Tender is the Nerd (6 page)

T
he weekend turned
out to be one of the best Rylan could remember. He and Miranda seemed to effortlessly combine work and play. He gave her most of the credit because her cooking and lovemaking inspired him with ideas.

So did cleaning up the kitchen, something he never would have discovered since he ate mostly takeout. Miranda loved to cook but hated the cleanup. He’d offered because it seemed only fair, but he’d learned that the physical chore left his mind free to roam. Consequently he kept his laptop on the kitchen table where it would be handy if inspiration hit.

They made several trips to the grocery store until he had a thorough grounding in the study of fruits and veggies. They weren’t names on a list anymore. He’d seen most of them, held quite a few, and tasted more than he could count.

She fed his stomach, his mind, and his sexual appetite with a generosity that humbled him. Most significant of all, when he had a sudden brainstorm, she left him alone to create.

If he’d been a poet he would have called her his muse. But he was a computer nerd, so that term might be too fancy. She was definitely his lover, though, and the most exciting one he’d ever known.

Once in a while, because he was human, he longed to ask if she’d had this level of satisfaction with Frazer. He hadn’t asked, would never ask, but he couldn’t help wondering. He also caught himself wishing that she’d never become involved with his brother, but that made no sense. That would mean he wouldn’t have met her, either. He couldn’t imagine his world without Miranda in it.

When Monday morning rolled around, he greeted it with mixed emotions. Miranda cooked them a great breakfast and he’d picked up some clothes from his apartment so he’d showered and dressed at her place. He’d texted Tony asking him to call a meeting to update everyone on the app’s considerable progress.

He finished loading the dishwasher and Miranda poured them each one last cup of coffee. As they sat down at the table to drink it, he checked his phone. They had about fifteen minutes before they had to leave. Although he couldn’t wait to show his buddies the exciting features of the app, he realized that a very special time was coming to an end.

Aside from Frazer, no one else knew that he and Miranda had spent the weekend together. Going public would affect the level of privacy. Couldn’t be helped.

He had an uneasy feeling about dealing with Frazer, though. Just because Miranda was clear on why they’d broken up didn’t mean Frazer understood the dynamic. He wasn’t the type to dig for reasons and Miranda wouldn’t have been unkind. She likely would have fallen back on the old standby line
it’s not you, it’s me
.

Reaching across the kitchen table, she gave his hand a squeeze. “You look nervous. Is it the app?”

He shook his head. “That’s solid thanks to you. I’m not saying it’s finished, but it will be, and soon.” He looked into her green eyes. “I have this crazy urge to book a flight for both of us to Tahiti or Bora Bora. Better yet, some remote island nobody goes to.”

“If it’s any consolation, I have the same urge.”

“I’m thinking tropical because we wouldn’t have to wear many clothes.”

She smiled. “We could live in a grass hut and I’d keep us fed with fruits and veggies that grew wild on the island.”

“Yeah.” He took her hand in both of his. “And I’d go out and gather all that stuff, which would be free for the picking. That would leave plenty of free time for making love.”

“On the beach at sunset.”

He squeezed her hand. “Or under a canopy of tropical foliage.”

“Or in the cozy confines of our little grass hut.”

Taking a deep breath, he glanced around him. “This may not be a grass hut, but we’ve lived in a kind of paradise all weekend.” He focused on her, her glorious cascade of dark hair, her green eyes and her beautiful smile. He committed the picture to memory. “I don’t want to leave it.”

“I know. Neither do I. But do you really want to live the rest of your life on a deserted island?”

“No.”

“Me, neither. So we have to go into the office today. If what we’ve found this weekend is supposed to last, it will.”

“As usual, you’re right.” He squeezed her hand. “You know, it’s a good thing we’re planning to sign that personal relationship thing. Your chin is suspiciously pink, like you’ve been kissing a bearded man.”

“I noticed that when I was putting on my makeup. I don’t care.”

“I should have shaved.”

“Absolutely not! I love your silky beard. It’s erotic. Sexy. Especially when you –”

“
And
we have to go.” Releasing her hand he stood and adjusted the fit of his jeans. “Otherwise we’ll end up being late and your chin will be a much brighter pink.”

She laughed. “Okay.”

The drive in was short because she didn’t live far from the office. On the way they passed the grocery store where they’d had such a great time exploring the fresh produce aisle. He loved the place. “Just so you know, I’m shopping at your store from now on.”

“Great! Maybe we’ll run into each other.”

He felt a moment of panic. “What do you mean
maybe we’ll run into each other
? You make it sound like we’ll only meet accidentally.”

She braked at a stoplight and glanced at him. “How do you want it to go from now on? We never actually discussed that.”

“I want it to be like this weekend, only longer.”

The light changed and she drove through the intersection. “Sounds a little like you want to move in together.”

He hadn’t made it that far in his thinking, but the answer was automatic. “I do. I didn’t know that until this very second but yes, that’s what I want.”

“Wow. And you were the guy who said we should take a week to think about the personal relationship document.”

“Forget that guy. He doesn’t exist anymore. He’s been replaced by a man who wants to spend every available minute with you.”

She pulled into the parking garage under the building owned by BMUS. Then she switched off the motor and turned to him. “Are you sure?”

“More sure than I’ve been of anything in my life. When I finish this app, and that will be soon, you’ll move on to other projects with other companies. But if we’re living together, you’ll still be with me.”

She gazed at him in silence for a moment. “Your place or mine?”

“Yours if you’ll have me. Mine’s a bachelor pad and I have no idea if the kitchen is up to your standards. I doubt it. Your place is . . . comforting. I get ideas there.”

“The thought of living together makes me feel happy.”

“Good. Me, too.”

