Page 201 - The Love Hypothesis

No. No, it’s going to be horrible, and humiliating, and probably a

disaster, and you’re going to see me at my worst and weakest. It’s probably
best if you lock yourself into the bathroom for the entire duration of the
panel. Just so you don’t accidentally wander in and see me making a fool of

myself.
And yet. Just the idea of having him there, sitting in the audience, made

the prospect seem like less of an ordeal. He was not her adviser, and he
wasn’t going to be able to do much if she got inundated by a barrage of

impossible questions, or if the projector stopped working halfway through
the talk. But maybe that wasn’t what she needed from him.

It hit her then what was so special about Adam. That no matter his
reputation, or how rocky their first meeting, since the very beginning, Olive
had felt that he was on her side. Over and over, and in ways that she could

never have anticipated, he had made her feel unjudged. Less alone.
She exhaled slowly. The realization should have been rattling, but it had

an oddly calming effect. “Yes,” she told him, thinking that this might very
well turn out to be all right. She might never have what she wanted from

Adam, but for now at least, he was in her life. That was going to have to be
enough.

“I will, then.”
She leaned forward. “Will you ask a long-winded, leading question that
will cause me to ramble incoherently and lose the respect of my peers, thus

forever undermining my place in the field of biology?”
“Possibly.” He was smiling. “Should I buy you that disgusting”—Adam

gestured toward the register—“pumpkin sludge now?”
She grinned. “Oh, yes. I mean, if you want to.”

“I’d rather buy you anything else.”
“Too bad.” Olive jumped to her feet and headed for the counter, tugging

at his sleeve and forcing him to stand with her. Adam followed meekly,
mumbling something about black coffee that Olive chose to ignore.
Enough, she repeated to herself. What you have now, it will have to be

enough.