Space (Laws of Physics #2)(68)

As it turns out, the two activities weren’t mutually exclusive. Allyn was sitting at the kitchen table next to Leo, and the way they seemed to be so entirely engrossed in each other, and whatever they were talking about, made me smile. Even though I was still annoyed with my brother about our conversation yesterday, I wished him nothing but the best, and Allyn was the best.

“Hey, Mona.” Kaitlyn’s greeting had me turning toward her voice.

“Oh. Hi, Kaitlyn. How are you?” I hadn’t spotted her when I first walked in. She was standing by the refrigerator, holding a carton of half-and-half.

“Great!” she said, her smile bright. “I don’t think you’ve met Martin yet?” Lifting her chin, she gestured to a man, another person I hadn’t immediately noticed upon entering the kitchen.

He was on the same stool Abram had sat on yesterday while I made hot chocolate, and the first thing I noticed about him was that his eyes were the most startling shade of blue-green. Like an aquamarine.

“Oh, hey there. I’m Mona, Leo’s sister.” I walked forward and extended my hand. He glanced at it impassively, took it, gave it a perfunctory shake, and let it go.

“You’re Mona DaVinci,” he said in a way that made me feel like he was contradicting me. “That would make Leo your brother.”

I lifted an eyebrow at him. His lips curved at my confusion, and said bluntly, “We were just talking about this before you came in. In newspaper headlines about the two of you, it always reads something like, ‘Mona DaVinci and brother are spotted having breakfast at blah blah blah.’”

“It’s true!” Leo chimed in cheerfully from his spot at the kitchen table, his eyes full of pride. “Some of my friends call me and brother.”

That made Allyn laugh, Kaitlyn shake her head, and Martin smile.

I rolled my eyes at Leo, relieved to see he seemed mostly recovered from his cold, and that he didn’t appear to be upset with me about our tense conversation yesterday.

“I’m Martin Sandeke,” he added, giving me an assessing look, so I’m sure he didn’t miss the recognition flicker behind my eyes.

“You’re Martin Sandeke?”

He nodded, his expression bracing.

I glanced at Kaitlyn, recalling our conversation about how her fiancé had started a non-profit organization for helping rural areas gain easier access to the internet.

And suddenly, all is revealed.

Before I could stop myself, I blurted, “Your dad is an asshole.”

I knew Denver Sandeke. He was the CEO and majority stakeholder in Sandeke Telecom Systems, the country’s largest telecom company and arguably its largest unapologetic monopoly. He’d worked to block any binding measures on net neutrality. He’d also lobbied heavily against the launching of low cost, low maintenance satellites that would serve the dual purpose of providing inexpensive internet service to underserved areas AND helping scientists with space exploration.

Suffice it to say, I loathed him.

Leo and Allyn gasped, but Martin grinned, and then he laughed.

Kaitlyn also didn’t seem surprised by my statement either, shrugging and lifting a hand in the air toward me. “Yes. Yes, he is.” To Martin she said, “I told you that you two would get along.” And then to herself she mumbled, “You’re basically the same person.”

Even though Martin didn’t seem upset, a rush of embarrassment crested on my cheeks and over my ears. I apologized, profusely, but he continued to be delighted by my outburst. Eventually, he changed the subject to my opinion on anti-laser masquerades, and then drilled me on what we (physicists) knew about merging neutron stars, seeming intensely fascinated by the subject.

Soon, I forgot that I’d made an idiot of myself, and settled into the conversation. Kaitlyn set a cup of coffee down in front of me, along with sugar and the carton of half-and-half, and two hours later I was stunned to discover so much time had passed.

This? Discussing subjects about which I was an expert? This was easy. So easy. This was the center of my rocket. Perhaps I’m pointing out the obvious, but I was always perplexed by people who found this part of me impressive. It’s easy to do something when you find it effortless. I mean, that’s the definition of easy.

“We should do a double date,” Kaitlyn announced to Martin during an extremely short pause in the conversation, like she’d been biding her time to make the proclamation. “The four of us should go out the next time Mona is in New York.”

Martin’s eyes narrowed on his fiancée. “You’re sneaky.”

“I am.” She grinned.

“What? Why are you sneaky?” I picked up my mug to take a drink and discovered it was empty. Clearly, drinking without thinking was becoming a habit of mine.

“Martin doesn’t like Abram,” Kaitlyn said. Just like that. Like she was saying, Martin doesn’t like tacos, which—for the record—seemed equally nuts to me.

“What?” I asked, ignoring the fact for a second that Abram and I would never be double-dating with anyone, and focusing on the impossibility that anyone wouldn’t like Abram.

He slid his blue eyes to me. “We don’t have anything in common,” he said, and I got the sense that this was Martin Sandeke trying to be tactful.

“You both have penises.” Kaitlyn hit him on the shoulder lightly and I was suddenly very glad my coffee cup had been empty.