Page 56 of Love and the Laws of Motion
“That’s myfatheryou’re talking about.”
He sobered at once.“Sorry, bad joke.How are you doing?”
She glanced around the living room.She’d done the dusting and run the vacuum.Fresh flowers would have been nice, but there wasn’t time to run up to the Kims’ green grocery and buy some.“I’ve got to get the good place mats out of the hutch and set the table, but—”
“No, Liv, I meant, are you nervous?”
“I don’t know.I can’t tell what I’m feeling.I’m either nervous or I have the stomach flu.”
“Well, let’s hope for everyone’s sake that it’s the former.I’ll get out of the way so you can finish setting up—”
The words were out of her mouth before she’d even realized they were in her head.“Do you want to stay?”Suddenly, she desperately wanted him there.He wasn’t one of her sisters or cousins, or any other family member.He washerperson,herfriend.Having him in her corner tonight would make her feel a lot more secure.And someone outside the family being here meant the conversation couldn’t wander into weird, uncomfortable, personal places.
Nick froze.“Stay for dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“It seems like a family thing.”
“You’re practically family,” she said with a laugh.“I mean, youdolive here.”
He reached up to run a hand across the back of his neck.“I wouldn’t want to impose.Besides, I have a thing I gotta do tonight.”
“A thing?”
“A meeting.With a new client.”
“Oh.Right.Sure.”He was lying.She could see the terror in his eyes from across the room.He was fine hanging out at the bar with her dad and her sister, or chatting with Jess over coffee in the morning.He was okay sitting up with her, watching TV in the middle of the night until one of them got tired enough to sleep.But kissing her had freaked him out and sent him fleeing.And being included in an actual family event practically had him chewing off his own foot to free himself.
As if she needed any more reminders that Nick wasn’t meant for her.Whatever had happened with his family had really done a number on him, and he was flat-out refusing to become any more entangled with the Romanos—withher—than absolutely necessary.Well, she knew his time here had an expiration date.He was not the kind to stick around.And she wasn’t the kind to leave.
“No problem,” she said, forcing herself to sound light and unconcerned.“I guess I’ll see you later, then.”
He stood a moment longer in the doorway, seemingly torn about staying or going.Then he lifted a hand and waved.“Yep.See you around, Liv.”
She held on to her fake smile until she heard the door close behind him and she was certain he was gone.Then she straightened her shoulders and prepared to face the night without him.
“They’re here.”Gemma turned from the stove, where dinner was nearing completion, at the rattle of the front door lock.Livie and Jess exchanged a brief glance as Spudge lumbered out to greet their father and Teresa.
Jess pushed up from the kitchen table.“We should go say hello.Come on, Alex.”
Alex, who’d been loitering by the back door trying to look invisible, followed Jess out of the room.
Teresa, to the best of Livie’s knowledge, had never been over to their house.They’d been dating openly since the summer, but Dadalwayswent to her place.This definitely felt like the beginning of some new era in the Romano family, and while intellectually, Livie was okay with that, emotionally, she was still struggling, for reasons she couldn’t precisely put a name to.
When she reached the living room, Dad was shutting the door and Gemma was nervously greeting Teresa.Gemma knew her already, since Teresa sometimes came into the bar.That was how she and Dad had reconnected, years after they’d gone to high school together.
John Romano moved to Teresa’s side and set his hand on the small of her back.Such a tiny gesture, yet it jarred Livie to her bones.This was real.They weretogether.As long as she hadn’t met Teresa—as long as she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes—it hadn’t seemed quite real.But now she was here in their house, and her father was gazing down at her with that weird expression on his face that she’d never seen before and this wasreal.
To Livie at that moment, it didn’t much matter what Teresa was like, or how this dinner would go.She only wished she could turn back time, to scramble away from this edge, because now that they were going over it, everything would change.The last thirteen years of their family life would end, and she couldn’t begin to imagine what the future would look like.
“Teresa, you know Gemma, of course.These are my other daughters, Jessica and Olivia.And this is Jess’s fiancé, Alex.”
Teresa turned to Jess and Livie, standing side by side.She was pretty.Not as pretty as their mother had been, but Angela Romano was frozen in time at thirty-five.Still, Teresa was attractive—with a small, delicate build and fine features.Her hair was blond, which for some reason surprised Livie.Mom had had the same dark brown hair and eyes as her three daughters.Teresa looked different, not at all who she’d have imagined Dad with.
Jess, always the most socially sophisticated, was naturally the first one to greet her.
“Hi, Teresa.It’s nice to finally meet you.”
