“Doesn’t Dad look like a movie star, Grandma?” Everly looks back at me with her hands still wrapped around my mom, and I run my hand over my tuxedo, adjusting the bow tie that I still need to do up.
“He sure does,” Mom responds dramatically. “He looks like James Bond.”
“Who’s that?” Everly’s nose scrunches up, but she doesn’t wait for my mom to answer before looking inside. “Where’s Hershey?”
“He’s in the backyard,” Mom answers, referring to their small shitzu. “Why don’t you go find him while I talk to your daddy.”
“Bye, Daddy, love you!” Everly exclaims, barely even waving to me as she takes off in search of the family dog.
“Damn, that stings.” I press my fist to my chest in mock pain.
Mom waves her hand. “A kid crying and clinging to your leg when you try to leave is what stings. That right there is called a content kid.”
I smile proudly, and my focus shifts over as my dad joins my mom in the doorway. He looks me up and down. “Snazzy tux. What’s the occasion this time?”
“The annual Rainbow Project Gala.”
Mom frowns. “You’re going to that even with Jessica out of the country?”
I sigh and shake my head. My parents took the news about Jessica pretty well. They’re not closed-minded people. But they seem to struggle a bit with our modern co-parenting and how we still intermingle in each other’s lives.
“I’m on the board of the charity with or without Jessica, Mom.”
She smiles and nods her head. “Are you taking a date?”
“Yeah, just a friend,” I reply casually.
My mom gets a sad look in her eyes. This is a constant battle with her and my brothers. She wants us all married and settled down. I don’t get the pressure quite as hard because I at least gave her a grandchild, but my brothers aren’t pulling their weight by filling up my mother’s home with screaming babies like she dreams.
I would love to sit back and watch the three of them fall in love and start families. They collectively seem determined to be single, tattooed, bearded mountain men who are the cause of a flannel shortage in the United States and whose preferred form of communication comes in the form of grunts. They have no idea how quickly a woman can flip their world upside down.
I sure as hell didn’t.
“Everything going okay with that merger you have coming up?” Dad asks, his brow furrowed as he braces himself on the doorframe.
“So far, yes. Won’t be long now before we sign on the dotted line.”
“You’re going to have to move office buildings, right?” He’s giving me that judgmental dad voice. The voice that says, “I don’t care how much money you make every year, I’m still your father and I know better.”
“Eventually, yes. The Denver staff will stay there until Jenson and I find a location that will fit everyone. I have a couple of properties we’re going to look at together.”
“Your staff size will double?”
I nod.
“Better you than me, kid,” he scoffs. “I have a hard enough time getting your brothers to show up for work.”
I grimace at that. “It’s never easy working with family.”
“You can say that again.”
“Enough shop talk.” My mom waves her hands. “Max needs to go, and I need to go spoil my only grandchild!”
“No soda before bed, Mom,” I assert. “She sleeps like crap when she has soda at night, and then I’m paying for it the next day.”
She rolls her eyes and waves goodbye as I turn to leave.
“Hey, Max?” Dad calls out.
“Yeah?” I answer, turning back toward him.
“You sure you want all that?”
“All what?”
He sighs heavily. “The new company, the added responsibility. All the changes.”
My brow furrows. “Of course, Dad. Why are you asking?”
He blinks seriously at me. “Because you look happy right now, and I’d hate for the stress of this expansion to take that away from you.”
I grip the back of my neck and shrug. “Well, I’m probably happy because I’ve had Everly home with me all summer. It’s been nice seeing her more often. All that will change once Jess gets back, though.”
“I know.” Dad shoots me a wobbly smile. “I just want you to really think about this before you commit your life to it. Everly is growing up so fast, and I can tell you from experience if I could go back and flip less houses to be around more for you boys growing up…I would. I don’t live with many regrets…but I do live with that.”