Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Livie
Theo held Livie’s hand as they walked into the dining room for him to meet her family. Or maybe it was the entrance into the lion’s den. That’s what it felt like for Livie most of the time. Jean, her brother’s wife, was the first to notice as they walked in.
“Morning, Livie. Happy Thanksgiving.” Jean greeted them with a huge smile.
“Aunt Livie,” their two boys exclaimed. They jumped out of their chairs and ran for her. If Theo hadn’t braced her shoulders, the boys would have knocked her over as they crashed into her. She loved the kids. They were the best part of coming home. Her brother's boys were five and seven, and her sister's twins were three. Adorable and not as mouthy, thank goodness. Although you never knew what any of them would say.
“Theo, these two little beasts are my nephews, Georgie and Jeffie. This is my boyfriend, Theo.”
“Hi Theo. Do you love Aunt Livie? Are you going to make babies with her? That’s what Grandma said.” Georgie’s voice was loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear.
Betsy’s husband, John, snorted.
Livie looked at her mother, who ignored her as she set down a platter of pancakes on the table. How was she supposed to respond to that? Luckily, she didn’t have to. Theo came to her rescue again.
“We might get married someday, but not yet. When we do, your aunt will be the first to know. I’d want it to be a surprise.”
Jeffie nodded. “That’s cool.”
“You need to sit down so we can eat. Everything is getting cold and the children are starving.” Her mother gave her the side-eye as she placed a large bowl of sausage gravy in front of her father.
Well, crap. Her mother struck again. Livie hoped she’d be sitting next to Theo, but the only two seats available were separate. Her sister’s family was sitting together with the girls between Betsy and John. The boys climbed back into their chairs between Geo and Jean, but that left two single chairs for her and Theo. Her mother strikes again.
Livie shook her head and clenched her free hand. She kept her expression neutral, or she hoped she did. Her mother took too much satisfaction when she upset Livie. “I’ll let you have my mom for this one. I’ll take my dad.”
Theo nodded and made his way over to the empty seat next to her mother. Livie said a prayer for patience and took the chair next to her dad.
“Happy Thanksgiving. Is everyone ready for turkey later?” Livie asked as she reached for a biscuit.
“I can’t wait. I want a drumstick,” Jeffie said.
“A whole one?” Livie smiled at her nephew. He was the carbon copy of Geo, but much sweeter.
“Yup. Mommy said I could. Right, Mommy?”
“I said you could have some of the meat. Not the whole thing, Jeffie. It’s too much, but if you’re good, you can eat your part off the bone.”
“Yay.” Jeffie bounced in his chair.
“What about me? Do I get one? I can eat more than him,” Georgie asked. It was ironic that they’d named him for her brother, but he looked like Jean, with her blonde hair and brown eyes.
“Yes, you’ll both get one,” Jean smiled at her sons.
Livie admired her sister-in-law. She’d never seen Jean lose her temper with the boys and she’d always been nice to Livie. It was a mystery how Geo convinced her to marry him.
Betsy’s husband, John, was a whole other story. Livie never understood what Betsy saw in him. He was gruff with his girls and treated her sister more like a maid than a wife. Livie would never put up with that from a man. She might take a lot of crap from her family, but that’s where she drew the line.
“Theo, how did you and Livie met. She is always saying she’s too busy to date. Yet here you are.” Helen’s southern drawl sounded sweet, but it masked the incoming inquisition.
Livie's gaze met Theo’s where he sat across from her. His huge smile, showcasing that adorable dimple, eased some of her tension. At least Theo could fend for himself.
“Mom, I thought you wanted to eat?”
“Theo can talk between mouthfuls. Right?”
“It’s okay Livie. I love telling this story.”
They decided to tell everyone they met at the Ready Room. It was the only truthful part of their relationship. As Theo explained, she worried, since they hadn’t discussed the details. Livie’s stomach knotted, and her appetite disappeared.
“I should start with a little about me,” Theo said as he looked around the table.
Livie didn’t know how he stayed so relaxed with everyone staring at him.
“I’m in the Navy—naval intelligence. I graduated from the Naval Academy and deployed a few times before being stationed at the base in Norfolk a few years ago.”
“If you’re in the Navy, where’s your uniform?” Georgie asked.
