The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

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A JOVE BOOKPublished by BerkleyAn imprint of Penguin Random House LLCpenguinrandomhouse.comCopyright © 2021 by Ali HazelwoodExcerpt from Love on the Brain copyright © 2021 by Ali HazelwoodPenguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encouragesdiverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you forbuying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws bynot reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form withoutpermission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House tocontinue to publish books for every reader.A JOVE BOOK, BERKLEY, and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registeredtrademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataNames: Hazelwood, Ali, author.Title: The love hypothesis / Ali Hazelwood.Description: First edition. | New York: Jove, 2021.Identifiers: LCCN 2020057346 (print) | LCCN 2020057347 (ebook) | ISBN9780593336823 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9780593336830 (ebook)Subjects: GSAFD: Love stories.Classification: LCC PS3608.A98845 L68 2021 (print) | LCC PS3608.A98845(ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057346LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057347First Edition: September 2021Cover illustration by lilithsaurBook design by Tiffany Estreicher, adapted for ebook by Estelle MalmedThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are theproduct of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance toactual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirelycoincidental.pid_prh_5.8.0_c0_r0
To my women in STEM: Kate, Caitie, Hatun, and Mar.Per aspera ad aspera.
Page 2: Praise for The Love Hypothesis“Co
Page 7: Chapter FourteenChapter FifteenChap
Page 10 and 11: Olive squeaked. She tried to open h
Page 12 and 13: “Neither are eyes.”Humph. Good
Page 14 and 15: “Are you planning to enroll?” h
Page 16 and 17: She could hear his smile.“I’ll
Page 18 and 19: When given a choice between A (a sl
Page 20 and 21: to be held for any length of time,
Page 22 and 23: feature of humanity, could never un
Page 24 and 25: good night.”“Wait!” She leane
Page 26 and 27: “But it wasn’t my worst, either
Page 28: Any rumor regarding my love life wi
Page 32 and 33: “Dr. Carlsen.”Dammit, dammit, d
Page 34 and 35: she could find, petrified. She was
Page 36 and 37: horrible at it, which meant that ea
Page 38 and 39: ago—and Olive immediately underst
Page 40: “Oh. Oh, no.” That would be way
Page 43 and 44: caught Anh kissing Adam Carlsen, sh
Page 45: that she didn’t even flip her off
Page 48 and 49: “I cannot believe it.”“Believ
Page 50 and 51: This was the worst. The absolute wo
Page 52 and 53: It was true that Anh had seemed hap
Page 54 and 55:
seemed insane.“You mean . . . for
Page 56 and 57:
probably whacked someone on the hea
Page 58 and 59:
“What do people who are dating do
Page 60:
over you and am not involved in you
Page 63 and 64:
“About you.”“Oh.” Olive’s
Page 65 and 66:
“Though, I’ve been thinking abo
Page 67 and 68:
sexual intercourse between the two
Page 69 and 70:
“For this to work we should proba
Page 71:
talk about. Their ten-minute coffee
Page 74 and 75:
“The relationship, it’s fake. W
Page 76 and 77:
“I have, haven’t I? Did I ever
Page 78 and 79:
Olive nodded again. When a single t
Page 80 and 81:
little unsettling, the realization
Page 82 and 83:
Olive smiled back, gesturing at Ada
Page 84 and 85:
herring for breakfast on the reg. M
Page 87 and 88:
WAS LATE for her second fake-dating
Page 89 and 90:
“I worked.”They got in line to
Page 91 and 92:
department chair this morning. He
Page 93 and 94:
“Is that so?”“Mmm.”His mout
Page 95 and 96:
“The time difference screwed me u
Page 97 and 98:
that he wasn’t planning to. Olive
Page 99 and 100:
“That is, I, um . . . never put t
Page 101 and 102:
“What kind of question is that?
