The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
like having a thousand little splinters pressed deep into a freshwound. It brought back every single word Tom had said to her,all his lies and his truths and his mocking insults, and . . .Adam must have known. As soon as he put her down, hegathered everything that was conference related and stuck it ona chair facing the windows, where it was hidden from theirsight, and Olive . . . She could have hugged him. She wasn’tgoing to—she already had, twice today—but she really couldhave. Instead she resolutely pushed all those little splinters outof her mind, plopped herself down on her bed belly up, andstared at the ceiling.She’d thought it would be awkward, being with him insuch a small space for a whole night. And it was a little bit, orat least it had been when she’d first arrived earlier today, butnow she felt calm and safe. Like her world, constantly hecticand messy and demanding, was slowing down. Easing up, justa bit.The bedcover rustled under her head when she turned tolook at Adam. He seemed relaxed, too, as he draped his jacketagainst the back of a chair, then took off his watch and set itneatly on the desk. The casual domesticity of it—the thoughtthat his day and hers would end in the same place, at the sametime—soothed her like a slow caress down her spine.“Thank you. For buying me food.”He glanced at her, crinkling his nose. “I don’t know thatthere was any food involved.”She smiled, rolling to her side. “You’re not going outagain?”“Out?”“Yeah. To meet other very important science people? Eatanother seven pounds of edamame?”
“I think I’ve had enough networking and edamame for thisdecade.” He took off his shoes and socks, and set them neatlyby the bed.“You’re staying in, then?”He paused and looked at her. “Unless you’d rather bealone?”No, I would not. She propped herself up on her elbow.“Let’s watch a movie.”Adam blinked at her. “Sure.” He sounded surprised but notdispleased. “But if your taste in movies is anything like yourtaste in restaurants, it’ll probably—”He didn’t see the pillow coming at him. It bounced off hisface and then fell to the floor, making Olive giggle and springoff the bed. “You mind if I shower, before?”“You smart-ass.”She started rummaging through her suitcase. “You can pickthe movie! I don’t care which one, as long as there are noscenes in which horses are killed, because it— Crap.”“What?”“I forgot my pajamas.” She looked for her phone in thepockets of her coat. It wasn’t there, and she realized that shehadn’t brought it with her to the restaurant. “Have you seenmy— Oh, there it is.”The battery was almost dead, probably because she hadforgotten to turn off the recording after her talk. She hadn’tchecked her messages in a few hours, and found severalunread texts—mostly from Anh and Malcolm, asking herwhere she was and if she still planned to come to the social,telling her to get her ass there ASAP because “the booze isflowing like a river,” and then, finally, just informing her thatthey were all going downtown to a bar. Anh must have been
- Page 214 and 215: stricken and frantic. “I can’t.
- Page 216 and 217: crap her pants. “Right.” Olive
- Page 218 and 219: “Well.” He fidgeted with the ca
- Page 220 and 221: “You’re not mad, right?”“I
- Page 222 and 223: Possibilities. That’s what Adam
- Page 224 and 225: them. I do hate that I love them, t
- Page 226 and 227: Could room.With him.Olive knew full
- Page 228 and 229: She huffed, crossing her arms over
- Page 230 and 231: “No.” She winced.“Is it the p
- Page 232 and 233: “Adam, I’m pretty sure that if
- Page 234 and 235: me to cry under the shower?”“Th
- Page 236 and 237: to my professional career, general
- Page 238 and 239: “Hey.” Olive forced her face in
- Page 240 and 241: “What is it?”“Calories. To fu
- Page 242 and 243: She rolled her eyes. “For Dr. Asl
- Page 244 and 245: It didn’t go perfectly, either. S
- Page 246 and 247: friends, but maybe she could buy hi
- Page 248 and 249: “A pretty girl like you should kn
- Page 250 and 251: to spending more time with you next
- Page 252 and 253: “Nothing.” Her voice shook. It
- Page 254 and 255: “It’s not what they say. It’s
- Page 256 and 257: “And I keynote-spoke.” He grabb
- Page 258 and 259: “Um . . . I’m wearing heels, he
- Page 260 and 261: She moved closer to him and grasped
- Page 262 and 263: “It’s appalling.”“—or the
- Page 266 and 267: well on her way to wasted by that p
- Page 268 and 269: “An obscenity, isn’t it? It’s
- Page 270 and 271: “For a moment there, during the t
- Page 272 and 273: “The opposite of discipline and h
- Page 274 and 275: Adam shook his head. “He wanted a
- Page 276 and 277: all of it, maybe it was always goin
- Page 278 and 279: “Olive.” He sighed heavily, clo
- Page 280: It was a little embarrassing, the a
- Page 283 and 284: studying her, it brooked no self-co
- Page 285 and 286: “No.” He shook his head. “Not
- Page 287 and 288: And I bet you do this all the time,
- Page 289 and 290: —IT TOOK HER the longest time to
- Page 291 and 292: Yes.“Fuck,” someone said. It wa
- Page 293 and 294: orgasm, and the taut stretch of it,
- Page 295 and 296: “Inside you?”“If you—”Ada
- Page 298 and 299: Oh. Maybe, now that they had sex—
- Page 300 and 301: “What?” She gasped and freed he
- Page 302 and 303: finally belonging that seemed to ge
- Page 304 and 305: Slowly, precisely, she wrapped her
- Page 306 and 307: “The book you’re reading. With
- Page 308 and 309: “Who needs to know how to say ‘
- Page 310 and 311: He rolled his tongue inside his che
- Page 312 and 313: “Okay.” She leaned forward and
“I think I’ve had enough networking and edamame for this
decade.” He took off his shoes and socks, and set them neatly
by the bed.
“You’re staying in, then?”
He paused and looked at her. “Unless you’d rather be
alone?”
No, I would not. She propped herself up on her elbow.
“Let’s watch a movie.”
Adam blinked at her. “Sure.” He sounded surprised but not
displeased. “But if your taste in movies is anything like your
taste in restaurants, it’ll probably—”
He didn’t see the pillow coming at him. It bounced off his
face and then fell to the floor, making Olive giggle and spring
off the bed. “You mind if I shower, before?”
“You smart-ass.”
She started rummaging through her suitcase. “You can pick
the movie! I don’t care which one, as long as there are no
scenes in which horses are killed, because it— Crap.”
“What?”
“I forgot my pajamas.” She looked for her phone in the
pockets of her coat. It wasn’t there, and she realized that she
hadn’t brought it with her to the restaurant. “Have you seen
my— Oh, there it is.”
The battery was almost dead, probably because she had
forgotten to turn off the recording after her talk. She hadn’t
checked her messages in a few hours, and found several
unread texts—mostly from Anh and Malcolm, asking her
where she was and if she still planned to come to the social,
telling her to get her ass there ASAP because “the booze is
flowing like a river,” and then, finally, just informing her that
they were all going downtown to a bar. Anh must have been
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