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“That’s it?” Colby chuckled.
Billie smacked his arm again. “What more do you want?”
“He’s curing cancer or some shit, right?” Owen asked.
“He’s a cancer researcher, yeah.”
Holden played with his pasta. “I don’t mean to sound stupid, but what exactly does a cancer researcher do? Like he goes into work and does…what?”
I straightened in my seat. “Well, a typical day for Warren might be putting cancer cells under a microscope and seeing how they interact with a particular organism. It takes many hours of work, trial and error, to make small gains in discovering what works and what doesn’t in terms of diminishing cell growth and therefore reducing disease burden.”
“That’s a very honorable job,” Billie said.
“He’s an honorable nerd, yeah,” Holden added.
I raised a brow. “Well, I guess we’re perfect for each other then, since that’s what you used to call me—a nerd.”
“Yeah, but you know I mean it lovingly.” Holden winked.
Colby looked between us. I hoped he didn’t sense my weird feelings for Holden. I remembered Colby watching Holden and me dance at the wedding. He’d seemed to be the only one who took notice.
After dessert, I stood from the table. “Well, I’m sure you guys have to get Saylor to bed, and I have to get ready for the interview tomorrow, so I should get out of your hair.”
Billie stood. “We need to do this all the time, if you end up getting the position. Maybe make it a weekly thing.”
I nodded. “I’d love that.”
Holden stood and accompanied me to the door.
When he opened it and went out, I looked up at him. “You’re leaving, too?”
“Yeah. Dinner’s over, right?”
I said a quick goodbye to everyone and followed Holden down the hall. We walked together back to the adjacent apartments.
Holden stopped at my door and handed me the key. Our fingers brushed together as I took them.
He stood in place for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Would you want to come in and have a drink with me?”
My stomach fluttered. Why did a simple question make me react that way? It was just a drink. But somehow anything having to do with Holden felt…dangerous. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him—or myself. I just didn’t think it was a good idea to fan the flames of whatever had been going on in my head since the second I’d arrived.
“I’d better not,” I told him. “I have a lot to unpack. And I need to be in tip-top shape tomorrow morning.”
“Right. Of course.” He looked down at his shoes. “Another time then.” He sighed. “When you get the job. You will. Because you’re Lala.”
“I wish I felt that confident.”
“You’ll do great.” He smiled, his eyes lingering on mine for a moment.
Yeah. There was undoubtedly an odd tension between us. It was the same tension I’d felt at Colby’s wedding and intermittently over the years. I just couldn’t be sure he sensed it the same way I did. I held up my hand. “Well…goodnight.”
“’Night, Lala.”
Holden waited for me to enter the apartment. After the door closed behind me, I took a deep breath in and tried to find my bearings. Relief washed over me. I’m finally alone.
I took a hot shower, which was badly needed, before drying my hair. I probably should’ve gone straight to bed after that, but I was wired. I ventured over to the refrigerator, assuming it would be empty. But I was shocked to find cream for coffee and a box of something inside. My chest tightened when I opened it to find a dozen Boston cream donuts. Ryan’s favorite. There was a sticky note on the top of the box.
Ryan says: “You got this, sis. Knock ’em dead tomorrow.”
Tears formed in my eyes. I reached for my phone.
Lala: You did that? The donuts?
Holden: Figured you needed breakfast in the morning.
Lala: You made me cry. Thank you. That was the sweetest gesture.
Holden: You’re welcome, sweetheart.
That made me tingle all over. I was a crying, tingling fucking mess. Jesus. I had a fiancé. I needed to stop reacting to Holden like this. Maybe it was just the excitement of being here. If I got the grant and came to live in the City, my emotions would settle down. And anyway, even if I didn’t have a fiancé, Holden Catalano would not be an option for me. He was every headache I didn’t need in my life. That moment we’d had at the wedding was apparently still messing with my head.
After devouring one of the donuts, I brushed my teeth and tucked myself into bed, once again impressed with the quality of this place as I felt the comfortable, memory-foam mattress beneath me. I briefly tested the sound of the alarm on my phone to make sure it would go off in the morning.
Just as I laid my head on the pillow, I heard a knock on the bedroom wall. At first I thought it was my imagination, but then it happened again.
