Page 38 of Gravity of Love
“A birthday party.” Liam reached behind her seat and retrieved a large pink gift bag with a cartoon princess riding a unicorn. The tissue paper was wrinkled but fluffily arranged and sticking out the top.
“Whose?” Her eyes were wide.
“My niece, Finley. She’s turning eight.” He turned the bag to reveal the large cloud-shaped number eight.
Frankie’s face cycled through at least three distinct emotions—bewilderment, suspicion, and then a dawning realization that bordered on panic.
“Wait, this is your family, family?” she whispered. “You brought me to meet your other family?”
“You already met Poppy.”
“I know, but that was…this is…” Frankie started shaking her head back and forth.
Lucy sat up and started whining as she sniffed the air, most likely smelling whatever was on the BBQ.
Frankie looked at the bag. “I don’t have a present.”
“I put both our names on this.” He could see she was freaking out, and Liam was surprised at her reaction. He thought she’d be happy to meet his family. But clearly, he was wrong because his bringing her had triggered a fight-or-flight response in her, and it looked like flight was winning. Her eyes were darting to and fro rapidly in search of an emergency exit. He put his hand on the steering wheel and pressed the ignition button. “If you don’t want to meet them, I can take you home?—”
“No!” she shouted as she grabbed his forearm.
He turned to look at her and saw her eyes were glistening with unshed emotion.
She sniffed and removed her hand from his arm as she shook her head and took a deep, slow, calming breath. “I want to meet them. Of course I do, I just…I didn’t think you would want meto…it’s just asurprise.” She took another even deeper breath. “Are you at least going to tell me who’s going to be here or make me go in blind?”
He saw that she was beginning to relax and sound more like herself. He took his hand off the ignition button, but he was going to watch her like a hawk. If at any point she seemed overwhelmed, he’d punch the eject button and get them the hell out of there. “Pretty much everyone should be here. My father’s wife is Teresa, and?—”
“I know who everyone is,” she cut him off, then proceeded to list his entire family. “Michael, your father’s parents are Clyde and Nancy, aka Bampi and Momo. He was married to Teresa, they had three daughters. The oldest is your sister Paulina, she’s married to Ramesh, who is a heart surgeon. Their wedding wasbeautiful,by the way. They have twin boys who are twelve, Rohan and Ravi, and a fourteen-year-old daughter, Zoya. Next is your sister Pippa, the middle sister, her husband, Roger, is twice her age but quite a zaddy. He’s a tech billionaire, and they have Freddie, who is six. The baby is Phoebe, who is married to Duane, who works in bioengineering. He lost his first wife tragically and has ten-year-old twins from his first marriage, Ezra and Elan, and they have Finley, turning eight, and Bristol who is five months.”
He stared at her, not having any clue how to respond to all the information that had just come out of her mouth. “How did you know all of that?”
Lucy’s whine increased as she began to scratch at the window.
Frankie’s shoulders squared as her chin jutted out defiantly. “When I saw you at the hospital?—”
“Yousawme at the hospital?” He knew she’dbeenat the hospital, but he didn’t think that she’dseenhim.
Her lips parted and her eyes widened. Her expression looked exactly like when he got caught her sneaking out to go to a high school party the summerbeforeshe was a freshman. He didn’t let her get into the sixteen-year-old stoner’s car who was waiting to pick her up. He took her on his bike and waited outside until she was ready to come home.
If he closed his eyes, he could still feel her pressed up against his back, her tiny arms clinging to him as he rounded corners. She was the only person who he’d ever allowed to ride with him. That hadn’t gone over well with girlfriends.
“Yes, I did.” She took a breath. “When I took Yaya to see Mr. Santino, I saw you.”
“What? Where? When?”
Her eyes cast down as Lucy’s whine rose to an unbearable level. He set the gift bag on the console, got out, and walked to the passenger side of the car. The air carried the scent of charred meat, cut grass, and water, with the distant sound of pop music and laughter floating up from the backyard. His mind was reeling from hearing that Frankie had seen him at the hospital. He’d just assumed the first time she’d seen him was the first time he’d seen her at his office. He was so confused. He opened the passenger door, picked Lucy up, set her on the ground, and held her leash, allowing her to sniff and do her business.
“Continue.” His instruction came out sounding harsher than he meant it. Unlike other people, who might flinch at his tone, Frankie didn’t seem to notice. If anything at all, it irritated her.
“After Poppy, who I didn’t know wasPoppy, took Mr. Santino for an X-ray, I was in the room with Taylor and Caleb and?—”
“You were in trauma ten?”
“Is that where Taylor was?” she asked, her tone implying it was a stupid question she’d have no way of knowing the answer to.
He nodded.
“Thenyes, I was.” She sighed. “And I saw you walking towards the room, and so I hid.”
