"Hiya, Navster."

"Dear God, if you don't want to be called Auntie Ev, you can't call her Navster." Florence's phone was propped up on something so she could hold her daughter while she spoke to Everleigh.

"Sure I can."

"Hypocrite." Florence smiled at Everleigh through the phone. A genuine smile. Almost made Everleigh glad she'd called. Then again, she did kind of owe it to her after being in the air while Florence was giving birth.

"I still can't believe you have a—"

"Do not say crotch goblin, Everleigh, I swear to God." Florence waved a finger at her accusingly.

Everleigh wrinkled her nose. "Got the chiding down, mum, Christ almighty."

"Were you seriously going to call your niece a crotch—" Roman started, his voice clear despite him not being on camera.

"She lacks the ability to say baby," Florence said, looking up at Roman as she spoke. "Even calls herself one."

"Seriously?" Roman asked.

"You can't tell me crotch goblin isn't more fun to say than kid," Everleigh said. "And it's true."

"Don't call Navster a goblin."

"Why does he get to say Navster?"

"'Cause he partially made her."

Everleigh rolled her eyes. "But I'm her aunt—"

"Hence the very clever he made her."

"It was just a sperm, you did more work."

"Which probably means you should listen to me about what to call her."

"I'll listen to her about what to call her," Everleigh said matter-of-factly.

"Fine. It's Navi until she says otherwise."

"What if she tells me Navster—"

"Everleigh, sweet Jesus."

Everleigh fought a small laugh and took a sip of water. "You're so easy."

"Leigh," Roman said, "please don't piss off my fiancée."

The sip was subsequently spat out. Everleigh wiped her mouth with the bottom of her shirt. "Fiancée?"

"Roman!" Florence gaped at him.

"You didn't tell her?"

"I didn't tell anyone yet."

"Oh." Everleigh laughed. Cackled. Threw her head back and let the supervillain inside of her take over with the best maniacal guffaw they could manage. "Mum's going to kill you, Flo."

"God, I know." Florence slapped her hand on her face as Navi reached up and poked her in the jaw. "Don't tell her."

"I don't talk to her enough to snitch."

"Good."

"Probably not."

"Leigh," Roman said.

"Yes, dad?"

"Do not," Florence chided.

Everleigh snorted out a laugh.

"You're so annoying," Florence said.

"Yes, Roman?" Everleigh asked.

Roman poked his head onscreen, upside down, clearly leaning over the phone. "Since Florence is shit at telling you anything—"

"Language."

"Since Florence is fucking awful at—"

"Roman, seriously." Florence gently pulled Navi's arm away from her face.

"Since Florence can't be arsed—"

"Roman."

"Since Florence doesn't tell you anything," Roman said, planting a cheeky kiss on her forehead before turning back to Everleigh. "We want you to be Navster's godmum."

"Me?" Everleigh's stomach nearly dropped out of her ass. She was unfit to be anything other than cool wine aunt who bought the best birthday presents.

"Yeah, you, Leigh. Unless you've got Maverick there, then I mean him." (Everleigh would've smacked him in the shoulder if she'd been there in person. Twat.)

"Roman, we're not talking about him." Florence gave Everleigh an apologetic look.

"Kidding," Roman said. "I'm sorry."

"I haven't even met Navi—" Everleigh protested.

"Leigh," Roman said. "You're our only choice. You were the choice from the start."

"Funny way of showing it," Everleigh said. "Don't even tell me you're pregnant and suddenly I'm the best choice for godmum."

"I'm sorry for not tellin' you, Leigh," Florence said. "Genuinely. But you were so busy with school and I didn't want you to be distracted. You're a worry wart."

"Am not."

"Roman broke his finger and you called every other day to make sure he was doing all right. After he was told it would be fine and healed in a couple weeks."

Roman laughed as he disappeared from Everleigh's view again. "Good times."

Everleigh rolled her eyes. "That was because I broke his finger and have a guilt complex."

That was true enough. Everleigh and Roman had been dicking around one night at a birthday party of his and they wanted to light sparklers outside. Being a little bit more than tipsy, they'd snuck back into the house when everyone was asleep to grab a lighter—which led to Everleigh accidentally closing Roman's finger in the drawer after he'd grabbed the lighter. She'd used too many stir sticks that Troy had for tea and scotch tape to make a split until they were sober enough to drive to the hospital. About three in the morning, much to the annoyance of Florence when she woke up and they'd scribbled a note that described nothing—in hindsight "at hospital, love R & E" was probably the shittiest note they could've left.

