Page 30 of The Best Friend Power Play

"Yeah, yeah."

"Culver, I'm serious."

"I am, too. Don't worry. I took my time and moved slowly, like I was one of those four old women on that TV show."

"You mean Sex and the City?"

"No. They were much older."

She flinches. "The horrendously awful Sex and the City reboot?"

"No." I chuckle at how bad she is at guessing what I mean. It usually doesn't take us this long. "One of them was tiny and had gray hair. Would always say stuff like, 'Picture it, Sicily 1947…'"

"Ohhh…I know the one you mean. Grandma loved that show. What's it called? Oh, I've got it. The Golden Girls."

"Yeah. That's the one."

"You watched that?"

"Of course. With Nonna. Where do you think she got the inspiration for the REDs?"

Hannah thinks about it for a second then starts bobbing her head. "I see it now. Makes total sense." She pauses. "Who do you think is most like Blanche?"

"We are not talking about this."

Hannah smiles. "Well, let me at least thank you for everything you've done today. The place looks great."

I shrug. "It's no big deal."

She brushes my arm as she walks past me. "You're going to make a great house husband someday."

A slight twinge pulls in my chest, but I ignore it.

I'm not sure I want to be a full-on house husband, but I do want to be a husband and a father who's actively involved in the running of the house.

Like Hannah pointed out, I'm a housework-loving freak. Especially when it comes to laundry. I could do laundry all day.

I get it from Pa.

He's the toughest, burliest man I know. A twice-serving veteran and a hard-working firefighter. But if you've got a stubborn stain that won't come out or need help with discolored whites, he's your man.

Ma and Pa are my biggest inspiration in life.

They raised five boys together. A team effort. Pa got in there and did the dirty work. Or tried to, at least. One of my favorite photos is of me and Trevor as toddlers. Pa was looking after us and had changed us. Since he couldn't figure out how to make the diaper stay on—he hadn't discovered the sticky tabs yet—he improvised by fastening bright-green packing tape around our waists. It's a hilarious picture.

I return to the kitchen to check on the sauce. Tonight I'm channeling my Italian heritage and making chicken alfredo with fettuccine. "If there's anything else that needs to be done, just let me know," I say over my shoulder.

Hannah zooms up next to me. "Anything?"

"Uh, yeah."

She taps her chin a couple of times. "In that case, you should be wearing an apron."

I frown. "Why?"

"Because guys look hot in aprons," she says with a shrug. "It's a thing. Plus, it ties in nicely with the whole gender-swapped-retro vibe we've got going, don't you think?"

"How about this?" I turn to face her and wave the wooden spoon in the air between us. "I'll put an apron on when you give me the hot girl summer master list Katie made last night."

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