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“Smart girl,” Jannie said.“I should’ve done what you’re doing. I’m a gynecologist, and I look at vaginas all day long.”
Ian snorted right in the middle of taking a sip of iced tea. He started coughing, and Adam slapped his back, a little too aggressively, Eve thought.
“Jannie!” Mrs. Larssen admonished, albeit with smiling eyes.
“That’s my girl,” Mr. Larssen said, grinning big.
“Jeez, Freak, we’re eating!” Ian grumbled.
“What? It’s true! I wish I could just deliver babies. That’s what I love and why I went into it in the first place.” A soft smile curved her lips, and her blue eyes glowed.
Eve thought it must be wonderful to love your profession. She hoped it was in the cards for her too.“How long did it take you?”
“Twelve years.”
Eve’s brow furrowed a bit. The math didn’t add up.“Adam is the oldest, right?”
“He is. Our Jannie finished high school and started college early.” Mr. Larssen gazed at her with pride, then looked to his oldest son.“How is the modern Concorde going?”
“It’s finally starting to go well. They think they figured out the problem with the engine. New round of testing is scheduled for a week from Monday.”
“Good to hear. Got kind of hairy for a while there, right?”
Mrs. Larssen beamed.“I am so proud of you.”
Adam seemed slightly embarrassed by her enthusiasm, but Eve could tell he was also basking in the praise.
Jannie sipped her Pellegrino.“When are we going to be able to fly in this rocket plane of yours? Will it be hot inside, like it was in the Concorde?”
“If everything goes according to plan, next year, and, no, this isn’t 1975. We’ve got the AC handled.”
“Good! I’d rather fly eleven hours in comfort than roast for three.”
“You live in Florida. I thought roasting was a state pastime,” Ian said dryly.
“Very funny. I guess it wasn’t you calling last year, asking if you could come down and visit because you had two feet of the white stuff on the ground in Fargo. Yeah, summers are hell here, but our weather is great when everybody else is buried under snow. More than makes up for it. Plus, air conditioning is your friend.”
They started talking all at once again, making Eve smile. She sipped her iced tea, looking toward the back of the patio. A tall, slimblond man paused in the doorway and surveyed the enclosure, a bulky, square black bag slung over his shoulder. By his looks, it was apparent: he had to be a Larssen.
She elbowed Adam and motioned with her chin.
He followed her gaze.“Well, I’ll be damned. It’s Erik.”
The men’s gazes connected, and Erik’s face instantly lit up in a mischievous half-smile, revealing a dimple on his left cheek.
Good Lord,this one has dimples.
Adam grinned back.“I think I know that guy.”
“The runt!” Ian exclaimed.
Everyone turned, and for a moment, there was stunned silence.
Then Erik started toward their table.
“Oh my God,” Mrs. Larssen said softly, her voice trembling a little. She pushed back her chair with a loud scrape, then rushed to her youngest, stopping him in his tracks and wrapping her arms tightly around him, rocking side to side.
She hugged him for so long that he looked to the others, sapphire eyes pleading.