Page 19 of Love in the Time of Conversation Hearts

“I don’t know,” I hiss. “We got all dressed up for cocktail hour last night, and he was funny and kind. And then he fed me pizza and we watched House Finders—”

Lauren whistles. “That is a sexy show.”

“Not you, too,” I say, disgusted.

“Agree to disagree. Continue.”

I breathe out and start talking a mile a minute, as if saying it faster will make it hurt less. Like ripping off a bandage. “Ugh, fine. He came out of the shower without a shirt on, and holy fuck, those abs. So I must have been dreaming about them last night because when I woke up, the pillows were all moved, and my hand was on them, and—”

“Wait, you slept in the same room?” Lauren interrupts.

“Yes. His assistant neglected to book me my own.”

“In the same bed?”

“There’s only one in the room. Keep up, Alcott!”

Lauren cackles maniacally, and I tap my foot as I wait for her to calm down and actually be of assistance in my moment of crisis. Thankfully, she recovers quickly. “Oh, you are in deep shit, my friend.”

“I mean, I probably just need to get laid, right? It’s been a while. Seeing any man shirtless would get the imagination going at this point.” Just then, Mr. Bean Burritos exits the bathroom. An older woman tries to enter behind him, takes one whiff, and turns the other way. “Well, not any man.”

“Oh, you sweet summer child,” she sings. “I was wondering how long it was going to take you to come around.”

People are still filing out of the ballrooms after their sessions, and the hallway is starting to get loud, so I turn to face the wall and plug my ear with my finger. “What are you talking about?”

“Adam Sullivan is hot, and he has had a crush on you for a long time.”

“Stop it,” I insist, even as my insides flip at the very idea that these feelings might be reciprocated.

“Cora, you’d have to be blind not to see it. The smirks, the taunting, the way his eyes get all glinty whenever you’re around. The offer to drive you to this conference for an extra hour with you in his fancy car.”

“He drove because he has all-wheel drive.”

“Sure.” She doesn’t sound convinced.

I rear back as my brows pinch together. It feels like a pinball is bouncing off bumpers in my brain as I try to piece together what she’s saying to me. “He taunts me because he hates me.”

She hums skeptically. “The taunting reads much more like a middle school boy who doesn’t know how to act around the girl he likes.”

“That’s ridiculous.” But is it? The highlight reel in my mind is on overdrive, and I don’t know if it’s reality or the power of suggestion, but maybe his teasing has been edged with humor. Maybe those gray eyes of his have been sparkling with more than just ire.

As if she can tell that I’ve come to a similar conclusion, Lauren’s self-assured “Mmm-hmm” comes over the line.

“Okay, let’s say you’re right. What do I do?”

“Have fun. You’ve got one more day of this conference, and one more night of sleeping in the same bed together.” I can practically hear her eyebrows waggling from here. “Make the most of it. Or don’t. But don’t worry so much. Try not planning every move for once.”

I blink several times as her words settle in. “I feel like that was a thinly-veiled insult.”

“Oh shoot, there’s a wine emergency,” she says, not at all persuasively. “Gotta go! Good luck! Call me later!” And she hangs up.

I’m left blinking at my phone for a moment, no better off than I was before she called. My back is still to the hallway, though it has gotten a lot quieter. Everyone must have gone up to their rooms to prepare for more networking and drinks tonight. I should probably get up there, too, or Adam will wonder where I went. Still dazedly staring at my phone, I turn around. I don’t even take two steps before I run right into a very hard—very familiar—set of pecs.

Adam’s spiced cologne washes over me, and I stumble backward. He reaches out to cup my elbows to steady me, but all that does is make my knees weaker than they already are.

“Woah, Cora. Are you okay?” His deep voice rumbles straight to my core as the warmth of his hands seeps through my sleeve.

I don’t know what sensation to focus on. My senses are completely overloaded with everything that is Adam. He’s everywhere and all around me, and I can’t think of anything but him. So, I blurt out the first thing I can think to say.