“Of course.”
“It’s nice to see you again after all this time,” she said, shifting her purse on her shoulder. “I remembered exactly who you were as soon as Trevor mentioned you’d lived with us.”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” I said. “Did Trevor also mention that he didn’t remember me?”
I chuckled as she threw a look over her shoulder at her son.
“Oh, come on,” he groaned, grinning. “I was too old to pay attention to the kids that summer.”
“Your house was the best one I was placed in,” I told Ellie seriously. “Thank you.”
“I’ll second that,” my dad said, joining the fray. “Thanks for taking care of my girl when I couldn’t.”
“You’re very welcome,” Ellie said, obviously sizing my pop up, even though she tried to disguise it. “We loved having a house full of kids, right, Mike?”
Trevor’s dad stepped forward, and I was startled for a moment. I barely remembered him from when I’d lived with them. Even though he’d always made it home for dinner, he’d usually been gone working all day and I hadn’t had much reason to interact with him.
If I had remembered him, the resemblance between him and his adoptive sons wouldn’t have been so freaking startling.
It wasn’t their looks. Clearly. Henry had been all blond and lean, and Trevor was dark and built, while Mike was just an ordinary dark-haired white guy, thickening a little around the middle. It was the way they held themselves that was so uncanny. Their straight backs, the way their heads tilted just so, how they moved and stood, the firm set of their mouths, and the little grins they gave that made their eyes crinkle.
I hadn’t noticed the similarities between Henry and Trevor, but now that I’d seen their dad, it was impossible to miss. The thought made me a little nauseous.
Mike reached out to shake my dad’s hand. “I remember your daughter, too,” he said, shooting me a smile. “She was a sweetheart.”
“Still is,” my dad said, almost boastful. “Come on in, no reason to stand here in the entryway.”
Etta squirmed to be let down, so I set her on her feet. She instantly ran to my dad and grabbed his hand so she could be in the middle of the commotion as the oldies, as Trevor called them, moved more fully into the living room. I had stepped forward to follow them when a light hand on my hip made me freeze.
“Hey, stranger,” Trevor said quietly into my ear.
“Hey.” I glanced over my shoulder at him and felt my cheeks heat at the way he was looking at me. We’d been borderline flirting in our texts and phone conversations, even though I kind of assumed that we both knew nothing could come of it. But having him there, in my dad’s house, magnified whatever it was between us to a level that was nearly impossible to ignore. I was in so much trouble.
“It’s good to see you,” he murmured simply, giving my hip a squeeze.
Then we were following the parents into the room and finding seats. It all happened in less than five seconds, but I could’ve sworn his mom was looking at us strangely from the moment we sat down.
“Can I get anyone drinks?” I asked, trying to play hostess, even though I could still feel the press of Trevor’s hand on my hip.
“Me Henwyetta,” Etta interrupted, climbing off my dad’s lap. He’d tried to contain her but clearly hadn’t succeeded. I tried hard not to laugh. “Me two.”
“You’re two?” Ellie asked, leaning forward in her seat so that she was closer to Etta’s height. “Wow.”
“Me wearin’ bwue pannies.” Etta started pulling on her romper to show them the blue panties she was talking about.
“Etta,” I scolded, trying and failing to hide my embarrassment. “Remember what we talked about?”
She looked at me blankly.
“We don’t show people our panties,” I whispered.
“What, Mama?”
“We don’t show people our panties,” I whispered again, wishing the floor would open up and swallow us both.
“What, Mama?” Etta asked again, making Trevor start to chuckle.
“We don’t show people our panties,” I finally said at a normal level.
“Oh,” Etta replied, completely unfazed.
The room went silent for a moment.
“Good advice,” Mike finally said, nodding.
My dad started to guffaw, and I slapped a hand over my face in mortification.
“Mine are white,” Ellie said, glancing at me with an understanding smile before looking back to Etta. “Boring.” It was almost the exact same thing Trevor had said on the day we’d met him.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Mike murmured about Ellie’s underwear, making my dad laugh even harder.
“Oh, come on,” Trevor grumbled.
Then we were all laughing, and the ice had been broken.
* * *
“Trevor said you’re searching for a job?” Ellie asked later that day while she helped me make lunch. They’d been at our house for a few hours already and didn’t show any signs of leaving. I was strangely okay with it. Ellie doted on Etta, which hadn’t surprised me. It was Mike who I’d watched curiously all morning. He seemed enthralled with my little drama queen, even though he was less obvious about it than his wife.