Page 31 of Love and the Laws of Motion
But it was too late now.His equipment was loaded into the spare room and he was already hard at work running cables and doing something to their internet connection that Livie didn’t want to know too much about.If she kept it strictly business and steered clear of him as much as possible, she’d be fine.
The next morning, she left for school well before class, to avoid the awkwardness of running into him in the kitchen over coffee, and she stayed at school as long as she possibly could, finding one project after another to keep herself busy.
When she couldn’t put it off any longer, she finally returned home, only to find the house quiet and dark.No sign of her father and sisters, which wasn’t all that unusual.It was Friday.Dad and Gemma would be working at the bar.Jess was probably at Alex’s place again.But where was Nick?
A quick peek into the guest room told her his stuff was all there.Not that he’d brought much.All the computer equipment, of course, but only a small bag of clothes.He’d said he’d get the rest of it later.
Maybe he’d gone out?He didn’t seem to have any friends locally, but maybe he had a late work meeting?
Or maybe he was with Poppy.
Maybe she’d had second thoughts, and he was with her now as they patched up their relationship.It was entirely probable that they would, right?
But suddenly, standing in the doorway of his empty room and imagining Nick back at his old place with Poppy gave her an unexpected and brutal stab of pain.She was nearly breathless with it—nearly leveled by this sense ofloss.
Ridiculous.He wasn’t hers to lose.If Nick managed to patch things up with Poppy, she was going to be happy for him, like a friend should be.
Downstairs, she headed to the kitchen to feed Spudge, where she spotted a note in Gemma’s handwriting, stickied to the table.
Cooked tonight.Dinner at the bar.
Gemma cooked somethingeverynight, even if it was no more than a pot of sauce and some pasta.If she was leaving notes, it was because she was trying something new and wanted everyone there to sample it.
Well, Nick was a grown-up, and she refused to dwell on where he might be, or who with.After she’d fed Spudge, even though she suspected he’d already conned Gemma into feeding him, she headed over to the bar to see what Gemma had whipped up.
It was a Friday, so it was a bit more lively than the other night.Actually, it was a lot more lively, and not because of the Friday night crowd joining the Romano’s regulars.The bar stools, she noticed, were almost full, and not just with patrons.Jess and Alex were here.And so was Nick.
He turned as she entered, gifting her with a glorious smile, and she felt a sudden, wholly inappropriate rush of relief that he wasn’t off somewhere with Poppy.Oh, this was very bad.No matter how often her brain went over all the reasons she needed to stay away from him, the rest of her seemed determined to get closer, like a moth to a flame.And everybody knew how moths turned out in that scenario—burnt to a crisp.
“Hey, you’re here,” she said, trying to keep her tone as normal and disinterested as possible.
“Your sister lured me here with the promise of dinner, which wasunreal,by the way.”
“Right?I told you, man,” Alex chimed in.
“You did not lie,” Nick said to him.
Alex turned to Gemma, who was wiping down the bar.“Gemma, it’s always good, but tonight, you outdid yourself.”
Gemma twirled her bar towel in the air and gave a little curtsy.“Thank you, kind sir.”
“And Gemma thought I should meet your dad, since I’m, you know, living in your house at the moment.”
“You ready for a refill, Nick?”Livie’s father called from the other end of the bar where he was turning the TV channel to ESPN.
Nick lifted his half-full beer glass to her father.“Not yet, but thanks, John.”
“Sit, Livie,” Gemma ordered.“I’ll bring you a plate.”
Livie dutifully sat down on the corner stool, on Jess’s other side, as her father made his way down to their end of the bar.“I put the baseball game on for you, Alex.”
“Thanks, John.”
“Who’s playing?”Nick asked.
“Mets versus Cubs,” Alex replied.
Nick eyed him warily.“Who’s your team?”
