Page 97 of Love and the Laws of Motion
“Poppy.I was wrong.I didn’t know the first fucking thing about love.”
“And now you do?”Luke sounded dubious.
“Now I do.”Yes, he realized, now he knew exactly what love felt like.It felt like this.
Love.All this time, he’d been bending himself into knots trying to figure out if Poppy had ever loved him, whether he’d ever loved her.He’d been asking himself the wrong question.It didn’t matter how he might have once felt about Poppy.All that mattered was how he now felt about Livie.And now, sitting here on the other side of the country, half-blind and punch-drunk with exhaustion, he knew the answer, without a shadow of a doubt.HelovedLivie.And he’d just lost her.Fuck.
“Is this the space chick?”
“The what?”
“You said you were doing that Hubble telescope project with some science chick.”
“Livie.Her name is Livie.I’m in love with Livie.”Every time he said it, he was more certain.The feeling was expanding inside of him, flowing into all the dusty, unused corners of his heart.He’d never been as certain of anything as he was of this emotion—he was in love with Livie.And somehow, he was going to prove it to her and get her back.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Outside of Langley’s office on Monday morning, Livie steeled herself for the meeting, suppressing every unpleasant feeling she had about the man.This was business.The application for time on Hubble was finished.She’d spent the whole weekend polishing it to perfection.But she needed one critical thing before she could submit it—Janet’s signature.And since that was impossible to get at the moment, she was going to suck it up and do something she really didn’t want to do—she was going to ask Langley to sign off on it instead.
Taking a deep breath, she rapped smartly on his door.That was a confident knock.That was a knock that said, “I mean business.”
“Come in,” he called.
As always, his office was spotless, without a sign of his work anywhere.In fact, the place looked even more like something out of a movie.The thick Persian rug on the floor was new, as was the framed abstract painting on the wall behind Langley’s desk.While he still didn’t have a computer that looked capable of producing any serious scientific work, his laptop was new—tiny, sleek, and silver.Music was playing, something weird and instrumental, piped in from invisible speakers he must have recently had installed.There was a new brass nameplate on the edge of his desk.“Department Chair, Dr.William Langley.”He certainly seemed to be settling in for the duration.Presumptuous jerk.
“Hi, Professor Langley.Can I have a minute?”
“What can I do for you, Miss Romano?”
She wasn’t “Olivia” anymore, she was Miss Romano?Fine.She’d always hated the way he said her name anyway.“I’d like to talk to you about the situation with Dr.Finch.”
He frowned slightly, his eyes still on his laptop.“Very unfortunate.Any update from her family?”
“Andy—that’s her son—said she’s still recovering.”
“Terrible,” he said, not sounding at all sorry.
“That’s why I’m here.I’ve been doing the best I can to move the research forward without her, but there’s only so much I can do with our current resources.It was our plan to apply for time on Hubble, but she didn’t get a chance to complete the request before her heart attack.”
“That’s too bad.”He still hadn’t lifted his eyes from his laptop screen.Livie was about to reach out and slam the damned thing shut.But she still needed something from this useless asshole, as much as she hated it.
“Well, I’ve gone ahead and completed the application.”
That did get his attention.His eyes snapped up to hers.“That’s very industrious of you.”
“I spoke to someone at NASA’s outreach program for guidance.They’ve been very helpful.The problem is, I need Janet’s signature on the application before I can submit it.”
“That is a problem.”
Now she was to the tough part.She absolutely hated asking this man for anything, but she had no choice if she wanted to keep working.And right now, she wanted—no, sheneeded—to keep working.“I was hoping you could sign off for her.”
Langley frowned and leaned back in his chair, weaving his fingers together.“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Disappointment surged through her, but she wasn’t backing down yet.This was too important.“Why not?”
“It’s university policy, I’m afraid.No one other than the head of the research project may sign off on work related to that project.”
“Not even the acting head of the department?”
