Page 77 of Truly, Madly, Deeply

Colin strangled the stem of his wineglass. “Great, Dad. Thanks for actually asking.”

Not for the first time tonight, Truly felt more like she’d stepped into a minefield than a dining room.

“Truly—it is Truly, isn’t it?” Cormac asked, lifting his glass of whiskey to his lips. “Interesting name.”

“The Livingstons,” Muffy said, as if that were an explanation.

“Ah,” Cormac said, managing to pack an absurd amount of condescension into that tiny word. “Do you like jokes, Truly?”

Beside her, Colin stiffened.

She set her fork down carefully. “If they’re funny.”

“This one is,” Cormac promised, taking a healthy swig of his drink. “Do you know the difference between a lawyer and a jellyfish?”

Across the table, Caleb chuckled under his breath.

Colin heaved a sigh.

Truly felt like she was going to be sick.

“What’s the difference, Dad?” Colin asked. “I can’t wait to hear this one.”

“The difference”—Cormac rested his elbows on the table, eyes on Truly—“is that one is a spineless, gutless blob. The other is a form of sea life.”

Colin shoved his plate away.

Truly looked around the table, waiting for someone, anyone, to speak up in his defense.

Everyone was studiously focused on their plates except Caleb, whose shoulders shook with silent laughter.

“Cormac,” Muffy chided weakly. “Be nice.”

Be nice? Fuck that and fuck everyone at this table.

“I’m sorry.” She smiled benignly, reaching under the table and finding Colin’s hand. She squeezed his fingers tight. “I don’t get it.”

Ali dropped her fork.

“Could you explain it to me?” Truly asked sweetly.

“Lawyers are—well they’re—” Colin’s father turned a shade of red that couldn’t be healthy. “Never mind.”

“Huh.” She shrugged affably. “I guess it must not have been very funny.”

Cormac scowled into his whiskey and Truly bit back a smile, a bitter part of her wanting to freeze this moment, frame it, and place it... not in the middle of her proverbial shelf, but somewhere just left of center.

She’d burn a hundred bridges if it meant erasing the frown from Colin’s face. Beneath the table, he laced their fingers together and that alone made this moment worth remembering.

“So, Ali.” Truly smiled. “What is it you do?”

“I’m a donor relations specialist. Which is fine, but you know.” She smiled and shrugged and sipped her water. “It’s not a forever thing.”

A pointed glance passed between Ali and Caleb, his brows rising. She nodded.

Caleb set his napkin down beside his plate and cleared his throat. “There’s actually something Ali and I wanted to say. We’re—do you want to say it, babe?”

Ali beamed at Colin and Caleb’s parents across the table. “Muffy, Cormac, you’re going to be grandparents.”

---