Chaos & the Geek (Grace Grayson Security #1) - Elizabeth Stevens Page 0,14

apparently still within the parameters. I was so proud of myself.

The corner of his lip twitched and then he smiled as his nose twitched like he was trying to stop it. “Yeah. I’d die for the both of you. No questions. Fuck,” he huffed as he ran his hand through his hair, “I almost died for Hawk plenty of times.”

Something twisted in my gut as I watched him. Then he looked back to me and I looked away again.

“It’s not quite as dramatic as it sounds.”

My eyes snapped up with a question.

“That I’d die for you. Spending years putting your life on the line for other people.” He shrugged. “It becomes second nature after a while.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t going to pretend to myself that I hadn’t hoped it was just as dramatic as it sounded. “No. Of course.” I cleared my throat and turned away to the table.

I started shuffling papers on the table like I had a purpose.

I had no right to even want more from Kit. I’d never had that right. He was my older brother’s best friend, he was dark and dangerous, and he’d been damaged long before he went away. I was nothing and no one to forget for any length of time that I’d be anything other than a favour for Patrick.

I was the nothing and no one who had just walked in on her boyfriend under her best friend only the morning before because she was the freak who was still a virgin at twenty-three. Even if I somehow found myself in any zone remotely sexy and one that wouldn’t bring down the wrath of my older brother, Kit wouldn’t want a twenty-three-year-old virgin. He wouldn’t want a girl who couldn’t keep a guy for longer than a few months. I’d been geeky and nerdy enough before he’d left; I was ten times worse now.

Every woman I’d ever seen Kit with was tall, leggy, exotic, stunning, with a dirty streak that matched his own. I didn’t think I could summon tall, leggy, exotic, stunning, or dirty if I had the Idiot’s Guide and a lifetime of practise. Let alone the whole combination.

“Okay. I’ll leave you to…whatever it is you do…” Kit said, just cementing in my mind that this whole book geek thing was never going to be sexy for him.

I nodded. “Sure. Secure good and all that.”

I heard him make a noise and turned to see a faint smile on his face. “Yeah. I’ll do that.”

I gave him a small smile that for once didn’t feel like I had to force it because it was expected. “Bye.”

“I’ll see you later, Amber,” he said with a nod.

I snuck a look at him as he walked out and breathed out heavily.

“God,” I breathed. “This is simultaneously the worst idea and the best idea you’ve ever had.”

It was going to be fine as long as I remembered he was out of my league. If that didn’t work, I’d remind myself he was off-limits. If that didn’t work, I’d go take a look in the mirror and remember why he’d never be interested. And if that failed, then I’d just be my usual level of weird and awkward around him.

“Yeah, that’ll work,” I told myself as I sat down and went back to my research.

I must have once again got lost in it, because the next thing I knew I heard an unfamiliar voice.

“Ah. Hi…”

I looked up from my papers and my breath hitched. “Hi…” came out as some choked breath.

In front of me was the dorky geek of your dreams. He was thin and lean; probably almost as tall as Patrick, but not as tall as Kit. He wore glasses and his scruffy blond hair fell into his eyes. He wore a totally geeky t-shirt under his undone hoody that made the geek in me squeal in excitement, and tan chinos with red Converses. He had a satchel slung over his shoulder and rubbed his arm as I looked at him.

“Amber, yeah?” he asked.

I nodded. “Um. Yeah. Nico, I assume?”

He nodded. “Yep. I hear you need Wi-Fi.”

“I do. Thanks.”

He gave another awkward nod and took a step forward. My phone was charging in the kitchen and it chose that moment to go off. Nico looked at me suspiciously for a moment, pointing over his shoulder back to where my phone was with a question on his face. Yeah, it was the Doctor’s TARDIS materialising…

I nodded and bit my lip against a smile. “Guilty.” I pointed at