Page 34 of Love and the Laws of Motion
Behind them, their father had grasped Alex by the hand, pumping it hard, before pulling him in roughly for a one-armed hug.“Welcome to the family, son,” he murmured gruffly.
“Thank you, John.It’s an honor.And I promise you, I’m going to spend the rest of my life making Jess happy.”
Jess pulled away from Livie to beam up at Alex, her eyes full of so much happiness and love that it hurt to look at her.
“This calls for a toast,” Dad said.“Let’s open some champagne.”
Gemma scoffed.“Champagne?What do you think this is, the Plaza?I think we have a couple of bottles of prosecco, though.”
“Fine, that’ll do.”
Moments later, a cork popped and everyone cheered.Gemma had rustled up enough champagne flutes for everyone—Livie had no idea where she’d found them—and their father was pouring, grinning from ear to ear.Whatever reservations he’d expressed in the shock of the moment seemed completely forgotten.Livie hadn’t seen him look this happy in years.
Her father passed around glasses, including Frank and Dennis, because, let’s face it, the two of them spent so much time at the bar, they were practically family, too.
“A toast,” he declared, raising his glass and addressing Jess and Alex.“To my baby girl, Jess, and her fiancé, Alex.Salute!”
The bar erupted in applause and cheers, everyone joining into Jess and Alex’s celebration, even if they didn’t know them.This is what Livie had always loved about Romano’s.It turned strangers into family.
And if strangers could celebrate this news, then she would, too.She might be harboring her own bittersweet emotions about Jess’s engagement, but tonight—somehow—she’d make herself be happy.
Chapter Thirteen
The Romano house had its own quiet symphony of noises at night, ones Livie had memorized through many nocturnal hours spent fruitlessly chasing sleep.The thunks of the old plumbing deep in the walls, the scrape of the branches of the linden tree across her window, the faint roar of a jet passing overhead on its way to LaGuardia airport, the occasional sound of voices outside on the sidewalk, or a car driving down their block—it was all as familiar to her as her own heartbeat.
Tonight, when Livie woke at two a.m., one sound was missing—the steady rumble of Spudge’s snore from his usual post in the hallway, right between her room and Jess’s at the top of the stairs—and right where you were sure to trip over him in the dark.Spudge was getting old, and she got a little nervous whenever he wasn’t where she expected him to be.
Slipping out of bed, she made her way to the stairs.Jess’s door stood open, her room dark.She’d gone home with Alex after the big announcement, as she usually did.She was already halfway out the door, starting her new life.
At the top of the stairs, Livie paused.The entire house was dark, except for the living room, lit up with the flickering blue glow of the TV.Someone else was up.No one else waseverup when Livie wandered through the house at this hour.
Downstairs, she found Spudge curled up next to Nick on the sofa, his head in his lap.
“Hey, did I wake you?”
She shook her head.“What are you doing up?”
“I don’t sleep much.”
“Me neither.What are you watching?”On TV, a spaceship careened through the stars.
“Some Japanese sci-fi thing.Have a seat.”
She hesitated, tugging at the hem of her sleep shirt.She wasn’t wearing a bra, because she hadn’t expected to find anyone else up.Her hair was probably a haystack, too.Not that she thought he’d notice, but still, she wasn’t used to being seen when she’d rolled out of bed in the middle of the night, especially not by him.
“Spudge is good company but you make better conversation,” Nick said, as she was self-consciously running a hand down her hair to smooth the bedhead.
Giving in, she settled on the couch next to him, pulling her knees up to her chest and tucking her feet under one of the throw pillows.“Why do you have the sound turned off?”
Nick shrugged as two guys in futuristic uniforms argued on the screen in silence.“I’m always up at night and Poppy complained when the TV kept her awake.I got in the habit of watching foreign films with the sound off.They have subtitles, so you can still follow what’s going on.”
“You like space movies?”
“Ever since I watchedStar Trekwith my—when I was a kid.”
“And what’s going on?”Because even with subtitles, Livie was having a hard time making sense of the action.
“These guys are the good guys, and they’re under attack by those aliens in that ship.See?But their plasma beam is off-line, so these two are going to climb down into the bowels of the ship to get it back online manually.”