"It's because you care even though you pretend you don't."

"That's not true," Everleigh said, "I actually hate Roman."

"Hate you too, Leigh," Roman joked.

Everleigh stuck her middle finger up at Roman, who was out of view, which earned her a glare from Florence. "Everleigh."

"Relax, she's looking at you, not me. She flips you off, blame Roman."

"You're on a roll, Leigh," Roman said.

"Don't make me break your finger again."

Roman laughed.

Florence rolled her eyes. "I don't understand you two."

Everleigh winked and shot a finger gun at her sister. "Besties."

"Besties?" Roman laughed. "Oh, God. She's off her rocker."

Florence wrinkled her nose. "I can't believe you said that, Leigh."

"Felt awful saying it too." Everleigh snorted.

"Good. Hope it tasted like mushy peas."

Everleigh gagged at the thought. "Do you hate me?"

"I do!" Roman yelled.

"Can I say the f-word?" Everleigh asked her sister.

"No."

"Fudge you, Roman!"

"Fudge you too, Everleigh!"

"I've got to put Nav down—" Florence started.

"Florence," Roman sang. "You're terrible at talking about things."

"What?" Florence asked.

"There was a wedding thing you wanted to ask your sister."

"There was?"

"Christ, Flo—" Roman poked his head back on the screen. "Leigh, you want to be your sister's maid of honour? Yay or nay?"

"Nay." Everleigh was joking, but the thought did occur. How was she meant to do anything a maid of honour was supposed to when she was in the same country about ten percent of the time? That on top of school was a legitimate reason to make her disagree with the proposition.

"Leigh." Roman raised his eyebrows at her.

"She just called me annoying."

"You were being annoying," Roman said. Always the sugar coater.

"Fine. Yay." Everleigh frowned. "Wait. Pause. Do I have to wear a dress?"

"God, no." Florence rubbed her eye. "I'm not fighting you on this. I'll have a colour for you and you can pick anything that matches. Does that work?"

"Perfect."

"You're welcome for that suggestion," Roman said. "Told you it'd work."

"My hero," Florence said with an eye roll.

"You're sure you want me as your maid of honour?"

Florence looked at her. "Who else would I have, dummy?"

"Literally anyone," Everleigh said, "Pa would make a better choice. He'd throw the best bachelorette known to mankind. I know he would."

"Pa's hopefully walking me down the aisle. You're my maid of honour."

"Roman."

"Yes?"

"Who's your best man and is he single?"

"Dear, God, Leigh—" Florence started, interrupted by Roman's laughter. "It's not funny, Rome."

"It's kind of funny."

"Don't answer her—"

"Yes he's single and he's cute."

"I would love to be your maid of honour, Flo."

Florence rolled her eyes. "Don't fuck his best man."

Everleigh tutted her tongue. "Language in front of the Navster, Flo."

"Does that mean you're not wanting the plus one we were going to give you?" Roman asked.

"Why would I need a plus one?" Everleigh asked.

"Well, I wasn't planning on hiring a DJ if you were going to bring one."

"Roman," Florence snapped.

"Can we not bring up Kingston, please?" Everleigh asked.

Roman looked at her. Really did. "Sorry, Leigh. Won't again. Promise."

"Thank you."

"We're here if you want to talk about him," Florence said gently, "but we won't bring it up again, okay?"

Everleigh nodded and cleared her throat. "I'd love to be your maid of honour. And Navi's godmum."

Florence smiled softly. "I'm glad."

*

The last thing Everleigh expected on her final day in Phoenix was a text from Donny Robinson that morning asking her if she was, in fact, still in Phoenix.

yes. Everleigh wrote. why? i'm not headed to brisbane.

I'm in Phoenix. Work trip. Hard to explain.

Of course it was hard to explain, he worked at a damn surf shop.

okay? Everleigh replied. She truly hadn't thought about Donny since their latest morning after.

I want to see you.

you know the rules, Everleigh wrote, despite not being in the mood, but she figured getting him off and out would get him off her back, you gotta send me a negative test.

I didn't mean for a hookup.

???

