“What?”
She makes a huffing sound. “Yeah. If you have to ask, then it really isn’t.” She turns to fully face me, leaning back against the railing, her long legs stretched out in front of her. “What a shame. You are so pretty. And smart, too. Fucking you would piss off so many people.”
I nearly blow out a sigh of relief. Because as shitty as I am at reading situations, I was starting to wonder if I’d misunderstood. My gut said she was coming on to me. But what the hell do I know?
A week ago, I’d thought Holly was agreeing to marry me, so clearly I’m a fucking idiot.
It feels like Lily’s waiting for me to say something, so I say, “I’m sorry.”
She gives a sigh that sounds purposefully dramatic, and then rolls her eyes. “I’ll live.” Then she pushes away from the railing and seems to perk up. “If you don’t want to fuck me, maybe we could just pretend. Spend a few days together, make everyone think we’d slept together. I can definitely make it worth your time.”
“Are you suggesting that if I either sleep with you or pretend to sleep with you, you’ll make sure I get the fellowship?”
She tips her head to the side and then laughs again. “Oh, yeah. I guess that is what that sounded like, isn’t it? And that would look really bad for you, huh? I can see why you wouldn’t want to do that.” Suddenly, she grips my arm. “I don’t suppose you’d want to marry me instead?”
I take a startled step back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
She waves a hand dismissively. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.”
“Why would you . . . why would you ask that?”
Jesus, is this what Holly had felt like when I asked her?
She shrugs. “I’m impulsive. It’s kind of my thing. Which you might have guessed, given I’m here. I mean, come on, what kind of person sees a guy on Instagram and flies halfway across the country to meet him on a whim? Am I right?”
“I don’t know how to answer that,” I say honestly. Though I am seriously beginning to question a lot of things about Lily McPherson. Rich? Yes. Objectively, inarguably beautiful? Yes. Emotionally stable? That one is a big question mark for me. Which is not a great sign since she controls a billion-dollar empire. “Whydidyou do that?”
Instead of answering my question, she turns back to look out over the campus again. Then she pushes her hair off her forehead and says, “It is miserably hot out here. How do you people live in this weather?”
“Air-conditioning. Though Texas does have more deaths per capita from heatstroke than any other state.”
“What?”
If the look of horror on Lily’s face is any indication, my conversational skills have just hit a real low.
“Would you like to go back inside?” I ask.
“No. I’m not any better at handling the fawning crowds than I suspect you are. I’ll take the heat.” She braces her hands on the railing, and then pulls her hands away. The stone is undoubtedly hot. “You know the worst part of being rich?”
Several possibilities come to mind, but given my track record so far tonight, I keep them to myself and just shake my head.
“It’s the other rich people.” She leans toward me and whispers, like she’s sharing a secret. “A lot of billionaires are such assholes.”
“That makes sense. The latest research in neuroscience indicates power kills off the empathy portion of the brain.”
Her eyes go wide and she grins. “Exactly!”
“It’s undoubtedly an evolutionary response—”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure there are reasons.” She circles her hand in aspeed-it-upgesture. “My point is, everyone I come in contact with is either a rich dickhead or a social-climbing, pandering sycophant. It’s exhausting.”
Was she . . . was she asking for advice about how to make friends? Because I am not equipped for that.
Thank God she doesn’t pause long enough for me to feel like I’m supposed to answer her.
“I thought things would change when I joined the committee. Like, maybe I would meet new people. There is one assistant professor from MIT, Dr. Tia Wang, who is pretty amazing, but most of them are so damn old. And they all think I’m a dilettante. I suppose I am, but some of them are outright mean about it. I swear one of those women is actually Delores Umbridge.”
“I know who that is!” I blurt.
