Once Upon an Earnest Nerd (Instalove in the City Book 2)

by Maggie Dallen

  “I appreciate your insight,” he said gravely. “But I want to earn Yve’s trust. I want to show her what a real relationship could look like. What real intimacy means…”

  He trailed off as Kat sighed, her gaze wistful. “She really does deserve someone like you, Darren. I just hope she’s not too blind to see it.”

  He gave a short nod of thanks before getting out of the limo and walking up to her front door. As he did he thought over Kat’s words. Not too blind.

  He didn’t think that Sarah was blind, but he couldn’t tell Kat that either. Who was he to claim some deep knowledge of the inner workings of Yvette? He hadn’t known her for weeks, let alone years like Kat. So who was he to say?

  He was only the man who loved her.

  He pressed the buzzer and waited with baited breath. He might not know her as well as Kat, but he thought he might know her in a different way. Or maybe he was wrong.

  But if he was right, then he had a theory of his own.

  Kat wasn’t blind, she was terrified. He might not know the reasons why but she was clearly too scared to trust men with her heart. But he wasn’t men, he was the man. Her man. He belonged to her, heart and soul. He would no sooner hurt her than he would himself.

  Now, if only he could get her to see that.

  Nine

  Yvette heard the buzzer but she didn’t answer immediately. She dallied over packing the last few items—lingerie, to be precise.

  She ignored the fluttering sensation in her belly, the nervous energy that told her she was about to do something crazy.

  This might be a stupid plan, but she’d committed to it. She needed to get the upper hand with this guy…this guy who should not be taking up so much head space. This guy who definitely didn’t deserve to have her pining over him or thinking about him or obsessing over him.

  The buzzer rang again.

  This guy who was waiting for her downstairs. This guy who wanted to date her and was using sex as emotional extortion, basically. Who did that? What guy opted for a platonic friendship over an easy lay? And what guy actually said he wouldn’t settle for less than a true relationship?

  Relationship or friendship, those were her options.

  What a jerk. She couldn’t be friends with a guy she wanted to kiss. And she wouldn’t date a guy who looked at her like Darren did. Like he was so earnest it hurt. Everything about him was sincere, and that wasn’t even the worst part. He looked at her with expectations, like he wanted things from her. Things she just couldn’t give.

  That was how she knew—he didn’t want to be just friends any more than she did. Nothing about that look in his eyes said, ‘Hey, buddy, let’s go see a movie.; No, that look said, ‘Let’s gaze into one another’s eyes as we share pasta ala Lady and the Tramp.’

  She knew what he was up to. He was trying to use her attraction to him to get her to agree to a relationship. Her stomach clenched at the thought. It was an immediate and intense reaction to the idea of dating nice guys, guys with the dreaded P-word.

  Potential.

  Ugh.

  No, thanks.

  Her whole body rebelled against the idea. She wouldn’t do it. She couldn’t.

  And she wouldn’t need to. He might think that he had the upper hand by holding out on sex, but he hadn’t seen anything yet. She hadn’t even tried to seduce him yet, and when she did, he didn’t stand a chance.

  Because yeah, it was true, her body liked his. There was definitely electricity and sexual tension whenever they were in the same room. So what? No big whoop. It was just hormones. Pheromones. Basic chemistry. It didn’t mean anything.

  She’d show him that. And, in the process, she’d get him out of her system just like she did with every other guy she had the hots for. True, more often than not they dumped her before she got the chance, but in this case there would be no dumping and no dating. Just sex. Plain and simple. Easy peasy.

  She took a deep breath and faced the mirror. Yvette looked back. That was how she thought of her reflection sometimes. It was silly, maybe, but it was the truth. Like back in high school when she’d starred in plays, she’d come to think of the reflection as a sort of character she played. Yvette Clark, artistic sprite. Yvette Clark, painter and muse. Yvette Clark, dater of skeezy musicians and non-committers. Yvette Clark, lover of fun, hater of intimacy.

