Page 11 of Adoration: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 2)

“What?” I asked uneasy. Maybe she finally had enough. “What’s so funny?”

She was laughing so hard, she wiped tears from her eyes and glanced towards the Caldwells’ table again and I did the same. Thankfully, they were focused on their menus.

“Lena, what’s so funny?” I repeated the question, crayon in my hand almost crumbling. “I swear, it was just a misfortune.”

She wiped her eyes again and shook her head.

“I know,” she said through a smile. “I bet that taught you a lesson.”

“You have no idea,” I muttered. I wanted to keep looking behind my shoulder to glance at Alexander Caldwell’s table, but I made myself ignore the urge.

Our dinner came and our glasses of wine.

“Okay, ladies,” Larry started and winked at his son, as he was digging two boxes out of his pocket. “We know how hard you have been working so we have a little gift for you two.”

Brandon squealed in delight and grabbed one box from his dad. While Larry handed his box to his wife, Brandon gave me his, bringing a wide smile to my face. Lena and I shared a quick glance and eagerly unwrapped boxes.

I stared at the beautiful wooden, handmade pen, engraved with my initials, followed by a P.

I reached to Brandon and wrapped him into my arms. “I love it,” I whispered softly to him, his bright blue eyes shining with happiness.

“Really?” he asked eagerly, sounding proud. “I picked yours and Daddy picked Mommy’s.”

“Yes, really,” I told him. “It will be my most favorite pen forever.”

I hugged his little body again, glancing at Lena who had a similar wooden pen, although made out of different wood than mine.

“How did we get so lucky?” I said teasingly. “You got the best husband and I got the best godson.”

She chuckled, tears glistening in her eyes. “We are lucky,” she confirmed, reaching with her one hand across the table and placing it on mine. “And I have been lucky since the day you and your mom took me in.”

“No, we were lucky,” I murmured softly. “Because I finally had a sister.”

“And Brandon and I are lucky,” Larry jumped in jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, “because we have the two most beautiful women in the world.”

We all burst into laughter, happy that we were together. I glanced at my pen again, pondering what the P meant. I felt like I should know, but I couldn’t quite figure it out.

“Ok,” I finally gave up as we all dug into our food. “I give up. I can’t figure out what P means on the pen. Did I forget something?”

Larry chuckled. “It is for publishing. Liberty Smith Publishing.”

My fork stopped midair, and I looked at both Lena and Larry.

Before I even thought how to respond, Lena continued. “You can do it, Livy. I know you can.”

Instead of answering her right away, I put food in my mouth and chewed it slowly. Memories of my mom came back to me, and how much she loved her little publishing company. Everything I knew about publishing, I learned from her. She was so passionate about it, always wanted to help the underdogs and have their stories heard. She had so many plans for the future and was excited to make it our family business; she couldn’t wait for me to take it over. And then, she sold it, without even a word. I never saw it coming. The only thing I knew was that she was forced to sell it or lose it. I would never understand what happened.

Could I start a new publishing company and make it work? Yes. I had no doubt in my mind that I could. After all, I helped Callen with his sinking publishing company. Thoughts about Callen sent a pain through my heart. I thought we were perfect for each other; although according to Lena, we were only perfect together on paper. We enjoyed the same things, read the same type of books, had similar personalities, and we both loved the publishing world. Him falling for Ainslee and getting her pregnant came out of nowhere. Yes, I felt he was being distant but never thought he was having an affair. I never thought he’d do something like that to me.

I never see things coming, I thought to myself.Seems to be a common theme here.

“Livy,” Lena stopped my trip down the memory lane. I raised my eyes to meet her knowing gaze. She had been with me through it all. She barely shook her head as if to encourage me not to think about that.

“I might do it,” I replied non-committedly.

I put so much of myself into Callen’s publishing company. We’d worked well together even before we became lovers but then everything hit the fan. After leaving me at the altar, he picked William to be his partner. It was disappointing and hurtful beyond words. He worried that Ainslee would never speak to him again if he selected me for a partner. At least, that was the lame excuse he gave me through Larry.

“Let’s enjoy our dinner,” I suggested with a fake enthusiasm and smile. Thinking about Callen killed the earlier happiness and I was determined to bring it back.

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