Always On My Mind (The Sullivans #8)(72)

Funny, right then it looked as though his parents and her mother and then Grayson, too, were all sharing a secret look. Suddenly, her mother turned to Lori and said, “Did you hear about the great surprise your sister put together for the girls? She brought in several hairdressers and makeup artists to fix all of us up before the big family pictures are taken. They’re all set up and waiting for us in your new dance studio.”

“That sounds fun,” Lori said, even though she couldn’t figure out why her twin would have any interest at all in something like that, considering Sophie wore almost no makeup and rarely needed to do anything to her long, glossy hair to make it look great. “Can you let her know I’ll head over later? First I’d like to give Grayson’s parents a tour of the—”

Grayson cut off her sentence in his favorite way: with a kiss. Sometimes she would run off at the mouth even when she had nothing whatsoever to say, just to score more kisses.

“Go with your mother,” he told her. “I’ll show my parents around.”

She had thought he’d want her there with his parents as a buffer, just in case things got awkward again, but now she realized he probably wanted some alone time with them. “Okay.” Only, when she went to walk away, he didn’t let go of her hand.

She looked down at their entwined hands and was about to make a funny comment about his needing to let go of her when she looked up into his face.

The sheer depth of the love in his eyes had her forgetting everything except her own love for him. Her mother’s arm around her waist was the only reason she could have walked away from him just then.

“You really did find a wonderful man, honey,” Mary said as they headed off toward the studio Grayson had built for her. “It’s hard to believe he hasn’t always been a part of the family, isn’t it?”

Over the past three months, Lori had watched a truly special bond develop between her fiancé and her mother. She figured part of it was that they had both lost a spouse and understood each other’s pain in a way that other people never would. But just as her mother had said, their relationship went deeper than that. Grayson was already family—a total guy with her brothers, the sweetest uncle-to-be ever to the babies and Summer, and always there to help out a Sullivan in need.

“I can hardly wait to marry him,” she told her mother. “If I could, I’d do it today.”

A few moments later, the two of them stepped in through the door of the studio. Several of the best hair and makeup artists that her brother Chase had worked with over the years were already working their magic on Sophie, Nicola, Chloe, Megan and her eight-year-old daughter Summer, Heather, Vicki, and Valentina. Growing up, Lori had always longed for more than one sister, and every day she gave thanks for the amazing women her brothers had found.

Summer clapped her hands and said, “Lori’s here!” Megan’s eyes got big for a moment before she leaned over to whisper something to Summer that had her daughter smiling and zipping her fingers across her lips.

“Your farm is amazing,” Nicola said as she handed Lori a glass of champagne and led her over to an empty chair. “What a great place for a family reunion.”

Lori knew how much Marcus’s pop-star fiancée loved his vineyard in Napa, and that her brother loved touring the world with Nicola just as much. “Just wait until you get out there with the pigs,” Lori teased her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “You’re going to love the one I named Marcus. He keeps all the other pigs in the pen safe and sound.”

She’d taken pictures of each of the pigs and given them as gifts to their namesakes in special frames, knowing her siblings would love it. Her brothers and sister hadn’t let her down—each of the pictures were now displayed on their mantels along with their other family pictures.

There were few things Lori loved more than being surrounded by her friends and family. This family reunion had already made the short list of the best days of her life. Meeting Grayson was, of course, at the very top.

As the makeup artist and hairdresser both got to work on her, Lori sipped her champagne and listened in on the half-dozen conversations going on around her—about dogs and kids and car races and new sculptures and movie sets. Clearly, she thought as she took in the extra-big smiles and happy voices, everyone was having just as much fun at the reunion as she was. And the farm had been the perfect place to host it.

“Wow,” Summer said as she came over a short while later when her hair and makeup were done, “you look so beautiful, Aunt Lori.”

Lori smiled at one of her favorite kids in the whole wide world. “You do, too. I love your crown of wildflowers. It’s so pretty.”

Summer was holding something behind her back and gave Megan a quick glance. When her mother nodded, she held it out to Lori. “I made you one, too.”

Lori was beyond touched. “You’re the best! Can you put it on me?” She bent her head down so that Summer could reach the top of it.

When Lori turned to face the mirror again, she barely noticed how glossy her hair was, or the way her features had been perfectly played up with mascara and blush. All she knew was that with the wildflowers in her hair, she’d never felt prettier.

The room grew quiet and she noticed all of the women looking at each other in a particularly serious way. And her mother was gone. When had she left the studio?