  She tilted her chin up as she draped a winter cape over her vintage dress. Yeah, she could do this.

  Yvette Clark could do this.

  Darren was the epitome of a gentleman the entire way to Montana.

  It drove her nuts.

  Luckily, Kat was there to talk to so she didn’t find herself answering any more stupidly personal questions. Darren, for his part, was more quiet than usual on the trip.

  Probably plotting his devious emotional extortion plan. She scowled over at him as the plane was landing. What she wouldn’t give to read his mind.

  But it didn’t matter, because she had a plan of her own. Seduce and run.

  She didn’t have an opportunity right away. Not long after they unloaded their luggage at the lodge in the middle of nowhere, Bryce took Darren into town to see his family and stock up on provisions.

  Darren had invited her along. She’d declined. Of course she’d declined. She wasn’t here to play girlfriend and meet his mom, for Pete’s sake. She was here to get even with the sexy nerd who’d been tormenting her all week.

  And also get help finishing her application.

  Both terribly practical reasons, which was why she was taken aback when Kat cornered her after the men took off. “Okay, Yve, spill. What are you really doing here?”

  She pursed her lips and eyed her friend, wondering how much to tell. Kat was sitting on the edge of her bed in the guest room she’d been given. With a king-sized bed and a fireplace, this would do perfectly for the seduction she had planned.

  But Kat’s gaze was critical and Yvette was not in the mood for a lecture from her second mom. “I’m here to get some help with my application.” A new thought occurred to her and she spun around quickly, “I’m so sorry, Kat. I didn’t mean to crash your first Christmas with Bryce. When Darren mentioned that he was coming, he made it sound like we’d be staying in town, not here with—”

  “Are you kidding?” Kat shot up, interrupting her with fierce hug. “Of course I’m glad you’re here. You’re family, you know that, and that’s what the holidays are all about. Besides, Christmas is our thing, right?”

  Kat’s parents had retired to Florida and since flights were so exorbitant at this time of year, they’d adopted a tradition of celebrating Christmas in the new year. Hence, she’d spent most of her Christmases hanging out with Yvette or with Yvette and Caleb if he was stuck in town too.

  Yvette nodded, relieved to hear that. Bryce had been amazing as a new member of their little squad, but she and Caleb didn’t want to step on any new-love boundaries.

  “Besides, Bryce and I were the ones who suggested you two stay with us.” She tilted her head down and fixed her with a stern look she knew well. “You know, when Darren mentioned you were coming.”

  Yvette looked away quickly, shifting on her feet. Point taken. “Yeah, uh, about that…”

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kat watching her expectantly with her arms crossed. “Any particular reason you forgot to mention that you were coming to Montana? With Darren?” When she didn’t immediately answer, Kat added, “Or that you forgot to mention Darren at all?”

  She shrugged, turning away to unpack some of her belongings. “What was I supposed to say? You already knew he was working with me on the grant application. You were the one to set it up.”

  She kept her attention on the task at hand, balling up the lingerie before putting it into a drawer to avoid more questions from Kat. Like, why on earth had she brought skimpy nighties to a rustic friends-only getaway in Montana in the dead of winter?

  “Yes,” Kat said slowly. “But you didn’t mention that he’s in love with
you.”

  Yvette froze, one hand in a newly minted nightie-drawer and the other hovering in the air reaching for more clothes.

  The L-word hung in the air between them. Yvette had the horrible sensation that it was a living thing—a living, breathing monster in the room. It was creeping behind her ready to pounce if she turned around too quickly.

  She shook her head. She was being stupid. Again. She’d started to think that her painting and other art work were the only outlet she needed for her fantastical imagination. Her tendency to over-romanticize and to dream up wild fantasies had all been channeled into her art world, a world which was entirely separate from the mundane, day-to-day world.

  But evidently not. Her over-active imagination was functioning just fine in her everyday life, it seemed. She couldn’t shake the wary, creeped out sensation even as she told herself that a one-syllable word was completely incapable of causing harm.

