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I ignore him, sipping my beer and standing amongst them, listening to their ongoing conversations about business, cars, and a new house Masaccio is thinking about buying.
It’s all boring to me.
I nod, and make a random comment here and there, but in reality, my mind is on Nerissa.
I wonder how long it will take before she finds out she isn’t starting her job anymore. Will she already have been contacted this morning or will they wait until Monday?
I wonder how long it will be before she shows symptoms of being pregnant.
I might have to have a plan in place to get that information out of her in case she finds out and tries to keep it from me.
I’ll figure it out as I go.
She will tell Hayley, and I’ll see the messages on her phone.
“Tuomo.” Rufino says, throwing a beer cap at me to get my attention.
“What?”
“How do you want your steak done?”
“Medium rare.”
Masaccio and his wife are sitting on the outdoor sofas. He has his arm wrapped around her waist and she’s leaning into his neck, giggling and nuzzling against him. I watch with morbid fascination wondering how someone like Masaccio found love before me. He is the last person on the planet I would have expected to get married.
“Dad’s home.” Dalila calls out to us from inside.
She walks onto the patio, straight towards Nevio who wraps his arms around her and kisses her. “Are you burning the steak?” She asks him with her eyes narrowed.
“What? Never.” He replies.
She stands on her tiptoes and kisses him again. “If you do, you’ll be in trouble.”
“I enjoy being in trouble with you.” He laughs.
I roll my eyes and turn my back to them.
My father strides into the gathering and my body goes stiff.
Fuck. I just want to leave. I don’t care about any of this.
I want to be with Nerissa.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Nerissa
Reading the email again my eyes well with tears. I blink them away in disbelief and read it once more. It can’t be. This can’t be happening. Is this some kind of sick joke?
It’s Sunday morning and the last thing I expected when I opened my emails was to find a very curt and formal message from the law firm notifying me I am fired before I even started.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances—” I huff, my throat is tight as a big lump sits there and I can no longer hold back the tears. “We have decided to go in a different direction.” I slam the laptop closed. I can’t read another word.
I cry like a child who has been told they can’t get a puppy when it’s all they have been dreaming of. I can’t stop crying so I push my laptop away from myself and flop face down onto my bed, burying my face into my pillow so that my neighbors don’t hear my heavy sobs through the thin walls.
The universe must hate me to taunt me with something so amazing and then snatch it away.
Their email doesn’t even make sense. None of this makes sense. It was all set in stone. I thought it was a done deal.
