Over the next hour and a half, he reviewed her most recent quarterly statements. Then, they signed in to her online accounts and made some adjustments to some of the funds she was invested in. She was getting great returns overall, though, so it was a fairly quick thing.
After he had finished, he stayed to chat for a few minutes, but he was looking forward to getting home. With any luck, Taryn would still be napping and he could catch a quick nap with her before dinner. It was highly unlikely though.
“So,” Christina asked, “How are things going with your tenant, Ev?”
“Clearly you’ve been talking to Mom,” he said, his tone dry.
“Yep,” she admitted with no shame whatsoever. “Mom told me when she stopped by your place on Thursday you had female company.”
“I did,” he confirmed. “You were right, by the way. There were undercurrents.”
“It’s written all over your face, kid,” she said.
“Shut up, Teeny,” he said, his lips twitching.
“Mom says she’s nice. A little guarded, but nice,” his sister added, prying for more details.
“You know how Mom is. She was asking Taryn for her entire life story before she even sat down.”
Christina smiled at him and said, “Mom can be a bit much.”
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“So when do I get to meet this girl? You should go get her and come back for dinner,” Christina offered. “I was going to invite you anyway, but I can stretch it for one more.”
“Maybe another time. We have plans for tonight. You’ll meet her on Thanksgiving, if not before then,” he said.
Her eyes wide, she asked, “You’re bringing her to Mom’s house? On a holiday?”
He lifted his hands and said, “Mom invited her.”
She raised her eyebrow at him and he squirmed.
“Shit. You’re getting just as good as Mom at that.”
Maddy turned to him and said, “Shit, shit, shit!”
Christina narrowed her eyes and said, “Thanks, Ev.”
“Sorry,” he said, wincing. He redirected his attention to his niece and said, “Maddy. Those are adult words. Don’t use them.”
“Kay,” she said, basically ignoring him. He shrugged. Oh well. He’d tried.
“So she’s only going because Mom invited her?” Christina asked, clearly seizing on his moment of guilt.
Again, he winced and said, “I was going to ask her when it got closer to time.”
“Tell me about her,” his sister asked.
He gave her the abbreviated version that she’d given Mom, then he added, “I really like her. I think that she might actually be the one.”
“Holy shit,” his sister said, wide eyed. “Really?”
Maddy shouted, “Shit!” again.
Evan held up his hands and said, “Not me, that time!”
Christina just sighed and said, “Couldn’t help it. That’s huge, Ev. Are you sure?”