Free Nerds Are From Mars by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page A

work.”
    “I’d ten times rather hear what you just said than any of that. Makes me feel like a stud.”
    “I see.” When he talked like that, she got tingly all over, but especially in the places a stud might find most interesting. “You also Googled my book title.”
    “I not only Googled it, I ordered it.” He thanked the doorman who ushered them outside.
    “You bought it?” He was making points with her right and left.
    “That’s usually how it works when you order things on the internet. You supply your credit card information and they charge your account.”
    “Smartass. But thank you. I’m touched. You don’t have to read it.”
    “What do you mean? Of course I’ll read it. I might need some help understanding it, but I figure I can ask the author when I get confused.”
    “You most certainly can.” She stood on the steps of the hotel. “Which way should we go?”
    “That path to the left leads to a waterfall. That might be nice.”
    “Perfect.” She went down the steps and across the paved entry to the lighted path through the landscaped grounds.
    “Now that we’re in semi-darkness, can I hold your hand?”
    “I would love that.” She held hers out to him. “As I told you, I’m a sappy woman.”
    “Then I’m glad you asked me to save the roses from the dinner cart.” He laced his fingers through hers.
    “Just so you know, I’ll buy your book when it comes out, too, and I’ll read it even if I only understand ten words out of a hundred.”
    “Did I tell you I was writing a book?”
    “Uh, no.” Whoops. She’d forgotten they hadn’t discussed that. She reminded herself, once again, not to let out too much information at once.
    “You got it from my chart?”
    “Yes, I did but –”
    “Good grief. You looked at my chart and figured out I was writing a book? That’s sort of freaky.”
    “I don’t mean to scare you. I’ve been doing this for about six years, so my guesses are pretty accurate.”
    “That one was dead on. I’m only about halfway through, so I haven’t talked to many people about it. Did my chart say what I’m writing about?”
    “I assume it’s a scientific work on Mars.”
    His laughter was triumphant. “Finally, I have a secret you don’t already know about. It’s science fiction about a colony on Mars. It’ll be fun to see how close I come to what it’s actually like once we get there.”
    “That’s a wonderful idea.”
    “I hope none of the colonists are sociopaths, but I needed a villain, so my fictional colony has one. Plus there’s a little bit of romance.”
    “Just a little bit?”
    He squeezed her hand. “Now that I know a sappy woman is going to read it, maybe I’ll put in more.”
    “Oh, right. That reminds me that I suggested this walk so we could discuss my flaws, so here’s another one. I’m attracted to drama.”
    “You secretly want to be a movie star?”
    “God, no. Maybe when I was fifteen, but not now. I mean I’m attracted to personal drama. In high school I was a horrible drama queen.”
    “So that’s what all the screeching in the halls was about?”
    “Wait a minute. I did not screech. That was Linda. I prefer a classy wail to a nails-on-the-chalkboard screech. But I’m working on toning down the wailing. I’m guessing you’re not into drama, so I’m giving you fair warning.”
    “I consider myself warned.” He glanced over at her. “What usually sets off this wailing?”
    “Oh, it can be anything. Drama queens can make mountains out of molehills and Mt. Everest out of Disneyland’s Matterhorn. I recognize that I have a problem, but I haven’t totally fixed myself.”
    “Good to know.”
    “Also, it’s not surprising that I was ready to get right into the sex while we were kissing, despite our previous discussion that we should take it slow.”
    “Because I’m so hot?” Laughter rippled in his voice.
    “Granted that you’re hot, but I’ve been known to use sex to avoid actual intimacy, which as