Those twenty-four hours were gone in seconds. Suddenly I was watching Caroline walk down the aisle of our tiny church on my father’s arm in her simple but elegant sheath dress. Daddy’s eyes were on her, shining with pride, joy, and tears. Her eyes brimmed with similar emotions, but they were on Preston.
For the first time in my life, I actually had pangs of jealousy for a bride. A picture popped into my head of what I’d want for my own wedding. Every detail was startlingly real, right down to my bouquet—peonies and roses, of course. But the moment Parker’s face appeared on the groom side at the end of my aisle, I put a stop to the craziness going on in my head. I refocused my attention on my sister and was very careful not to look at Preston’s best man, who just happened to be his brother.
It wasn’t until the reception that I allowed the reality of my sister’s marriage to set in. Until then, I’d put all my focus on helping her prepare for the wedding, ignoring the aching that had crept into my heart every time she chose to spend time with Preston instead of me. Ever since she’d announced her engagement, I’d been as thrilled about it as she was. I even faked excitement when she announced they’d be moving to San Francisco after the wedding. But now I couldn’t ignore the fact she wouldn’t be living at home with Daddy and me anymore. She wouldn’t even be living in the same city.
It hit me hard, as I stood in front of the dessert table, that we’d never live together again, sharing midnight snacks and trading dating disaster stories while Netflix-binging on Gilmore Girls. My vision blurred, and all I could do was stare at the desserts in front of me. Why the tiered trays of petit fours would trigger the tears that followed, I don’t know, but suddenly they were there, and so was Parker.
“Are you having a hard time choosing, or is it something else?” he asked and handed me a napkin. “Because you can take one of each, you know. That’s what I’m doing.” He loaded his plate with three different desserts and then filled the empty plate I was holding.
I tried to laugh, but it came out in more tears. “It’s not the dessert.” I set my plate down on the table so I could wipe my nose. “I’m losing my sister.”
Parker set his plate down next to mine as if in solidarity to my pain, but a smile tugged at his lips. “Did you think Caroline and Preston were just going to have a wedding and not do the marriage part?”
“You’re laughing at me.” I blew my nose to cover my own laugh, because he was right. I hadn’t thought past the party part of my sister’s wedding.
He quit fighting his grin, but it was just serious enough to be sympathetic. “Come on,” he said and grabbed my hand, leading me to the dance floor. I didn’t resist. When we stepped onto the parquet floor, he took my left hand in his right and wrapped his other arm around my waist, moving me in time to the slow drum beat of “At Last.”
“I wasn’t laughing at you,” he said, holding my hand against his chest and gazing down at me in a way that made me feel more grown-up than I’d felt since he walked through my shop door. His heart pulsed as steadily as the beat in the song.
“You still are,” I answered, but my tears were gone. “I can see it in your eyes.”
His smile grew. “What happened to the happy matchmaker?”
“I’m still happy I got them together.” Daddy was much better than Parker in the sympathy department. He never had a problem letting me feel sorry for myself. “I’m just going to miss her when they move.”
“San Francisco is a short flight away. You’ll have somewhere to visit.” He moved his hand to the middle of my back then back down again, sending a sensation down my spine that made me want to bury my head in his shoulder and stay there forever. Instead, I put a few inches of distance between us.
“Daddy won’t go, and I can’t leave him.” That’s all I had to say for Parker to understand. Caroline was the only other person who knew how little Daddy left the house anymore, but being in Parker’s arms felt safe.
“He’s that bad?” Parker’s smile faded.
I nodded, and he pulled me close enough for me to lay my head on his chest. Parker had known Daddy before I was born, and he had more memories of my mother than I had. He’d seen what the car accident that killed her had done to Daddy. In a way, he knew my father better than I did.
“I can help,” he said into my hair. “I’ll stay with him whenever you want to visit Caroline.”
“Really?” I pulled back to look at him.
“Of course. And she’ll visit too.”
I closed my eyes and rested my cheek on the space between his shoulder and heart, feeling its steady rhythm. Parker was home. Things would be okay.
“I feel better already,” I whispered, and he patted my back like any big brother would. He’d never be able to replace my sister, but he was the one other person who understood me the way Caroline and Daddy did.
