The Chemistry of Love(48)

Right now, though, the person I wanted most to tell was Marco.

That felt like another betrayal. I rationalized that I probably only wanted to tell him because I’d been spending time with him.

For now I would keep it secret. It was just for me. When I figured out whether or not it was possible, then I would tell other people.

“I want to start working on it now. Tonight,” I told him.

“Then let’s go.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Of course.” He said this like my thanks confused him. I just knew that there were other men who would have pressed me for details or insisted we stay and have fun, that I could work another time. I knew that because it had happened to me before.

But Marco just accepted it.

“I’ll tell you about it when I know whether or not it’s possible.” That made me feel a bit better.

“Anna, you don’t have to tell me anything unless you want to. Let me go grab Catalina and tell her we have to go.”

He walked into the dining room, and again I was struck by how nice he was. I probably would have just left without saying anything, caught up in figuring out whether or not this could work, but Marco was going to make sure that we didn’t leave without saying goodbye to our hostess.

Catalina would have understood either way, but he was right to do it. She got up from the table and said, “Keep an eye on Sanjit!”

He protested loudly that he wasn’t the one who cheated, it was everyone else, as she came over to join us.

“Heading out already?” She gave me a wink and then said, “I don’t blame you.”

Why was she doing that? She knew it was fake.

“Thanks for having us,” Marco said.

“Thanks for coming!”

I figured I should probably jump onto this appreciation bandwagon. “Yes, thank you for the invite. It was nice to be part of a group that didn’t have the word study in front of it.”

Again, I wondered why I couldn’t just stay quiet instead of saying things that were designed to make Marco think less of me.

Catalina gave me a sympathetic smile and then walked over to the door and opened it for us. “I’ll see you later! And, Anna, I’ll be calling you soon.”

She said it like a threat, and Marco laughed at my expression. We walked out to her porch, and she closed the door behind us.

“Is there anything you need for your project?” he asked as we walked down the pathway toward the sidewalk.

I needed that mixer that somebody had stolen out from underneath me. “I haven’t received that consulting fee yet, and the ingredients I’m going to need to buy will be expensive.”

“Here.” He pulled out his phone and texted something. “Make a list and send it to my assistant. I just gave you her email address. She’ll get you whatever you need.”

I knew I probably should have protested, but I wanted that stuff as soon as possible. I hated waiting. So I just said, “I will. Thanks.”

“My pleasure. Let me walk you to your car. Are you going to need a jump-start to get it moving? A timing belt? A new engine?”

He laughed at his own joke, and I elbowed him in the ribs. “Don’t disparage Betty. You’ll hurt her feelings.”

“Apologies, Betty,” he said as we got closer; then he put his hand on the top of my car. We stood there together on the sidewalk. “Do you think she’ll forgive me?”

I thought all Marco would have to do is bat his lashes and if my car had any free will, she would have dumped me in a second to follow him. “Maybe. But she can be temperamental.”

“I’ll remember that. Well, good night.” He started walking away, and I realized that I didn’t want him to leave.

“Wait!”

He stopped and turned around with a quizzical look on his face.

“Could I . . . give you a hug good night?” I realized how pathetic that sounded and added, “I just want to verify something.” He didn’t need to know that Catalina had been ready to write sonnets about his hug. I wanted to see for myself.

But if he thought my request was weird, he was polite enough not to say anything. Instead, he walked toward me, holding out his arms. I let him envelop me, wrapping my arms around his waist.

And great mother of Legolas, it was glorious.

I’d had my side pressed against him more than once that evening, but that paled in comparison to this full-frontal hug. There was warmth and strength and that delicious scent of his that made me want to melt against him. I kind of did anyway, my curves pressing against his taut chest. He was so firm and sweet.

There was a definite physical component there. All those traitorous hormones of mine were dancing with delight, making my nerve endings explode in celebration, and breathing was difficult.

But it wasn’t just about how yummy it was to touch him. There was an emotional element to it.

A person could get lost in a hug like this. It had been a very, very long time since someone had held me this way. Catalina had been wrong about one thing. It wasn’t like hugging a statue. He was much too alive for that. Marco made me feel safe, like nothing bad could ever happen to me as long as I had his arms around me. No wonder Catalina had liked it so much. If Marco could bottle this sensation up he’d be, well, even more of a millionaire.