the room. He slipped his hips onto the stool beside me.
“Hell no, I’m not complaining. Just telling Daphne that’s the only reason we’re all not trapped here in the kitchen waiting for what she makes next.”
Flynn cuffed me lightly on the shoulder as he laughed. When he looked over at Daphne, his smile stayed, but the intensity in his eyes shifted. Flynn had fallen so hard for Daphne, it was still a little startling. I wasn’t much for romance, but even I had to admit they seemed perfect for each other. Prim and proper as Daphne could come across, the woman was strong with a streak of sass and could stand up to Flynn’s tendency to be a cranky ass.
“What are you making?” he asked.
“Seasoned rice with sautéed veggies. I’m baking some halibut with a light lemon sauce. It’s all gonna be good.”
My mouth started watering then. Daphne was already dashing to the opposite side of the kitchen to fetch some spices. Flynn stood and crossed over to the pantry. Of course, because he was whipped, he stopped beside her and pressed a lingering kiss on the side of her neck. When he paused in the doorway of the large pantry, he glanced to me again. “Need another one?” He lifted his chin toward the beer in my hand.
“Nah. Just got this one a few minutes ago.”
“I’ll take one,” Diego’s voice came over my shoulder.
Glancing back, I saw him coming into the kitchen through the archway that led into the main guest area of the resort. On his heels were Tucker and Nora. Tucker had also flown with us in the Air Force, and Nora was Flynn’s younger sister. Right behind them came Grant, Flynn’s younger brother, and then last, but definitely not least, came Cat, the youngest of the four siblings. Cat was still in high school and lived here in the family’s private apartment with Flynn and Daphne.
I called over to the pantry. “Might want to grab enough for—” I took a quick head count. “Four more.”
“Me too,” Cat called.
Flynn came out of the pantry with a six-pack from the local brewery in his hand. He cast a quick look at Cat. “Hell no.”
Cat gave him an impish smile. In a minute, the counter was crowded. Everybody except Cat pulled up a stool and sat down. Cat hurried through the door into the family’s apartment. Daphne looked up with a smile. “Oh, I got a full kitchen tonight.”
“You always have a full kitchen,” Nora said solemnly.
Daphne grinned. “Actually, not always when we don’t have guests.”
This was a rare weekend when the resort wasn’t booked. Flynn had wanted to do some work on the roof, so we’d all be doing that this weekend. He hadn’t scheduled any bookings so we didn’t have to stress about guests meandering under ladders while we did the work.
Nora shook her head. “Daphne, this is the first time since you’ve been here that we don’t have any guests. We’d have been nuts not to take advantage of it. For once, we don’t have to be polite and make sure we don’t run out of whatever you’re making. It’s everywoman for herself tonight,” Nora said, casting a daring glance amongst us as she waggled her eyebrows.
Of the Walker siblings, Nora was the only one who didn’t share Flynn’s coloring of dark blond hair and ice blue eyes. She had rich brown hair with eyes to match. She was beautiful, and for probably the one-thousandth time, I thanked God she did nothing for me. On the other hand, Gabriel and her had so much sexual tension between them, they were like two fighting cats most of the time. So far, they’d managed to keep a lid on it.
Cat skipped around the counter to stand beside Daphne after reappearing in the kitchen. “What can I help with?”
“Can you check on the halibut for me? If you don’t mind,” Daphne replied.
“Course I don’t mind,” Cat said. “That’s why I asked.”
Flynn was systematically opening beers and passing them to the rest of the group. “I’m gonna need to start paying you,” he called over to Cat.
“Exactly,” she returned as she opened the oven.
Daphne looked up at Flynn when she set a cover over the large wok pan where the rice was and turned off the burner underneath. “You really should pay her. She helps me a lot.”
When Cat returned, inspecting what Daphne was doing, Flynn added, “We’ll make it official and put you on the payroll. You need to