That’s when I knew it was time for my plan: Parent Trap my dad and the nanny.
It’s a little after six when I walk into the house and hear music playing in the distance. I frown when I come into the kitchen and see two plates with silver domes on top of them. Michael usually leaves the food in the oven, and I plate it myself, so I wonder what the deal is? Movement draws my eyes to the windows, where I see my three brothers huddling around a table set up by the pool.
“Good evening, Father,” Everly purrs dramatically as she stands before me with her hair done up in bubble braids and one of her fanciest dresses on. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Does the surprise have something to do with your uncles?” I ask, looking outside and frowning when I see Wyatt walking down toward the creek.
“No questions, just please come with me.” Everly offers me her arm in a formal pose, and I laugh as I hunch over to wrap mine around hers. She leads me out to the pool deck, where Calder and Luke appear to be sniping at each other over the placement of the table.
Everly pulls a chair out for me to sit, and I do, smiling broadly at the colorful table setting in front of me. She’s even picked some flowers and put them in a vase. “This is beautiful, Everly. Are you and I having a daddy-daughter date night?”
“Not exactly,” Calder murmurs under his breath, and I turn to follow his eyes tracking something behind me.
My heart rate spikes when I see Wyatt escorting Cassandra up toward us. She’s stunning in a black floral sundress that flows elegantly over her curves. Her cropped dark hair shines in the setting sun with a white flower clipping back the curls on one side.
Fuck.
“What’s going on?” Cassandra asks, glancing nervously at me. “I thought I was having dinner with Everly. That’s what the invitation said.”
“You are having a dinner experience, courtesy of Everly,” Everly chimes in, pulling the chair out across from me as Cassandra lowers into it.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” I state firmly, looking at my brother Wyatt whose typical silence infuriates me more than usual at this moment.
Everly stands between us, the rotating colors of the pool water as her backdrop. She crosses her hands in front of her as my three brothers line up behind her, striking a similar pose.
“Everly, your bubble braids look so good,” Cassandra exclaims, her eyes full of pride. “You finally figured them out.”
Everly touches them softly and gets an awkward look on her face. “I didn’t do my hair. Calder did.”
All eyes shoot to my brother in complete astonishment. He shrugs dismissively. “What, like it’s hard?”
I laugh and shake my head, refocusing on the spectacle in front of us. “Everly, can you please tell us what this dinner experience is exactly?”
She clears her throat and smiles. “I could never parent trap my mom and dad because…well, they both like women. But Cozy, I know you like men. You told me so, and plus, I see those naked men on your book covers. And you make these funny noises when you read them, which sounds like you really like them!”
“I do not make funny noises,” Cassandra sputters, her eyes wide and panicked on me as she splays her hands out on the table. “And they’re not naked! They’re…shirtless. But that’s because some of them are athletes. Athletes get hot when they…athlete.”
“Did she just use athlete as a verb?” Luke whispers under his breath.
Cassandra’s gaze snaps to my brothers, her mouth opening and closing as she struggles with what to say next.
“Anyway,” Everly continues, refocusing our attention as she moves to the side so Wyatt can pour the wine. Luke turns on his heel and jogs up the deck and into the house. “I want you two to take this evening of romance and think about all the reasons you should be in love with each other. Because I think you two make each other really happy, and I like seeing you both happy. Because I love you both.”
Cassandra inhales sharply, and her eyes turn glassy as she looks at Everly with a soft, tender expression. “I love you too, Everly.”
My chest aches at her words said so easily to my kid. Words she couldn’t seem to find for me when I confessed my feelings only a couple of weeks ago. And the crushing disappointment my daughter will feel when she realizes this night was all for nothing because Cassandra doesn’t care for me that way is something I’ll have to deal with long after she’s gone.
That realization brings that anger I’ve been harboring inside my body back to the forefront.