Loathe at First Sight: A small-town enemies to lovers romance: The Lawsons: Book 1 (The Lawson's)

8. Embarrassment with a side of Pizza

eight

Liz

Jack saw my underpants.

And if that wasn’t enough, he also saw my vibrator. That vibrator is the only thing that has had any contact with my nether regions in over a year. You could say that my relationship with it is the most serious relationship I’ve ever had.

Good lord, that’s awful.

Now, I’m embarrassed and sad.

I don’t think that I would have minded anyone seeing that toy as much as Jack. The man drives me insane. Between him calling me princess and telling me I have a stick up my butt, I just want to strangle him.

He knows nothing about me, yet he chooses to make all of these assumptions. But everyone just thinks he’s such a great guy.

Whatever.

I take my stuff back to my parents” house and quickly unpack. Since there’s not too much, it doesn’t take long. The only things I have left are my clothes and such. Anything that was of any value was taken.

Maybe I should be grateful that I didn’t have to hire movers. I keep trying to tell myself that there’s always a silver lining. But it’s sometimes hard to see the sunshine through all the clouds.

After I’m all unpacked, I head back to the bar for lunch with my dad. I hope he wants to go somewhere instead of just eating there. It would be nice to have some time with him away from my mother.

When I get to Andre’s, I walk inside to find both of my parents standing at the bar talking. Immediately, when my dad sees me, he comes over to hug me. “Lizzie Lou!”

Mom looks thoroughly annoyed. “She’s living here now. You don’t have to hug her every single time.”

He doesn’t pay her much attention but just says, “I’m making up for lost time.” Turning his attention to me, he asks, “Are you ready to go?”

“Ready when you are.”

“How’s pizza sound?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Instead of driving anywhere, we walk to Magda’s Pizza, which is a couple of streets over. Restaurants don’t always last around here since it’s hard breaking into such a small tight-knit community. But Magda’s has stood the test of time and has been in this town longer than I’ve been alive.

Looking around at everything on either side of the street, I say, “Doesn’t look like much has changed around here.”

“Not really. Little things change here and there, but far more stays the same. We did finally get faster internet,” he says with a small smile.

“Thank God for that. Last time I was here, it was still practically dial-up.”

“I see that your flair for the dramatic is another thing that hasn’t changed.”

I look at him. “I don’t think that will ever change.”

We walk into the small restaurant, and he asks, “Still like extra cheese, pepperoni, and banana peppers?”

I smile and nod before going to find us a table. As he orders, I watch the young woman at the counter flirting with him. She tries batting her long eyelashes at him, but he takes no notice. Or if he does, he doesn’t give it the time of day. Andreas Lawson only has eyes for his wife.

Always has.

Always will.

I’m not one who believes much in soulmates, but if I did, my parents would be a prime example of them. I’ve never witnessed two people more in love than they are.

When we were kids, we were always repulsed by how affectionate they were. But now, I see how special that is.

After giving the girl behind the counter the cold shoulder, he walks back to the table with a couple of Coke’s in hand. He sets them both down and sits down across from me.

Smiling, he says, “Man, kid. I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too, Dad. I’m sorry I didn’t come home more.”

“Lizzie, I didn’t call this lunch to bust your balls. You had your own life, and you were busy. I get it.”

Sure, I was busy. But part of it is that I just didn’t want to come home. My life seemed far too glamorous and important to take a break from it to come back to my small hometown.

But I guess his version sounds better.

He goes on, “I’m just happy you”re back now—even if it’s not under the best of circumstances.”

“Me too.”

“I know you’re just saying that, but I appreciate the effort.” He smiles. “So, how are you doing?”

“Honestly?”

He nods.

“A little tired of people asking me how I’m doing.”

His nose scrunches up. “Sorry. You’re my daughter, though. I’m allowed to worry.”

“I know. I’m okay, I guess. Just still trying to adjust.”

“It’ll take time, but I’m sure that you’ll do just fine. Do you have any idea what you want to do now?”

“No clue,” I answer honestly.

“Do you think you’ll ever want to move back to LA?”

“No,” I say quickly. “I don”t think there”s anything left for me there.”

“Fair enough.”

