Page 26 of Stardusted

I snorted. “And those would be…?”

“Nobody knows. It’s top secret.”

“Of course.” I raised a brow and leaned back on my stool. “But if that’s true, how doyouknow?”

“I have my sources.” At my look, he smirked. “I don’t kiss and tell, beautiful.”

I rolled my eyes. “Uh-huh. And yoursourcesays there’s some mysterious project happening right here in One Willow?”

“WithProfessor Sternof all people.”

“Wait. Stern?” I straightened, my sneer fading. “The paleoastronomer? Why?”

That was such a specific niche. Basically the study of how ancient civilizations viewed and tracked space. How they incorporated it into daily life. Of course, it required way more math than I cared for, but it was still fascinating. And totally out of place here. TWU was a good school, but not exactly a research titan. This wasn’t Harvard.

And the claim that the base was involved? No way.

Somebody had to be lying. Exaggerating, at the very least.

Landon just waggled his brows, giving me nothing. I leaned forward and tapped the tweezers pointedly on the table. “You’re such a tease.”

“Guilty.” He beamed. “You know you love me. But if I hear anything else, you’ll be the first to know. Especially if it’s got anything to do with our recent ET guests. I know how much of a fan you are.”

Muttering a curse under my breath, I bent back over the tray.

His delighted laughter echoed off the lab walls.

I was not hidingin the work bathroom. For the record.

I was just…lingering.

I tucked a strand of honey-colored hair behind my ear and leaned closer to the mirror, wiping under my eye where my eyeliner had smudged in the kitchen’s greasy heat. Satisfied that it was as good as it was going to get, I raked my fingers through my frizzed-out waves and fluffed them into place around my shoulders.

It would have to do.

I stepped back and gave myself a critical once-over. My chin was a little too round, my eyes a bit too big for me to ever be called classically beautiful like Amelia or Kelly. With a swipe of gold shadow and a heavy hand on the eyeliner, I could maybe manage the girl-next-door look. If the girl next door wore training bras and didn’t know how to apply lipstick.

Sighing, I spun away from the mirror.

Not that it mattered how I looked tonight. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.

Sure, Sky was coming in at seven. And it just happened to be six fifty-eight. Complete coincidence that my stomach felt like a butterfly exhibit mid-tornado.

I slipped out of the bathroom and detoured past my single table. My two margarita-loving ladies were still chatting away, so I left them to it and continued toward the kitchen entrance.

I nearly turned and walked the other way when I caught wind of the conversation happening by the prep room.

“I heard there were three ships.”

“That YouTube video looked like at least two.”

“Jackie’s dad chased it! He made it all the way to Lake James before it vanished into the clouds.”

I tried to ghost away, but Kelly spotted me at the edge of the group and lit up like a Christmas tree with perfect hair and too many teeth. “Rae-bae! There you are. Tell me you believe me now!”

“The truth is out there, Kelly,” I intoned, managing to keep a straight face.

If she caught theX-Filesreference, she didn’t show it. I resisted the urge to snort.