Since that had been Landon’s plan, and currently what he was doing, he’d decided they probably saw eye to eye on things in life. Now all he had to do was get through the next six days, then he’d be back on regular duty, and at the end of being everyone’s bitch inside this clinic.
“You’ll shake us free soon.” The therapist focused back on the clipboard in his hands as Landon dropped the weight.
He was overdoing the workout; he could feel his body’s exhaustion in the way his muscles quivered when he pushed them. He should go enter the stack of purchase orders waiting on him. He’d let three days collect because he hated data entry so much. No one ever had to worry about him straying off course again. Maturity had finally won out.
Chapter 9
“Granddaddy Paulie’s birthday’s tomorrow. I think we should go to the cemetery together,” Robert said, ripping off a piece of the fresh baked Italian bread—a recipe Paulie had mastered years ago—before dipping it into the flavored olive oil La Bella Luna served; another old family recipe he had always loved. He took care to get a good helping of the freshly cracked pepper on his perfectly portioned bite before executing a quick toss in his mouth, hoping no oil dripped on the front on his dress shirt.
Man, he missed eating at La Bella Luna. They served the very best ingredients, freshly prepared just the way he liked. It didn’t matter that the dinner dishes had been cleared and dessert was coming, bread this good should never go to waste.
Robert reached for the linen napkin in his lap, looking up to see every eye at the six-seat table focused on him. He didn’t even have to ask why. His entire family was still treating him with kid gloves, constantly walking on eggshells around him. As far as he was concerned that needed to stop right now.
“Guys, seriously. Let. It. Go. I’m better,” he said, giving each person at the table a pointed stare. His date for the evening, his grandmother, who was also the boldest of the group, looked at him with defiant disbelief. Sophia and Thomas looked cautious. Autumn had a gleam in her eye and a sassy cock to her brow. Rodney, a longtime friend of the family and the owner of La Bella Luna for the last twenty years, sat in as Autumn’s dinner partner. He, at least, looked semi-neutral. Robert decided to go with humor to prove his point and lifted a finger to his twin. “Except you, you need to be overly nice to me for as long as I can get it.”
“Too late,” she said, grinning broadly. “It’s been a hard ten months for me. Being nice to you goes against my moral code.”
“You two, don’t start,” Kennedy reprimanded like she always did. “I’m leaving tomorrow. Have I told you?”
“No, are you going home to New York?” Autumn asked.
“No, dear, I’ve decided to spend some time at the Cape. I’ve started painting.” Kennedy’s announcement effectively took every eye off Robert and landing, instead, on his grandmother. “I seem to do a better job near the turbulent tranquility of the Atlantic.”
“Painting?” Robert asked, not ever remembering a time in his grandmother’s life where she had ever mentioned the desire to be artsy.
“I don’t remember you saying anything about painting,” Autumn added, narrowing her eyes, clearly sharing his confusion over this turn of events.
“Dears, you don’t know everything about me. I bought some pieces from a young artist a friend of mine suggested. He’s so talented. I told him I’d always wanted to learn, and he offered to teach me. I went to Dallas over a few weekends. Now, we work by live video,” she explained.
Thomas reached over, tapping the bottom of Robert’s jaw, reminding him to close his gaping mouth.
“That’s exciting, Kennedy,” Sophia said.
“He’s very nice looking,” Kennedy said, turning to Robert as if she had just conjured a plan in her head. “He’s gay, too. You might know him.”
With all the ricocheting topic changes, Robert forced his lips together to keep from grinning. Whenever his grandmother met another gay man, she either thought they had to know one another, or she immediately tried to hook him up.
“He’s so kind to spend his time teaching an old lady to paint.”
“I want to see what you’ve been working on,” Autumn said.
“Oh, honey, I’m not ready to show anyone,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not a natural, but this young man’s working out my kinks.”
“Nonnie, you’re amazing,” Robert said, finishing off the last bite of the bread, knowing he’d be taking a closer look at the artist in the very near future. “Tell us what’s going on with you, Autumn. You said you had news.”
His sister took a hearty gulp of the ice water. Reality sank in before she ever said a word. She hadn’t had anything more than water to drink this entire evening even though the wine flowed freely with the rest of them. Autumn loved her wine, always had. Robert sat back in his seat, a little bowled over at the prospect of what this might mean. His gaze held hers. He smiled a small smile. Her shoulders squared. At the same time, the waiter came forward, placing slices of his father’s signature tiramisu dessert on the table.
She didn’t wait for the waiter to leave before blurting, “I’m pregnant.”
“Autumn!” With spoon in hand, Sophia jumped up to wrap both arms around her, which led to a round of congratulatory hugs from all of them.
“There’s more—a lot more. Sit, eat your desserts, I’ll be quick.” With the genuine happiness of the family, it was