Page 103 and 104:
“Who?”“Tom,” Adam said, a t
Page 105 and 106:
Olive had no idea he was giving a t
Page 107:
Adam laughed silently just as Tom s
Page 110 and 111:
“Hey—sorry.” She gestured in
Page 112 and 113:
Because millions of dollars in rese
Page 114 and 115:
torso. He didn’t say anything but
Page 116 and 117:
pitch her voice. “Or do you maybe
Page 118 and 119:
Cherie just standing there, chattin
Page 120 and 121:
“Because you moved the truck. I
Page 122 and 123:
this time with the sleeve of his sh
Page 124 and 125:
“The— Oh.” Adam rolled his ey
Page 127 and 128:
with an uneasy expression and start
Page 129 and 130:
“Yeah, well.” He stood and walk
Page 131:
Olive: Did you just fail Greg?trick
Page 137 and 138:
In the back seat Olive and Jeremy e
Page 139 and 140:
a six-pack?”Jeremy blinked. “Mi
Page 141 and 142:
1.5. Okay, I don’t like this. Jer
Page 143 and 144:
had a choice. Any choice. Especiall
Page 145 and 146:
“So.” Her mouth was dry. “Thi
Page 147 and 148:
She pinched him lightly on the unde
Page 149 and 150:
Adam nodded, Tom spun around and he
Page 151:
“What? No.”“Because that’s
Page 154 and 155:
“Should you be having caffeine at
Page 156 and 157:
“Can’t stand chocolate.”Olive
Page 158 and 159:
He glared, but she was starting to
Page 160 and 161:
“There are things you can do abou
Page 162 and 163:
the person she loved the most, but
Page 164 and 165:
He nodded, thoughtful. “You’re
Page 166 and 167:
jeans. “We’re friends. We weren
Page 169 and 170:
Olive: Tom just invited me to your
Page 171 and 172:
she’d sent. “To make sure I und
Page 173 and 174:
Once they were in Adam’s car—a
Page 175 and 176:
Adam was still around. The reason s
Page 177 and 178:
“I will if you get pumpkin stuff.
Page 179 and 180:
“It literally takes ten minutes.
Page 181 and 182:
you need to get over it. For scienc
Page 183:
Chapter TenHYPOTHESIS: If I fall in
Page 188 and 189:
the whole idea was idiotic and a ca
Page 190 and 191:
added begrudgingly, “he’s not n
Page 192 and 193:
noticeably different from the Adam
Page 194 and 195:
“Ol.”“How would that conversa
Page 196 and 197:
The lie rolled off her tongue like
Page 198 and 199:
It was all Olive could do not to le
Page 200 and 201:
Olive looked at Adam, expecting him
Page 202 and 203:
“Not sure. Not sure Holden knows,
Page 204 and 205:
She paused right in front of his ch
Page 206 and 207:
“We could, like, sleep in on Sund
Page 208 and 209:
Olive: Well, TSA is notoriously inc
Page 210 and 211:
“Adam being gone. Hell, even I mi
Page 212 and 213:
“But I could tell you so many jui
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 264 and 265:
like having a thousand little splin
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
Page 315 and 316:
who hugged her and started talking
Page 317 and 318:
“He was shameless, Ol. And glorio
Page 320 and 321:
It was an even fancier hotel, and O
Page 322 and 323:
about Malcolm’s elbows. Holden ha
Page 324 and 325:
A beat. Adam studied her, patient a
Page 326 and 327:
“Right,” he said. “Right.”
Page 328 and 329:
“It was good, wasn’t it?” Oli
Page 330 and 331:
Tom Fucking Benton take credit for
Page 333 and 334:
“Fine,” Anh huffed. “Malcolm,
Page 335 and 336:
recording of Tom Benton saying shit
Page 337 and 338:
only one bed in this hotel room was
Page 339 and 340:
“I haven’t.”“Yes, Ol, you h
Page 341 and 342:
Right. What about Tom, precisely? O
Page 343 and 344:
Holden sighed. “This is why Adam
Page 345 and 346:
Chapter TwentyHYPOTHESIS: People wh
Page 347 and 348:
In a lie.A lie, after a lot of lies
Page 349 and 350:
Olive closed her eyes and nodded, t
Page 351 and 352:
Cherie’s truck, and she almost la
Page 353:
Wearing expired contact lenses will
Page 356 and 357:
“Good,” he replied with a half
Page 359 and 360:
“Uh . . .” Adam’s frown deepe
Page 361 and 362:
“It will be horrific—”A throa
Page 363 and 364:
seventeen databases and built machi
Page 365 and 366:
When given a choice between A (tell
Page 367 and 368:
else to do it?’ I think my cookie
Page 369 and 370:
You can fall in love: someone will
Page 371 and 372:
faint yellow lights. “And I’d b
Page 373 and 374:
“No,” she repeated, pensive.
Page 375 and 376:
“I think that somewhere along the
Page 378 and 379:
He rolled his eyes. “What’s you
Page 380 and 381:
Author’s NoteI write stories set
Page 382 and 383:
AcknowledgmentsFirst, just allow me
Page 384 and 385:
Don’t missLove on the Braincoming
Page 386:
shrooms they just purchased from a
Page 394 and 395:
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, bu
Page 396 and 397:
more . . . connected than I origina
Page 398 and 399:
unresponsive to my brain’s comman
Page 400:
Photo courtesy of the authorAli Haz
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