Page 61 of Love and the Laws of Motion
“Okay, I have no life plan, right?”
She hiked one eyebrow at him, and for a second he forgot where he was going with this.“Did you just figure that out?”
“No, I’m trying to make a point.You’ve seen how I work.I say yes to whatever sounds interesting, because you never know where it might lead.”
“I can’t work like that.”
“I know you can’t.That’s not what I meant.I mean, sometimes I’m wrong and the job sucks.But sometimes I’m right and I get to do something amazing.Like this project with you.”
“I get it.You’re saying I should try more new things.You sound like Gemma trying to get me to try beets when I was seven.I still don’t like beets, by the way.”
“I’msayingthat playing it safe might not always make you happy.Or as happy as you could be.Shaking things up can sometimes lead to great things.Maybe your dad being with Teresa is one of those things.”
She heaved a sigh.“Yeah, maybe you’re right.I should give her a chance.”
As she stared unseeing at the liquor bottles against the mirrored wall, her expression was impossible to decipher.Had he helped her at all?He wasn’t sure.It was laughable, anyone coming to him for advice.Sure, he’d had some success in life, but in retrospect, only by accident.His past seemed to be nothing but a string of reckless self-destructive acts that somehow led to success instead of abject failure.
“Ready to head back into the lion’s den?”
She hopped off her bar stool.“Clyde, you sure you don’t need help with closing?”
“Nah, I got this.Night, Livie.”
Outside, the night air was almost balmy for mid-October, which was good, because in her panicked dash from the house, Livie hadn’t bothered to grab a jacket.It was late on a Monday, and the sidewalks were nearly empty.
“You really think Teresa’s staying over tonight?”Nick asked her.
“When I left, they looked pretty cozy together on the couch.”That was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.What if she ran into Teresa outside the bathroom in the middle of the night?Oh God, what if she couldhearthem?
Nick chuckled.“You get it, John Romano.”
She shoved his arm.“Eeew.Come on.That’s my dad.My previouslycelibatedad.”
“Um, Livie, the man has three daughters.I hate to break it to you, but he’s had sex before.”
“That may be, but I still don’t want to know about it.”
“Come on, let your dad have a little fun.”He slung an arm across her shoulders.His friendly affection was a blessing and a curse.The closer he got, the harder it was to think clearly.Her body got all flushed and she had to duck her head to hide the heat in her cheeks.“His idea of fun used to be fishing with Uncle Richie,” she muttered.
“Trust me, he’s having alotmore fun with Teresa tonight.”
Right.Sex.The sex literally everybody seemed to be having except her.And here she was next to the one guy she was desperate to climb on top of, his arm wrapped around her like they were...like they weresomething,dammit!And yet, when they got home, he’d tell her good-night and she’d spend the rest of the night lying in bed, fantasizing about him, imagining doing all kinds of things with him, too afraid of messing up what they had to push for anything more.
But what did they have, really?A working relationship and a friendship, both probably with an expiration date, because she knew he wasn’t sticking around for the long term.
So what was she protecting?If he was going to cut and run eventually anyway, why should she be content with this tepid, friendly affection when she wanted a lot more?When she was pretty sure he wanted more, too.He wouldn’t have kissed her that way if he didn’t want her at least a little.
As they passed in front of Vinelli’s Meats, she stopped walking.Nick turned back to look at her.“What is it, Liv?”
When she said nothing, he took a step toward her.“Is everything okay?”
Inhaling deeply, she licked her lips and prepared to jump off a very high cliff without any idea what was waiting at the bottom.“I want to try something.”
Livie took a step closer to him, close enough that, if he wanted to, Nick could touch her hand with his without even lifting his arm.Close enough that he could feel the warmth of her body.Her eyes glimmered, fixed on his face.“Hold still.And tell me to stop if you don’t want this.”
His mind lurched to a halt, like a needle dragging across a record.His blood began to pound in his veins as the air between them crackled with an awareness he was all too familiar with.He knew what came next.And some part of his brain—the nice, honorable, smart part of his brain—thought maybe heshouldstop this before something happened they couldn’t undo.
But he didn’t stop her.He didn’t move at all as she moved even closer, as she set one hand on his shoulder and laid one hand along his jaw, as light as a whisper.He didn’t stop her as she looked into his eyes, her own dark and glittering in the reflected streetlight.And he didn’t stop her as she pushed to her toes and pressed her lips to his.
