Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter #2) - Melanie Martins Page 0,78

defending me. Trying to offer a compromise, I say, “Alright, what if we explore objectivism as applied to financial markets and the economy?” Which was basically the goal from the beginning.

“Exactly,” Matthew replies just as fast. “That’s where I think the self-interest goes too far. We know laissez-faire capitalism does a lot of wrong and hurts a lot of people, especially the working class.”

“Now you sound like Prof. Reich,” I tell him.

And Matthew seems to like it—his lips twitch into a smile full of pride. “Thanks.”

Sarah, on the other hand, just rolls her eyes. “See? That’s exactly what I said. You both will just end up agreeing about exactly everything. It’s inevitable.”

“Well…” Matthew keeps his eyes pinned on me and his smile just as big. “Great minds think alike.”

I shake my head at his teasing, but a quick chuckle escapes me. When Matthew said this course was pure intellectual porn, I guess he couldn’t have been more right. “Okay, so what if we include the negative aspects of objectivism in the study?” I suggest. “I enjoy objectivism for the social aspect, which gave us individual freedoms—including freedom of expression, which, as an artist myself, I truly value—but I’m sure it’s not a perfect philosophy.”

Matthew nods, agreeing with me. “I think it’s a great analysis. I’m in.” He takes something from his backpack and hands me a bunch of papers.

As I read the title of the first page, I can’t help but laugh. “‘Ten Reasons Why Objectivism Sucks’?”

“No need to thank me,” he teases. And as he watches me flick through the pages, he adds, “I couldn’t help it.”

Instinctively, a smirk tugs on my lips, but the sound of my iPhone ringing startles us. And as I look at it, I see that it’s my alarm to announce the end of the meetup. Wow. It went by so fast. As we all stand up, I see that Sarah, Katrina, and David are the first ready to leave, while Matthew seems to take his time.

“You coming? Our Uber is here.” Sarah asks him as she’s about to cross through the doorway with the rest of the group. But by his stare, I guess he wants to talk to me.

“I’ll take another one…” And once we are left alone, Matthew stands in front me and, in a voice quite humbling, says, “I’m sorry for Sarah’s attitude today.”

“It’s alright…” And I give him a soft pat on his arm. “You have to admit, though, we kinda monopolized the discussion about objectivism.”

A trace of a guilty smile lands on his lips. “Well, we’re just two people very passionate about it. If anything, we’re giving them free entertainment.”

I crack a laugh at his observation. Fair point. “Thanks for everything,” I blurt out a bit unexpectedly. “Um, it’s nice to have you around.” I’m not the best at expressing myself, but I want him to know he matters.

“We are vegan besties after all.” Without expecting it, though, he drags me into his arms, giving me a hug for the first time since I woke up from the coma.

With the current pandemic, hugs have been few and far in between, but some empathy and compassion feels too good to pass up. And, reveling in his embrace, a wave of emotions goes through me as I realize Alex won’t hug me anymore. In fact, after this meetup, my fiancé was supposed to come here and pick me up, which is what I set up the alarm for. But thanks to the worst parents in the world, he’s now most likely in the air on the way to Singapore. The realization brings tears to my eyes, and I can’t help but sniffle.

“Hey,” Matthew whispers, looking at me. “What’s wrong?”

Oh jeez, what a freaking embarrassment. I wipe the tears and take a deep breath, as I think about whether to tell him the truth or not. Matthew keeps observing me, most likely wondering where this emotional breakdown is coming from. Our eyes lock for a second, but then I look down instantly. And, for better or worse, I decide to open up. “Sorry, um, my fiancé just broke up with me…” I never thought I’d say those words. And yet here we are.

“Wow…” I thought Matthew would crack some dry joke about how dumb I was to get engaged so young, but nope. He actually just gives me another hug to soothe me. For the first time, I notice how good he smells, but I resist the urge to ask him