Page 119 of Turnabout Is Fair Cosplay
“I get to drive your Porsche to the dealer when we go to make another set of keys.”
“The Porsche you told me not to buy and did your best to make sure I never drove to the office?”
“Okay, yes. But only because it is an impractical car, and you can’t fit anything in that glove box of a trunk except a pair of sneakers. It does telegraph a devil-may-care attitude, which, if you are already suffering from unwanted attention by being the boss’s daughter, doesn’t help matters, and it is the coolest car. They’re hard to find in the prime condition that yours is in. What if it got keyed in the parking lot or dinged on the road?”
“I’m sorry I was rude after your birthday. I didn’t have to storm out or block your texts.”
“You needed some space. I see it now. I also see how overbearing and blind I was.” He tugs on my ponytail, just like old times. “Am I still blocked?”
I check my phone. “No.” I toss Dad my car keys. “Now tell me what you know.”
Dad grins. “Adam is bringing Sarah to Thanksgiving dinner.”
“No way.” I beam.
“And Eaton and I have already met her.”
“How?”
“Adam mentioned she just got a promotion at Fit Gym 24 in PB. Julie, who knows everything when it comes to the under-twenty-four-month population, heard about her kids club, and we may have signed up for memberships and showed up on a Saturday just to meet her.”
I laugh. “That’s diabolical.”
“She’s amazing. Passionate, talented, kind, driven, and focused.”
“Plus, she’s a knockout.” I saw a picture Adam posted of the two of them at Homecoming.
“She’s perfect for Adam. And she’s great with kids. Eaton loves her.”
“A very good sign,” I say.
“Oh, we’re past signs. This is endgame.”
“You don’t get to call endgame for other people.”
“Well, if I could, I would.”
I grab my sun hat. I changed into a sundress when we got back. “And if you had it your way, Adam would be neck-deep in legal briefs and would have never met Sarah.”
“And you would have never met Mike?”
I give Dad a look as I’m locking up the house.
“What? You think I don’t know? I’m married to Molly McKinney. I’m her accomplice in everything. So is he coming to Thanksgiving dinner too? And before you roll your eyes, let me remind you that I raised your older sisters. I can talk about boys, and I have the receipts to prove it.”
“No, Dad. You don’t understand. There’s nothing there. He’s a flirt and a handsome face. That’s all.”
I hold open my back gate, but Dad smiles. “I’ll take the stairs. I want to see the view.”
“So let me get this straight,” Dad says.
We stopped for lunch, and he’s tucking into blackberry pancakes with glitter.
“Someone kissed him after he spent all night flirting with her to make you jealous. Then he chased you on a motorcycle so he could apologize. Then you got sick and overheard him talking with Adam about how you’re beautiful but difficult. Then he texts Adam when he doesn’t see hide nor hair of you, asking if everything is okay. Adam texts Mom, who shows up to rescue you and flags him down to carry you to your bed after you fell asleep in her car. Then he gets you flowers and tickets to his show, where he apologizes again and says he wants to be friends. And he has been a friend, but none of this matters now because why?”
“Because he’s not real. It was all his grandmother. All the time. They’re her books. Her insights. Her everything.”
“You’re in love with his dead grandma?”