That fact, however, didn’t keep me from avoiding him for the next month after we’d said goodbye to Caroline and Preston. Most of my reasons for dodging him stemmed from Daddy’s insistence that I needed Parker’s “business expertise.” I thought Daddy would forget about it—or that, at least, I could put him off until I quit thinking about Parker holding me while we danced.
I should have known better. Daddy kept asking if Parker had been by the shop yet, and I kept finding myself humming “At Last.” Even when I directed all my energy into training Hailey and going to my Om-powerment yoga classes, I couldn’t get that song out of my head. On top of that, I really missed my sister. So when he texted on a day I was especially homesick for her and asked if I wanted to go to lunch, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I needed a hug as much as I needed food.
Parker hadn’t bought a car since moving back to the U.S., so I picked him up. We drove to our favorite taco place, and as soon as we got out of the car, I told him, “I need a hug.”
He pulled me into his arms right there in the middle of the parking lot and asked, “Missing Caroline?” before laying his cheek on top of my head.
I nodded, noticing—despite my misery—the firmness of the pectoral muscle under my cheek. Somehow it comforted me.
“Tacos will help,” he said and pulled away.
“They always do,” I answered and followed him into the restaurant.
He took my mind off things with stories of Hong Kong and the domestic workers he’d helped there. Most of them were Filipino women who had left their families in order to earn money working as nannies or maids. They earned a lot more in Hong Kong than they could in the Philippines and sent everything back to their families. However, they had few rights, and when they were mistreated by their employers they didn’t have anywhere to go for help. Many had also gone into debt to illegal “brokers” who found them jobs but then charged the women such high interest on their brokers’ fees that the debt couldn’t be paid off.
The nonprofit Parker started helped women not only find jobs without paying exorbitant fees, but also gave them resources if they needed help getting out of an abusive situation.
“I can tell you love it,” I said as I double-dipped a chip into our shared salsa.
“It’s intense and hard, but yeah, I love it.” His eyes shone in the same way they had when he used to talk about volunteering at the homeless shelter in high school. Social justice had always been his thing.
“Why’d you come back here?” I’d been wondering about that since he came home but had never asked for fear he might decide to go back.
“My partner can manage things on his own, and we need more money.” He pursed his lips. “We’re going to expand our outreach to include workers in the U.S., which will hopefully make fundraising easier. That’s my job now.”
“What do you mean workers in the U.S.? We don’t have the same problems as they do in Hong Kong, do we?” I hoped not, but if we did, maybe he’d have a reason to stay.
His laugh made my cheeks burn even after he noticed and got serious again. “A lot of people think we don’t have slave labor here, but there are plenty of sweatshops in L.A.”
“Oh.” I sat up straighter. I did know what he was talking about. “I don’t buy cheap clothes because I know how underpaid the piece workers are who put them together.”
“That’s a good start.” A smile tugged at Parker’s lip. The same smile I’d seen every time I said something he found funny when I didn’t mean it to be.
Before I could protest, the cashier called our order number, and he got up to get it. I didn’t know why what I said had made him come close to laughing, but I didn’t like it. I may not have been on the front lines fighting for social justice, but at least I was doing something.
That’s when I decided Parker needed to meet Hailey. I could prove to him I wasn’t just some spoiled trust-fund baby. I was doing my part to help people who didn’t have the same advantages as me.
I jumped out of my seat and met Parker on his way back from the counter with our tray of food. “Let’s get it to go. There’s someone I want you to meet.”
I took the tray from him and carried it back to the counter to have it bagged. I had over-ordered—as usual—so I knew there’d be enough for Hailey. Once I’d decided to tell Parker what I was doing for her, I could hardly wait for him to meet her.
I only wished I’d done it a month earlier, before I’d taken her shopping for more professional clothes to wear to work. She didn’t have to get super dressed up, but now instead of see-through tank tops and booty shorts, she wore nice jeans and cute tops. I’d even taken her to get her hair cut and styled so it was more Emma Stone than ‘80s stoner. Her transformation would have been more impressive if he’d seen her when she first walked in the shop. It also would have been more impressive if the clothes and haircut had made an impact on her job skills. Those still needed work.
Back in my car, I started to tell him about her, but he had other concerns.
