He glanced up. He was dressed in a white T-shirt and boxers, and he looked so blessedly normal and boring and familiar.
She’d imposed the no-work rule mostly because she didn’t want the reminder, during this tumultuous week, about the company he ran—the company her family had once also owned. Sometimes she could simply revel in being with Nico, the boy she’d always loved. Then something—their families, work, the world—intruded. It was nice to have a break.
“It’s not work. Eve sent me her business plan.”
“Eve has a business plan?” Delighted, she spun around. She adored her younger soon-to-be sister-in-law. Eve seemed timid, but from the moment she’d marched up to Livvy and tried to defend her brother’s honor, Livvy had known there was pure steel in that backbone. “What is it?”
“A ride-sharing service.” He quickly ran through the proposal.
It sounded impressive to Livvy, but she didn’t know much about business. “Is it not a good plan?”
“I didn’t think it would be. There are a number of barriers to entry in any industry, especially a service industry like this. But...” He waved his hand at the screen. “This is actually good. She’s really thought things through.”
“Then... what’s the problem?”
“I guess I assumed she would want to come work with me.”
“Aw.” She got up from the dressing table and went to sit cross-legged next to him on the bed. “Did you hope the two of you would run Chandler’s together?”
“Maybe. But mostly I wanted her where I could keep an eye on her.” He made a sour face when she gave him a narrow look. “I know, I know. You don’t have to lecture me about patriarchal and patronizing attitudes.”
“You ought to know better by now, Nico. I shouldn’t have to lecture you.”
His chin lifted. “I have the right to—”
“Nope,” she cut him off. “You’re her brother, not her keeper. Grown women don’t get keepers, babe.”
He subsided, his full lips dangerously close to a pout. She might have found it cute, if it wasn’t so important for her future husband to get this lesson through his thick skull. What if they had daughters? She wasn’t about to subject her future hypothetical girls to a father who smothered them. “You have no rights toward her except to respect and love her. You can do those things without wrapping her in cotton.”
His jaw clenched and he tossed the tablet on the bedspread. “I’m scared for her.”
She softened, because she knew how much that admission cost him. Nico wasn’t accustomed to revealing fear. Or any emotions actually. “I know. But she’s not fifteen anymore. She’s an adult, and you need to let her stand on her own two feet.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “She said sometimes my overprotectiveness reminds her of our father.”
Livvy chose her words carefully, because she could tell Nico was hurting. “I can see how that may be true.”
“I am nothing like my father.”
“Of course not.” She interlaced her fingers with his. “But you know, sometimes, when you’re in a stressful situation, your body reacts almost independently of your brain. It may not be so easy for her instincts to differentiate between you scolding her and your dad scolding her.”
He paled, and she snuggled next to him. “You’re not abusing her,” she said firmly. “Just, like, listen to her, maybe. When you get the urge to chastise her, maybe ask if it’s something you would do with a fellow adult, or if it’s something you would do with a child. And then act accordingly. Don’t treat her like a child. She hasn’t been one in a long time.”
He pressed his lips tight together. “Okay.”
Warmth ran through her when she stuck her cold feet on his, because he grunted, but didn’t move away. This was love, in its purest form. Letting her warm her feet on his. “Part of treating her like an adult is supporting her in this endeavor, if it’s as smart as you say it is.”
“It’s smarter than that,” he admitted grudgingly. “She’d make it work with her name alone, but she wouldn’t need it for this. She’s already hammered out so many of the kinks I’d worry about.”
“Then help her. Don’t block her. Let her grow. She’s come so far. Look at the way she stood up to you today. She wouldn’t have dared to do that a year ago, would she? It’s good for her.”
He tipped her chin up. “You’ve helped her, too, I think.”
She scoffed. “The girl who stalked me to protect her precious brother has always been there. She’s gonna be okay.”
He pressed his hand on her belly. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Of course.” She pressed her hand over his. “I’m healthy as the horse you’re worried about me riding.”
