Also, a side benefit of texting Max all day is that I don’t have to have a face-to-face recap with him when he gets home at night. My lusting over him hasn’t improved, even after his grumpy, prying questions at the firepit. In fact, I think I like the pushy side of Max Fletcher. More than I should.
Finally, it’s Friday, and Everly and I are seated by the creek with our feet in the sand and our nose in our books. It’s heavenly. I can’t believe I’m getting paid to hang out with a cool kid all summer. This couldn’t be more perfect. I glance at the time on my phone.
“Hey…it’s almost time for your daily call with your mom. Do you want to head inside?” I ask, waving my Kindle over my face to fight off the heat as the sun peeks through the trees and shines directly on me.
Everly holds a finger up as she finishes her page. Finally, she smiles and closes her book, looking like such a grown-up. “What did you say?”
“It’s almost time to call your mom.”
“Okay,” she says with a yawn and a stretch.
“Are you missing her a lot?” I inquire, feeling a bit nosy because I have yet to actually see Everly’s mom. Everly always FaceTimes her on her iPad in her room, and it seems intrusive for me to be around while they visit.
“Yeah, but it’s been nice spending time with my dad.” Everly rests her head on the back of the chair and sighs. “He seems less lonely with me here.”
I smile at that thoughtful remark. “What about your mom? I’m sure she’s lonely in Bulgaria, isn’t she?”
Everly shakes her head. “Her wife, Kailey, is out there with her. They do photography together.”
My brows lift curiously. I didn’t think Max was lying to me this past weekend about his two truths and a lie, but hearing Everly confirm the fact that her mom is with a woman is still not something I expected. “Have your mom and Kailey been married a long time?”
Everly rubs her eye and nods. “Since I was little. I was their flower girl, but I don’t remember it. I’ve only seen pictures.”
“That’s fun.” I chew my lip thoughtfully. “And your dad? Did he ever get married again?”
Everly’s lips smush together. “I wish. Then I wouldn’t worry about how lonely he is.”
“What makes you think he’s lonely?” I ask, watching her intently.
“Because when he picks me up on his weekends, he talks nonstop in the car all the way to his house.” She slaps her hands on the Adirondack chair with a little squeak. “Guess what happened at work? Who did you talk to at school? I had Michael make us fish sticks. Guess what Grandpa did? It’s too much.”
My shoulders shake with silent laughter at Everly’s exasperated body language. “I can’t picture this.”
“It’s like his brain has had no one to talk to all week, so as soon as I get in the car, he blurts out everything he’s thought of since the last time I saw him.”
“That sounds sweet.” My lips turn down as I picture Max sitting in this giant house all by himself just waiting for his time with his kid. It’s heartbreaking.
“It’s not bad, but I’d still like to find him a girlfriend this summer. I’ve never seen him with one.”
“Really?” I find this hard to believe.
“Yep.” Everly nods. “It makes me sad. And after spending so much time with him this summer, it will be really hard on him when Mom comes home, and I go back to her house. That’s why he needs a girlfriend.”
The thought of Max with another woman makes the hairs on the back of my neck tingle. It’s not something I would care to see, so hopefully, if Everly finds someone for him （I wouldn’t put it past her）， it’s after I’m done working here. I shudder to think about him texting me to watch Everly in the evenings so he can go out on dates with a supermodel-looking female who gapes at me like I’m a zoo animal.
I clear my throat and coyly ask, “What kind of girl do you think your dad would like?” Hopefully, Everly isn’t as perceptive with me as she is with her father. I’m about as subtle as a freight train right now.
Everly smiles, a conspiratorial glint in her eye that I’m not sure I like the look of. “Someone smart, funny, kind, and sassy. And who can cook for him, so Michael doesn’t have to be here every night.”
Welp…I’m out of the running.
I’ve been surviving on lunch meat wraps and ramen in my tiny house for the past two weeks. Max offered food from his chef, but I stupidly told him no, thank you. I’m pretty sure I was staring at his ass when he said it, so I didn’t exactly have all my faculties in working order.