“I left it at home. I don’t have to wear it when I’m not at work. Maybe next time I’ll bring it so you can see it. Would you like that?”
“I wanna see it, too. I bet it’s cool,” Jeffie said as he bounced in his chair.
“Shh, boys. Let Theo finish his story. Don’t you want to know how he and Aunt Livie met? I sure do,” Geo said.
Livie didn’t appreciate his snarky comment, but that was her brother. Why couldn’t he be kind just once? Was it really that hard to believe she’d have a boyfriend like Theo?
Theo had been smiling at the boy's exuberance, but it slid from his face at her brother’s comment.
“Anyway, I was having a terrible day at work. One of my coworkers suggested meeting up with other friends at the Ready Room. It sounded like the perfect idea to blow off the horrible day, and it was better than I could have imagined. Although, I’m not sure Livie thought so.”
“Why is that?” Betsy asked.
Livie had almost asked, too, but stopped herself in time.
“When I got there, I kind of stormed inside and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. As I came around the corner into the main part of the bar, I crashed into Livie. She was coming out of the kitchen balancing a big tray of food. Before I could grab her, she fell, dropped the tray, and food went everywhere.”
“Oh no. Aunt Livie must have been mad,” Georgie said.
“Shh, Georgie, let Theo talk,” Jean said.
“The tray made a racket when it hit the floor, and the entire place went quiet. I think we were all in shock. But not Livie. Nope, she was covered in food—chicken wings, nachos, and loaded French Fries—and laughing her a…butt off. She was gorgeous.”
“We’re supposed to believe this malarky?” Her mom scoffed.
“It’s true. I’d had a horrible day too, and it was like the icing on the cake. Lucky for me, the owner has extra shirts in the back. We cleaned up the food, and I went in the back and changed.”
“I offered to pay for everything, but Pam, the owner, told me not to worry about it. I felt awful, and I wanted to make it up to Livie. But she just brushed it off.”
“It was an accident. I wasn’t hurt. Well, maybe my butt was a little sore the next day. It really wasn’t a big deal,” Livie said.
“See how amazing she is? Most women would have torn me a new one, err, my head off, but not Livie. I offered to pay for her cleaning, but she refused. She went back to work, and I didn’t want to keep bothering her. I ended up sitting with my friends and having dinner. It would have been perfect if she’d been our server, but it was her friend, Patience.”
“He tried to pump Patience for information about me, but she wouldn’t tell him anything. Not until she asked if it was okay.”
“She’s a good friend.” Theo nodded.
“The very best.”
“How did you end up getting together after that?” Betsy asked.
“At first, I figured I’d make it up to her with extra tips whenever she was my server. I’d call ahead and find out when she was working and go as often as possible. But the more time I spent with her, the more I wanted to date her. It took almost a month before she agreed to go out with me.”
“You turned him down?” Her mom smirked. “Why am I not surprised?”
“I keep telling you, Mom, between school and work, I’m lucky I have time to sleep. He wouldn’t stop asking. I thought if I agreed to go out with him once, he’d feel better about the whole mess and it would be over. That’s not what happened, obviously.”
John choked on his coffee. “No shit.”
“John,” Betsey exclaimed.
“Mommy, Uncle John cursed. Does he have to put money in the curse jar like Daddy?” Georgie asked.
“Shh, we’ll talk about it later.”
Livie laughed. She bet her brother had to put a lot of money in that jar.
“How long have you been together?” Her mom stared across the table at her, waiting for Livie to answer. Theo came to the rescue again.
“Our first date was on Labor Day. I took her to a barbecue. My friend Tempest and her fiancé, Josh, were hosting it for his SEAL team. Livie knew most of them from the bar and I figured it might make it less stressful.”
“It was the perfect first date. Tempest and her sister, Grace, made me feel so welcome, and Harmony is just a total sweetheart.”
The story had been so convincing she even believed it. It would be a perfect meet cute in one of her romance books. As Livie spoke, she met Theo’s gaze, sharing more about the barbecue. His expression sent a frisson of heat to her core.
His expression said he wanted to toss her on the table and eat her for breakfast. Heat rose in her cheeks, and she was having a hard time remembering that this was all just make believe.
Their explanation seemed to satisfy her family for now, but she knew it wouldn’t be the end of the questions or rude comments. At least, it was one meal down, three to go. With Theo as her wingman, they might pull it off.