"The Parent Trap?" She glanced past him to where Elena stood just outside the limo. "One of Elena's favorite films growing up."
He slid all the way into the limo and settled on the long bench seat perpendicular to hers, so close that their knees brushed. She shifted sideways, because even that tiny bit of contact was setting off sparks of awareness that were far too disturbing and very confusing.
"I'm not at all surprised," Tyree said.
"What?" Her head flew up to meet his eyes.
"About the movie. What did you think I--"
"Never mind."
"This is going to be fabulous," Elena said, climbing into the car and rescuing Eva from her own idiocy.
Then the driver shut the door, and a few moments later they were underway.
"Okay," Elena said. "Who's drinking what? And no fair saying nothing because we have a limo, and sober is not the point of this trip."
Tyree and Eva exchanged smiles. "You raised a bossy little thing."
"It's a trait she inherited from her father."
"Yeah, yeah," Elena chirped. "You're both comedians. Come on. I want drink orders."
"Whiskey," Eva said, then saw Tyree smile. "What?"
"Not a thing. I'll have the same."
"Gotcha covered," Elena said, then knelt in front of the bar as she poured their drinks, then poured a glass of wine for herself.
They chatted about their itinerary for a bit, with both Elena and Eva breathing a surreptitious sigh of relief when Tyree told them that the Nimitz Museum was fabulous, but that he'd been there several times.
"Are we going that 1431 route?" Eva said. "Because it looks like there's a winery right before we get to Marble Falls."
"I'm not sure what he's doing," Tyree said, bending to look out the window. "Unless he knows about a wreck that's not showing on your map, I would have thought he'd be on the highway by now. Not over here in Crestview where--"
"What?" Eva said, looking up from her phone to find Tyree giving the stinkeye to their daughter. "Oh, dear."
"Why are we in the Crestview neighborhood, Elena?"
"What's in Crestview?" Eva asked.
"Some darling little houses. Including Brent's." At her blank look, he continued, "The man who showed you back to my office. One of my partners at The Fix."
"And a single dad," Elena hurried to say. "He asked if I could babysit today. And Marianne had already booked the limo, and I was afraid if I told you guys then one of you would bail, and honestly, don't you want to catch up? If nothing else, Tyree needs to hear about every single adorable thing I did growing up. And, honestly, I was pretty adorable. That's bound to take all day."
She paused for a breath, and Eva tried very hard not to laugh. Based on Tyree's expression, he was trying as well.
"You know," Tyree said, "I would have been happy to simply take your mother out tonight--even tonight and tomorrow if that's what it took to convey your awesomeness," he added, with a hint of mischief in his eyes. "No wild scheme necessary."
"Yeah, but I wanted to make sure you guys talked now. And, you know, had a nice time. I mean, since she's leaving tomorrow."
Tyree turned from Elena to Eva. "You're leaving?"
She thought she heard disappointment in his voice, but she pushed it away. She'd decided to leave. She needed to leave. It was best if she left. "I don't live here, remember? And I have a business back home, and I'm heading to Vancouver on Sunday. A very long-awaited vacation."
She turned toward Elena with her best stern-mom expression. "I'd intended to leave today, but my daughter convinced me to spend the extra time with her."
Elena waved the words away. "You've spent time with me for twenty-three years. Honestly, you must be sick to death of me. But guess who you haven't seen for twenty-three years..." She trailed off with a significant look at Tyree who, being a ham, spread his arms at his sides and flashed a crazy grin.