a lot?”
He shook his head. “No. I grew up in Pasadena, went to college there, then moved all of sixteen miles to Los Angeles. I drove across country with some friends after graduation, like everyone does. But then I got on a plane and came right back.”
“I never did that.”
“You still could.”
“No car. And I have a cat.” She laughed. “A jealous, ferocious cat. Plus, I don’t want to go anywhere.” She was starting to feel hungry and wondered idly if they should get up and get dinner. “What’s your dad like?”
Tom replied, “He’s pretty typical. Like I said, he’s quieter than my mom.”
“But what was he like, your dad? How was he when you were a kid?”
Tom frowned and thought about it. “He was a good dad, I think. I only had the one, right? So I can’t really compare him properly to anyone else’s. One time he saved my sister’s life.”
Nina raised her eyebrows. “Sucking out snake venom?”
He grinned. “No, Heimlich in a McDonald’s. The story is that she choked on a chicken nugget and when he gave her the Heimlich the piece of nugget hit my older brother in the eye so hard they had to take him to the emergency room. The crumb coating scratched his cornea. He had to wear an eye patch to school.”
“That’s a good story.”
He nodded. “Yes, and fairly typical. There was always a lot going on at our house. It was a happy childhood, for the most part. I saw my parents bicker a lot, but they always made up and never stopped loving each other, so, you know. It was . . . committed.”
“And your brother and sister?”
“They’re great. Richard got married, obviously, you were there.”
“That’s right,” said Nina.
“Hey,” said Tom, suddenly. “That means their anniversary will be ours, too!” There was a pause.
“Assuming we last long enough,” said Nina, lightly.
“Right,” said Tom. “You may get bored of me.”
Nina looked at the side of her own hand where it rested on his chest. She curled the fingers under. “Or you might get bored of me. I don’t do much.”
Tom looked fixedly at the ceiling, trying to backtrack. “Maybe we’ll have one glorious Sunday and then both be killed by a falling piano.”
“At the same time?”
“No, two separate pianos, separate places, total coincidence.”
Nina considered this, feeling the wave of anxiety that had threatened to crest slowly losing power. “I’ve always wanted to die that way. Or under a safe. One of those Acme safes from Road Runner.”
“Any of those Road Runner deaths would be fine with me. Running off a cliff while still running, then pausing in midair, holding up a sign that says, Whoops, and then plummeting to my death . . .”
“Running into a hole painted on the side of a rock and then getting hit by a train that shouldn’t be there in the first place.”
“Watching a bird eat a lot of explosive birdseed and being fine and then trying a single one and exploding.”
“Yeah, any of those would be OK.”
“And a fitting end to our grand romance.” Tom could feel her relaxing under his arm. She was so touchy, this one. Hard to navigate, although in bed they were so easy together, so relaxed and in tune. It was only the afterglow that held land mines.
He squeezed her shoulder. “Getting hungry?”
She nodded, wondering at the way his presence was somehow canceling out her anxiety. Each time she started to panic, the feelings just washed up against this big, solid wall of . . . him. He wasn’t doing it consciously, or at least she didn’t think he was, but he was 100 percent real, and her anxiety—which was, after all, made of smoke and mirrors—was no match for him.
“I need to work up a tiny bit more appetite,” she said, sliding her hand under the sheet.
He smiled and caught her hand before it reached its target. “No,” he said. “Let’s leave room for dessert.” He swung his legs out of bed. “I don’t want you to get a blood sugar crash and have a fight on our first day.” He tugged her to her feet. “Let me take care of you.”
She sighed, nodded, and got up.
Twenty-one
In which Nina proves useful.
Polly was thrilled for her, but then again, Polly’s default state was thrilled.
“It’s all very romantic,” she said. “Enemies first, then a kiss and an epic fail on your part . . .”
“Hey,” said Nina.
“Then coming together at a wedding, the fates aligning . . .”
Nina frowned. “I