Bad Nerd Rising (19 page)

“Thank you for thinking about me
tonight.”

He smiled at her, because
he couldn’t help himself. “I’m glad we could share this meal.
Eating alone is a lonely business.”

“Yes.” She looked up at
him, and his heart clenched. “I thought I’d end up with a
sandwich.”

“Never. Not in this place.
Crumley would not hear of such a thing,” Aleksi said, hoping he
sounded aghast.

“Does Crumley know when guests don’t
eat?”

“Of course. He and Emerson
are friends. And Emerson knows everything.”

“Would there have been repercussions for
eating a quick sandwich at my desk?”

She cocked her head and
his toes curled.
Keep your hands off her
right now
.
Later.
We’ll kiss her
later
. Once he thought he had himself
under control, he answered her question. “Of course. He would have
been insulted if he had to make you a sandwich. Gourmet chefs don’t
do sandwiches. Or so he informs me.”

“I see,” she said with a
sage nod. “He’s refused to make you a sandwich in the
past?”

He sent her a superior
look. “Of course he’s refused to make me a sandwich. Emerson has to
make them for us. I should warn you, don’t let Emerson make you
food.”

She laughed. “Not pretty?”

“No.” Aleksi shook his head
emphatically. “I’d rather make my own.”

Tia leaned forward to
whisper, “I would be willing to make my own.”

His heart nearly stopped.
She had removed her lab coat for their meal, and the front of her
shirt dipped open. He caught a glimpse of curves he wanted to
explore. Aleksi blinked a few times before his brain rebooted and
he could focus again.

This fixation with Tia was
becoming problematic. They had a near crisis on their hands, and
all he could think about was kissing her. Never mind catching a
glimpse down the front of her shirt. That had been a
bonus.

What had they been
discussing? Frantically he fumbled around for their conversation
topic.
Please, let him remember.
He was pretty sure he couldn’t take the
embarrassment. And somehow, Emerson would find out his faux pas and
he’d never hear the end.

Sandwiches. His brain
finally latched on to their previous topic. “I’ve made my share of
sandwiches. If any of Crumley’s helpers are there, they’ll gladly
do it for me, but a few times he’s been the only one
around.”

“You seem to be pretty good friends with
Emerson.”

“I am. I think he’s a
cousin.” Aleksi frowned. “He’s related somehow.”

Her eyebrows soared. “And
he works for you?”

“I didn’t hire him. He just
butted his way in, as usual.”

“I see.”

“He and Maks must have
decided on it, because one day not quite a year ago I couldn’t find
anything. The next thing I know Emerson shows up and organizes
everything. He’s fanatical about organization.”

“He and Maks are friends, too?”

“Of course. We all grew up
together, attended the same schools, and then joined the military.
It was hard to stop the three of us.”

“Maks doesn’t work for you,
then?”

“Yes, he does. But I
couldn’t tell you much of what he does. He runs the financial part
of the principality.”

“While Emerson runs the palace.”

“Yes.”

“That’s a big job.”

“Yes. I enjoy reminding him
he is my valet,” Aleksi started but broke off when she
choked.

“You tell him he’s
your
valet
?” She
gasped and tried to talk through a sputter.

He grinned. “Of course. It
is most enjoyable.”

Since she was wheezing he
tapped her back. Soon Tia regained control and then sighed. “It
must be nice to work with your closest friends.”

She appeared very
comfortable with him and he loved that. Most women would have been
mortified at choking in front of any man, much less a prince.
Again, that little thought that Tia wasn’t impressed by his status
impressed him.

“It is. I do not know what
I would do without either of them. Besides being able to trust them
implicitly, they are also very good at what they do.”

“Plus you have fun,” she inserted.

“We do.”

“Is Emerson’s family here?”

“Most of them are. I
believe his mother and my father were cousins. First, I think, but
I am not certain on that.”

“I see.”

“You come from a large
family.”

“You could say that.” He
liked when she rolled her eyes like that.

“So how many first cousins do you have?”

She shuddered. “I don’t
know. Each aunt has between four and ten children.”

“Between four and ten children?” he echoed,
trying to fathom that many people.

“Yes. I have to have at
least fifty first cousins. I’ve never been brave enough to count
them.”

“Do you know all these people?”

“Yes, of
course.”

“By first name?”

“And last. I might trip up
on their middle names,” she said and cocked her head to the side,
staring at something beyond him.

“So your grandfather, the
one who was your knight in shining armor, he has fifty some
grandchildren?”

“That sounds about right.
He and Grandmom had eight children, and like I said each of them
have between four and ten children, so that’s a lot of grandkids,
and cousins,” she tacked on.

“How many people are in your family?”

She had to stop and think
about that, because she stopped chewing and again stared at the
point behind him. “I guess we’re probably 800 strong.”

It was his turn to
choke.

Chapter
14

Did one clap a choking
prince on the back? Was there a rule book for this sort of
behavior? Tia was definitely out of her element here.

She patted his back like he
had her just a few moments ago and he let out a sort of laugh,
which meant he could breathe, thank goodness. What was the penalty
for causing a prince’s death? Any way she looked at the situation,
she’d be in major trouble.

Because she definitely
needed to stop thinking about kissing him. This gorgeous man was a
prince. She was a microbiologist, aka Nerd Girl.

Maybe she’d buy a mask,
cape, and become a superhero. Since Nerd Girl seemed more feasible
than Princess Tia. She shuddered at the very thought. Then she’d be
stuck with Gloomy Gracia and that sent cold shivers rushing down
her spine.
Ugh
.

