Last on the List (Wait With Me #5)(16)

I can’t help but smile at Josh’s words. He has changed so much from who he was just a few years ago. He used to be a cold, secretive, moody asshole with baggage he refused to unpack from his days as a pediatric oncologist on the East Coast. He moved back to Boulder, and I’d have to beg him to go out with me when he wasn’t working at the ER, and even then, he was barely present. Meeting Lynsey and becoming a father has really transformed him. It brought back the guy I grew up with. I’m really happy for him.

“This is the first time in years I’ve had this much quality time with Everly. I must admit, it’s pretty amazing,” I reply, standing up to look out the window. Everly and Cassandra are currently having a picnic breakfast on a blanket outside. They’ve rolled over one of the pool umbrellas for shade and have all of Everly’s old stuffed animals I thought she was done playing with surrounding them. The entire scene looks fucking heavenly.

When my eyes wander from my kid to Cassandra, I quickly clear my throat and look away. “Did you call for a reason or just to bust my balls about working from home?”

“I did call for a reason,” Josh says with a laugh. “We’re watching Lynsey’s nieces tomorrow night, and Lynsey was wondering if we could do a barbecue at your house and let the girls swim with Everly.”

My eyes widen in surprise. Lynsey has mentioned to me before that her nieces are near Everly’s age, and we should get them together to play sometime. I just brushed her off because I usually like to keep it just me and her on my weekends with Everly. But I guess now that I don’t have to share her with Jess all summer, I could probably branch out. Let her play with some friends.

“That sounds awesome. I’m sure Everly will love it.”

“Really?” Josh sounds shocked. “Shit, that was easier than I thought.”

“Well, I haven’t seen Julianna in a while, so it’ll be nice to catch up. I’ll have my chef do all the food, so we can all relax and enjoy ourselves.”

“Sweet…umm…okay if we bring some extra people with us?”

I huff knowingly. “The regular crew?”

Josh tsks through the line. “Yeah, Lynsey and Kate are joined at the hip. And you know Kate…she likes to invite everybody.”

I nod. Kate Smith, aka Mercedes Lee Loveletter, is a force of fucking nature in Boulder. She’s the self-proclaimed resident smut writer at Tire Depot. She’s as loud as she is successful in the world of romance novels, and whatever Kate wants, Kate gets.

I met her through my stockbroker, Dean Moser, who I’m sure will be coming tomorrow as well. His fiancée, Norah, is one of my biggest clients at Fletcher Industries. She specializes in a donut, croissant combo, and since franchising her bakery last year, her business has blown up. We’re up to twenty-eight Rise and Shine Bakeries now, with one in Canada on the horizon. It will be good to see them again. I have some business to discuss with Norah anyway, so I can kill two birds with one stone there.

I also assume Miles’s best friend, Sam, will be coming with his wife, Maggie, who happens to be Miles’s sister. Honestly, Boulder is what I call a big, small town. Everyone is connected to everyone. It’s a step away from being an incestuous freak show.

Luckily, I’ve spent a fair amount of time with this whole crew, so I get along with everyone. I even hosted Kate and Miles’s joint bachelor and bachelorette party at my house in Aspen. How Kate got me to give up my home for her and all her friends is still a mystery to me. But they’re a fun bunch, so even though I act put out, I look forward to seeing them all. Kate and Miles have a baby now, and I must see that in action. Smut writer and mechanic turned parents…I’m sure it’s an amazing sight.

“I look forward to seeing everyone,” I state honestly.

“Amazing. Text me if you need us to bring anything. Should we say six o’clock tomorrow? After work?”

“Sounds perfect.”

We hang up, and I nearly jump out of my skin when I see Everly standing in my bedroom staring at me. “Daddy?”

“Yes?” I notice Cassandra standing at the door with a sheepish look in her eyes.

“We have an idea,” Everly chirps.

The hair on the back of my neck prickles. “What is it?”

“Well…Cozy and I were daydreaming, and she told me to daydream what I wanted to do today, and she would do everything in her power to make it happen.”

“Did she now?” I level narrow eyes on Cassandra, who looks a bit too guilty for my liking.

“So…I used my imagination and decided we should all go white water rafting.”

My head jolts forward. “Your imagination told you that white water rafting was a good idea?”

Everly nods enthusiastically. “You, me, and Cozy.”

“She doesn’t know how to swim.” I point accusingly at Cassandra, whose face falls.

“Hey!” she barks back inelegantly and walks into my room. “I can swim a little. And I’m sure they have life jackets. You just have to bounce off the rocks like a pinball until you can make it to shore. Plus, I don’t think it’s drowning they worry about…more so the head traumas from hitting rocks.”

I gape at Cassandra. “Are you sure you’re not concussed from Monday?”

Her jaw drops, but I turn back to my daughter. “We are not white water rafting. Besides, I have to work. This is me working.” I gesture to my desk to punctuate my point.