“You two are the best,” she said, holding open her arms.

Garret and I both leaned down to hug her again. “Love you, Mom,” I whispered, kissing her cheek.

“Yeah, we love you, Mom,” Garret seconded as we straightened. “Now, eat before the food gets cold.”

“Wait,” she called as we started backing toward the door. “You’re not going to eat with us?”

“No, you two eat and just leave the tray. I’ll come get it later,” I promised. “And then tonight, we’ll all go to dinner.”

“Really?” Mom asked excitedly, her eyes on Garret. “When do you have to get back?”

“I have a flight out first thing in the morning.” Mom’s smile dimmed. “But I’ll be back for Nova’s graduation.”

I opened the door and pulled him through it. “Take your time. Go back to sleep if you want to.”

Downstairs, I finally got to eat, the two of us sitting down for the meal together. Aunt Raven had gone out for breakfast earlier, while I was still making the bacon, spending the morning with Lexa and Delaney. I knew Lexa and Max had something special planned for their mom later, so I wasn’t expecting her back all day.

“Tavia had planned on coming out,” Garret commented when we were cleaning up. I’d nearly fallen over in shock when he’d started helping me with the dishes, but I had to admit it was nice. “But Rai caught a stomach bug.”

“Yeah, I heard Aunt Raven on the phone with her last night.” I rinsed the last plate, and he took it from me to dry. The dishwasher had abruptly quit working earlier in the week, and we were still waiting for Reid to put in a new one. It had been annoying doing all the dishes by hand, but right then, I was almost thankful for the inconvenience. “Lexa has the present they are giving her, though. Tavia and Theo stopped in for a few hours last month without telling anyone, and they did a huge photo session. Max, Delaney, Lexa, Ben, Tavia, Theo, and the four kids in one portrait. I’m sure they will do it again next year so Ronan will be in the picture.”

He frowned. “Maybe we should do that for Mom next year. You and Ryan with me and…” He broke off, and I bit the inside of my cheek, waiting to see if he brought up the girl in his life.

When he didn’t go on, I nudged him with my foot. “You and…who?”

He grunted and tossed the dish towel on the counter. “All right, I guess you’ll find out about her soon enough since you’ll be in New York starting next month. Her name is Lis.”

“Lis?” I repeated, brows raised. “And where did you meet this Lis?”

“She’s a waitress at a club,” he said with a shrug, and I had to bite my cheek harder to keep from laughing. I knew exactly who “Lis” was and where she worked. I preferred to call her Cali, but I could see how “Lis” was a shortened version of Calista. “I haven’t introduced her to Ryan yet, but Ciana has met her. I was thinking of bringing her out for your graduation, but she’s a bit nervous and I don’t want to overwhelm her with all of our family drama. So, I guess I’ll wait to introduce the two of you when you get to New York, and then when she’s not so skittish, I’ll bring her out to meet Mom and Dad.”