“How long has that engine light been on?” he asked, looking at my dash.
“I don’t know.” I’d noticed it a while ago and meant to ask Daddy about it but kept forgetting.
“You need to get it checked. When was the last time you had the oil changed?” He grabbed the emergency handle and pointed. “That’s a red light!”
I slammed on the brake then calmly said, “I know what a red light is.” There were still inches between me and the car in front of us, but Parker gave me the same disparaging look I’d seen a thousand times on my first driver’s ed instructor’s face.
“Where’s the sticker that says when your last oil change was?” he asked when he was done lecturing me on how and when to brake.
“I took it off. It was ugly.” The light turned green, and I pressed lightly on the gas, keeping my speed well below the limit, as per my self-appointed instructor’s advice.
“How do you know when to get your oil changed?”
“Daddy takes care of it.” I shrugged. “He’s got a guy who picks up my car every few months . . . except I think he might have retired, and Daddy hasn’t found anyone he trusts yet.”
Parker let out a deep sigh. “That engine light means something’s wrong. You need to get it looked at today.” He took out his phone and googled car repair.
While he had decided he needed to manage one more part of my life, I’d decided I wasn’t all that excited to introduce him to Hailey anymore or tell him how I’d figured out a way to pay for her classes at community college without her ever knowing.
To be honest, I should have been grateful he wanted to take care of my car, but he’d been so rude about it. I couldn’t muster up any gratitude for him or his bossy attitude. And I certainly didn’t need him to tell me how to manage my employee.
Unfortunately by this point we were back at the shop, and I didn’t have another choice but to bring him inside so we could eat our lunch. And it didn’t take him long to meet Hailey. Almost as soon as we opened the door, we were met with the sound of shattering glass, followed by a wail that sounded like a cross between an air-raid siren and a fire alarm.
“Is that a baby?” Parker asked before stepping around me and heading toward the back where the sounds had come from.
“I’m so sorry!” Hailey yelled as I rushed ahead of Parker to see what had happened.
We stopped before we got past the counter to keep from stepping on the shards of glass spread from the table to the back wall. Hailey already had Xander in her arms and was soothing him. Even from ten feet away I could see her flushed cheeks and the tears ready to spill.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Is Xander okay? What happened?” I stood helpless, separated from comforting her and Xander by the sea of broken glass and my thin sandals that would offer little protection.
“I dropped a vase.” Hailey’s chin quivered. “I finished my first arrangement, and I think it was okay. I wanted to show you, but it slipped out of my hands.”
She choked back her tears, and all our eyes were drawn to the floor where a dozen roses and their petals were lying. They’d have to be thrown away along with the vase, but I reminded myself it was more important that she not beat herself up over things that were easily replaced.
“I am so, so sorry,” she said quietly. “I’m so dumb.” I couldn’t hear her over Xander’s crying, but I saw the words.
“You’re not dumb. I’ve done the same thing a hundred times.” I smiled and got a half-smile and a sigh of relief in return.
“Parker, get the broom.” I pointed at the closet then turned back to Hailey. “We’ll clean this up. You take Xander to the back and get him calmed down.”
They both followed my directions. Hailey fled to the couch, and Parker brought me the broom, handing it to me as he whispered, “Who is that?”
“Her name is Hailey.” I handed the broom back to him and pointed at my practically bare feet. “I hired her to help me. You get the glass, and I’ll clean up the rest.”
“You’re making enough to hire someone?” he whispered.
“That’s none of your business. Remember?” I replied and pointed him in the direction of his task.
“Your dad’s asked me to make it my business. Remember?”
“That doesn’t mean I’ve asked you to.” I stuck out my chin and stared him down.
“Your chin’s out,” he said and then turned around to sweep, ignoring my glare.
Despite my “stubborn chin,” there was a ninety percent chance I would lose the battle to be the master—er, mistress—of my own finances. Daddy may not have had the willpower to leave the house, but he had the stubbornness to get what he wanted. Right now he wanted Parker looking at my balance sheet. And I was one hundred percent sure I wasn’t going to like him poking around my business.
“Hailey!” I called as soon as I could be heard over Xander and before Parker could bring up my finances again. She emerged from the back with the baby cradled in her arms and a bottle in his mouth. “This is my faux brother, Parker,” I said, pointing at him.
