Page 111 of Digging Up Love
Alisha Marianne.
Lily let go of Alisha’s hand and launched herself at his leg, but all his attention was fixated on the woman in front of him.
“That was quite a speech, Dr.Harris. And don’t worry ...” She tipped sideways and grinned at his dad. “No one in the back row was even close to falling asleep.”
Alisha messing around with his father? Was this the twilight zone?
“Glad to hear it.” Chuckling, Reggie gently disentangled Lauryn from his arms. Ma grabbed Lily’s hand and tugged her away from his leg.
“See ya later, Q.” Hector’s smile lit his eyes. “Glad you finally caught a break.”
His family melted into the crowd. Heart fizzy like uncorked champagne, he gazed down at Alisha, her kinky curls full and big around her face, no trace of doubt or hesitation in her gorgeous dark eyes.
“You came.” Quentin rubbed a hand along his clean-shaven jaw, and Alisha instantly regretted not calling him months ago. Did he really think she’d stay away once she found out he wanted her here? A herd of stampeding hadrosaurs couldn’t keep her away, not anymore.
“Of course I came.” She darted a glance around the crowded lecture hall. “Can we meet up somewhere, after you’re through?”
“I’m through.” The ghost of a smile caught the edges of his full lips. She might swoon, for real. Quentin in a T-shirt and work boots was a lot, but Dr.Harris all dressed up? Like trying to look at an eclipse with the naked eye. He wore the heck out of a gray blazer and dark jeans, the collar of his sky-blue dress shirt open at his throat.
“You sure?” His chin jerked down in a quick nod. “Okay ... well, in that case, follow me.” She would’ve grabbed his hand, but Quentin didn’t need any more workplace angst. Jogging up the stairs, she checked to see if he was following her and stumbled.
He caught her elbow. “No rush. I’m not going anywhere.”
But there was a rush. A big freaking rush. She’d waited way too long for this, and now every moment without him felt like a waste. She led him through the pockets of students milling in the hallway, her sneakers squeaking on the tile, then out the double doors and onto the sidewalk.
One block down. Another. They passed the entrance to campus.
“Are you abducting me?” Laughter tinged his words. “Because if so, you might want to wait for cover of darkness.”
“Almost there.” She looped an arm through his and pulled him aside, onto a patch of grass, fallen leaves crunching under her sneakers. “Here. Now we’re just two people in a park.”
He smiled down at her. “I’m not a celebrity or anything, Alisha.”
The daily influx of DMs from strangers asking what it was like to be with the sexy scientist from TV would beg to differ, but she let it slide. “I brought you out here because I need to tell you something important. And personal. And I don’t want any of your colleagues listening in.”
“Important? And personal?” A slow smile spread up his face, the sun’s first rays over the horizon, and she fell for him all over again.
Shy in the face of his brilliance, she gripped the ends of her scarf. “First of all, my Latin’s a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure you just named a new species of dinosaur after my mom.”
“And you.” Her brows tugged together, and Quentin stepped closer. “I named the dinosaur after your mom, yes. And you.”
If she’d been about to faint earlier, now crying was a real possibility. “But why?”
“You know why.”
“I do?” Tears pooled in her eyes, and she tilted up her chin to stem the flow.
“You’re my Indy.” He clasped her hands in his. “You thought it was me, fighting off the bad guys in khaki and a fedora.”
She sniffed out a laugh.
“But it was you, Alisha. Fierce and powerful. Swooping in to save the day like an absolute hero.Myhero.” His eyes shone, crinkling at the edges with a smile, and she blinked away her tears, quick, because mascara.
“Dang it, Quentin, you’re stealing my speech! Now all that’s left is I love you!”
Whoops-a-daisy.
A slow smile spread on Quentin’s face. “You love me?” He bit his lip, and at the sight of his white teeth sinking into the fullness, she had to yank her scarf away from her neck because,dang...
