It's All Geek to Me (Nerds & Geeks Book 3) by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

doing?”
    She’d been so charmed by his story of Spin the Bottle she’d forgotten to check on her cat. “He’s still washing his whiskers. No, wait, he just stopped. He’s on the move, coming our way.”
    “How does he look?”
    “Pretty normal. I think he’s headed for my bathrobe. He loves it.” Sure enough, the cat walked along the back of the sofa and hopped into her lap. “That’s his favorite spot.”
    “Not surprising. It’s mine, too. Now what?”
    “Try putting your arm around me and see if he objects to that.”
    He shifted his weight slightly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
    “He doesn’t seem the least bit concerned, but I’d like to stay here for a little while and see if he’s really getting used to a new situation. If you’re not too tired, would you be willing to sit and talk?”
    “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”
    She screwed up her courage. “A while ago you said that you’d always noticed me.”
    “Which is true.”
    “You’d started to add something else when Hercules meowed. I’d love to know what was supposed to come after the but part. And if it has anything to do with Miranda Travers.”
    An emotion she couldn’t read flickered in his eyes and he hesitated.
    Her heart sank. “Are you still in love with her? If you are, that’s okay. Well, maybe not okay, but I . . . need to know.”

Chapter Seven
    A familiar feeling of panic tightened an invisible band around Frazer’s chest. By answering Dulcie’s question, really answering it and not glossing over the difficult parts, he’d make himself vulnerable. This was much worse than being blindfolded and spun in a circle with a donkey tail in his hand.
    Then he remembered what Miranda had told him before the fight with Rylan. He’d lost Miranda years ago because he’d kept so much locked inside. Was he willing to lose Dulcie by refusing to reveal painful truths?
    He took a deep breath. “Miranda does have something to do with why I haven’t asked you out.”
    Dulcie’s eyes clouded with sadness.
    “But it’s not what you think. I’m not in love with her anymore.”
    “Are you sure? You fought Rylan over her.”
    “Not really.” He smiled and touched her cheek. “I fought him because, like most younger brothers, he’s been itching to pound on me for years. He finally thought he had a good excuse. But I wasn’t trying to steal Miranda back. I care about her and I know she cares about me. But the chance for anything more disappeared a long time ago. Rylan’s the right guy for her, probably always has been.”
    “Why didn’t you just tell him that instead of fighting him?”
    “Like I said, he needed to hit me. And to be fair, I probably needed to hit him a few times, too. Our mom doesn’t tolerate fighting. She never loses her cool, in case you wonder where I get it. Growing up I admired the heck out of that. The person who never loses control has a powerful advantage over those who do.”
    She put her hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze. “But it can cost you.”
    “Yep.” He covered her hand with his. Then he turned it over and laced his fingers through hers. There, that felt better.
    “I’m confused, though. If you’re not in love with Miranda, why didn’t you ask me out? I always thought you suggested hiring her because the flame still burned.”
    He shook his head. “Rylan thought that, too. But I didn’t want to start over, not after all these years. I wanted to figure out what went wrong, though. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a tad bit analytical.”
    She smiled. “I’ve noticed.”
    “Obviously I’ve dated in the years since Miranda broke up with me. A couple of relationships seemed like they would go somewhere but then they fizzled out.” He looked into her soft gaze. “I was attracted to you, but I didn’t want you to become another ex-girlfriend, especially because we worked together. I began to question whether I have what it takes to create that special