Page 37 of Falling for the Recluse

ChapterTwenty

JOSIE

The California Academy of Sciencesis located in the heart of Golden Gate Park and houses an aquarium, a planetarium, a rainforest, and a natural history museum. Tonight, the aquarium is closed for the special fundraiser gala, and the exhibition rooms are filled with fashionable women in glittering sequined dresses, accompanied by men wearing designer suits and silk ties.

The illustrious crowd increases myner-vitedness, and I’m exceedingly grateful to Brenda for insisting I wear a cocktail dress—a hunter-green lace sheath that falls to my knees in a smooth, sinuous line. She put my hair into a fancy knot, leaving a few tendrils loose to frame my face. With borrowed heels and my forget-me-not pendant, I feel confident and professional as I approach the podium to present my lecture.

For the most part, it’s easy to talk to people about penguins—everyone likes the flightless birds—and audiences are attentive and appreciative as long as I’m not discussing their poop or various diseases. This crowd is no different; they all seem to enjoy my observations, videos, and pictures of the Needle Island penguin colony.

Resounding applause fills the room when I’m finished, and Professor Rainer from the PRG approaches me with a big smile and outstretched hand. Afterward, the guests mingle with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and I circle the rooms, gratefully accepting praise, answering questions, and meeting as many people as possible.

It’s almost midnight when the party begins to wind down. As he’s saying goodbye, Professor Rainer tells me in a low voice that the PRG received “highly substantial” donations from the guests tonight.

“You’re on our radar for future projects, Josie,” he tells me, turning to hold his arm out to his wife. “Keep up the good work.”

They both smile at me before descending the steps to the line of waiting town cars and limousines.

As I wait a few minutes for the crowd to disperse, I wander the exhibition rooms, gazing at the huge tanks filled with hundreds of tropical fish, rays, eels, octopi, and sea anemones. I visit the snapping turtles and alligators, then make my way to the habitat of the endangered African penguins, one of the species that lives in a warmer climate.

“Not a bad choice,” I tell them, resting my hands on the railing surrounding their enclosure. “Ice is beautiful, but it freezes your heart if it gets too deep inside you.”

“That’s why I need a girl whose smile burns away the cold.”

The deep voice comes from behind me. A bolt of shock roots me to the spot. I don’t dare turn around. I’m imagining things. Surely that’s not—

“A girl who is so warm, so downright hot, sweet, and brilliant that she not only thaws ice…” He sounds closer now. “She can melt even the hardest, most frozen bastard on the planet.”

My skin prickles with a combination of hope and fear. I turn.

Despite my efforts to protect my heart, it cartwheels with pure joy at the sight of Dr. Gavin Stark. He looks incredible. Tall and broad, dressed in a tailored gray suit—a suit!—and a gray-and-blue-striped tie. His thick, brown hair is brushed away from his forehead, emphasizing the strong lines of his features. He’s holding Oswald.

He gazes at me, his expression warm and slightly guarded.

I tighten my hands on the railing. I’m seized with a wild urge to run and leap into his arms, to feel him gripping me and holding me close as if he’ll never let go.

Except…he already let go.

“Hello, Josie.” He stops a distance away, his fingers flexing on the stuffed penguin like he’s restraining himself from coming closer.

I swallow. “Dr. Stark. Sir.”

A faint smile tugs at his mouth. “Your lecture was excellent. You have such a love for the field, and it’s apparent with every word you speak.”

“You were there?”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.” He skims his gaze over me. “You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you.” I try to suppress the ache of love and need rising in my heart. “Gavin, why are you here?”

“To tell you I don’t want to live without you. I can’t.”

My knees almost buckle. As desperately as I want his words to be true, leaving him had hurt so much. And though I’ve spent the past month dreaming up scenarios in which our relationship could actually work, nothing has seemed possible.

“I love you, Josie.” He walks toward me, holding Oswald out in gesture, almost like a plea. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before you left. I’m sorry I was cruel. But you had to leave. I couldn’t—” He pauses and shakes his head. “If you’d stayed, I swear I’d never have let you go, which would have been the worst thing in the world for you. You had to come back here, to return to your life.”

“And you had to stay in yours.” A flame of hope starts deep inside me, ignited by his admission of love. “Is something different now?”

“Everything is different.”

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