Page 63 of Pucking My Grumpy Roommate
I leaned back in my chair, studying him. “You really want to help me with scientific publication strategy? On the day you got cleared to return to professional hockey?”
“I want to help you with whatever matters to you,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “And this matters.”
That’s when it hit me – how seamlessly he’d integrated himself into my world, despite knowing almost nothing about microbiology. He’d asked exactly the right questions to help me regain perspective, not because he understood the science, but because he understood me.
"Your phone's ringing," Austin called from the kitchen. "Someone named 'Mom Callahan'?"
I rushed over, reaching for my phone with a guilty expression. "Oh! That's your mom."
Austin's eyebrows shot up. "My mom is calling you? How does she even have your number?"
"She may have asked for it last week when she called you and I answered while you were in the shower," I admitted, accepting the call. "Hi, Mrs. Callahan!"
Austin watched, bemused, as I chatted animatedly with his mother for several minutes, discussing everything from my research to Austin's recovery progress.
"Yes, he's being very diligent with his exercises," I said, winking at Austin. "Though sometimes I have to remind him about icing afterward."
When I finally hung up, Austin was staring at me.
"You and my mother are friends now?"
I shrugged. "She's nice! And really interested in microbiology, surprisingly. We've been texting about bacterial resistance in hospital settings." I paused, noticing his expression. "Is that weird?"
"Not weird," he said slowly. "Just unexpected. My parents' marriage has been... complicated since I was a teenager. They live separate lives now, though they never officially divorced."
"She mentioned they have different approaches to your career," I said carefully.
Austin's mouth quirked. "That's one way to put it. Dad sees me as an extension of his hockey dreams. Mom just wants me to be happy."
"Well, that explains why she was so interested in hearing if you were happy with me around," I said, patting his arm. "Don't worry, I gave you a glowing review."
"Glad to know I'm being discussed," he muttered, but he was smiling.
“Okay,” I said, reopening my laptop. “I need to reposition my manuscript to emphasize the aspects where my approach excels over Liu’s.”
We spent the next two hours at the table, our Thai food forgotten and the champagne warming in its bucket. Austin asked questions that forced me to articulate my advantages clearly, and though he couldn’t contribute to the technical aspects, his strategic thinking proved surprisingly valuable.
CHAPTER 16
AUSTIN
Iwoke before my alarm, the early morning light filtering through the blinds I’d forgotten to close last night. For someone who craved routine and order in every aspect
of my life, this small oversight would normally bother me. But as I turned my head to look at Kate sprawled beside me, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
She slept with the same chaotic energy that defined her waking hours—limbs flung across my previously sacred side of the bed, her wild auburn hair splayed across both our pillows, one leg hooked over mine as if to keep me from escaping. On the nightstand that had once held nothing but my phone, alarm clock, and a glass of water, now sat three science journals, a half-empty mug of yesterday’s coffee, and what appeared to be handwritten notes on bacterial something-or-other.
Six weeks ago, this invasion would have driven me insane. Now I found myself smiling at the coffee ring on my pristine nightstand.
Kate’s breathing changed slightly, and I watched as those bright green eyes fluttered open, taking a moment to focus on me.
“You’re staring,” she mumbled, her voice husky with sleep. “It’s creepy.”
“It’s my bed,” I countered. “I can stare if I want to.”
“Our bed,” she corrected, stretching like a cat, her body arching in a way that made my mouth go dry. “Temporary joint custody, remember?”
I reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ve colonized it like one of your bacteria.”
