Free Perfectly Charming (A Morning Glory Novel Book 2) by Liz Talley Page A

from science.” He stopped and turned to stare into the horizon. The sun hovered over his right shoulder, and his hair feathered in the sea breeze. He looked strikingly gorgeous, the antithesis of what he should have been—pale, erudite, with feverish eyes. He looked like a guy who should be standing on a boat, wearing tropical fashions and drinking imported beer from a bottle. “I like fishing.”
    So much weight sitting in those three words. They said, “Back off,” “I don’t want to talk about it,” and “Don’t define me.” Jess decided to let the conversation go.
    “So what else do you like to do besides find fish and play tennis?” she asked, moving to the other side of him and stopping to pick up a tiny shell that resembled a unicorn horn.
    “I shoot pool. And I teach a beginner karate class for kids on Thursday afternoons.” He paused for a moment before saying, “and I kill it on ESO.”
    “Eso?”
    “Elders Scroll Online. It’s a MMORPG—massively multiplayer online role-playing game. I’m a sorcerer, but I don’t usually tell girls that, you know.” He smiled at the water, looking a bit sheepish. “But since you already know I’m a dork, I can be honest.”
    “You’re not a dork,” she said, laughing at the very idea of anyone thinking this guy with his tan legs and hard body, not to mention her next-door neighbor fawning over him, was anything but—what had the Chinese-takeout guy called him?—oh yeah, a player. He certainly looked the part. He had a veneer—bright and shiny like his smile.
    “Not any longer. Or at least not much,” he said, those teeth so white against his tanned face. “Look.”
    Her gaze followed his pointed finger out beyond the sand bar to where two dolphins rolled over the incoming waves.
    “Dolphins,” Jess said, awe welling inside her. She’d always loved the graceful mammals with their sweet faces and playful curiosity. And who didn’t like a dolphin? Really. This was why she’d told Jill Grover from Staff Pro she’d take the job. Didn’t even have to think about it.
    “See them a lot here,” Ryan said.
    “Then I know I’ll like living in Pensacola. Especially since I have an old friend with me,” Jess said, not taking her eyes off the two frolicking dolphins.
    “You won’t tell everyone about me, will you?”
    Jess jerked her gaze to him. “About you?”
    “Like how I once was,” he said, his gaze seemingly on the two dolphins.
    Those infernal glasses hid his eyes, so she couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. His tone sounded light, but it made her wonder if the idea of outing him as a geek made him uncomfortable. But she couldn’t figure out why. Did anyone really care that he played video games online or had an IQ in the 150s? She didn’t, but she didn’t know Ryan well enough to make a judgment. Perhaps being whom he’d once been had scarred him in some way. Maybe all that time locked in the storage closet or gym locker had caused an aversion to anything geeky. Or maybe Ryan was in hiding. Like he’d invented some terrible neurological weapon and was forced to hide from the Russians or the Chinese. He was hiding in plain sight. Jess nearly snorted as her imagination ran away with her. So silly. But maybe silly was good. She needed a bit of lightness in her outlook.
    “If you don’t want me to say anything, I won’t. I’m not sure why it’s a big deal, though.” She tacked on the last part so he would know she accepted him for who he’d been and who he now was.
    “Thanks.” Ryan turned back toward the path they’d taken. “It’s almost seven. Lin is always on time.”
    “Then we should head back.” She turned to start walking but stopped and faced him. “Hey, Ryan.”
    He stopped. “What?”
    “You know there’s nothing wrong with who you were, right? I know people teased you about being smart, but most were jealous as hell they didn’t have half the brain you did. You are incredibly gifted, and I hope