Read Online This Thing Called Love by Miranda Liasson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Miranda Liasson
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beaming at the TV and holding Annabelle tightly.
As the camera panned around the restaurant, Brad explained the renovations. It looked like a pretty, open place, right on the water, and nothing like the crab shack of its previous incarnation. He used to dream about owning his own restaurant. How did he feel now that he’d become more successful than he ever imagined?
“Tell us what you love about your home town,” Erika Peters said as she fingered his biceps, then made an “oooh” expression at the camera with her pretty, pouty mouth. She was perky and sexy, and way too familiar with Brad. Olivia cleared her throat of the thick, distasteful feeling caught there.
“Well, I like lots of things about Mirror Lake. I like the people—especially my grandma Effie, who’s out there watching. Hey there, Effie, love you!” Brad, wearing a big grin, waved unabashedly at the camera.
“He always was a ham, wasn’t he?” Effie mumbled, clearly pleased.
“Sure was.” So clearly, Olivia remembered a younger version of that handsome face, showing off on her eighteenth birthday just for her. She could still see the pom-poms swaying on his sombrero as he sang “La Bamba” at her front door, accompanied by a Mariachi band comprised of their school marching band friends. Much to her father’s chagrin.
And a more serious version, leaning against a big oak near the moonlit lake, shooting her a smile that sent tremors through her body and reduced her to a boneless pile of shivers. He’d cradled her face so gently in his big hands, his gaze bright and intense, his voice low and caressing. “There’s no one else for me, Liv. No one.” Then he’d kissed her, slow and gentle, till her toes curled and her knees buckled and every last thought in her head turned hazy and indistinct.
Dramatic and intense, or comedic and crazy. That was the Brad she once knew and loved.
For the millionth time, she tried to piece together exactly what had torn them apart. Brad had come to visit her, once, in the fall when she’d left for college. He hadn’t even been able to stay an entire weekend. Maybe she’d been too exuberant about all the fun she’d been having. He hadn’t liked her friends. Wasn’t interested in hearing about her classes. Their differences had created a chasm that only seemed to widen with time.
It hadn’t mattered to her that he wasn’t in school. God knew he was working multiple jobs, struggling to keep his family afloat. He had more maturity and determination than so many of the boys she’d met in college.
But it had mattered to him. Brad had grown more sullen and distant, their fights more frequent. One evening at Christmastime, he’d sat with her on a bench on the town square and said it just wasn’t working for him anymore.
She’d begged him not to break up with her. With a love as big as theirs, they could overcome anything, couldn’t they? But it was too late. Their relationship train was pulling out of the station, and he’d refused to board. She’d stayed there alone, in the park at dusk on a snowy evening, watching the snow swirl around the lamplight, feeling the big, fat flakes land on her face and melt there with her tears, until she could no longer feel her fingers or toes.
And that was when she vowed never to come back to this small town. She’d make her future far away from all the heartbreak of a mother leaving and of the biggest love she’d ever known gone bad.
“Oh, listen,” Effie said. “They’re talking about the event. You know, I think that woman has a crush on Bradley.”
“Whatever makes you think that? ” Olivia crossed her one leg over another and bounced her foot up and down.
“. . . and it’s for a great cause, isn’t it, Brad?” Erika scooted a little closer and nudged him with a bare shoulder, tapped his thigh with her hand. Olivia felt a pain in her own thigh. She glanced down to find her fists clenched, fingernails digging into her skin.
They’re just
As the camera panned around the restaurant, Brad explained the renovations. It looked like a pretty, open place, right on the water, and nothing like the crab shack of its previous incarnation. He used to dream about owning his own restaurant. How did he feel now that he’d become more successful than he ever imagined?
“Tell us what you love about your home town,” Erika Peters said as she fingered his biceps, then made an “oooh” expression at the camera with her pretty, pouty mouth. She was perky and sexy, and way too familiar with Brad. Olivia cleared her throat of the thick, distasteful feeling caught there.
“Well, I like lots of things about Mirror Lake. I like the people—especially my grandma Effie, who’s out there watching. Hey there, Effie, love you!” Brad, wearing a big grin, waved unabashedly at the camera.
“He always was a ham, wasn’t he?” Effie mumbled, clearly pleased.
“Sure was.” So clearly, Olivia remembered a younger version of that handsome face, showing off on her eighteenth birthday just for her. She could still see the pom-poms swaying on his sombrero as he sang “La Bamba” at her front door, accompanied by a Mariachi band comprised of their school marching band friends. Much to her father’s chagrin.
And a more serious version, leaning against a big oak near the moonlit lake, shooting her a smile that sent tremors through her body and reduced her to a boneless pile of shivers. He’d cradled her face so gently in his big hands, his gaze bright and intense, his voice low and caressing. “There’s no one else for me, Liv. No one.” Then he’d kissed her, slow and gentle, till her toes curled and her knees buckled and every last thought in her head turned hazy and indistinct.
Dramatic and intense, or comedic and crazy. That was the Brad she once knew and loved.
For the millionth time, she tried to piece together exactly what had torn them apart. Brad had come to visit her, once, in the fall when she’d left for college. He hadn’t even been able to stay an entire weekend. Maybe she’d been too exuberant about all the fun she’d been having. He hadn’t liked her friends. Wasn’t interested in hearing about her classes. Their differences had created a chasm that only seemed to widen with time.
It hadn’t mattered to her that he wasn’t in school. God knew he was working multiple jobs, struggling to keep his family afloat. He had more maturity and determination than so many of the boys she’d met in college.
But it had mattered to him. Brad had grown more sullen and distant, their fights more frequent. One evening at Christmastime, he’d sat with her on a bench on the town square and said it just wasn’t working for him anymore.
She’d begged him not to break up with her. With a love as big as theirs, they could overcome anything, couldn’t they? But it was too late. Their relationship train was pulling out of the station, and he’d refused to board. She’d stayed there alone, in the park at dusk on a snowy evening, watching the snow swirl around the lamplight, feeling the big, fat flakes land on her face and melt there with her tears, until she could no longer feel her fingers or toes.
And that was when she vowed never to come back to this small town. She’d make her future far away from all the heartbreak of a mother leaving and of the biggest love she’d ever known gone bad.
“Oh, listen,” Effie said. “They’re talking about the event. You know, I think that woman has a crush on Bradley.”
“Whatever makes you think that? ” Olivia crossed her one leg over another and bounced her foot up and down.
“. . . and it’s for a great cause, isn’t it, Brad?” Erika scooted a little closer and nudged him with a bare shoulder, tapped his thigh with her hand. Olivia felt a pain in her own thigh. She glanced down to find her fists clenched, fingernails digging into her skin.
They’re just
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