Maybe Everleigh was being obtuse and a little bit of a bitch, but he wasn't going to get anywhere with her without using his big boy words. She wasn't sure if he used them she'd want to anyway.

Do you have time for lunch?

are you asking me on a date?

Depends on your answer.

Everleigh wrinkled her nose. not playing that game, thanks. you've got to give me a straight answer or it's a definite no.

Does that mean it's not a definite no if my answer was yes?

Everleigh rolled her eyes. She pressed the microphone button and held it as she spoke. "Don't try to be a fuckin' poet about it. I need you to actually say the words Leigh, I want to take you out or I need you to stop being a twat and say that you feel like hanging out for whatever reason. Real words are a virtue, Donovan."

A speech bubble arrived not long after. Everleigh was already annoyed—she wasn't sure there was anything that Donny could do to convince her to go to dinner with him. "Leigh—fuck—"

Another speech bubble showed up. Okay, that got a snort out of her. A little one.

"How did you fucking do this?" Donny asked. Another speech bubble came in. "Can I call—" Another speech bubble. "Leigh, help me. I know you're sitting there laughin—"

And Everleigh was. Absolutely. She sort of wanted to go to dinner with him purely to make fun of him for being 30 and unable to use a damn phone.

"Wait all I have to do is hold it down?" Donny said, the longer message playing. "God damn, Leigh. Yes. I am asking if you would like to go to lunch with me. Romantically, if you'll have it, or platonically if you won't. How do I turn it off—"

Everleigh sat with that for a moment. Pressed her finger to the microphone again. "Donovan—" She stopped herself when another message came through, discarded the start of her next message.

Donny's newest message said: "And please don't call me Donovan. Feels like you're angry with me when the government comes out. Unless... you are upset with me. In which case, I'm sorry."

Everleigh shook her head softly, ran a hand along her forehead. "I'm not upset with you, Donny. I just don't know where this came from." Everleigh sighed and recorded another message. "I'm going to potentially sound mean for a second, may I?"

"You may."

"I don't have romantic feelings for you," Everleigh said, because right off the bat was better than stringing him along, "and I'm not sure that a lunch could make me have those feelings, either."

"I appreciate the honesty." Donny let out a sad sort of laugh that made Everleigh's stomach twist. She didn't think he meant it that way, but it still gave her a pukey feeling in her gut. "Do you still want to go to lunch? I made ressies for quarter to just in case. Strictly platonic, I promise. No pressure."

Except saying no pressure added pressure. I'm calm, it said, which entices you to go out with me. Fuck. "Yeah." She was recording before she even really thought about what she wanted to say. "I'll go to lunch with you. I'm at the Hyatt Regency."

"I'll pick you up," Donny said. "If that's okay?"

"This is not a date."

"You've made that perfectly clear, Leigh."

"And since you've officially asked me out romantically, there will be no sex after. Because we made a non-romantic deal. And until you get over your ill-had feelings of me, there will be no more sex in the future. Understood?"

It took a little longer than Everleigh expected, but Donny eventually replied, Understood.

you can pick me up at 11:30.

You're aware that's in 20 minutes?

yes.

I'll be there.

can i wear sweatpants?

I've never cared what you've worn before, I don't care now.

Everleigh rolled her eyes. Stupid explanation, really. She didn't keep anything on that long with their previous engagements—what reason would he have to critique her clothing if all he was going to do with it was throw it on the floor?

In the end, Everleigh did throw a pair of joggers on. Black ones that were form fitting but not too form fitting—something comfortable and that saved her from thinking too hard about what her thighs and stomach looked like. A loose shirt made her feel as comfortable as she could in her own body at that moment.

A text that Donny was outside came through after throwing away too many jumpers. Everleigh didn't know what kind of restaurant they were going to, was she supposed to know which jacket to wear? She decided on a jean jacket that she threw on as she texted Donny she was on her way down.

After letting herself into his rental car, Everleigh buckled her seatbelt and muttered a small, "Hi."

"Hey." Everleigh didn't realize how accustomed the two of them had become to kissing when they first greeted until it didn't happen. Yikes.

A quick look at Donny made Everleigh's stomach twist even more. His hair was messy but styled, like he'd had it ready but also tried to mess it up so that she didn't know he'd been trying to make it look nice. Donny wearing a button-up wasn't exactly a new development, but him actually doing most of them up was. Christ, he'd even put pants on for her—not a pair of shorts. Everleigh made herself look away before she psychoanalyzed his shoes, too.

