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I mouthed a thank you to her as I led the way, Daisy at my side and my brother and Sebastian behind us.
My ears were homed in on the conversation—or lack thereof—between the men.
“So what brings you out here unannounced?” I asked over my shoulder. “And those better be donuts. I’m starving.”
As if on cue, my stomach grumbled breaking what remained of the tension.
“Somebody decided it would be fun to stop by,” Daisy said, brows raised at my brother.
We entered the kitchen, and I set the pastry box on the counter. Dominic dropped off a carrier of coffee and I immediately reached for one that had my name on it.
I glanced over the lid to see Dominic examining the kitchen. “This is nice. Is your mom here too? It would be nice to say hi.”
Sebastian frowned. “I haven’t seen her today and her car wasn’t out front.”
“Girls’ trip,” I sputtered.
Sebastian frowned. “What was that?”
I tore into the box in front of me, grabbed the nearest pastry, and shoved it in my mouth. Then I made the universal gesture that I simply couldn’t talk.
Sebastian lasered in on me, then retrieved his phone from his pocket. I leaned over and blatantly watched as he shot a quick text to his mom asking where she was.
I crossed my fingers that she’d stick to the plan.
In the meantime, I changed the subject. “Everyone needs to try these donuts. They’re delicious.” I took another bite and moaned as the sugar melted in my mouth.
Sebastian’s eyes darted to my lips, a hungry look crossing his face.
Then Daisy shoved me. Okay, our shoulders grazed, but it was enough to send my donut dropping with a thud on the floor and me rushing to pick it up before Willow swooped in and stole it.
I unhappily threw the donut in the compost bin and snagged a replacement. When I returned to my seat, I found three of them staring at me. “Seriously, what are you guys doing here?”
My brother didn’t do “surprises,” so my antenna was on high alert. This wasn’t a casual drop in. They weren’t just in the neighborhood.
Then fear pooled low in my gut. “Wait, is it Dad?”
For the first time this morning, my brother’s brow softened. “He’s fine. I promise.”
I slumped a little in my chair and placed a sticky hand over my pounding heart. “Then don’t scare me with surprise visits. Especially before I’ve had a chance to have my coffee.”
“Told ya,” Daisy said, jostling my brother. “Nobody likes a surprise visit.”
Dominic glared. “I texted and called.”
“You did that before the sun came up. Not exactly advance notice.”
My brother folded his arms across his chest. "Is it so hard to believe that I'd want to check in on my sister?"
"How many times have you just dropped in on me in the city?"
Dominic lifted his middle finger and scratched his nose.
"Got ya there, didn't I?"
We took seats around the table, Sebastian settling in next to me. He draped his arm around the back of my chair and then thought better of it. Dominic caught it and a hint of a scowl marred his face.
"Not that you aren't welcome here, but why are you at my house?"
