Geek Girls Don't Date Dukes Read Online Free PDF Page B

ago. But he knew, and
    her touch shook him to the core.
    i
    Leah wasn’t sure why Avery reacted so strongly when
    she touched his hand. The wary guardedness in his eyes
    intensified, and the tension lining his shoulders and spine
    increased. It was almost as if he needed to pull away
    but simply couldn’t. As gently as she could, she broke
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    Gina Lamm
    Geek Girls Don’t Date Dukes
    the contact. Did he have some kind of social anxiety or
    something?
    Shaking off the concern, she tried to focus. Like it
    or not, at the moment, she needed his help. Nothing to it but to do it . Opting for honesty, she launched straight into her idea.
    “I know this doesn’t seem like it’s possible, but I’m
    from the twenty- first century, from what you’d probably
    call the colonies.”
    She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, scanning his
    features for disbelief. But, just her luck, Avery Russell
    had a poker face to end all poker faces. He was like a
    gorgeous statue with a slight bump in his nose. “It’s
    magic,” she said, and then immediately wanted to smack
    herself in the forehead. As if that would make it better.
    “Of course.” His tone was dryer than South Texas
    in July.
    She rolled her eyes and stood, needing to put some
    distance between them. “There’s no need to be sarcastic.
    I wouldn’t have believed it either if it didn’t actually
    happen to me— and my best friend, who’s now married
    to the Earl of Dunnington, by the way.” She hoped the
    name might mean something to him.
    When he didn’t respond, her smile faltered, but she
    held her pose. Fine, she’d lay it all out there on the
    table— either he’d help her or not.
    “So listen, here’s my problem. I can’t meet the duke
    without some kind of introduction. You and I both
    know I’ll need some help in order to meet him, let alone
    convince him we belong together.” She sat back down
    beside him and leaned close to lower her voice to its
    most convincing level. “You’re my only hope, Avery
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    Russell.” She hoped her sincerity was clear in her face.
    There wasn’t much else she could think of to say.
    The only clue that he wasn’t as composed as a sack
    of concrete was the slight flaring of his nostrils. It was
    almost like he smelled her perfume and liked it. Well,
    he could sniff her all damn day if he’d just agree to help
    her. And actually, there were a lot of things that could
    be worse than staying close enough to Avery to let him
    smell her perfume. The man really was magnetic, despite
    his attitude. Her gaze flicked to his full lips before she
    could stop it.
    “It is madness, foolishness, and the worst sort of
    nonsense.” He sighed and looked down at his hand, the
    one she’d touched only moments before. “But it is not
    for me to judge you. If your course is firmly set, then I
    shall do my best to aid you.”
    “Oh, Avery, thanks. You’re the best.” She flung her
    arms around his neck. His muscles trembled, and the
    slightly coarse fabric of his coat scratched at her cheek.
    She breathed in shoe polish and strong soap. But Leah
    didn’t care. She’d made her first friend, albeit a handsome
    and reluctant one, and he was going to help her to her
    true love. How much better could today get?
    i
    “And this is where you’ll sleep.”
    The door swung open and Mrs. Harper gestured into
    the dim attic room. Leah closed her eyes, made a wish,
    and walked toward the open door to face her fate.
    A haughty sniff came from her unwilling tour guide.
    The housekeeper, Mrs. Harper, resembled a disap-
    proving Q- tip more than anyone Leah had ever met. Her
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    Geek Girls Don’t Date Dukes
    tiny, stick- thin frame was crowned by a bushy cloud of
    stark- white hair, but a duchess herself could be no more
    stuck up than Mrs. Harper