The ride to the restaurant—which was far too fancy for her to be wearing joggers, but it was too late to turn around—was dead silent. Everleigh played with her fingers the entire time, trying to focus on anything other than the awkward presence beside her. Donny turned the radio on to try and drown out the awkward, but ever Phoenix based radio station had some kind of love song on that only made things worse.

When Donny found a parking spot, they both wordlessly got out of the car. If someone didn't say something soon, Everleigh was convinced it was going to be the longest lunch date of her life. And she'd sat in complete silence with Roman for three hours the first time she'd met him. (Florence had wanted them to bond.) (Everleigh had gone through this with every partner her sister had ever had and hated it a little more each time.)

"Leigh." Donny caught Everleigh's elbow before she could make her way to the front door of the restaurant.

"Yes?" she asked, relatively calm despite how much her shoulders rose at Donny's touch. It wasn't the tension in the car so much as the fact that Everleigh wasn't someone who liked to be grabbed that often. Sue her.

"Can I ask you something and I'm not going to be upset however you answer it?"

Everleigh gulped. That was never the start to a good question. She fought the urge to shake her elbow from his grip—he wasn't even squeezing her, only resting. "Um. Sure."

"Did I read those texts in the wrong tone?" Donny asked, a small frown creasing his brow. "Before the last time we hooked up."

Everleigh slapped a hand over her lips. That made a lot more sense. Fucking hell. "Oh, Don..."

"You can tell me." Donny tucked his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "If you were feeling flirty for the day, that's fine. It's... I want to make sure I can stop thinking about it as much as I have been."

Everleigh swallowed hard. Searched his features for any indication to tell her what was really going on in his brain. Any tick she noticed narrated that each thought was a little too much all at once. "You'll never believe me if I told you."

"I'd believe you if only to keep my sanity." Donny shook his head and stared at the ground. "I can't stop thinking about it, Leigh. I need to know if I read into it wrong."

Everleigh explained everything. That she'd switched phones with someone—"Maverick?" Donny had guessed. "One and the same," Everleigh confirmed—and that he had been texting Donny that night in Brisbane. Any and all flirting was done by Kingston Maverick, not her. While it wasn't the nicest seeing Donny's face redden around the cheeks, she did her best to ignore it. "If you got flirty vibes from those texts, it wasn't me, it was him."

A small, sad smile pulled at Donny's lips. "It did seem a little out of character for you."

"You're breaking my heart looking at me like a lost puppy, Don," Everleigh said. "Can I give you a hug or something?"

Donny looked at her like she grew another head; eyebrows high on his forehead and mouth slightly ajar. Good, even her former-friend-with-benefits whose sole purpose in her life was to touch her knew that she was not a touchy person. Was she that transparent? "I look that upset, huh?"

Everleigh winced. "Kind of."

"Hug would be nice, but you don't have to."

"Please tell me you didn't come to Phoenix on a whim that I wanted to date you."

"I didn't come to Phoenix on a whim, I came to grab some boards and wax that got stuck in transit and needed signed off on," Donny said. "You would've been a bonus."

Everleigh sighed and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. Donny was closer to her height than Maverick was, but she was still had an inch, inch and a half on him. Which meant Donny was the right height to bury his head in her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He held on tight enough that if Everleigh hadn't pulled away, she wasn't sure how long they would've been standing there. His hands lingered around her waist after she pulled away—Everleigh hated that her first thought was she owed him that much. Donny didn't do it with malicious intent, he just sort of... held on. Like he needed to rather than wanted to.

Everleigh kept her hands on Donny's shoulders. "You can kick me out of your lunch reservation right now. I won't be offended."

Donny laughed and shook his head. "Unless we're not friends any more, you're still invited."

"Round of Bellini's on me?" Everleigh offered.

Donny cleared his throat, stifled a small cough with his fist. "Might need something a little stronger than that, Leigh."

"First round of the drink of your choice is on me." Everleigh shrugged. "And you can disinvite me from this any time you want, first round is still on me."

"There's a joke about wining and dining here that I can't tell if I'm allowed to say."

"Long as you know there's no sixty-nineing at the end of the joke."

"Always a charmer, Leigh."