Page 79 of Love and the Laws of Motion
“I don’t want to ask Langley for anything to do with Janet’s grant.”
“Why?”
Again, she paused.“Remember I told you about the fight she was having with Langley right before she collapsed?He wanted her to purchase some stuff for him with it.”
“Right.You don’t want him getting his filthy hands anywhere near her grant money.”
“Pretty much.”Then she shook her head.“Ugh.Forget I said anything.I’m just being paranoid.”
“Maybe you’re not.What’s happening to Skylight’s money while Finch is out?”
She shrugged.“Nothing, I guess?It’s sitting in their account.”
“You sure about that?Langley sounds like he thinks he’s entitled to it.”
“Well, he’s not.It’s Janet’s grant.”
“But she’s not here to defend it.”
Livie turned her wide brown eyes to his.“What’s he going to do?Stealit?”
“Maybe.”He knew plenty of people who wouldn’t think twice about doing just that.
Livie let out a shocked huff of laughter.“Come on, Nick.This isn’t the movies.There’s no espionage at work here.This isacademia.There are rules.Langley’s a jerk, but he’s not a criminal.He can grumble all he wants, but I’m sure the money is safe.”
“I’m serious, Liv.I can totally see that guy trying something shady.You need to watch your back.”
“And you need to stop imagining everybody is as morally flexible as you.”
“I don’t need to imagine it, because most people are, or they’re worse.”
She was flustered now, breathing faster and twisting her hands together.He reached out for her, taking her face in his hands.“Hey, I’m only warning you because I’m worried about you.I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
He knew what she was scared of, even if she didn’t.If she admitted to herself that Finch wasn’t coming back, that Langley was an irredeemable asshole bent on sabotaging her—then she would need to do something about it, make some sort of life-altering change.And he’d already figured out she did not like her life altered.She wouldn’t be at Adams otherwise.
Now here she was, still stumbling along the path she’d set for herself even after the road had disappeared beneath her feet.If it were him, he’d have lit a match, burned it all down, and started fresh.But she wasn’t him.All he could do was keep nudging her in the right direction when she’d let him, press her with the uncomfortable questions until she shut him down.He hoped it worked, because otherwise she was in for a world of hurt, and he did not want to see that happen to her.
Which, he supposed, meant he’d begun to care.He cared about her, of course.They were friends.But this was different.He’d begun to feel stuff you didn’t feel about someone who was just a friend or even a friend with benefits.He wasn’t supposed to get serious about Livie—wanting to take care of her, to protect her, like he was her boyfriend or something.He was not in a good place to be anybody’s boyfriend.Not now and probably not for a long time.And considering his dark view of life, he was a terrible candidate to beLivie’sboyfriend even under the best of circumstances.She needed someone as decent and honest as she was.Someone who saw all the best in the world instead of wallowing around in its dark corners.
But when she was looking up at him with those dark eyes full of that warm light, and her lips looked soft, and her hair felt so silky under his fingers, it was hard to remember to keep his feet firmly on the ground.It was tempting to be selfish, and pull her closer, because that light in Livie’s eyes was pretty good at warming up his cold heart.
“Nick, I can handle this,” she said.
Since she’d shut him down, he wouldn’t try again, at least not tonight.“I know, I know.You can take care of yourself.”
Finally, she relented, smiling up at him.“But thank you for worrying.”
He kissed her gently, tempted, as he always was when his mouth was on hers, to go further.Their physical chemistry had taken him completely by surprise.He’d fully expected to enjoy sleeping with her.But he hadn’t been ready for this, the way his brain short-circuited every time he touched her, the way thoughts of her consumed his every waking minute.But they were outside and it was cold, so he firmly told his dick to stand down.This wasn’t the time or place.
Clearing his throat, he stepped away from her.“Tell me what you can see with one of these things.”
She moved to one of the telescopes.“With these?Here in Brooklyn?Not much.Venus and Mars, depending on the time of year.The Pleiades, if there’s no moon, like tonight.Come here.”
He joined her, watching as she leaned forward and pressed her eye to the eyepiece.Her hair fell around her face as she fiddled with the knobs and shifted the telescope’s aim.
“Here, look.”
He did.“What am I supposed to be seeing?Is it that fuzzy blue patch?”
