Page 271 - The Love Hypothesis

“I brought this—I’m assuming it’s yours.” She took a couple of steps

toward him and held out a phone charger, letting the cable end dangle,
making sure that Adam wouldn’t need to touch her.
“It is. Thank you.”

“It was behind the bedside lamp, probably why you forgot it.” She
pressed her lips together. “Or maybe it’s old age. Maybe dementia has

already set in. All those amyloid plaques.”
He glared at her, and she tried not to smile, but she already was, and he

was rolling his eyes and calling her a smart-ass, and—
Here they were. Doing this, again. Dammit.

She let her eyes wander away, because—no. Not anymore. “How was
the interview?”
“Good. Just day one, though.”

“Of how many?”
“Too many.” He sighed. “I have grant meetings with Tom scheduled,

too.”
Tom. Right. Of course. Of course—this was why she was here. To

explain to him that—
“Thank you for coming out,” he said, voice quiet and earnest. As though

by hopping on a train and agreeing to see him, Olive had given him a great
deal of pleasure. “I figured you might be busy with your friends.”
She shook her head. “No. Anh’s out with Jeremy.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking genuinely regretful for her, and it took
Olive several moments to recall her lie, and his assumption that she was in

love with Jeremy. Only a few weeks earlier, but it already seemed so long
ago, when she hadn’t been able to imagine anything worse than Adam

discovering her feelings for him. It sounded so foolish after everything that
had happened in the past few days. She should really come clean, but what

was the point now? Let Adam think what he liked. It would serve him better
than the truth, after all.
“And Malcolm is with . . . Holden.”

“Ah, yes.” He nodded, looking exhausted.