Page 104 of Love and the Laws of Motion
“Look, is she there?Let me talk to her.Please.”
“No!”she snapped, with an awful finality.“Don’t come near her.She’s doing okay.Better than I thought she’d be after you ditched her.”Nick was tempted to point out that Livie had actually been the one to do the breaking up, but he was pretty sure Gemma would bite his head off if he did.“The last thing Livie needs is you messing with her head again.Not when she’s got so many other problems to deal with.”
“Gemma, I’m sorry.You have to believe me.I never meant to hurt her.”
“Well, you did.”
“I know I made a mistake, but...”Somehow he didn’t expect that he’d be making this confession to Luke and then to Gemma before he ever said it to Livie, but life was funny that way.“I love her.I’ll do whatever it takes to convince her of that.”
Gemma was silent for so long he was afraid she’d ended the call.“You love her.”
“Yeah.I didn’t realize that until I was gone, until we were over.I know, I know, I’m an idiot.”
“I’m not arguing with you on that one.”
“I want to make it up to her.I will, I promise.”
She sighed, the anger draining out of her voice.“I’m not sure you’re going to get that chance, Nick.She’s leaving.”
“What?Where is she going?”
“She hasn’t made up her mind yet, but it’s all over for her at Adams.It’s time for her to start over somewhere else.”
The wheels started turning in his mind.He needed to do something to prove to Livie how much he cared.He’d just figured out what that was.And he was going to relish doing it.
“Fuck that.If shewantsto leave, fine.But no puffed up, loafer-wearing asshole is going to force her out.Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“What are you talking about, Nick?”
“I’m fixing this.I’m in.All in.With you, too.I’m gonna win you over, Gem.You watch.”
“But—”
“Look, you tell her I’m coming for her as soon as I figure this out.”
Gemma sighed again.“I have no idea what you’re planning, Evil Genius, but good luck, I guess.Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Oh, Gem, doing something stupid is about all that’s going to work.”
Chapter Forty-Three
“Thanks for coming to help, Michiko.”
Michiko, crouched on the floor in front of Janet’s bookshelves, flashed a bright smile over her shoulder.“Any time, Livie.I’m happy to help out a friend.”
She hefted another stack of books into the box beside her.
Another revelation from the past few days—Michiko was herfriend.She had a friend who wasn’t related to her by blood.At least this revelation was a good one.
All this time, she’d been happy to hide in the safe cocoon of her family, convinced that was all she needed or wanted.It turned out, family wasn’t always enough, and there were other people out there willing to give you a hand, if you let them.Like Michiko.Like Teresa.
The semester was ending in a couple of weeks, and Livie had things to do before it was done.The first was packing up Janet’s office for Andy.He had his hands full with his mother.The last thing he needed was to have to come in and deal with the chaos of her books and papers.
The second was sorting through her research files, which she was doing now, while Michiko tackled the bookshelves.
And when she was done here, she had one more stop to make—at the dean’s office.
Michiko sat back on her heels holding a book on particle physics in one hand and a book on planetary geology in the other.“Is there, like, a system to this I should be preserving?”
