“Mm, I don’t think he’s on duty.” Henry said.
Tamara took a moment to consider the other newcomer to Lusty. He looked very comfortable sitting at a table surrounded by a couple of Kendalls and several Jessop and Benedict cousins. “At least now you know why you thought there was more to him than met the eye,” she said to Morgan.
“Yes. Finding out he was a Fed was a relief, all things considered.”
Just then Tracy Jessop came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of pastries. “Well, here are the guests of honor, at last!”
“We’re not late,” Morgan and Henry said that at the same time.
“Sure you are,” Matthew Benedict called out. “And we all know why, too.”
Tamara noticed her men grinned in response to the good-natured teasing and certainly didn’t deny the implied accusation. She felt her face heat and could only shake her head. “Goodness, I’m going to be related to all these testosterone makers!” Having such a large extended family was going to take some getting used to. For a long time it had only been her and Goodwin.
Tracy set down the tray and nodded. “We are few, and they are many.”
“You’re going to come and sit with me, aren’t you?” Tamara inflected a note of pleading in her voice. “You were, after all, the first woman friend I made here.”
Tracy grinned. “Just as soon as I bring out the rest of the nibbles. Kelsey thought that for tonight we’d just set everything up like we do for the Sunday buffet and let everyone help themselves.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Henry said. “That way no one will necessarily know when I cop two of those wonderful cream things you make.”
People started arriving in a steady stream soon after that. Morgan and Henry had secured Tamara a seat at the same table as Jake, Adam, Jordan, and Peter. Tracy came and sat next to her. Tamara wondered at the undercurrents she felt between her friend and both Peter and Jordan. She caught a bit of teasing, a bit of flirting, and a whole lot of covert looks—amongst all three of them.
She’d ask Morgan and Henry what they thought about that, later.
Tamara had to admit, she felt like a queen. Both her men waited on her hand and foot. Every new arrival came over to congratulate her and then ask her if she was certain she knew what she was letting herself in for, hooking up with these two flyboys.
Tamara kept smiling and let her men think what they would about her failure to correct anyone’s pity.
As the evening progressed, she began to understand that this sort of pampering wasn’t likely going to be a onetime thing. She spent some time watching the other young families around her. Matthew and Steven Benedict attended to Kelsey. There just was no other word that fit. Their brothers, Joshua and Alex, made certain Penelope was comfortable and wanted for nothing. One of them had his hand on her the entire time. The newlyweds arrived, relaxed and happy from their honeymoon. She doubted Colt or Ryder took their eyes off Susan for more than a moment during the entire evening, and neither one of them got more than a few steps away from her side.
Not only did none of the women seem to mind the concerted attention from their mates, they positively glowed. Tamara could certainly understand that. Her men made her feel special, something she’d not had much experience with in her life.
“Well now, what do you have to say for yourself, Morgan Kendall?”
Tamara hadn’t seen the older woman approach. Morgan bent low to hug Kate Benedict, then stepped back and laughed. Tamara quickly got up to give the woman a hug. It amazed her how strong Grandma Kate’s embrace could be.
It was hard not to notice that the conversation around them had hushed, just slightly.
“Me?” Morgan took Kate’s hand and kissed it gallantly. “I’m not the one who correctly predicted, right here in this very restaurant, that the right woman for Henry and me would fall out of the sky. That’s quite a talent you have there, Kate Benedict. So tell me, who are you going to turn your matchmaking talents on next?”
Kate’s laughter, full of fun, seemed to ripple out and affect the entire party because everyone smiled at the sound.
Kate reached up and patted Morgan’s cheek. “I’m not telling. That way, they can all be on their toes.”
Morgan shook his head. “You’re bad.”
“I’ve earned the right,” she said.
Just then the door opened and three men stepped into the restaurant. Tamara had never seen them before, but she had no doubt they were Benedicts. She’d bet they were triplets, too, although they weren’t identical.
“We heard there was a party going on here,” one of them said.
“Oh, my goodness! I didn’t know if you’d make it in time, or not. Everyone, look what the wind blew all the way down from New York City!” Grandma Kate made her way over to the newcomers, each of whom hugged her in turn, each one lifting her off her feet as he did so.
“You must come over and meet our Tamara. She’s engaged to Morgan and Henry. Tamara, this is Richard, Trevor, and Kevin Benedict. They’re Carson, Michael, and Abigail’s boys. They’re moving back home. Isn’t it grand?”
Tamara could see both her men were pleased with the arrival of their cousins. Kate went on to explain that they’d been in New York for the last few years, heading up the east coast branch of Benedict International, an investment and brokerage firm.
“Just what we need,” Henry greeted them. “More Benedicts!”
“And more to come,” one of them said. “The twins and Julia will both be here in another week.”
Tamara knew her jaw dropped. “Your parents had a set of triplets and a set of twins?” She couldn’t imagine
