross between a grin and a smirk. ”I”ve never had women fighting over me. I rather enjoy it.” Then his brows draw together over his nose. ”Did your mum just call you Primrose?”
”Yep. Mom gave us middle names that are flowers. She loves all the wildflowers in the spring.”
”Hmm, I see. Are we done with the ridiculous play acting? I could go for tea and cakes right about now.”
”I doubt they have those on board.”
”This is a jet owned by a British bloke.”
”Good point.” I elbow Bree in the side. ”Go check with the pilots or somebody. Maybe they can hunt up some tea and cakes.”
As it turns out, this jet not only has a galley but also comes well stocked with British favorites. That means we can have tea and cakes. My parents have never done teatime the British way, and they”re excited to find out what”s involved.
Once teatime has ended, we all find a comfy place to rest until we reach London. It”s four hours later in the UK. Since we left the continental US this morning, we should arrive at Sommerleigh around eight in the evening. Time zones really screw me up, but I”m so excited to meet Spencer”s family that I”ll stay up until one o”clock in the morning if necessary.
When we land at London City Airport, a car is already waiting for us. A car? No, that doesn”t accurately describe the vehicle. It”s a stretch limo. But I don”t see anyone waiting on the tarmac to greet us.
”No, you wouldn”t see that,” Spencer tells me. ”Everyone wanted my arrival to be a surprise for Kendall. Now I”m bringing a few more surprises with me.”
Just as our gang sets foot on the tarmac, an older man climbs out of the limo on the driver”s side. He jogs over to the back door, pulls it open, and waves energetically. ”Come on, gents and ladies, we”ve got a long drive to Sommerleigh.”
Just as we reach the limo, Spencer grins at the driver and announces to us, ”Everyone, please say hello to a very important man at Sommerleigh House, our gracious escort on this journey---Mr. Arthur Holland.”
I shake Arthur”s hand. ”So nice to meet you. Are you strictly a driver or do you have other duties?”
”Oh, I do whatever the women in the house ask of me. Never could say no to a woman.” He winks. ”But I”m mostly the bloke who drives the Parrishes wherever they want to go.”
Arthur opens the door and holds my hand to help me climb inside the limo. He does the same for Bree and Mom too. I already love this guy after meeting him a few minutes ago. England is making a great first impression on me so far.
Once we”re all in the limo, Arthur glances back at us. ”It”s about three and a half hours to the estate. You”ll find a basket of snacks and soft drinks in the compartment under the seat behind me. His Nibs and Mrs. Nibs never let their guests go hungry.”
”Who are His Nibs and Mrs. Nibs?” I ask.
Arthur chuckles. ”That”s what I call Lord and Lady Sommerleigh. It”s a nickname.”
”Oh, I see.”
Throughout the drive to Sommerleigh, we all chat and enjoy the snacks provided for us. I hand a half sandwich to Arthur, who smiles and winks at me. I assume that”s his way of thanking me. Our driver interjects jokes and fun facts into the conversation occasionally.
Before I know it, we”re pulling into the circular driveway at Sommerleigh House. Arthur insists on opening the limo door for us and assisting us ladies in climbing out. Spencer holds my hand as we climb the steps to reach the big wooden front doors. He reaches for the bell.
Before he can push the button, the doors fly open.
A gorgeous man grins at us. ”You”re finally here, Spence.”
”Yes, Hugh, we are here at last. But we”re all knackered from the long flight to London and the drive to Sommerleigh.”
”Of course, how rude of me.” Hugh shouts over his shoulder. ”Avery! Mum! Get your arses out here. And find Kendall, would you? Spencer and his entourage are here.”
Hugh clamps his hand around Spencer”s bicep and tries to drag him into the house. ”Well, come inside, Spence. Kendall will probably pass out from shock when we surprise him with your arrival---and the three beautiful ladies you brought with you.”
”We have another man with us, Hugh. I realize your eyes refuse to see anything but attractive women. Still, you could at least say hello to my girlfriend”s family.”
”Of course. Please forgive me, family of Spencer”s girlfriend.” He winks and smirks at Spencer, then makes a grand gesture of welcome as he scuffles backward into the entryway. ”Come in, come in. We”ll share names once you”re out of the cold. It”s rather chilly this evening. Let”s go into the drawing room.”
Hugh shepherds us down a long hall and into the drawing room, which looks like a spiffy living room to me. Then he greets each of us individually, learning our names while we find out more about him.
”Your name is Hugh Parrish, right?” I ask. ”But Spencer also told me your official title is Lord Sommerleigh.”
”That is correct. British titles are so bloody confusing, aren”t they? My real name is Hugh Parrish, and that”s who I am. My title is just words.”
”Are you a prince or something?”
”No, pet,” Hugh says with a hint of laughter in his voice. ”I”m a viscount. Don”t worry, no one knows what a viscount actually is. Even I”m not sure half of the time.” He rubs his chin thoughtfully. ”I would love to be a royal, though. Prince Hugh has regal charm, don”t you think?”
”Definitely. Who do you have to kill to become a prince?”
He bursts into a fit of laughter, then wipes his eyes when he”s done. ”Spencer, my friend, you have chosen wisely. Tabitha is a treasure indeed.”
Two women enter the drawing room.
Hugh pulls the younger woman close to his side. ”Everyone, meet my wife and soul mate, Lady Sommerleigh, also known as Avery Parrish. And the woman beside her is Rosalyn Parrish, my mother and the Dowager Lady Sommerleigh.”
Someone gently knocks on the door.
Hugh smiles with mischievous delight and calls out, ”Come in, Kendall.”
The drawing room door swings open, and a man who resembles Spencer walks inside. He halts, seeming confused by the gaggle of men and women gathered in this room. Then his gaze shifts from Hugh to Spencer.
Kendall grins and laughs, then drags his brother into a bear hug.