  She turned slowly, warily, until she was facing her friend. “Did he say that?” The words came out breathless. Even more startling, they weren’t the words she’d intended to say at all.

  Kat’s brows shot up. She opened her mouth as if to answer but Yvette cut her off. She didn’t want to know the answer to that…did she? No.

  “Never mind. Forget I asked.”

  Kat’s mouth clamped shut as her eyebrows drew down in a furrow that Yvette knew well. Ah crap, her second mom was worried. This was nothing new, but she didn’t want to deal with a lecture from Kat or with more prying questions.

  “Yve,” her friend said slowly, gently. It was the gentle tone that did it. All of a sudden she wanted to cry and yet again she had no idea why. Yet again, she couldn’t blame it on alcohol—she hadn’t had a single drink. So instead she blamed Kat. And maybe hormones. Definitely the fact that she’d eaten a month’s worth of sugar on the plane ride here.

  Kat moved toward her slowly as if she was afraid of startling her and then she rested a hand on her arm. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

  No! “There’s nothing going on.”

  “You’re a terrible liar,” Kat said evenly.

  “No,” she argued. “I’m a great liar. You just happen to know me too well.”

  Kat’s frown eased up a bit and amusement flickered in her eyes, which was a vast improvement from her earlier concern. “Fair enough. That doesn’t change the fact that something’s going on with you. If you want to talk—”

  “I don’t,” Yvette said. And then, because she realized how harshly that had come out, she added, “But thanks anyway.”

  Kat’s silence made her anxious. She went back to unpacking because it gave her something to look at and something to do with her hands. “I’ve got it all under control,” she said.

  Kat was still quiet.

  “He might think that he, h-he…” She couldn’t say it. Spinning around, she crossed her arms defensively. “He’s wrong. We just kissed a few times, that’s all. I don’t know why he’s making such a big deal out of it.”

  Attraction was just a physical reaction. Everyone knew that. That was what she’d show Darren this weekend.

  She would cure him of whatever strange romantic notions he had about this having the potential to be a relationship.

  It wasn’t that she was being down on herself. She wasn’t one of those girls who had crazy low self-esteem or something. No. She was just realistic. There was no way that she was his type, not once he got to know her.

  Which he did, a little voice kindly reminded her. He’d studiously gotten to know her like the nerd he was.

  But, she reminded that stupid little voice, he’d gotten to know her while wearing rose-colored glasses. Why was he wearing these rose-colored glasses? Because they hadn’t slept together! His glasses were tinted with the rosy hue of physical attraction. Pheromones and oxytocin and testosterone were all doing weird things to his brain because he was experiencing an intense case of lust. He just didn’t know that’s all it was.

  So yes, he’d gotten to know her but he’d been viewing her through a haze of sexual tension, a fog of desire, a veil of passion.

  She should know because she felt it around him too. But she knew better than to read more into it than that.

  Darren on the other hand… Well, she had a theory about that. One that helped her to wave aside Kat’s ludicrous statement about his feelings for her. Darren clearly didn’t sleep around. Because of this lack of experience, his mind was all warped when it came to sexytime. Clearly in some way he equated sex with love, which everyone knew was not true.

  By sleeping with him she would help him remove the rose-colored glasses. After one night together…okay, let’s say one long weekend, he would wake to find himself in bed with a purple-haired, unconventional, artistic slob. And she was pretty messy, she was the first to admit it.

  She was also, without a doubt, his opposite in every way. She wasn’t responsible, or super intelligent, at least not in a book-smarts kind of way, and she wasn’t naïve and sweet like him, either.

  So no. He deserved better. And when they ran their course, he’d see that too.

  She was so engrossed in her rationalization and justifications that several moments passed before she realized her mistake.

  Her attention snagged on Kat’s face and she saw her friend’s eyes had widened dramatically. “You kissed him?”

  Oops. “He didn’t tell you that part?”

  Kat shook her head violently, her blonde curls swinging around her shoulders. “No. He didn’t. When did this happen? Did you sleep with him?” Her eyes were so big it looked like it hurt.

