Page 20 of Gator

“I don’t mean it like that, and you know it. You work too hard. You need someone you can build a life outside of work with.”

“Ahem,” I cleared my throat. “Pot meet kettle.”

“Pot meet kettle,” Trixie said and flapped her wings.

Lainey and I both laughed, but Miranda didn’t. She shot me a warning glare.Oops. We both knew why she didn’t date. Shehad a teenage girl in the house, and there was no way she was bringing a strange man into their home.

“He’s right, Mom,” Lainey said. “I’ll be leaving for college in a few years, and you’ll be here all alone. So see, you both need to start dating. I can research some apps for you and figure out which one gets the most long-term results.”

Miranda and I shared a look, and then we both said, “No” at the same time.

The last thing I needed was my teenage niece looking into gay dating sites for me.

“Whatever,” she grumbled and went back to scrolling on her phone. We’d both said no, but I still wouldn’t be at all shocked to get a detailed list with marriage stats all laid out here shortly. Once Lainey got something in her head, it was hard to talk her out of it.

“So,” I said, hoping to change the subject. “I talked to Yaya the other day. She’s really excited about her party.”

“Yaya. Yaya is coming.” Trixie loved my grandmother, and all I had to do was say her name for her to get excited.

“No, Trixie, Yaya isn’t coming tonight. Yaya is at her home.” I turned back to Miranda. “Do you think Mom will come?”

“I hope not,” she said without thinking, but then took a breath. “Forget I said that. Of course she would want her daughter at her birthday party, and this isn’t about us, it’s about Yaya.”

“I know, but even if she comes, you know she’s just going to breeze in here in her fancy car, wearing her fancy clothes, and judging all of our choices. It’s what she does.”

“Like you’re not going to show up looking pretty fancy yourself.” She grinned at me.

“Of course I am, because I’m fabulous. How else would I show up? That’s different.”

Which was true. I was fabulous, and that had been my mother’s problem all along. She didn’t care that I was gay. Hell, she probably loved it because saying she had a gay son gave her something to talk about. No, her problem was that I wastoogay. Too loud. Too colorful. Too much.

Our mother had been a poor single mother until she married our stepfather. He had money, and she was all about projecting the perfect image that would allow her to fit into his world, and a flamboyant, over-the-top son did not fit into her plan.

Plus, nothing made her feel better than looking down on other people. She loved to put herself in situations where she could do that. I often wondered not only how we were her children but also how she was our grandmother’s daughter. Yaya was the kindest, most loving person, which just goes to show sometimes it really was nature, not nurture.

Chapter seven

Julius

Mindy turned in a circle and checked her image in the full-length mirror. “What do you think?”

“You look stunning. I promise.” Everyone deserves to believe they’re beautiful on their wedding day, so I would’ve said so even if Mindy didn’t look like a princess, but she did. Her dress was the perfect style for her body, and the hair tinsel we’d added sparkled in the light almost like she was wearing a halo.

It had been a week since the incident at the club, and while Gator checked in with me every day, so far, they hadn’t made much progress on locating Noah. I tried to focus on Mindy and Sherri’s special day and not think about how the poor guy might never get the chance to find his own happily ever after the way they were.

“If I look stunning, that’s all on you.” She gave me a watery smile.

“No crying,” I scolded. “You don’t want to mess up your makeup.”

She sniffled and took in a deep breath. “You’re right. I don’t. Have you seen Sherri?”

A wedding with two brides and two sets of bridesmaids meant we had to have two teams to make sure this wedding went off without a hitch. “I haven’t, but Migs is taking care of her, and you know he’s like a magician. I’m sure she looks just as beautiful as you do.”

Mindy grinned at me. “She’s always gorgeous, but dressing up isn’t really her thing, so I know she’s probably nervous.”

I pulled back a stray strand of hair and pinned it in place. “I can’t wait to see your wedding photos. The two of you are such a beautiful couple.”

I turned to the two women who stood off to the side waiting and smiled at them before motioning to our bride. “What do you think?”