Page 28 of How to Kiss a Movie Star
Something about the way she sayspassionatemakes me think she probably knows about the trespassing. My eyes dart to Flint, who seems to have recovered from whatever embarrassment his mom caused and is looking at me, his lips lifted into a playful smirk.
“Yeah, Audrey. What makes you passionate enough to hikemilesinto the wilderness, property lines and giant security guards be damned, in pursuit of the elusive white squirrel?”
I roll my eyes, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the way he’s teasing me. “To be fair, your property belonged to my university before you bought it. It was my research forest—connected to my lab—and I’ve been visiting all my research locations for months without anyone caring or knowing.”
“So you admit you’ve been trespassing for months?” Flint says, his tone light.
I wince and offer a placating smile. “Yes? But relocating my experiments would have compromised so much data!”
“Does the university know about this? About your surreptitious forest use?”
An actual jolt of panic shoots through me. Theydon’tknow, and they wouldn’t be happy about it. “Oh, well, I mean…” I swallow.
“Hey.” Flint touches my wrist, his fingers triggering an eruption of goosebumps across my arm. “I’m just teasing. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
I nod, grateful for the reassurance. “Causing trouble is the last thing I need to be doing right now. I’ve been using the same research grant for the past three years from this foundation over in Asheville. But I’ve gotten the sense lately that my funding might not come through for another year.”
“Which means what?”
“A lot more work for me. Writing new grant proposals, schmoozing, networking. It’s the part of my job I don’t like. There’s research money out there. It’s just not always easy to find it.”
He frowns. “That’s too bad.”
I shrug. “It’s the way it goes sometimes. I’m determined not to stress about it until I have more reason to think I should.”
“You know, Stonebrook is almost twice as big as Flint’s place,” Hannah says. “We don’t have as much forest land as this”—she motions around us—but you’re welcome on our property any time if it would suit your research needs.”
“I appreciate that,” I say. “That’s really generous of you.”
She smiles warmly. “I’d still love to know what makes you love what you do.”
I glance at Flint, his open, curious expression encouraging an honest answer. “It isn’tjustabout the squirrels, really,” I say, careful not to make my response too didactic. “So much of my research is about the way nature intersects with human life. Squirrels are very adaptable. They’ve taken to living among humans better than a lot of other species. But when we bulldoze entire stretches of forest, it still impacts their environment. We’ve gotten better at living alongside nature and respecting it, but there’s still progress that needs to happen. I mean, I like research because it’s cool to know stuff, but the greater purpose is to discover better ways to liveinnature without destroying it.”
I press my palms against my thighs, suddenly self-conscious. This is not the first time I’ve rattled on and on about things that are only interesting to me. I bite my lip. “Sorry. That was probably more of an answer than you bargained for.”
“I love it,” Flint says warmly. “I respect your passion and dedication. And I’m all for respecting nature, living among it instead of destroying it.”
“I think you did that with your house,” I say. “It feels like it belongs here. Like it’s always been a part of the mountainside. I don’t know if that makes any sense.”
“No, it totally makes sense,” Flint says. “And I appreciate you noticing. That’s exactly what I was going for.” He holds my gaze, steady and confident, until I have to look away to catch my breath. I’m not sure my lungs can fully expand when he’s looking at me like that.
Hannah looks from Flint to me, then back to Flint again, a smile playing at her lips. “Well, I’ll be,” she says softly.
Flint’s eyes jump to his mother, then he clears his throat and stands so quickly that his chair falls over behind him. He scrambles to pick it up, nearly tripping on his own feet as he does so. Once the chair is back on all four legs, he pushes it under the table and backs away.
“I’m going to get some more potato salad. Anyone else want more potato salad? No? Okay, then.”
Hannah chuckles as he walks away. “I haven’t seen that in a while,” she says.
“What’s that?” I ask, almost afraid of her answer because I know what Iwantit to be, and it’s the most preposterous thought that haseverpopped into my head.
Don’t say it, I think to myself.Just don’t say it.
“He’s flustered,” Hannah says. She looks at me coyly. “I think you did that.”
I laugh much too loudly, even as the rebellious part of my brain rejoices that she thinks I couldevermake someone like Flint Hawthorne flustered. “Ha! No. I’m not—he wouldn’t—” I shake my head like a six-year-old trying to convince her mother she didn’t steal the last cookie. “I’m just a girl who likes nature,” I finally say.
She shrugs. “He’s just a boy who likes movies.”
