Page 32 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things
A sob escaped my throat as the pain finally caused my tears to spill over.
“Oh, Kit.” Angela wrapped her arms around me and held me as I cried into her shoulder.
I had been stupid to believe in this fairytale of finding my long-lost uncle for so long—the last connection to my father. James was right. I shouldn’t live behind rose-colored glasses anymore. Living life with that much hope only led to disappointment because there was nowhere to go but down.
Chapter 15
Campus was bustling today. It was unheard of to spend dig days away from the site since the excavation season was so short, but we were required to attend today’s lecture. James had arranged for our internship team to attend and left Mo in charge of the dig team at the site for the day. The lecture was going to be filmed forNational Geographicand would feature an anthropologist from Louisiana State University, Dr. Blossom Moore.
I had never had the privilege of listening to any of her lectures, nor did I even know what she looked like, but I knew she was famous in the anthropology community for her work on mystic religions.
“Hurry up. We’re going to be late,” Isabella barked over her shoulder.
Sean’s face twisted as he checked his watch. “We’re like five minutes early!” he said as we filed into the packed auditorium.
“Fifteenminutes early is actuallyon time. Five minutes early is LATE.” Isabella shoved through the lines of people waiting to find a free seat and plopped herself in one of the reserved seats in front of the stage, leaving us behind.
“She’s fucking nuts,” Sean huffed.
Beside me, Angela hummed her agreement and said, “I’m not sitting next to her.”
Yeah—no, thanks.“Me either.”
“Let’s sit over here.” Sean pointed to four free seats off to the side of the stage. It was out of the field of view of the cameras, so no one would see us on film. And there weren’t any other seats directly behind ours since the side rows were all staggered.
“Where’s Felipe?” Angela looked around.
“Restroom,” I said. “Maybe we should save this end seat for him so he can just slide in, since we’re late and all,” I teased, pointing to the seat on my right.
“Good idea,” Sean said, taking his seat on the other side of me.
“Who wants to bet that Isabella asks questions during the taping?” Angela snarked.
We all chuckled as the lights in the auditorium flickered, signaling the beginning of the lecture.
My eyes roamed the hall. There must have been hundreds of people in attendance. Students. Professors. Researchers. It was so exciting to be in such a diverse room. I hoped there would be time after the taping to mingle so I could meet some of the viewers.
Three large cameras were stationed about the hall, aimed at the brightly lit lectern on the stage. People scurried around, checking the lighting, testing mics, doing whatever it wasNationalGeographicfilm crews did.
Scanning the audience, I found the man who I’d known would be there. And he looked like a fucking snack in his three-piece charcoal suit. I had never seen James so dressed up, and I couldn’t pry my eyes away. It wasn’t just the outfit, it was him. He wore clothes like it was his own skin, with the confidence of a god. His hands rested in his pockets as he stood strong and tall, deep in conversation.
Then he leaned over, getting closer to the person who held his attention.
That woman. He had called her a colleague, but I only knew her as his date.
She was seated before him, her long legs crossed under a black pencil skirt, and her attention was focused solely on James. Her silky hair was wrapped into a French twist—who even wore that style anymore?—just above her neck.
James rested a hand on the armrest next to her as she whispered into his ear.
I hadn’t seen him since the night at the pub, and I felt jealousy simmering just like it had that night.
Suddenly, his eyes caught mine, and he flashed me a smirk as he stayed hunched over hiscolleague.He reminded me of a mischievous teenager with a secret.
The lights cut out in the auditorium then, leaving only those that shone upfront on.
James stepped onto the stage. He lightly ran his hands over the smooth wood of the lectern.
A woman dressed in all black, who I assumed was part of the film crew, signaled to him from below to speak.
