Free The Geek Girl and the Scandalous Earl by Gina Lamm

course, it was still perfectly smooth. The dress. It had to be this getup they’d stuffed her in. She wasn’t normally this twitterpated in the presence of a handsome guy. But then again, she thought as she straightened the skirt over her legs, she’d never really spent much time with a gorgeous earl.
    “I should apologize too. I haven’t been the easiest person to get along with since yesterday. It’s hard because I don’t know what I’ve gotten into, you know?” She hadn’t really intended to be that honest with him, and it embarrassed her a little. She could feel her cheeks getting hot.
    He nodded, not commenting on her blush. “I can imagine, if things are as you insist they are, that this must be incredibly difficult for you. I cannot fathom how a simple bureau could facilitate such a random act of magic, but it seems it must be so.” He grinned, staring straight ahead. “That, or I’m as addle-brained as the dowager Duchess of Ware.” Mike turned and looked at her, his confusion clear. “Do you still have that small box you brought with you?”
    She shifted on the bench, uncomfortable and feeling like a fraud despite the sincerity of her situation. “It’s in the Lemon Room.”
    “The Lemon Room,” he repeated, brows drawn down in confusion.
    “Yes. The bedroom Mrs. K put me in last night? It looks like lemons.” She smiled. “It’s really pretty.”
    “I am happy that it pleases you.” He cleared his throat. “What other things are different in my home than in yours? If that little device is any indication, there must be many other such things that I am unfamiliar with.”
    “You have no idea. I miss my shower, my toilet, my toothbrush, my computer, my car…” She trailed off at the confused look on his face. “Sorry again. It’s hard to remember that none of that stuff exists yet. I should probably shut up.”
    “No,” he said, the corner of his mouth curling. A thrill went through her when he reached over and took her hand. “Please. I would like to hear of them.”
    His fingers were warm and strong, his skin a bit lighter than her own. Why was she letting him hold her hand? And the bigger question was, why wasn’t she able to stop him? She looked into his eyes again and realized she really didn’t care about answering that question. She had some others to take care of first.
    “Well, the first and best thing is the shower. We have pipes that bring water into our houses…”
    They sat there together on that chilly stone bench in the garden, and she told him about her life. He held her hand the whole time, no trace of the normal snobbery that seemed to follow him like a black cloud. She relaxed, comfortable to reminisce in the presence of the much-friendlier-than-normal earl. After she described the miracles of modern plumbing and cars and airplanes, they moved on to computers. She thought they were Mike’s favorite because his eyes danced with the same gleeful light she’d seen in them yesterday while he was playing with her smartphone.
    “So, this web connects the entire world? And messages are sent within seconds? How extraordinary.” A light squeeze traveled from his hand to hers as he leaned closer. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her stupid heart from jumping out of her chest. She could almost forget that he made her want to shoot laser beams out of her eyes most of the time. If he kept this up, she might be in trouble.
    “It’s pretty cool. And you can send more than emails. You can send videos, pictures, all sorts of things. You can buy and sell things, meet people, and even control satellites in space if you’ve got that kind of access.”
    He shook his head incredulously. “How limiting and backward this time must be for you. When your life has consisted of speaking with those across the world, how can you be satisfied with being confined to my home?” His thumb traced a light circle on her knuckle.
    She swallowed hard, eyes glued to the tempting curve of his