She’d rather handle Ebola.

“Sorry,” he gasped, and stared askance at
her.

Since she was rather used
to that particular look, it’d been common during her growing up
years, Tia shrugged. “I do have a large family.”

“I’ve never heard of so many family members
before.”

“And we even like each other.”

“I don’t suppose you all get together for
holidays?”

“It’s not uncommon to have between one
hundred and two hundred at the lake for the Fourth of July.”

“The lake?”

“That’s where we all have
cabins, around a lake.” She grinned when he shook his head in a
dazed sort of way. “And we go as often as we can during the summer.
It’s fun.”

“That’s your vacation?”

“Yes. We Morrisons own the
entire North and West parts of the lake.”

“Meaning?”

“Every cabin is owned by a
Morrison. Or a Morrison relly.”

He cocked a brow.

She laughed. “A Morrison
relly is a relative or a relative of a relative.”

He stared at the ceiling
for a moment. “That means the in-law’s parents and siblings are
included in the Morrison family numbers?”

“Essentially, yes.”

“You adopt everyone?”

Tia paused to think about
that. “Yes, that sounds about right.”

“So you might or might not be blood related
to everyone there?”

“I’m blood related to
between one-half to two-thirds of the people present at family
functions.”

He nodded but didn’t speak.
Maybe he couldn’t.

“I guess all this would be
hard for an only child to comprehend,” she ventured.

“I cannot imagine that many
relatives. It almost gives me, what’s that American term? The
heebie jeebies.”

She laughed. Threw back her
head, long pale throat exposed, enticing, and enjoyed the moment.
She’d never looked so beautiful to him.

“Having so much family is wonderful,
intense, special, and yes, frightening, sometimes.”

“Frightening?”

She sighed. “Well, think
about it. I have no idea what it’s like to be alone. It is possible
to be lonely in such a large family, because they’re mostly paired
off. But it’s impossible to be
alone
in a large family.”

Aleksi chuckled. “Yes, of
course.”

“My family is wonderful. I
wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. Although there are
days when I’d like to sell them. Or the Apes at least.” She bit her
lip. He wanted to smooth his tongue over it.

“Oh?”

“I tried to sell them to
Helena just this morning.”

“She did not purchase
them?” For some reason this conversation amused him immensely. He
was never bored when in Tia’s company.

“No, the ingrate said she’d wait for the end
of the year clearance sale.”

“I see,” he said, as more
amusement coursed through him. He wanted to kiss the disgruntlement
off her face. “Be kind to her, she only has one sister.”

Tia scowled at him.
“Exactly. So she got the better deal. She should be kinder to
me.”

His lips twitched.

She crossed her arms. “Now
you’re laughing at me.”

“No, never at you. With
you, perhaps?”

“Yeah, right.” She sat up
abruptly. “I know – I’ll sell them to you. The people of Rurikstan
will probably lynch the lot of you, since the Apes will fit right
in with you, Emerson, and Maks.”

“No, thank you.”

“Wimp.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact...”

He forked up more of
Crumley’s creation, not really tasting it. The company he kept was
far more enjoyable than anything they ate.

While he should have
realized that, he didn’t. Tia said something, but he missed it.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Now he looked like an absolute
idiot.

“I’ll grant that you’re
probably smarter rather than just a normal wimp.” She grinned at
him, and he wanted to taste her grin.

He instead inclined his
head. “Thank you.”

“No one in their right mind
would want my brothers. I might have to pay someone to take them.”
She tapped a finger against her chin. “My cousin Lainy also tried
to sell her brothers.”

“Are they really that bad?”

She stared at him, eyes
wide, looking a little shell shocked. She blinked, then with a
raised eyebrow and a firm voice said, “Yes. Definitely. Both hers
and mine.”

“Surely they have some redeeming
qualities?”

“Nick, the oldest one has
four kids and a wife. Her name is Macy. She’s wonderful.” She
frowned. “Bryan and Josh, no.”

“Nick’s redeeming qualities
are his wife and kids? He’s got nothing else that makes him, I
don’t know, human?”

“He’s an architect.” She
shrugged. “I guess that sort of makes him human.”

“They are your brothers.
Would not they be useful in a fight? Surely they would protect you
from bullies?”

Her eyebrow shot up in
disbelief again. “Aleksi, they’re who I needed protected from.
They’re the bullies I had to fight with all my life. So,
no.”

“I see. Being an only child
is a rather lonely existence,” Aleksi admitted. “I would have
enjoyed a sibling, even a bossy sister. Did not your parents
correct your brothers?”

“Of course not. Dad thought
I needed to grow up tough and Mom had no idea about half the stuff
they did.”

“Did you grow up tough?” A
smile twitched around his mouth.

Her eyes narrowed. “Try me
some time and see,” she purred, in the most flirty voice he’d ever
heard. “But only if you don’t mind getting hurt,” she added and he
was glad he hadn’t taken another bite. He’d have died for
sure.

“I’ll keep that in mind.
When I’m looking for some action.” He kept his tone light, too. It
was all he could do not to jump the expanse of table between them
and pin her to the wall.

Of course, if she was
trained in combat, which thanks to her brothers sounded probable,
it could be an interesting experience.

Aleksi definitely wanted to
know if their training meshed. He wanted to rediscover that he and
Tia fit as perfectly together as their previous experience
indicated.

“I’ll be waiting,” she
said. And the promise in her eyes nearly made him choke again,
without having swallowed a thing. Except maybe his
desire.

Stop flirting,
the rational part of Tia yelled at the unfamiliar
side of herself that was causing her to do crazy things.