Bristol seemed to finish her personal pep talk. Then, she walked over, gave Nic a curt nod, leaned down into LJ’s face, and said, “Hello, Elisabetta.”

LJ’s face scrunched up, as if she had just opened a dirty diaper. Nic looked back and forth between the two of them. If it had been a Disney animated feature, they would have been perfect for the roles of villain and heroic princess. LJ had the same thick coal black hair that Nic and his brother had inherited from their father. LJ was also built just like him, tall and muscular. Bristol was petite with golden blonde hair cut short and swept over to one side. LJ wore a T-shirt with a funny but inappropriate saying on it, which was her usual, while Bristol wore a gray pantsuit to fit her role as Assistant City Manager.

LJ turned to him, the disgust still on her face. She signed, “This is the one you buy a ring for? She didn’t even learn a single sign. Not even hello. You should have kicked that b—”

He signed back, “Elisabetta Juliano, watch your hands.”

LJ rolled her eyes and replied, “Let’s see if she understands this sign.” Then LJ flipped Bristol a middle finger and swaggered her way over to Betty.

“She’s as pleasant as ever,” Bristol said.

“Yeah, she drinks shark tears for breakfast. I wouldn’t stand too close.”

“What’s in the box?” she said, pointing to the large white box he carried.

“It’s a surprise.”

“You’re always full of surprises.”

“Thanks,” he said before he realized she had probably meant that to be an insult. “Remember the time that I rented out the Eiffel Tower over at the Paris casino for your birthday?” he added.

She smiled weakly. “Yeah, I still don’t know how you pulled that off. With the table and candlelight and dinner on the observation deck.”

“Best view in the city,” he said. “That was a pretty good surprise.”

Her smile fell, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Remember the time that you broke up with me and told me that you had been cheating. That was quite a surprise too.”

“Bristol, listen—”

“Save it. That night when you told me that we needed to talk, I thought you were going to propose. Instead, you tore my heart out.”

“I never meant to hurt you. That was last thing I would ever want to do.”

“You have a funny way of showing it. I should have known that any guy who drives a Maserati and lives in a crackerjack box for an apartment wasn’t husband material.”

“What does the car and my apartment have to do with anything?”

She rolled her eyes. “You are so selfish. You could sell that car and buy a house with the money, but then I guess you wouldn’t be able to pick up chicks with your cool ride.”

He was dumbfounded for a moment. The thought of selling the car had never even occurred to him. It had been his brother’s pride and joy. Selling it would feel like a betrayal. But maybe she was right. Maybe having a nice home for LJ would be a better way to honor Junior’s memory.