"Yes, I’m sure. I don’t want to be here at the meeting, so let me help with something since it sounds like more fun."
"Okay then," Brett says. "Parker, would you mind if Journey takes you to sell cookies at the bake sale tomorrow night?"
Journey spins around and leans down, pressing her hands into her knees. I don’t know what expression she’s sporting, but Parker covers her mouth and laughs. "Yeah, sounds fun," Parker says.
"Maybe I’ll even come over and help with the cookies tonight," Journey says.
"You should definitely come help. We have to make so many," Parker holds her arms out to the sides to show much she means.
"It’s a date.” Journey winks at me. Why do I have a weird feeling about this offer?
Brett knows Journey well enough to know something is up, but whatever it is wouldn’t be malicious, so I’m sure, like me, he’s assuming we’ll figure out what she’s up to at some point.
"Where are you two lovebirds going tonight, anyway?" Journey asks, turning back toward us.
Brett appears slightly uncomfortable as his cheeks brighten to a light shade of pink. "To a restaurant down the street," he says.
"Oh, which restaurant?" Journey continues.
"Stop," I tell her. "Mind your own business." I can only assume the color of my cheeks matches the color of Brett’s now.
Brett left the shop a few minutes after I did and told me he’d give me some time to get ready for dinner. I smell like bourbon when I walk out of the shop each day—not that it’s a bad smell, but I would rather not have people wondering if I’ve been drinking all day.
He gave me a good forty-five-minute leeway before ringing the doorbell. Mom was eager to open the door and gets there before me. "I am so excited for our baking party," Mom tells Parker, taking her hand, pulling her into the house.
Brett’s still standing at the door with a shy smile anda bouquet of lilies in his hand. "These are for you," he says, handing them over as he steps inside.
"You didn’t have to get me flowers.” I smile and press the petals up to my nose. “I love the smell of lilies.”
“I wanted to. Plus, Parker was insistent on the lilies after sample sniffing every flower in the store."
"Well, thank you. She has good taste," I tell him. "I’ll put these in water so we can go."
"Oh my, those flowers are beautiful," Mom says as I walk into the kitchen, feeling as though I’m on display, especially with Journey grinning from the kitchen table.
"Aren’t they?" I tell her. "Well, unless you need anything before I go—"
"Go, go," Mom says.
"Parker, be good," Brett warns her as usual, walking in behind me. He leans down and places a kiss on her head. "If you get tired, you can take a rest on the couch, okay?"
"I won’t get tired," she says.
"We won’t be out too late," Brett tells Mom.
"Take your time. We have lots of batches of cookies to make and only one oven."
"Brett, Melody, be good, kids," Journey says, waggling her eyebrows at us.
I grit my jaw and snarl at her while we walk out of the kitchen. "Older siblings never give up the game," he says.
"Your brother does the same?" I ask while slipping on my coat.
"Every damn day," he says. "I wasn’t planning to tell him about tonight, but Parker told him, so now I’m sure I’ll be getting stupid text messages from him all night."
"He and Journey would have a blast together," I say, thinking about how badly they would go over.
"They’d probably end up in jail, but yeah."
