Page 21 of Never Less

I grit my teeth. At this rate, Nate is showing more enthusiasm toward his friends’ mother than to his own girlfriend.

“Oh, it was wonderful. Some other time, I’ll show you all the pictures I took. But for now, where are the boys? Everyone’s starting to leave, and they said they’d help with cleanup.”

Now that Char has mentioned it, I realize she’s right. The party is dying out, and the crowd has thinned. I don’t even know when the last time I checked my watch was.

“We can help with cleanup. Oh, I mean—” Liliana glances between me and Nate. “If you guys are okay with that?”

“I don’t mind one bit,” I say with a smile. “I usually help out at least some.”

Nate gives a noncommittal shrug, and I thank whatever magical force is out there that my son isn’t a complete ass.

We get started, gathering up dishes, putting food away, and righting the patio furniture. We keep the music going, although Char turns it down since it’s getting late. For me at least, it doesn’t even feel like work. Based on the way Liliana is laughing with my friends, she feels the same way.

I find myself smiling at how well she fits in here, but then Nate walks into the kitchen with Liliana. They’re holding hands—no, he’s holding her wrist—and it doesn’t look like she’s too happy about getting dragged around. Seeing them together is like getting dunked in a basin of ice-cold water. Immeasurably unpleasant, but also needed.

“Ready to go?” Nate asks. “I think they can handle the rest, and I want to get to bed.”

“Sure.” I hand off the last of the containers to Char, who puts them into the fridge.

“Happy anniversary, Charlotte.” Liliana extracts her wrist from Nate’s grip and draws her into a hug. “This was a lovely party.”

“Oh, thank you, dear. You had fun?”

“Tons.” Liliana’s grin is still genuine, but it’s muted compared to her expressions a mere hour ago.

I can only think of one reason for why that could be.

We say our goodbyes to everyone else, and as we’re heading out the front door, Lori calls, “Think about what I said, Liliana!”

Liliana’s cheeks turn bright red. She casts a worried look in Nate’s direction, but he’s still finishing up saying goodbye to Levi and Matt. “Um, I will. Have—have a good night.”

Char elbows Lori in the side and gives her a scolding look, which only makes me more curious, but I don’t pry. Maybe I’ll ask later, but for right now, the way Liliana turns and quickly makes her way down the driveway is amusing enough.

“See you in the morning,” Matthias calls once we’re halfway down the driveway.

“In the morning?” Liliana asks Nate.

He nods. “Yeah, we’re going on an overnight backpacking trip. Getting an early start so we can—”

“You’re doing what?” Liliana stops in her tracks.

“We want to hang out! You know, catch up and all that.”

“You’re supposed to be hanging out with me. That’s what this trip was for. That, and spending time with Marcus.” She waves in my general direction.

He shrugs. “You can come with us.”

“You know I don’t like backpacking!”

“Well, that’s a you problem. We’ll have the rest of the week together, babe. They’re my friends, and I haven’t seen them in ages.”

Watching Liliana, I’m able to see the exact moment that the fight in her eyes fades into resignation. Her jaw snaps shut, and she crosses the street to my car without another word. Once she’s inside, she buckles in and stares out the window.

As I drive home, a tense silence fills the vehicle. Nate at least has the common sense to not strike up a conversation and act like everything is normal. He’s not apologizing, though, nor does it seem like he’s going to.

Not for the first time since they arrived, I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from lecturing my son. He’s showing his true colors, and dammit, I’m not going to tell him how to make this better. All that’ll do is get Liliana’s hopes up, only to have them dashed into the ground at some point in the future.

The near future, probably.

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