Geek Girls Don't Date Dukes (4 page)

deep, raspy voice sent a tingle down her spine as he let

go of her arm.

Her brain paused in mid- whirl. This was a stranger.

A complete and utter stranger, and she’d just popped

through the mirror and into his arms like she belonged

there. No wonder he was treating her like she was crazy.

If she was
when
she thought she was, this was a huge

breach of etiquette. But she couldn’t quite dismiss the

idea that she had the right guy. She shivered. Lord, if he

was this gorgeous while he was pissed, how incredible

would he look when he was happy and laughing?

“Listen, Your Grace, I’m really sorry. I know this is

strange and sudden and completely crazy. Just give me a

chance, okay?” And then she winked at him in a bold

attempt to lighten the mood.

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Instead of the delighted laugh she’d been hoping for,

she got a cold stare in return. “Miss, I am not in a posi-

tion to give you anything. I am Avery Russell, the Duke

of Granville’s valet. And you are trespassing.”

The same strong hands that had caught her before she

could fall to the ground pointed her toward the door.

“Wait,” she cried, grabbing at his arm. “I’m telling

the truth!”

“A liar and a Bedlamite,” he growled as he pried her

fingers from his. “You hid inside that bureau and crept

out like a thief. I’ll listen to no more of this.”

“Please,” she begged, searching his still- grim features

for some sign of compassion. “You’ve got to believe me.”

“Why?” He scowled down at her like he was a priest

and she’d just spat in the communion wine.

Why?
She stopped struggling. In an instant, the fight leaked out of her, leaving her muscles weak and useless.

This had been the worst idea she’d ever had, and for

Leah, that was saying something. She’d thought that

the musical version of
Attack
of
the
Killer
Tomatoes
she’d staged would hold that trophy for the rest of her life.

“I…I don’t know.” Leah looked at the carpet beneath

her feet. “You don’t have any reason to believe me.” She

swallowed hard, trying her damnedest to get the lump in

her throat out of the way so she could breathe.

He sighed. She didn’t look at him, fear and uncer-

tainty keeping her eyes glued downward. This wasn’t

how she expected things to go. Truth be told, she’d

been picturing a fairy tale. Love at first sight happened,

didn’t it?

But Avery Russell wasn’t the duke. So all she had to

do was get to the real Duke of Granville. He’d fall in

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love with her, and everything would be fine. She took

a deep breath.

“Mr. Russell, I’m sorry. I know I’ve been acting like

a lunatic. Can I have a minute to explain? I promise,

if you don’t believe me, I’ll get out of here without

another word.” How she’d manage that she didn’t have

a freaking clue, but she
had
to get him to listen.

His expression softened but barely. He nodded. “You

have one minute.”

Great. And crap.
What the hell could she say? Her

brain buzzed, ideas flitting like deranged bumblebees,

each one crazier than the last. She had to come up with

something, anything. This was too important to screw

up. The truth hadn’t worked so well. Maybe she should

get a little bit more creative.

“Okay, listen to me. I’m from two hundred years

in the future. My grandfather is a trained assassin. I’m

his scout. We’ve discovered that there’s a threat to the

duke’s life, and his only hope is for me to marry him and

take him back to the future with me.”

He released her then but only to cover the bark of

laughter that had escaped him at her ridiculous answer.

Despite the gravity of the situation, she couldn’t help but

smile at herself. That hadn’t been her best effort. Maybe

she’d been watching too much
Doctor
Who
lately.

Avery shook his head. “Your tales become more and

more outrageous, Miss Ramsey.”

“Well, you wouldn’t believe the truth. I just wanted

an adventure, and Mrs. Knightsbridge said my destiny

was in this house. Would you turn down the chance to

find your perfect love?”

He snorted in derision. “Love is a child’s fairy tale.

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And you must be more of a child than you seem to

believe in such nonsense.”

Hot shame burned her cheeks. She crossed her arms

in self- defense at his mocking tone. “So you don’t think

the duke could be my true love? Even though Mrs.

Knightsbridge has a hundred percent success rate?”

“It is impossible.” He shook his head. “As I said, you

must be a foolish girl.”

Leah swallowed hard at the ridiculous knot in her

throat. What did this stranger’s opinion matter? This was

a once in a lifetime adventure, and she’d be damned if a

stuffy valet would stand in her way. Mrs. Knightsbridge

said her true love was here, and she owed it to her

grandfather to find the best husband she possibly could.

She gathered her courage and stared Avery straight in the

eye. She hadn’t backed down from a challenge in her life,

and she wasn’t about to start now.

“I am not a child, and I am not a fool. I know

exactly what I’m doing, thank you very much.” With

a confidence born of many years of acting classes, Leah

smoothed her dress down her hips, willing them to twist

slightly, enough to get his attention. “And if you don’t

believe in love, that’s your problem.” Turning with a

dramatic swish of her skirts, she strode to the other end

of the massive chamber like a queen, making sure to

twitch her ass. Tossing a look over her shoulder, she

smiled when she saw the lustful fury brewing in his eyes.

Teasing him shouldn’t make her this happy, but damn it,

the stuffy jerk deserved it.

“Well, Miss Ramsey, who am I to stand in the way of

true love?” The last words were said in a mocking tone

so bitter that they made Leah wince. “If you should like

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Gina Lamm

to remain here, I will not stop you. You may look to

Smythe for that honor.”

