Free Bad Nerd Rising by D.R. Grady

their third.”
    Tia turned to Aleksi and his mother. “I have
about a hundred first cousins and there are always a bunch of
pregnancies. Our family is huge.”
    “And growing,” Emma said. “It’s harder and
harder to keep track of who is expecting.”
    “What about Shelby and Sam?” Tia asked.
“Shelby is Rich and Emma’s daughter,” she added for Aleksi and
Gracia’s benefit.
    “They just completed the paperwork for their
third and fourth children.”
    Tia fought to contain her surprise. “Are
they planning to stop at four?”
    “Yes, I think so,” Rich said, his voice dry.
“But they both love kids, so it’s hard to say.”
    “Neither of them seems to mind the chaos
kids add,” Emma said. Tia loved how evident their love for their
daughter and her children was.
    “Macy doesn’t seem to mind the chaos of four
kids, lots of pets, and Nick,” Tia said with a crooked grin.
    “Macy is your sister-in-law?” Aleksi asked
and she was impressed he remembered. Maybe he had been paying
attention when she showed him her family photos.
    “That’s right. She’s the one who married
Nick and his four kids and is in vet school right now.”
    “She married Nick and his four kids?” Gracia
repeated faintly. She looked confused.
    “Nick’s first wife was killed in a car
accident. He’d gone through a bunch of nannies until Macy came
along, and they fell in love. She married him and took on his
readymade family.”
    “You’d never know she wasn’t their birth
mother,” Emma said.
    “No. The kids have all started calling her
Mom, even Savannah. She’s more of a mother to them than their
biological mother ever was.”
    “Savannah is your oldest niece?” Aleksi
questioned.
    “Right. She’s fifteen now,” Tia said. Had
she sent Savannah a birthday gift? Was there a party? Yes, that’s
right, she’d given the girl some accessories for her new phone.
That’s right.
    “Savannah is as beautiful as you, Tia,” Emma
said, and to her surprise, Rich nodded in agreement beside her.
    “Definitely,” he said.
    Tia stared at them. “She’s far more
beautiful than I ever was.”
    “No, I think she’s a miniature Tia in the
making.”
    She snorted. “Just what this world needs,
another Tia.”
    When she glanced at Aleksi, she saw his eyes
had half-masted and he was staring at her like he didn’t believe
more than one Tia was a bad thing at all.
    Oh no.
    Was he a contender for the knight in shining
armor role in her life?

 
     
    Chapter 7
     
    How on earth did a man oust
a woman’s grandfather from the role of knight in shining armor? It wasn’t like he
could challenge him to a duel or something. The man was family, her
ancestor, and therefore played an incredibly important part of her
life. It was also evident that Tia loved him very much.
    There was also the factor that Aleksi wasn’t
sure he could handle the whole knight in shining armor thing,
anyway. That pesky little part of being the hereditary prince
generally meant he wasn’t allowed to engage in dangerous exploits,
which had seriously hampered his growing up years.
    And likely contributed to his decision to
continue his education in America; then do most of his father’s
traveling since. He had hoped Americans wouldn’t care that he had
royal blood flowing through his veins. He’d hoped in vain. Seemed
there were hangers-on in every country. Not all of his peers had
cared about his title and wealth. In fact, Tia used to stare
through him. Aleksi was surprised she even remembered his name when
they re-met at that conference.
    Her eyes had actually bulged a little when
he asked for her phone number. Like she couldn’t believe he
remembered her.
    As if he would ever forget her.
    Too bad he hadn’t managed to talk to her
while they were in school. But he felt like the timing then was
bad. She had been utterly focused, even as a freshman. He had
appreciated and respected that kind of devotion.
    Slanting a glance at her, he wondered, now
that