Nerds Are From Mars by Vicki Lewis Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

asked for another bottle of this stuff.”
    “Did you, now?” She couldn’t resist flirting with him a little bit. “Are you saying I should get you drunk and have my way with you?”
    His smile faded and heat flashed in his gray eyes. “I like the sound of that.”
    Whoa. Her breath caught as the atmosphere changed instantly from relaxed to electric. “I was kidding.”
    He held her gaze. “I know.”
    “I didn’t invite you to my room so that we could –”
    “Of course not.” But he didn’t look away. “I’m here because you’ve spent most of the day working on my birth chart.”
    She swallowed. “Yes, I have.”
    “Why?”
    Her heart pounded and her cheeks grew warm.
    “And don’t tell me that I’m your current nerd project, the scientist you’ve chosen to convert this weekend. That might be part of it, but you said it yourself this morning. There’s more going on here.”
    She wondered if he realized he was acting on a hunch and that he probably did that more than he’d like to admit. “I have a feeling about . . . about us.”
    His expression grew more alert. “What about us?”
    “That we . . .” She paused. It was way too soon to tell him what she suspected about them. “That we have a connection.”
    “What kind of connection?”
    Every kind. I’m pretty sure we’re destined to be both friends and lovers . But she couldn’t say that yet. Flirting was one thing, but suggesting they were star-crossed soul mates when they hadn’t even kissed would sound crazy. Now that she’d seen his chart, she knew such a wild, unsubstantiated prediction would freak him out. She was a little freaked out, herself.
    As she searched for a satisfactory explanation that wouldn’t send him running away in a panic, she was saved by room service. A knock on the door had never sounded so sweet. She took a deep breath. “Our dinner is here.”
    “You haven’t answered my question.”
    “I know. But I can answer it better after we’ve gone over your chart. Are you willing to wait until then?”
    “Guess I’ll have to.” He stood and laid the paper on the desk. “I can’t very well tie you up and torture you until you answer me. And besides, as you pointed out, our dinner is here.”
    She was extremely grateful for that distraction, too. The next few minutes were spent setting up their eating arrangement and paying the bill, which Nolan insisted on charging to his room. They positioned the cart so Darcie sat on the bed and Nolan pulled up the desk chair on the other side.
    Before leaving, the waiter opened the second bottle of wine and poured a little of it into one of the goblets that had arrived with dinner. Apparently he’d chosen to ignore the identical bottle sitting on the desk as he handed the glass to Nolan for a taste test. When Nolan nodded his approval, the waiter filled both goblets from the new bottle, lit the candle in the middle of the linen-draped cart, and left.
    When they were alone again and settled on either side of the cart, Darcie surveyed the romantic display, which also included a small vase of miniature roses. “Did you order it like this?”
    “They asked if it was a special occasion and I said yes.”
    Touched by that, she unfolded her napkin on her lap. “Well, thank you. It’s lovely.”
    “You’re welcome.” He picked up his napkin. “So, did you want to tell me more about my chart while we have dinner?”
    “Actually, no. It’s hard to do a reading and eat at the same time. Let’s just talk.”
    “About what?”
    “Well, you know what I’ve been doing all day. What have you been up to?”
    “Your psychic abilities haven’t told you that?”
    “Hey.”
    He shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re capable of tapping into. I’m new at this stuff.”
    “Okay, because I’m psychic, I’m able to sense when things might happen, but I’m not a mind reader.”
    “Did you know room service was about to arrive?”
    “No, because it wasn’t important or