Page 138 of Strictly the Worst

I get the feeling life will never be boring with her around.

One Month Later…

TESSA

“Oh my god, that was so good.” I finish the last forkful of spaghetti and my eyes catch Linc. He’s beaming because I think I love this restaurant as much as he does. We came here to celebrate his return from Paris for good. Il Piccolo has turned into our celebration location. “But I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk after all this food.”

“We can roll you home,” Zoe says.

“It’ll take a while,” Linc replies.

“Okay, we can roll her back to your car. And then you can lift her in because you’re her boyfriend and that’s a boyfriend job.”

Linc’s eyes meet mine. Damn, I love this man. And I love the way he and Zoe get along so well. They’ve spent most of the meal talking about some computer game that’s taking Zoe’s school by storm. It involves fighting dragons and befriending elves, or something. I kind of tune it out and watch the two people I love the most bond in the sweetest of ways.

“What are you smiling about?” Linc asks, his voice soft.

“I’m happy,” I tell him. And it sounds so simple, but it’s not. Happiness is complicated. It can feel out of reach.

For the longest time I wondered if I’d ever feel it again.

And yet here I am, enjoying an evening in New York in a pretty little Italian restaurant, with my stomach about to explode, not because I’m having a bad period but because I’m having great food.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

“Oh god, she’s getting all sentimental,” Zoe says. “Watch out, she’ll start crying in a minute.”

Linc opens his mouth to respond but then his phone starts to ring. He pulls it from his pocket and groans.

“It’s Roman.”

“Take it,” I tell him. Because he’ll be distracted if he doesn’t. And we’ve finished eating anyway.

He nods. “Thanks.” He heads outside, swiping the screen to accept the call.

The server comes over. “Can I get you anything else?” she asks.

“Can we take some cannolis to go?” I ask. Zoe’s been eyeing them all night. And I’d love to try one, but later. “Six assorted ones. And the check please.”

“Of course.”

“Linc’s gonna be mad at you if you pick up the check,” Zoe says. The girl can read my mind. But I’m not going to let him pay for everything. I still like my newfound independence.

I shrug. “He’ll learn to live with it.” He’d better.

“I like him,” she says. And it makes my heart clench.

“You do?”

“Yeah. He’s good for you. He’s funny and he has great taste in comic books.” Her face suddenly turns serious. “I think he’ll be a good addition to the family.”

And now my chest feels as full as my stomach. “You know you’re my number one, right?” I say softly. “You’ll always come first.”

“That’s fine until I go to college.” She nods. “But after that you’re gonna have to let me go. I’ll be an adult. Doing adult things. Probably things that I don’t want my mom to know about.”

“Zoe!” My mouth falls open.

“It’s true. I’m glad you and Linc have each other. It takes the pressure off me.” She shrugs. “By the way, I’m staying at Maisie’s tomorrow night. She’s having a sleepover. So you and Linc can do all the embarrassing things you want without me there to supervise.”

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