Like me, Mom hadn’t known her two husbands were dead. She thought they had divorced her. She’d had no idea when she signed the divorce papers that both men were dead. My grandfather’s reach had gone further than we realized. His crooked lawyers made sure of it.
Landon rests his hand on my lower back, and I smile at the man who helped return my mother to me.
I kiss him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he murmurs before brushing his mouth against mine.
This isn’t the first time we’ve come to the cemetery since the four men were buried here. And each time we’ve come, Mom has joined us. Despite everything that happened, she never stopped loving either husband.
She just assumed her father had scared them off, which was why she never remarried after my stepfather disappeared.
But I suspect that might be changing soon—especially now that her father no longer has a role in her life.
I grin at the handsome man with her, who I’ve gotten to know over the past two months. Nigel’s wife passed away from ovarian cancer over a year ago, and Mom was the one who helped superglue his broken heart back together—first as his friend, and then as something more. He’s been doing the same for her after she found out the truth about her husbands.
Somehow, the news of their deaths hasn’t scared him away.
And for that, I’m thankful.
He kisses her temple, and I swear my face will split in two if my grin gets any wider. They’re freaking adorable together.
“You ready for your surprise now?” Landon asks me.
I nod. The four of us climb into Adam’s SUV, which Landon borrowed because there isn’t enough room for all of us in his jeep.
“You’re not going to give us a hint where you’re taking us?” Mom asks. “Not even a tiny one?”
Nigel laughs. “You remind me of my three-year-old granddaughter.”
That has Mom pouting, but the gleam in her eyes says the opposite.
“Did Landon tell you where we’re headed?” she asks him.
“He might have hinted, but I swore an oath that I wouldn’t tell either of you.”
Landon pulls out of the cemetery parking lot.
“Does the surprise have anything to do with Liam reinstating your status?” I ask. Until Landon finally received his medical clearance two days ago, he hadn’t been allowed to join his team on missions. And for the past two months, he’d been stuck behind his desk.
He was about as thrilled at that as a guppy coming face-to-face with Jaws.
Landon flashes me a cocky grin. “Nope.”
“You’re really not planning to tell me, are you?”
“Not until we get there.”
The only thing hehastold me is that we’re going to Wine Country. And to pack for the weekend.
It’s late morning by the time we pull into the driveway leading to Enchanted Springs Winery. Ahead of us are two buildings, Mediterranean in design. A fountain sits in front of the smaller one. The other building is long, like a barn.
“Wow, it’s gorgeous,” I say.
“Glad you like it.”
Landon’s mysterious grin only piques my curiosity more.
“Are we here for a wine tasting?” I ask as the four of us walk toward the building, Landon holding my hand.
