Page 92 of Love and the Laws of Motion
Things got off to a bad start when Livie texted Andy Finch, wishing him and his parents a happy Thanksgiving.She’d hoped Andy would have responded with a cheerful message from Janet herself, some sign that she was finally on the mend.But Andy’s reply had been short, sad, and made no mention of his mother.
Nick wasn’t there, although for the best possible reason this time.He was with his family today, exactly where he should be.She hoped it was going well, that today could be the start of a new era in their family.If Nick had them...well, she didn’t want to get too far ahead of herself.
Then Gemma mentioned, almost as an afterthought, that she’d invited Teresa and her mother to Thanksgiving dinner.Which was fine.Livie wasn’t nearly as hostile to the idea of Teresa as she’d been when Dad first brought her home.But inviting Teresa and her elderly mother to a holiday dinner felt an awful lot like the start of blending their families, which made this no ordinary Thanksgiving dinner.
Of course, it was already the oddest Thanksgiving the Romanos had ever hosted, since Jess had invited Alex, Alex’s father, and Alex’s father’s girlfriend.Which would have been fine, if Alex’s father wasn’t a world-famous media tycoon and his girlfriend wasn’t Jess’s boss at the newspaper.Jess, usually Livie’s steady rock in tense family situations, had been a jumpy mess herself, even though the whole thing had been her idea.Dan Drake was going to be Jess’s father-in-law, she reasoned.Mariel Kemper, her boss, seemed to be holding strong as Dan’s steady girlfriend, much to everyone’s shock, since in the past, Dan had gone through women like tissues.Jess was therefore determined to start working Dan—and, by extension, Mariel—into the Romano clan.
The house was full of the usual collection of aunts, uncles, and cousins, with the addition of Teresa, who everyone was curious about, and Dan and Mariel, who everybody was slightly scared of.It made for interesting dinner table conversation, to say the least.Livie had thought Dan Drake’s presence would stifle her usually boisterous family into silence, but Dan had a crazy ability to charm nearly anyone he met, and by the end of dinner, the Romanos had casually accepted him as one of their own.
After dinner, Livie had expected that Dan and Mariel would take off, but to her shock—and Jess’s—Dad invited him out to the living room to watch the football game with them and Danwent.
Gemma had been up at three a.m.getting their monster turkey into the oven and now she looked ready to fall asleep on her feet.Jess and Livie chased her out of the kitchen for cleanup, and sent her up to bed for a nap.With a bemused smile Mariel watched Dan cheering along with their dad, Uncle Richie, and the rest of the relatives when the Jets made a touchdown.Then she turned to Jess and Livie.“Well, it looks like we’ll be here for a while.You might as well put me to work.”
“Oh, no,” Jess protested.“You’re a guest.”
And her boss, but Mariel waved her away.“Nonsense.I want to help.Why don’t I bring in the leftovers from the table?”
Jess sighed in defeat before she and Livie got to work scraping plates and starting the dishes.
There was no sign of Nick, but Livie told herself not to expect him.Maybe he’d even stay over with his parents tonight.They had a lot of catching up to do, right?It would be only natural, she told herself.She absolutely wasn’t allowed to miss him.
But when she closed the fridge after stowing the leftover turkey carcass, she nearly jumped out of her skin to find Nick standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
He hooked a thumb over his shoulder.“You guys know Dan Drake is watching the Jets game in your living room right now?”
“Please tell me Uncle Richie isn’t telling the shark story again,” Jess groaned.
“No mention of sharks,” Nick assured her.“But they are talking about fishing.Apparently Dan’s going fishing with your uncle Richie next spring?”
Jess and Livie exchanged a nervous glance.“Oh, no,” Jess murmured.
“Liv,” Nick said, motioning back over his shoulder toward the front door.“You got a second?”
She glanced around the kitchen.“We’re still cleaning up.”
“Go on,” Jess said.“Mariel can dry dishes until you get back.”
“Okay, I’ll be back in a minute.”
She followed him through the crowded living room, wincing when the Jets made another touchdown and the entire room erupted in screams.Dan Drake was high-fiving her cousin Paulie.When she stopped to grab her coat in the front hall, she noticed Nick’s backpack, stuffed full and sitting on the floor by the door.Where had that come from?
Outside, Nick walked to the edge of the stoop, looking out at the street and not at her.
“I have to go out of town for a couple of days.”
The words were innocuous enough, but there was something off about him.He seemed jumpy, distracted, a little guilty.“Okay.Where are you going?”
“San Jose.”
“California?Why?”
“A friend’s working on a start-up and they’ve run into major trouble.I’m going to go sort it out for them.”
The explanation was simple enough, but she couldn’t believe he was dropping everything to fly to California for some random internet start-up he had no real connection to—today of all days, when he’d just reconnected with—
“What did your family say?”she asked, as the pieces clicked into place.
“About what?”