She scrunched up her nose and eyes like a puppy who doesn’t know where his ball went. “What’s a ‘foe brother’? A brother you fight?”
I laughed until I realized she was serious then stopped abruptly. “No, Parker is like a fake brother. I’ve known him my whole life, and he bosses me around like I’m his little sister.”
“Someone needs to.” He walked to Hailey and stroked Xander’s head full of hair. “And who’s this little guy?”
“Xander,” Hailey answered in a squeak.
“How old?” Parker stepped back but kept smiling at the baby.
“Three months.” She kept her eyes on Xander, rocking him with so much nervous energy he let out a whimper that threatened to turn into more.
“I don’t know a lot about babies, but that is a cute one.” Parker glanced at the floor and gripped his broom tighter. “Careful of the glass right here.” He swept near Hailey’s feet then went back to sweeping the rest of the room. “And before you get smart about me playing big brother to you, Liza Belle, I’d like to point out that I am your big brother now, since your sister is married to my younger brother.”
“That’s a pretty big stretch, but if it makes you feel good, I’ll allow it.” I picked up the flowers one by one to see if any had survived.
“You’ll allow it. That’s cute.” He bent down and swept his pile of glass into the dustpan. “Speaking of big-brother responsibilities, I found a place you can take your car.”
“You need your car fixed?” Hailey piped in. “I know a really great place. A friend of mine works there. Tony’s Auto Repair.”
“That’s the place I found too. They have great reviews.” Parker smiled at Hailey like he’d found an accomplice. Which he had.
“I can call him if you want,” Hailey offered, pulling her phone out of her pocket and deftly scrolled through her contacts with one hand while holding Xander’s bottle in place with her chin.
“See if he can get her in today,” Parker answered.
“Oh, was that question for you?” I chirped. “I thought maybe it was for me since it’s my car we’re talking about.”
He held his hands up and took a step back. “Sorry. You’re right.”
Hailey’s eyes darted between us. “It’s ringing. Should I hang up?”
I shook my head and walked past them both to get the mop. “It’s fine.”
I knew they were just trying to help, but it was more annoying than anything. The last thing I wanted to do was spend the day at a car-repair place. I could only imagine how gross that would be. I mean, I’d never actually been to one, so I really did have to use my imagination, but it was conjuring up some pretty yucky images. If Hailey hadn’t been so intent on making up for the vase disaster, I would have called Daddy and asked him to take care of it.
Hailey got ahold of her friend, and by the time I had the water on the floor mopped up, she’d set up an appointment for me.
“He says to bring it right over.” She beamed with pride.
“Great. Thanks,” I said through gritted teeth. “Do I just stay there until it’s done, or how does this work?”
“I could follow you over in the delivery van if you don’t mind Xander riding with you, and if Parker doesn’t mind staying here,” Hailey offered, oh-so-helpfully. “Then you can leave your car and come back here until it’s done.”
“That sounds like a fantastic idea.” Now Parker beamed as brightly as Hailey had a few minutes before. But it was a different kind of beaming. A gloating kind of beam, pointed directly at me. “It’ll give me a chance to go over your finances.”
“Let me put Xander in his seat, and we can go!” Hailey grabbed the keys to the van and hustled to gather up her stuff with an energy I’d rarely seen from her before.
I turned my gaze to Parker and glared. “Nicely played, Big Brother. Nicely. Played.”
He shrugged and then smiled.
“Do you know what to do if a customer comes in?” I asked, hoping to wipe the smug look off his face. He might know finances, but he didn’t know a thing about flowers.
“How hard can it be?” He shrugged again, so smug in his confidence I had to believe he was purposely trying to make me lose my mind.
“I’m ready to go!” Hailey shouted from the back before I had a comeback for Parker.
“Don’t worry.” He rubbed my shoulder. “I won’t do anything you wouldn’t do.”
I pushed his hand away. He hadn’t earned my forgiveness yet, and he wouldn’t until he quit acting like I couldn’t run my own business.
“Just to be sure you don’t mess something up, I’ll go ahead and put up the closed sign,” I said before turning my back on him and adding, “Don’t touch anything.”