AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Lando. When your dad was giving me the pepper versus tomato paste lecture, he filled me in on the details,” he says. “He’s the guy who would wash his penis in the sink, isn’t he?”
Even though I'm, well, let's face it, drunk, my stomach tightens. I roll my eyes anyway and say, "That’s the one. I know my parents think he broke my heart, but he didn't mean that much to me. Honestly, I was far more upset about him taking credit for my work than I was about all the philandering and the dumping.”
"Really?"
No, not really. He shattered my heart into tiny dust particles. "Seriously, I completely forgot about it."
“No, you didn't," he says, and I swear to God, his eyes are peering directly into my soul.
"How do you know?"
"Because you’ve completely given up on love, which is a crime." His eyes flick down to my lips. "Your nonno was right about you. You're very beautiful. And you're smart and you’re fun, and any guy would be lucky to be with you."
But not him. He doesn't mean him, no matter how much I wish he did.
We stare at each other for a moment, and I feel my heart pounding a little harder than it should be for someone standing still. “Do you want to hear something crazy?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Lando is on one of the teams I’m competing against. To create the first viable AI system for SETI.”
“Are you serious?” he asks.
I nod. “Yup.”
“Oh my God, in that case, you need to get Frank working. Like, right now.”
I chuckle a little, my heart swelling that he gets what it means to me, and we stare at each other for a deliciously long, intense moment. Kiss me. Kiss me right here, right now. I don’t even care that my entire family is watching from the living room window. I know I should. But I don’t.
But he doesn’t kiss me. He clears his throat instead. “I better let you go get back to work.”
“Yes, I should totally do that. Thank you so much for saving me today.”
“Did you get a lot done?”
Nodding, I say, “I really did.”
“Then it was all worth it because for the rest of my life, I’ll know I was a part of something so much bigger than anything else I’ll do with my life.”
My cheeks heat up at the thought of Hudson Finch—a famous actor with the big, shiny career—thinking what I do is important.
He points to the food. “Plus, I’m going to eat like a king for at least a week.”
“At least.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” he says.
“Yes, you will,” I answer, my voice all soft and silky. Kiss me … now.
He glances at the house and waves. “That sure is your entire family, just standing there watching us.”
I look over and give them a ‘get lost’ face, but let’s face it, they’re not going to honor my wishes. “Yes, there they are.”
He holds out his hand. “Good night, Allegra. I hope you get some sleep.”
I shake his hand. It’s warm and big and manly and I don’t want to let go but I know I have to. “Good night, Hudson. Thank you again. For everything.”
“Anytime.”