The girl who was ogling my dad brings us our pizza and completely ignores my existence. “Do you need anything else?”

Trying to be polite, he replies, “No, thank you. I think we are good.”

It looks like it’s almost painful for her to walk away. But I have no doubt she will still be staring at him from the counter.

Pulling the attention from her, I say, “I think I need to find a hobby.”

“Any ideas?”

I think for a second. “Not sure. How do you think I would do with knitting?”

He laughs, almost choking on the bite of pizza he just took. “Lizzie, I love you, but I don’t think you have the patience for knitting. All that yarn would drive you insane.”

“I thought about gardening, but I’ve never been able to even keep a house plant alive. Do you think Mom would let me get a dog?”

“Maybe. I think she misses Mabel.”

Mabel was the black lab that we had while I was growing up. That dog lived to be damn near twenty years old, and we all loved her like crazy.

“Eh, maybe not. I’m having trouble even taking care of myself. I don’t know how fair that would be for a dog. Speaking of Mom, do you think she will ever stop hating me?” I take a bite of my pizza and remember just how good Magda’s pie is.

Pizza in LA was alright. But all the places around me pushed the gluten-free crust. While I enjoyed the health-conscious effort, I missed eating real pizza.

“Your mom doesn’t hate you. She just…” he trails off.

“She just what?”

“Look, Lizzie, I think that you and her need to have a real heart-to-heart. I don’t want to speak for her or how she feels. That’s gotten me into way too much trouble in the past. So, I’m going to tell you to go straight to the source.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s not exactly helpful.”

“I have four daughters and a headstrong wife. I have learned not to insert myself into the middle of the drama.”

“You sound like Dylan.”

He smiles at me. “Where do you think he learned it from? I will tell you one thing, though. Your mom likes being on top of everything all the time—when it comes to business and family. Not having you close drove her a little crazy.”

I interject. “Veronica isn’t close. She’s flying all over the world constantly.”

“But Veronica calls. She texts constantly. And she comes home. Your mom feels like her oldest baby left the nest and never came back. All of that worry can eventually turn into something else.”

“Resentment?” I ask.

“Frustration. Just give her some time. She will come around.”

I don’t respond but instead, just take a few more bites of pizza. I know that no matter what, my dad will defend my mom. And I get it. That’s how it should be.

But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t annoy the shit out of me.

Sensing the mood between us has changed, Dad changes the subject, “I do think I have an idea of something you can start doing with your time.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“I was thinking you could keep up with your running. I know you were going for runs quite a bit back in Los Angeles. Why don’t you start doing some trails over by the falls?”

Yes, Lilly Leaf Falls actually has a waterfall. It’s just buried deep within all the woods around here and is a hell of a hike to get to.

He may be onto something, though. I ran track and cross country in high school and just recently got into it again. The past year, it has helped to keep me sane. It was the only thing that would give me any kind of endorphins when I felt like I wanted to die.

“That’s not a bad idea,” I say. “Do people still run the trails?”

“I don’t think a lot do, so it should be pretty quiet. I remember someone saying one day that they were back there, but if you go early in the morning, it should be pretty dead.”

“Dad, don’t refer to the trails as ‘dead’. I’ve seen way too many true crime shows where people are murdered in the middle of the woods.”

He starts laughing. “I don’t think I need to worry about you. If I know my daughter, she would get the last laugh if someone came after her.”

“Well, maybe.” I put my slice of pizza down and prepare for what I’m about to say. “Dad, do you think that I’m a failure?”

“Not at all,” he says with absolute certainty.

“I feel like I let you and Mom down.”

“Not even a little bit. Lizzie, you went out and did something with your life. Most people can’t say that. Maybe it didn’t exactly go as you planned, but you still tried.”

I wish I could say that his words make me feel better, but I’d be lying if I said they did. Maybe eventually, I can adopt that same mindset, but right now, I just don”t think I’m there yet.

As we are finishing up our meal, he says, “Oh, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your mom wants to do a family dinner tomorrow night.”

“Ugh. Really?”

He nods. “Yep. So, don’t make plans tomorrow evening.”

Who the hell would I make plans with?

I can only imagine how awkward this family dinner is going to be.

Crap.