Love Me for Me(43)

“Libby’s my accountant,” Pete grinned, looking at her as if she knew something that no one else did, like they had an insider secret. It made her heart flutter.

Everyone at the table seemed to have something to say all at once, but it was Pop who won out. “Well, son, sometimes it takes a good woman to keep everything straight.”

Pete laughed, and his relaxed demeanor calmed her.

“Ain’t it the truth!” Jeanie said, and everyone laughed then.

“How’s the job hunting coming along, Libby? Any calls from New York?” Celia asked, causing a hush among the group.

Libby felt like sliding off her chair and hiding under the table. Why did her mother have to ruin the moment? She looked at each person in front of her, trying to see on their faces what they were thinking, her pulse in her ears. Even Jeanie didn’t have a witty response to that question. How could Libby answer that? She hadn’t gotten a job offer, only an interview. She didn’t necessarily want to blab that to everyone. What if she didn’t get the job? She’d look like even more of a failure.

“Um. I’m still looking,” she said, forcing a smile.

“Well, I just know you’ll get something soon.” Celia smiled, making eye contact with everyone at the table.

“She’s a very smart girl, Celia,” Helen said. “You’ve raised a lovely lady.” Helen’s comment seemed to break the tension, and everyone began chatting again. Libby was so thankful to have Helen around.

By the time lunch had finished, Ryan and Emily had scooted their chairs over to Libby’s table, Charlotte bouncing on Ryan’s knee. Helen was telling stories about when the boys were little. Jeanie’s finger traced the rim of her glass and she seemed completely captivated by the stories. Surprisingly, Celia had managed to listen to all of them without ever once comparing Libby’s childhood to Ryan’s or Pete’s. Libby noticed that she’d even leaned back just a bit in her chair. She’d hoped her mother would relax a little more, take the constant focus off Libby, so this made her smile.

With everyone involved in conversation, she wanted to relax. She was finally feeling like it could be a possibility. She leaned over to Pete. “Want to take a walk?” She knew better than to leave the safety of the party. When they were on their own, they could easily slip right back into who they used to be, getting stuck in that empty space again, but she didn’t care.

His chair was turned toward hers. He leaned on his knees with his forearms and clasped his hands, putting him right into her personal space. “Why?”

“It’s a nice day. I’d like to enjoy it.” She was hoping to be able to enjoy Pete’s company as well. Especially after today, when he’d protected her, made her feel okay, been her security at lunch.

She could feel herself letting things with Pete move in a direction that wasn’t sensible. She was at his family’s party, he’d danced with her on the beach, she’d even admitted she needed to loosen up. She wanted to be near him, but if she did, how would she ever leave him without revisiting that terrible argument again? She was hoping to leave sooner rather than later, given the interview opportunity she’d received. She was making things much more difficult than she should.

When she focused on his face, she realized that he was stifling a laugh, holding it in, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Do you know that every time you’re thinking, it shows on your face?” he laughed. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing,” she grinned. “Let’s just take a walk.”

When she turned to tell the others that she’d be back in a few, she noticed that Celia was already looking at them, and it was clear that she hadn’t just turned around. Libby swallowed and cleared her throat. “I’ll be right back, Mom. I just want to take a little walk with Pete.” Celia nodded, and Libby knew exactly what she was thinking.





Chapter Fifteen





Celia’s reaction had bothered Libby. She was sure Celia worried that she was getting too caught up in Pete again. But even if she was, she wouldn’t let it ruin her career. She knew what she needed to be happy, and she was willing to work to get it, even if it meant pushing him away. Yes, she was talking a lot to Pete at the party, but he was easy to talk to, and their history made her time there bearable. And they were just friends.

When she thought about it, however, friends didn’t seem like the right word to define them. Years ago, they’d been much more than friends. She’d known everything about him. Yet, so much had happened since she’d been gone, she couldn’t be sure she really knew him anymore. She didn’t know what he did for fun, his hobbies or interests. In fact, she had no idea about his love life—he didn’t have a date with him at the party, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was single. Was it terrible of Libby to hope that he didn’t have a significant other?