“Is it going to be a taco truck?” Cameron asked. “I love tacos.”
Sarah winked at him. “Doesn’t everybody?”
Cameron blushed adorably.
“Unfortunately, no tacos. My specialty is comfort food. Meatloaf, mac and cheese, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, that kind of thing.”
“Sounds fantastic,” Zeke said. “Are you going to do this here in Whispering Bay or back in your hometown?”
“Oh, I’m going to move the truck all around Florida. Hit all the popular beach spots and city festivals, that kind of thing.”
“Well, we definitely need to keep in touch,” Mimi said. “Every year the town hosts a festival and we’d love to have your food truck.”
“What an…interesting lifestyle you lead,” Ann said in a way that clearly implied just the opposite.
Luke cleared his throat and angled his head toward the kitchen. “What’s that smell, Mom? It’s fabulous.”
Alex raised his wineglass in the air like a salute. “Your mother made prime rib. In honor of your coming home.”
“I wanted to make a turkey with all the trimmings, since you’ve missed the last few holiday dinners, but with Earl’s passing last night, there wasn’t time,” Ann said.
Mimi leaned forward to set her glass of water on the table. “You won’t believe all the calls I got at city hall today. Jenna Pantini, that’s the new city manager, wasn’t supposed to start for another couple of weeks, but I convinced her to begin next Monday. There’s a lot to do now that the town has inherited so much land.” Mimi went on to explain that Earl Handy’s will had been public knowledge and that he’d left Whispering Bay miles of prime beachfront property.
Sarah whistled under her breath. “That’s some gift. What’s the city going to do with all that land?”
“That’s part of the reason we need Jenna to start work immediately. According to Pilar, the will is pretty specific. Old Earl wanted the land used for public access, which is going to require a lot of planning.”
Pilar Diaz-Rothman was the city’s attorney and one of Mimi’s Bunco friends. She came into The Bistro most mornings to get a café con leche. Sarah liked Pilar. After a little pleading on Sarah’s part, Pilar had shared her mother’s flan recipe. Maybe she would intro
duce an international dessert day at The Bistro…
“Earl loved this town,” Ann said. “I’m sure he would be happy to know how much Whispering Bay will profit from his generosity.” She frowned. “Nora, maybe not so much, though.”
Alex shrugged. “She’ll just have to get over it.”
Ann mulled this over a few seconds, then straightened in her chair. “So, Luke, tell us your big news.”
“It’s not exactly big news,” he said cautiously. “It’s nothing really. I can tell you about it later.”
Ann looked over at Sarah and tried to hide her frown, but it was obvious that Luke’s mother was irritated. It wasn’t hard for Sarah to read her thoughts. If her son had “big news” to share with his family why had he insisted that an almost perfect stranger come along tonight? The whole evening made no sense.
“Let me guess!” Claire squealed. “You’re engaged! Do you think Victoria will let me be a bridesmaid?”
“We already know Luke’s not engaged,” Mimi said, giving her daughter a patient smile. “At least, not yet.”
“Nope,” he said tightly. “Definitely not engaged.”
The way Luke said it made the little hairs on Sarah’s neck rise. There was that edginess again. Like there was a time bomb hidden somewhere in the room and he was the only one who knew about it. She glanced at the looks on all their faces. His family had finally caught on, too.
“Now you’re really making us curious,” Mimi said with a nervous laugh. “You said your business was doing well. Right?”
“The business is doing great.” Luke placed a finger in the edge of his collar as if to loosen it, but the top button was already undone.
“If it’s not the business, and you’re not engaged yet, then what is it?” Ann Powers scooted to the edge of her chair. “Are you planning to ask Victoria to marry you? Is that your news? Are you here to ask us what we think about the idea, because if that’s what this is about then—”
“Mom, you know Victoria and I broke up six months ago.”
“Oh, pooey. I just emailed Victoria and she practically promised me the two of you would spend Labor Day weekend here with us. If that doesn’t mean the two of aren’t getting back together then I’m a monkey’s uncle.”