Page 36 of Digging Up Love
(a) She’d confessed all this to a real-life doctor of paleontology.
(b) He was a perfect mix of Dr.Grant and Dr.Malcolm, a tall, dark, and handsome dinosaur nerd.
She prayed to all the saints for a second pit to open up and save her from this tragedy.
But Quentin’s eyes shone. “Seriously, Alisha? That movie is my life,” he said, gushing. “Well, okay, not literally, obviously. Well, kind of literally. That is, er ...” He hooked a finger under the collar of his white tee and dragged it sideways to reveal a tantalizing view of his collarbone. “What I mean is, I don’t deal with living dinosaurs. Obviously.”
He palmed the back of his neck, face sheepish. “So yeah, I fell in love withJurassic Parkas a kid too.” He bit his lip and dropped his elbow. “Though Ellie Sattler isn’t my type.”
Her cheeks ignited. So hehadcaught the end of her speech, after all. But wait, was he flirting with her? In spite of seeing her all sweaty and tongue-tied and clumsy on Monday?
But yeah, his eyes bore into her with a look she’d been half dreading, half dreaming of for weeks, and she was 95 percent sure he was into her.
Paralyzed, instinct kicked in.
Time to flee the scene.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your, um ... your measurements. Didn’t mean to keep you. I’m sure Granny could use my help.” She turned around without waiting for an answer, a stifled groan escaping her lips.
Granny needs my help?Talk about a romance killer. Proof she was incapable of having a normal conversation without the benefit of autocorrect. Didn’t matter, though. If she could just survive this one last Hawksburg summer, then by fall, all her dreams would be set in motion.
In the meantime, she needed to focus on paving the way for her move and keeping nosy neighbors at bay. Distractions hindered her focus, put her grandparents’ security in harm’s way. And Quentin, in all his work boot–clad sun-kissed glory, was one heck of a distraction.
CHAPTER 13
QUENTIN
“Who wants strawberry shortcake?” Alisha’s grandmother looked around the table with a smile.
“I’m never going to turn down dessert,” said Forrest, and a chorus of agreement went up from the other paleontologists.
Alisha hopped to her feet, reaching over to lift Cait’s empty plate. “Here, lemme clear that out of the way for you.”
The perfect opening. Quentin sent up a prayer of thanks for parents who’d drilled good manners into him and gathered up the rest of his colleagues’ plates. Mrs.Blake put a hand on his arm. “You don’t need to do that, dear.” She lifted her chin to indicate the dirty dishes.
“It’s no problem,” he said, and meant it.
He found Alisha in the kitchen glugging heavy cream into a stand mixer. Laid out like the “After” picture from one of the home-reno shows Mercedes used to force him to sit through, counters ran along three walls of the airy room, anchored by a large center island. Bright white cabinets stretched to the ceiling, and a big picture window above the sink looked out into the side yard. A kitchen Ma would kill for, after making do with her cramped sixties model for years. He set the plates on the counter, and Alisha turned to him in surprise.
“Oh, you didn’t need to do that!”
Quentin grinned. “That’s what your grandma said.”
She rolled her eyes but smiled. “You’ve heard the adage ‘the customer’s always right’? In this family we take it a step further: ‘Guests should never lift a finger.’”
He laughed. “Good thing I’m not a guest, then. I work here.” Her surprised laugh gave him life. “So the food’s as good as you said. Although—dang it!” He snapped his fingers. “Should’ve taken a picture for Facebook.”
“What else are smartphones for, right?”
“But really, it was kind of you to feed us. We usually camp out on digs. Smoked brisket and pulled chicken is a big step up from hot dogs and walking tacos.”
Grinning, she popped the lid on a glass Tupperware dish, and the smell of fresh strawberries filled the kitchen. “Make sure you repeat that loudly for my grandpa’s benefit.”
He chuckled and turned on the faucet. “Got it.”
Someone tapped his shoulder, and he twisted around to find Alisha at his elbow. “What are you doing?” She leaned around him and shut off the faucet.
“Washing the dishes.” He turned it back on.
