away. Then she went inside and closed the window.
“Phil,” she said to the cat, who was back-and-forthing on the floor, waiting to be fed, “I think I met someone.”
“That’s fantastic,” said the cat. “I’m hungry.”
As Tom drove away, he pulled out his phone and called his older brother, Richard.
“I think I met someone,” he said, as soon as he heard his brother answer.
“Hi, Tom,” replied his brother, wryly. “How are you? It’s nighttime—did you notice?”
“I’m freaking out,” Tom said. “That’s why I’m calling.”
“If you only met someone, why freak out yet? Keep your powder dry for when you’ve slept with her a few times and she reveals herself to be a total lunatic and you have to work out how to get away from her. Then you can freak out.”
Tom said, “Look, you and I are not the same person. I try to find out their mental status before I sleep with them.”
His brother’s voice was sarcastic. “Really? What about Annika?”
“That was an exception. Every rule needs an exception.”
“But not every woman requires a restraining order.”
“She had beautiful hair.”
“She did. Until she shaved it off and mailed it to you.”
Tom realized he wasn’t paying attention to driving at all and pulled over. “This girl is different.”
He could hear his brother sigh. “Tell me.”
“She works in a bookstore.”
“Employed is good. Literate is good.”
“She is small and has hair the color of a chestnut.”
“Oh dear, you’re already waxing lyrical. So, she’s a redhead?”
“No, a brunette, but with reddish hints. Like when Amelia used to henna her hair.”
“And does this girl henna her hair?”
“No, that’s the color it is.”
“Amelia used to say it was her natural hair color, too.”
Tom frowned. “Look, what our sister did is irrelevant. Nina has reddy-browny hair, and her eyes are hazel, and she’s gorgeous and small.”
“You already said small. Is she under four feet?” He paused. “Are you preparing me for someone who’ll need a booster seat at dinner?”
“No, but she’s smaller than, say, Rachel.”
Rachel was Richard’s fiancée. “Rachel’s five foot nine; she’s not small at all.” Richard’s voice was amused. “Not that there would be anything wrong with you dating someone who needed a booster seat as long as they weren’t an actual child. Good things come in small packages, right?”
Tom made a frustrated noise. “Richard, she’s regular height, she’s pretty, and I don’t really know why I’m even telling you about her. She’s really smart, probably too smart for me.”
“That’s good. You’ve had a tendency to date women who are too nice.” He coughed. “Or totally insane.”
“Her name is Nina.”
“You told me that. Did you sleep together?”
“No. We kissed, she invited me in, but I said no.”
“Why?”
“She was a little bit drunk. Not a lot, but a bit.”
“Oh yeah. I remember your ridiculously firm stance on that. So, what are you going to do now?”
“I’ll go see her at work and ask her out.” He hadn’t realized he had a plan, but apparently he did.
His brother laughed. “Great. Are you coming to dinner this weekend? I want you to meet Rachel’s family. It’s ridiculous you guys haven’t met yet.”
“I agree. But seeing as you met Rachel and decided to marry her in the space of, like, a month, we’re all scrambling to keep up.”
“I guess instant attraction is a family failing.”
“Better than a cleft palate.”
“Is that genetic?”
“No idea. Google it. I’ll see if I can come this weekend. I’ll try.”
“All right. Good luck with the girl. I hope she isn’t an insane stalker like the last one.”
“You’re hilarious.”
“So my future wife tells me.”
“Presumably only when you take your pants off.”
“And now you’re a comedian. Bye, Tom.”
Tom said good-bye and hung up, smiling. Then he noticed he’d pulled over in front of a donut place, so he went in and got himself a cruller. He was, after all, a man of action.
Fourteen
In which Nina learns even more about her family.
Despite Nina’s fervent hope that the Reynolds family was going away, never to return, she was pleased when Peter reached out to her again.
“You don’t have to like all of us,” he said. “But I think you and I should be friends, even if it’s only because we each need someone to talk about paper goods with.” He cleared his throat. “Or is that, ‘We need someone with whom to discuss paper goods’?”
Nina grinned. He’d called her while she was on her way to work the morning after the trivia debacle, and she’d been happy to see his name pop up on her phone.
“I don’t think it matters.