"Is there any way you can give me thirty minutes? I look like death, and I really need-"
"I'm with Everly, my niece. We're going on a pancake date, and we'd like you to join us."
He'd brought out the big guns.
Fuck.
And he'd remembered when I told him I wanted to be his pancake groupie when he took Everly to have some.
The tingles had moved into my chest, the rest of my body melting into the couch cushions, feeling like a big pile of goo.
"Give me two minutes," I said, rushing into the bathroom. "I'll be right down."
TWENTY
DOMINICK
K
endall walked out the front of her high-rise in a pair of tight black yoga pants and a light-blue tank top, the same color as her eyes. Her hair was high on her head, messy, the silver aviators showing a reflection of my car on the lenses.
Goddamn it.
There was nothing sexier than a woman in athletic gear with not a single drop of makeup on her face.
That was her this morning.
And if my niece wasn't in the backseat, singing to the tunes that were playing, I would fuck her in my Range Rover, her palms flat on the tinted glass, her legs spread wide, riding me in my seat.
"Hey, guys," she said as she climbed into the passenger side, smiling at me. She immediately turned around to greet Everly. "I'm Kendall." She stuck out her hand, my niece gently grabbing it. "It's very nice to meet you. I've heard lots of things about you. Your uncle is a bit of a bragger when it comes to you."
"That's 'cause I'm his favorite." My niece giggled. "I'm Everly, but Uncle D calls me Eve sometimes. He says you're pretty cool."
"Is that so?" Kendall looked at me. "She's the cutest."
"She's excited about these pancakes." I pulled away from the curb, the drive only a block from her building.
"Has your uncle told you about all the delicious flavors they have?"
I watched Everly from the rearview mirror as she nodded, the side ponytails bobbing, one several inches higher than the other.
"I did her hair."
I felt Kendall's smile on me when she said, "I can tell."
"Uncle D says they're scrumptious."
"Did I really use the word scrumptious?"
"Don't know." She shrugged, her doll falling in the seat beside her, her little legs kicking as she reached for it. "That's what it sounded like, and I like everything to be extra scrumptious."
"Me too, girlfriend. Me too," Kendall said.
I parked in a spot right in front and helped Everly get out. She grasped my hand the moment her feet touched the ground, and before she even took a step, her other hand was holding Kendall's.
The sight made me smile as we walked to the restaurant and again when Kendall said, "Thank you for the invite."
"I'm glad you were free."
"This is the first free morning I've had all week." She grinned as she gazed at my niece. "And I get to spend it with you. Do you know how excited that makes me?"
"Yippee," Everly sang as we lifted her off the ground, swinging her body in the air. "You're sooo fun."
Kendall laughed as she replied, "I'm happy you think so."
"Higher! Higher!"
We lifted her several more times until we walked inside, and I said, "There's three of us," to the hostess.
With menus and crayons, she led us to the same section we'd sat in before. "Your waitress will be right with you."
Everly, still holding Kendall's hand, tugged her toward the other side of the booth. "I want to sit next to you." She slid in first, and Kendall followed.
"You're ditching me?"
"Don't be sad, Uncle D." She wrapped her arms around Kendall's and rested her face on Kendall's shoulder. "I just like her. Lotskies."
"At least someone does." She winked at me. "And I like you lotskies too." She opened the menu in front of them. "What's your favorite kind of pancake, Everly? Like the one you'd pick over all the others?"
Everly's eyes went wide. "Chocolate chip. Those are the very best."
Kendall tightened the ponytails on each side of Everly's head. "What do you think is my favorite kind?"
"Berry."
"Berry?" Kendall inquired.
My niece pointed at Kendall's tank top. "Berry for blue."
"Berry does sound pretty good, and I do love blueberries, but that's not my favorite."
Everly pointed at Kendall's necklace. "Gold?"
She reached for Everly's belly, tickling her. "Who's ever eaten gold pancakes?"
Everly was laughing so hard that little snorts were coming from her mouth.
"You're just the silliest," Kendall said.
The girls quieted as the waitress approached. "What can I get you all to drink?"
"Coffee," Kendall replied.
"Same," I told her. "And milk for the little lady."
"Hey!" Everly chimed. "Daddy says I'm not so little anymore. He wishes I were though; he says I was way less sassy then."
The waitress chuckled. "I have a daughter about your age, and she's also quite sassy. That's one of the reasons we love her." She smiled. "I'll grab those drinks, and I'll come back to take your order."
I opened the menu, knowing they had chocolate chip, but I confirmed just in case it had changed. "Eve, you're in luck. They have exactly what you want."
"Yuuum."
"Do you want a single or a stack of three?"
I already knew her answer and that her eyes were far larger than her stomach.
"Three, Uncle D."
"Someone's extra hungry today."
Her nod was overexaggerated, making her hair flop in her eyes. "With lots of syrup and butter." She drew a circle in the air and poked the center. "Daddy always puts a big glob right in the middle."
Kendall took out one of the crayons and began drawing on Everly's place mat. "Sounds like your daddy knows how to make amazing pancakes."
"Don't tell Daddy this," Everly whispered, her voice carrying across the table, "but they used to be kinda icky. Now, they're way better."
I thought of Ford in his kitchen, a disaster in front of him, flour and eggshells everywhere as he tried to make his baby girl happy. "Your secret is safe with us, sweetheart."
Everly tapped Kendall's arm. "You know what? Uncle D makes really good pancakes. He's gotten way better too. At first, they were kinda hard, but now, they're perfect. Sometimes, when I go to his house on the weekends, he makes them for me, but today, he wanted to come here with you."
"Is that right?" Kendall inquired.