With a bow that was more mocking than respectful,

the valet turned on his heel and left the room.

Leah sank down on the bed, rubbing her forehead.

Why didn’t she feel triumphant? Hurdle number one

had been cleared. So what was with the nervous bubble

in her gut?

Swallowing her anxiety, she stood and took a deep,

calming breath. Time to get her game face on and go

round two with Mr. Smythe.
This
isn’t going to be easy,
but then again
, Leah thought as she exited the massive bedchamber,
nothing
worth
doing
usually
is.

The corridor was wide enough to put a couple of

pool tables end- to- end and still have room to play them

both. Gilt- framed portraits spanned the huge hall that

was lined with expensive furnishings, showpieces, and

closed doors. Picking up a small vase from a marquetry

table, Leah examined it in the critical way her Pawpaw

had drilled into her since she was tiny.

“Holy cow,” she whispered to herself, and quickly put

the ancient porcelain down. That piece could easily buy

and sell a pretty nice Lexus a couple times over. Rubbing

her suddenly sweaty palms against her borrowed costume

skirt, Leah backed up to the wall to get another look at

her surroundings. She was really beginning to worry that

she was out of her league. And for a girl like Leah, who’d

never met a challenge she didn’t want to fling herself

face- first into, that was really saying something.

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Four

“Thoughtless, foolish chit,” Avery snarled beneath

his breath as he resumed his polishing. With all the fury

he felt at the beautiful girl who’d waltzed into the room

as if she belonged there, he rubbed at the scuff mark.

That such a complete stranger had roused this much ire,

and if he was honest, interest, made his blood bubble into

an angry froth.

It was several moments later when the red fog of frus-

tration left his brain that he looked down at the Hessian.

Blinking in surprise, he realized he’d mangled it. The

boot’s toe pointed toward the floor. A costly pair of His

Grace’s boots had been ruined because Avery had not

kept his wits about him. He’d allowed her to divert his

focus, a lapse in vigilance that could have had unforgiv-

able consequences.

Letting the boot drop to the floor, Avery looked up at

the beamed ceiling. Drawing air deeply into his chest, he

blew it out through pursed lips, concentrating on slowing

the too- rapid thumping of his heart. The prayers that his

pious father had beat into him at a young age ran through

his head as Avery searched for a semblance of calm.

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“Mr. Russell?”

The sweet, feminine voice with its altogether odd

accent ran roughshod over his attempt at peace. His

pulse surged, and he fought to maintain his focus on the

wooden beams above his head.

“Mr. Russell, I’m really sorry about before. I was

wondering if you could help me.”

He didn’t respond.
Breathe
in, hold it in…

“Oh, are you praying? I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll

wait until you’re done.” She sat on the narrow bench

beside him, her soft thigh pressing innocently against his

knee. From the corner of his eye, he watched her bow

her head and lace her delicate fingers together in her lap.

Her long eyelashes fluttered closed.

She looked the very picture of piety, but it was impos-

sible not to notice the way her breasts swelled above the

neckline of her dress with each breath. The way her body

bled heat into his. The way she smelled of sweet, exotic

spices. All thoughts of calm and prayer forgotten, Avery

leaned closer, trying to draw another breath of her into

his lungs.

Her eyes popped open, and he jerked backward in

surprise. “Oh good, you’re done.” She smiled, a genuine

expression that made her brilliant blue eyes sparkle with

inner fire. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but I think

we got off on the wrong foot earlier.”

He stared at her without a word. What more was

there to be said?

“It was totally my fault. I really hope you can forgive

me.” She looked down at her lap, and Avery fought the

bolt of protectiveness that struck him when her smile

faltered. “It’s just that I was so excited about being here

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and thinking I was meeting my perfect guy. I didn’t

think about how it would affect you, especially consid-

ering I screwed up.”

Avery tried to swallow, but his throat was suddenly

parched. His voice, when it came, was dry and cracked.

“I took no offense. But you must realize how ludicrous

this appears.” He wished he could bite the words

back— her opinion was a commodity he hadn’t realized

he valued— but once said, it was too late.

She picked at an imaginary thread on her skirt. He

wished he could reach out and rub a finger across the fair

skin of her wrist. A bitter laugh echoed in his head at the

impossible thought. Despite how he was drawn to her,

she was a beautiful stranger to him, nothing more.

“It was wrong, and I’m sorry. And I shouldn’t even

ask, but you’re the only person I know here.” When she

looked up at him, her eyes were as blue and guileless as a

midsummer sky. “I need your help if you can forgive me.”

Before he could voice the protest that lay heavy on

his lips, her small hand covered his scarred one. His heart

stuttered in his chest as he fought to breathe, to keep his

head, to not jerk away. She couldn’t know that hers was

the first hand to touch him so gently since his mother

had passed away all those years ago. But he knew, and

her touch shook him to the core.

i

Leah wasn’t sure why Avery reacted so strongly when

she touched his hand. The wary guardedness in his eyes

intensified, and the tension lining his shoulders and spine

increased. It was almost as if he needed to pull away

but simply couldn’t. As gently as she could, she broke

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the contact. Did he have some kind of social anxiety or