Page 111 of Effortless

“Come on, Rebeka,” Sara said, “let’s go get pie.”

“Yes! Pie!”

Tom waited until he could no longer hear the voices of his sisters before he turned to Camilla again. She was still sitting on the couch, but now her gaze was turned down to the photo album in her lap.

“Which album is that?” Tom asked. “My mother seems to make it her mission to document every single little thing about our lives.”

“Birthdays from last year,” Camilla said.

“Huh.”

Camilla peered up at him, and said, “I guess today’s your twenty-second birthday, Tom. May seventh, right?”

He blinked, unsure for a moment.

“Is today the seventh?”

Camilla’s smile turned sly. “You forgot your own birthday?”

“It’s just another day.”

“No, it’s your day, Tom, and I almost missed it.”

He didn’t miss the sadness in her tone, or the way her eyes dropped back down to the album.

“You have a huge family,” Camilla said after a moment.

“Yeah, it’s big.”

He didn’t know what else to say.

He didn’t know what to ask her.

Tom just … stared at her.

Finally, Camilla looked up from the album, and smiled at him. Brighter than before, and less hesitant. “Your dad is kind of imposing.”

Tom nodded. “For people who don’t know him, sure.”

“Your mom is really sweet, though.”

Tom laughed at that. “Yeah, until she’s pissed at you. I mean, then you might as well just get the hell out of the city. At least until the storm passes.”

Camilla laughed, too. “I can’t see it.”

“Well, no, you’re the woman her son loves, and this is the first time she’s ever met you. It’s not a huge surprise that she’s being especially nice to you.”

Her eyes widened.

Tom realized what he’d said instantly.

The silence stretched on between them long enough for him to clear his throat, and look away. “Love shouldn’t be a scary thing. Loving someone shouldn’t be hard to do, even if it’s hard to find. Love should be effortless.”

Easy.

Right.

“I know, Tom,” she whispered.