Page 90 of The Restoration Program

Michael and Lauren Northe were the picture of a perfect couple on the outside. Nicole had known that from the moment she laid eyes on them several years ago. Michael, always smartly dressed, and Lauren, with her dewy skin that defied all logic. In the little time Nicole had spent with them, she’d learned that appearances weren’t everything. Ryan had told her more than enough about his parents to make her understand that what lay beneath wasn’t so picturesque. Still, he was reticent to entirely burn the bridge to some of the only extended family they had left.

After yesterday’s argument, things were still fragile between her and Ryan. She still tried to put on her hostess smile and make the visit go as smoothly as possible. Maybe once it was out of the way, she could get Ryan to listen to reason about Darlene. Maybe he’d be in a better mood.

When they first walked in, his parents were visibly stunned by the modifications that had been made to the apartment.

“Oh, it’s all soadorable!” Lauren commented after hugging Ryan. She delicately touched one of the walkways near the door.

“You rent this place, don’t you?” Michael looked at Ryan like he was an idiot. “They’re alright with all of these changes?”

Ryan’s jaw ticked. “It’s all taken care of. If we move, the Program will take it down and repurpose it.”

Nicole cleared her throat. “It takes some getting used to, but the Program seems to have it all figured out. I know—I’m still shocked every time they go out of their way for us.”

She stood on an eye-level walkway by the kitchen entrance. With the way Ryan’s parents gawked at her, clearly they hadn’t spotted her before she spoke.

“Oh,Nicole,” Lauren breathed, putting a hand on her chest like that might slow her heart. “You—you look… gorgeous. Absolutely glowing.” She stepped closer to the walkway, looking her up and down until her eyes settled on the diamond sitting proudly around Nicole’s neck. “Oh, my. Is that what I think it is?”

Michael moved to his wife’s side, glaring at the gem around Nicole’s neck. It wasn’t a stretch to assume that his indignation was directed at the person wearing it, too.

“Doesn’t it look stunning on her?” Ryan said, contently watching Nicole like he was determined not to hear the disapproval in his parent’s voices. “I had the jewelers atMystifyreinvent the family ring. It was destiny for her to have it, no matter what.”

“It’s beautiful.” Lauren wore a too-sweet smile now. She looked meaningfully at her husband, who said nothing. “My mother would be pleased to see it no longer collecting dust.”

Nicole was happy to swell into Ryan when he shouldered his way forward to tip her chin up for a kiss. Their lips were still touching when Michael muttered, “Destiny is a fool’s word to describe his own choices.”

Ryan’s well-meaning patience thinned several layers when he surfaced from their kiss with a darkened gaze.

Like he has any room to criticize after how many times he fucked over Mom, Ryan had vented the night before.I’ll never be like him, I promise you.

“Why don’t we move to the living room?” Nicole suggested, not keen to relive one of their father-sondiscussionsat full volume. “Ry, can you grab some coffee?”

His parents were far more complimentary of the rest of the apartment, particularly vocal about the view of the trees planted outside their building. Eventually, they stopped inspecting the new framed pictures of their wedding on the mantle and settled on the couch.

Warm hazelnut coffee scented the air as Ryan moved about in the next room. Nicole’s open laptop on the coffee table pinged with a message, and she hastened toward the excuse to remove herself from the endless small talk, kneeling to unlock the screen with the touch pad.

“You’re still doing those online gigs?” Michael asked.

“Here and there,” Nicole answered, choosing to ignore the derision in his voice. “Right now, I’m just replying to a message.”

Michael leaned forward suddenly. “You’re talking to another one? A NüPrint like you?”

“No, a friend from my marketing job. We’ve actually gotten a lot closer despite the new situation.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, Darlene has a flexible schedule. So she comes here a few times a week so I don’t lose my mind here when Ryan goes in-office.” She chuckled lightly, but she faltered when Ryan returned. “Or, she used to come.”

“She can’t seem to go a day without messaging you,” Ryan said, but his laugh made her insides squirm. “Sometimes I think she’s got a thing for you.”

“Friends talk to each other, Ry. I don’t have an office anymore, if you recall.”

“Relax, I’m just kidding.”

“Funnily enough, we had a lesbian server just the other day,” Lauren piped up. “You would never know from looking at her. She was just as pretty as a flower.”

Michael shook his head. “You can never tell these days. Things used to be so simple.”

Nicole sipped her coffee with a growing discomfort in her stomach.And now you have NüPrints complicating your perfect little world too, old man.