Talk Nerdy to Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

conquests.
    "You
know what I remember from that time we spent in the bar?" Rick said.
    Charlie didn't think he
wanted to hear this.
    "Heaven
knows." Eve laughed nervously. "After two glasses of wine, no telling
what I might have said."
    Now Charlie really didn't want to hear it.
    "You
got very serious," Rick said. "And then you told me that you felt as
if modeling were a waste of your life. You said if you ever had the time and
the space, you'd create a laboratory and invent a manned hovercraft that ran on
veggie scraps. I never forgot that. What a concept."
    Charlie
stared at Eve. Judging from her red face, he knew what had caused the explosion
in her garage. So Rick had heard all about it five years ago. Charlie's jaw
clenched. Some things never changed. When it came to women, Rick was ahead of
the game every damned time. And Charlie was sick of playing second fiddle.

Chapter
Three
    Well, shit. The minute Eve had figured out who Puck was, she'd
remembered that conversation they'd had over wine all those years ago. She wasn't in the habit of talking about her
dreams and schemes, but that day she'd been frustrated by the delays in the
shooting schedule and had seriously begun to question whether she was throwing
her life away just because the money was good.
    Somewhere
into the second glass of wine she'd started talking to Rick about her idea for
a hovercraft. She'd thought about that conversation several times in the years
since. Turned out it had germinated and flowered into a viable life plan.
Breaking up with Lyle had been the first step in getting back to something she
loved.
    She
didn't regret that talk with Rick because it had started her thinking again
after several years of being mentally asleep. At the time he'd seemed like a
safe person to confide in, someone who lived on the other side of the country,
someone who didn't know she'd flunked out of high school and wasn't considered
particularly bright by her family. He hadn't laughed when she'd suggested that
powering the hovercraft with veggie fuel could make a real contribution toward
solving the world's oil crisis.
    But she wished Rick hadn't
shown up and exposed her secret just now. Charlie, a guy she was becoming
increasingly fond of, didn't look happy about that, not happy at all. She
didn't blame him. She should have told him sooner, before he'd had to find out
this way.
    She'd
also rather not discuss it while they all stood in the middle of this very
public tavern. A quick glance at the bar told her that Archie had gone in the
back and probably hadn't heard Rick mention the hovercraft. But Manny and Kyle
were all ears.
    "It's
strictly experimental." She lowered her voice. "It may never get out
of my garage. I'm just—"
    "So
you are building it!" Rick
turned to Charlie. "I'll bet you're helping her, aren't you?"
    Charlie
looked at Eve, his expression stormy. "Well, you see, I didn't—"
    "I
would love some help, Charlie," Eve said. "There are definite gaps in
my knowledge when it comes to the electrical system. I'm pretty much
self-taught, and it would mean a lot if you'd check out my wiring."
    "I'd be glad to."
    He
said it so quickly that she had no doubt he was thrilled to be asked. Being
asked to help might make up for not being told about the hovercraft earlier.
She let out a breath. Maybe this wouldn't turn into a complete disaster.
    But she needed to move this
party elsewhere. The workday was over in Middlesex, so happy hour could begin
any time. A couple of guys in jeans and flannel shirts had just come through
the door and were headed over to the bar. She thought Charlie had noticed them,
but Rick seemed oblivious.
    "I'd
like to get a look at that thing, myself," Rick said.
    She
edged closer to the door. "I'm trying to keep the project under wraps.
Until now, I haven't told anybody about it except my neighbor Eunice, and she's
sworn to keep it secret. It may never work, so there's no point in making a
laughingstock of myself, right?"
    "I
doubt that's