  Yvette latched on to that last question. “No, we never slept together. I went home with him, but—”

  “You went home with him?” Kat’s voice got all high and screechy and Yvette winced.

  “But we didn’t sleep together.”

  “You went home with Darren and didn’t sleep with him.” Kat’s eyes were still wide with disbelief. “So…what did you do?”

  “We…” Her throat closed up for a second. Oh crap, this was embarrassing. And weirdly revealing. “We kissed and then we…cuddled.”

  Kat’s jaw actually dropped. “You cuddled?”

  Yvette winced again. It sounded just as bad when she said it.

  Kat gave her head a shake. “But why go home with Darren? Why kiss him? He’s a nice guy.”

  Yvette flinched. Nice guy. It hit her like a sucker punch. He was a nice guy, that was the problem. She shifted beneath Kat’s questioning look. “I didn’t think I’d ever see him again, okay?”

  Yeah, that didn’t sound so great once it came out of her mouth. Without further prompting, she filled Kat in on the whole story, from their first chance encounter at their holiday party to her current situation.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Kat said. “You are aware that Darren has feelings for you, but you don’t feel the same.”

  Yvette crossed her arms. “Obviously not.”

  Kat still looked confused, but at least she didn’t look like she was judging.

  “And your plan,” Kat said slowly, recapping as if she didn’t quite understand the simple logistics. “Is to seduce him so he sees that he doesn’t really love you and that he’s confusing lust for love. Do I have that right?”

  Yvette nodded, but her nose was still wrinkled up in disgust. “Please stop using that word.”

  “What word?” Kat asked. Then her expression cleared and amusement lit her features. “Love?”

  Yvette winced and Kat, the little she-devil, started to sing the word. “Love, love, love, love.”

  “Cut it out!”

  Kat’s head fell back with a laugh but then she straightened and faced Yvette. “Sorry, it’s an inside joke. Bryce did the same thing to me when I was in your position.”

  “And what position is that?”

  She almost wished she hadn’t asked. Her gut churned with wariness as Kat gave her a smug, slightly pitying look. “In love.”

 
; Yvette’s gasp was so loud and over the top, it might have been funny if she wasn’t so, so…flabbergasted. “I don’t even know what to say.” She shook her head as she struggled for words to describe her disbelief, her hair flying in her face.

  Kat’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Trust me, I understand. It’s terrifying in the beginning, but—”

  Yvette’s eyes widened in horror. Kat had totally misunderstood. “I don’t love him!”

  “But—”

  “I can’t believe you’d even think that.” Her tone was a tad too passionate. Her voice rising too loudly for the cozy lodge bedroom. “I can’t believe you, of all people, would think that. About me!”

  Kat bit her lip but to Yvette’s annoyance, she looked like she was fighting laughter at her expense.

  That only made her more agitated, even though she knew in some distant part of her brain that she was protesting too vehemently, and far too loudly. “You’ve known me forever, Kat. Of all people, I thought you would understand.”

  Kat gave her a mildly pitying look. “Understand what exactly? That you are so disinterested in a guy that you decided to follow him to Montana to sleep with him?”

  Yvette frowned, her stomach plunging into cold waters as the truth of it struck her. What was she doing here? Why hadn’t she just ignored him. Let him walk away.

  She forced herself to think about Darren, replay their last few interactions, which had been easy, funny, and painfully touch-free.

  Kat placed her hands on Yvette’s shoulders and she looked up to find her friend giving her a sympathetic, motherly smile that she knew well. “Look, I’m not going to push you on this. For your sake, I hope you at least give this guy a chance. Darren is as good as they get.”

  Yvette managed a swallow. She couldn’t deny that. She might not have known him long but everything about him screamed decent, level-headed, and reliable.

  And sweet.

  Dang it, she did not do sweet. Kat knew that.

  Kat dropped her hands and headed toward the door. “Bryce and I are going into town tonight to meet up with some of his friends. Do you want to come?”