“Theory backed by your giant brain.” She stretches. “I’ll take those odds.”
I look at the time. Almost eight o’clock—we’ve been at this all day. “We should run simulations tomorrow. Fresh eyes.”
“Agreed.” She stretches, her shirt riding up to reveal a strip of skin that makes me want to abandon the lab entirely. “I’m starving. Dinner?”
“My place?”
She smiles. “Well, you do have that giant bathtub...”
Something warm spreads through my chest. She’s been staying at my apartment every night since the dinner with my parents, only going back to her place for clean clothes or because one of her brothers invaded with donuts, coffee and loud opinions. But even her stuff—her laptop, her clothes, her yellow toothbrush that lives beside mine—has migrated to my place, piece by piece, until my apartment feels less like a fortress of solitude and more like a messy, well-loved home. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We should definitely take a bath after dinner,” I agree.
“We’ve earned it.” She smiles, looping her arms over my shoulders—but I catch the way her eyes flick to the whiteboard one more time before she does, scanning the diagrams like she’s running one final check. Making sure we actually solved it. Making sure she didn’t miss something.
Some habits run deeper than logic.
I pull her closer, loving how easy this is now, how every touch feels like an extension of the conversation instead of a distraction from it. Her mouth lands on mine, soft then urgent, and the air instantly feels a hundred degrees warmer.
“Mmm. Do you think we’ve earned Thai takeout too?”
“I think we’ve definitely earned takeout.” She giggles, and I give her a quick kiss before we start packing up the lab.
I’m zipping up my laptop bag when my phone buzzes. Dominic’s name flashes on the screen.
“Hey,” I answer. “What’s up?”
“Just checking in.” His voice is casual, but I know him well enough to hear the undercurrent. “How are things at the lab?”
“Good. Really good, actually. I think we've cracked the security problem.”
“That’s great, man. And... other things?”
He means my parents. He’s been handling the fallout from my ultimatum—fielding their calls, managing their expectations, being the buffer he’s always been.
“Other things are fine. Quiet. They’ve retreated to the Barrington Hills estate,” I say, dropping my voice as Audrey comes within earshot. “Supposedly indefinitely.”
“Indefinitely in your family means until the next family foundation mixer. You know, your mother called me three times today.”
“Let me guess. She’s panicking I’ll cut her allowance.”
“Something like that. I told her the budget is the budget.” He pauses. “I also might have mentioned that the travel fund is under review. No more spontaneous trips to Monaco until further notice.”
I snort. “That was rather evil, but also welcome. How’d she take that?”
“About as well as you’d expect. Lots of sighing. A few pointed comments about loyalty and family obligations.”
“Tell her to take it up with me if she has a problem going forward.”
Silence lands for a beat on the other end. “You sure? I can keep running interference?—”
“No. It’s time I dealt with them directly. On my terms.”
“Look at you, growing a giant set of balls.” I can hear the grin in his voice. “I’m proud of you, man.”
“Shut up.”
“No, seriously. Whatever Audrey’s doing to you, tell her to keep doing it.”
