Page 69 of Love and the Laws of Motion
“I wasn’t at the bar last—”
“I meant here.”Gemma kept her eyes on the pan.“I noticed when I got home that your door was open and your room was empty.And Nick’s door was closed.”
Livie couldfeelthe heat flooding her cheeks.“Gemma—”
But Gemma held up a hand to silence her.“Look, Livie, it’s none of my business.You’re an adult and you’re going to make your own choices.But be careful.”
“You don’t like him.”
“I like him!But he’s a mess.”
“I know he is.”
“He doesn’t strike me as a happy-family kind of guy,” Gemma said carefully.
“He’s not.He hasn’t spoken to his family in eight years.”
“Why?”
“He won’t talk about it.”
“That’s not a good sign, Livie.Because you’re a happy-family kind of girl.”
She sighed.“Yeah, I know.”
“I know you don’t have a lot of field experience yet, but I don’t think damaged bad boys are quite your speed.”
She sighed again.“They’re not.”
“Maybe—”
“Gemma, I know.I know him better than he thinks I do.I know at some point he’s going to freak out and run.”
Gemma stopped stirring the eggs and turned to look at her.“Yes, he will.So?”
Livie dropped her eyes to the scuffed linoleum floor.Now that she’d crossed the line and done the dumb thing she’d been trying to avoid, it was too late to go back to how it was before.She didn’t want to.He was here for now, and she was going to enjoy as much of him as she could get.“I want to enjoy him for as long as he’s around.That’s all.”
“And what happens to you when he’s gone?”
Livie didn’t want to think about that.It was like a giant black hole straight ahead in her future, one that would suck her in and crush her into nonexistence.But not yet.That event horizon was still, hopefully, a long way off.“I’ll be fine,” she lied, keeping her eyes on the floor.
“Really?”
“Sure.I know what I’m doing.We’re friends, and now we’re friends with benefits.People do that all the time, right?”
Gemma let out a chuckle and shook her head.“Oh, sweetie, not you, though.”
“Gem, it’ll be okay.Don’t worry about me.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.Worrying about you is part of my DNA.But promise me you’ll try to protect yourself?Go ahead and give him your body if you want.Lord knows you waited long enough.Have fun.Knock yourself out.But hang on to your heart.”
They were in perfect agreement on that one.She might have given in to this thing with Nick against all her better judgment, but that was the last mistake she planned on making.He wasn’t looking to win her heart, so she had to make sure she didn’t accidentally give it to him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Livie’s phone alarm went off and she groaned as she flailed a hand to silence it.After a week of nights spent in Nick’s bed, it was harder than ever to pry herself out every morning.
“Where are you going?”Nick’s voice was a low, rough grumble behind her.The arm he’d draped across her waist tightened as he pulled her back against his chest.
