Until You Loved Me. Brenda Novak

      “But what?”

      “He said he was tired of repeating all the same stuff, and you know me—I’ve never been much for small talk. In this case, there didn’t seem to be any point in going through the motions. He’d already told me he wouldn’t be in town for long. We both knew we weren’t starting a relationship, that once he left, we’d probably never see each other again. That changes your expectations.”

      “You said you spent two hours on the beach.”

      “We did.”

      “You must’ve talked about something!”

      “We talked about philosophy, politics, religion. Even certain mysterious phenomena he saw on a TV program last week where they used satellites to spot odd structures on earth.”

      “You talked about philosophy, politics, religion and science?”

      “Yeah. You know, how the universe was created, and the fact that Venus was a sister planet to Earth at one time and might’ve fostered life before a runaway greenhouse effect turned it into an oven. Whether we’re looking at something similar on Earth.”

      She shook her head. “Only you.”

      “What’s that supposed to mean? It was fine. We agreed on politics and religion.”

      “You told him you believe in evolution.”

      “Of course! I told him the evidence for it is staggering.”

      “Like I said, only you.” She laughed as she moved so the waitress could deliver their salads. “Even drunk, you’re talking about heavy subjects, risky subjects or subjects most other people don’t know much about.”

      “He knew plenty.” Ellie had been surprised that Hudson was so intelligent. Not because she was arrogant about her own IQ. She just didn’t think it was all that common for one man to have so much going for him.

      A text came in. Her parents were safely in Paris, said they were jet-lagged but would check in later. Relieved to know they were okay, because it stabilized her world after a crazy twenty-four hours, Ellie was about to put away her phone and start on her salad when she got another text—this one from Don.

      Hey, I was wondering if tonight would be a good time to come by and get the rest of my things.

      She stared down at those words. They seemed so impersonal, the kind of thing he’d say to any old friend. Only four days ago, this was the man she’d been planning to marry, to spend the rest of her life with. And now he was coming to get his CDs, his sweater, his cat, who’d been living at her house since they typically spent more time there, and a few pans he’d left. Her life had changed so abruptly and so completely.

      “What is it?” Amy asked.

      Attempting to mask her frown, Ellie glanced up. “Nothing.”

      “Come on. What is it? You were so happy a second ago.”

      “Don. He’d like to come by tonight.”

      Amy took a drink of water. “What for?”

      “I have some of his things.”

      “Are you going to let him?”

      “Why not?”

      Amy blinked in surprise. “Last I heard you didn’t want to see him. You said it was hard enough to run into him at work. But since you have no choice about that, why not put his stuff in your trunk and let him get it at the lab?”

      “Because I can’t put his cat in my trunk.”

      “He’s taking Lulu?”

      “Why wouldn’t he?”

      “You love that cat!”

      “So does he.”

      “That’s cruel.”

      “It is what it is. And why put it off? I might as well let him come tonight,” she said and texted him her response. That’s fine. I’ll be home after seven.

      “You don’t think he’ll bring Leo...”

      “He could. I doubt he’s looking forward to facing me alone.”

      “He’d better not bring him.” Amy stuffed a forkful of lettuce in her mouth and spoke around it. “I’m shocked you haven’t destroyed what you have of his, to tell you the truth—except for Lulu, of course. Lulu’s a great cat. You should keep her on principle.”

      Ellie hadn’t even considered damaging his property or keeping his cat. She’d been too brokenhearted to be angry or vengeful. Would that come next? She’d lost something that was important to her—she still cared about Don, after all—and anger was part of the grieving process. But thanks to Hudson, she thought she might be able to skip that step. What she’d done last night, going to his hotel room, was impulsive and foolish, and yet she’d experienced emotions and sensations she’d never felt as strongly before. Those few hours in his arms had shown her that losing Don might not be the end of the world.

      She’d never be Mrs. Donald White. She wouldn’t be seeing Hudson again, either. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t something else out there for her—and maybe it was even better than the life she’d planned.

      She slid her phone back in her purse and picked up her fork. “Somehow I’ll get through this.”

       4

      “Did you like that?” Teague asked as they drove back from the Everglades tour he’d insisted they take.

      “Loved it.” In an effort to be convincing, Hudson spoke with more enthusiasm than usual. His new agent had been doing his best to show him a good time. Hudson wanted Teague to feel he’d succeeded, but he hadn’t been very interested in the sightseeing they’d done today. He hadn’t been very interested in anything—not since Ellie left. He knew it was a strange reaction on his part, but he felt he might’ve lost something he should’ve taken a closer look at. She was so different from anyone else he’d dated—from anyone he’d ever met.

      He suppressed a grin as he remembered the enthusiasm that had filled her voice when she talked about the moon. He’d never met anyone who viewed the universe and everything in it with such wonder. She didn’t know what small talk was. If the subject wasn’t meaningful in some way, she had no interest in it, and nothing seemed to be off-limits. He’d never had a woman probe his religious and political beliefs so thoroughly, not on a first encounter.

      That could’ve been offensive, but he hadn’t been put off because she’d approached his opinions, especially on those subjects, with the respect and objectivity of a scholar, someone who was willing to take in new information and view things from a fresh perspective. He found nothing objectionable about that; he’d actually enjoyed the depth of their conversation.

      She was questing and so damn smart—and yet she knew next to nothing about popular culture. Like the fact that he played professional football. His picture was on TV several times a week, especially during football season. His mug also appeared in practically every article written about the Los Angeles Devils. He’d feel guilty about not revealing himself if that weren’t the case. But with so much exposure, he figured she’d stood more than a fair chance of recognizing him. The truth was readily apparent to almost everyone else. He couldn’t walk through a restaurant without being stopped for an autograph.

      Actually, maybe he should have felt a little bad for keeping his mouth shut on that subject. She wasn’t like most people. She’d admitted she didn’t watch much TV other than the Science Channel and knew next to nothing about sports. She hadn’t even argued when he’d teased her about not keeping up with the latest movies, musicians or fashion trends. While she could tell him a great many details about humanoid fossils that were being excavated in South Africa or why the body’s immune system responded