“But it’s a big decision.” She laid a hand on his arm. “We need to let it simmer.”

Not the response he’d hoped for. “Okay.” He didn’t want to let it simmer. He wanted to move all his stuff into her apartment after work today. Maybe that would erase the nagging feeling that what they’d found over the weekend would disappear like smoke on the wind.

How ironic that she’d been the one who’d wanted to sign the personal relationship document and he’d objected. Now he couldn’t wait to put their connection in writing. He wanted some assurance that what they’d found wouldn’t be irretrievably lost.

She squeezed his arm. “We need to make a plan for tonight, though.”

Thank God.
He took a deep breath. “We sure do. No matter what happens today, I want to be with you tonight.” And every night after that, but she wasn’t ready to commit and he wouldn’t pressure her.

“I have a guest parking spot as part of my lease. It’s marked and I’m sure you can find it. If things get crazy today, we’ll meet back at my house tonight.”

“Thank you.” He leaned across the console and gave her a quick kiss.

“It’ll be okay, Rylan.”

“Sure it will.” He gave her a confident smile. They’d meet at her place tonight. All would be well. They rode up to the BMUS offices on the third floor and he resisted the impulse to pull her into his arms. He longed to hold her one more time but she would probably think he was overreacting.

When they stepped off the elevator, Frazer was coming down the hall. As usual, his expression gave nothing away. “Hey, you two! Rylan, can I see you for a minute?”

“You bet.” He swore he heard the shark theme from
Jaws
playing in the background. “Does someone have the
Jaws
soundtrack on the intercom?”

Frazer grimaced. “It’s some obscure classical stuff Garrett brought in.”

“He’s here?” Rylan hadn’t seen Garrett Upton in days. He was the fourth member of the original team Tony had put together from their group of engineering buddies at Caltech. He’d been in charge of setting up their server, security, and backup systems. Although his contribution had been vital, the company wasn’t big enough yet to justify a full-time position. He made up the difference with freelance work and wasn’t around on a daily basis.

“He’s here.” Frazer paused at the door to his office. “Tony asked him to attend the app meeting this morning.”

“That’s good, but I hope he doesn’t plan to inflict that music on us once he’s around all the time.”

“It does sound like
Jaws
.” Miranda gave Rylan a quick smile. “Catch you two later.” She continued on down the hall, her tote bag over her shoulder.

Rylan felt a tug at his heart as he watched her go. Then he glanced at his brother. “What did you want to see me about?” As if he didn’t know.

“I’d rather not talk about it out here.” Frazer walked into his office.

Rylan followed him in. “Want me to shut the door?”

“Yeah.”

Closing it, Rylan unhooked his laptop bag from his shoulder and laid it on Frazer’s extremely neat desk. “Ah, much better. Can’t hear that ominous music anymore.”

“It kind of fits the situation.”

“Meaning?” He’d let his brother carry the ball during this conversation.

“You’re taking a big chance getting involved with Miranda.” Frazer’s tone was familiar, the one he adopted when he was giving big brother advice, but there was an emotion lurking in his eyes that looked a lot like pain.

“How so?” Rylan stared at his brother in morbid fascination. Did he still love her? Whatever was affecting him must be powerful if it could cut through his protective armor.

“I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

Time to take a chance. “Like you were?”

Frazer’s expression closed down. “Nah, she didn’t hurt me. I bounced right back. But I know you. You get invested. When she walks away, and she will, you aren’t the type to bounce back.”

Rylan agreed he wasn’t a bounce-back kind of guy but Frazer’s statement that Miranda would inevitably walk away really grated. Unfortunately, history had taught him that debating with his brother would be pointless. Frazer always thought he knew best.

Besides, the guy probably wanted to believe that Miranda would walk away. Despite insisting that he’d bounced back, that momentary flash of pain in his eyes spoke volumes. With sudden insight Rylan realized that he’d never succeeded in an arena where his brother had failed. If Frazer counted losing Miranda as a failure even though he’d never admit it to a living soul . . . damn, this could get complicated.

One thing confused him, though. “If you think I shouldn’t get involved with her, why were you pushing the personal relationship document?”

“I wasn’t. I was relieved that you hadn’t made the decision to sign it and my goal this morning was to convince you not to.”

“But the fact is I’m in a relationship with her. We should both sign it.”

Frazer gave him a pitying glance. “Take it from me, bro. It’s not gonna last.”

“I’m willing to risk it.” If he hadn’t seen Frazer’s brief moment of vulnerability, that pompous declaration that the romance was doomed would be irritating as hell. But Frazer’s attitude made perfect sense if he still mourned his loss. Losing Miranda would be tough, something Rylan certainly appreciated after only one weekend with her. His brother had dated her for at least six months.

“Let me put it another way. You were there quite a bit when I was involved with her. Remember how much she seemed to care about me?”

“Yeah, sure.” He’d been trying to delete that little slide show, but thanks to Frazer it was running again.

“Mom and Dad liked her. Mom thought we might even end up together for the long haul. I began to think so, too. I didn’t change, but she sure did. She said it was nothing I’d said or done, that the fault for the breakup was all on her. I was the same guy she’d supposedly been crazy about and she wasn’t any more.”

Rylan wondered if Frazer knew he was shaking. Nothing would be gained by pointing it out. “That must have been painful.”

“For a few days, yeah. But I survived just fine because that’s who I am. I’m worried that you won’t.”

“Why did you recommend her for this consulting job?”

“Because she’s perfect for it. The night that you, me, Tony and Garrett brainstormed this idea I knew she was the one we needed. And I was right. She has an amazing grasp of the subject matter.”

“Did you also think that by working together you might rekindle the old flame?”

“Hell, no!” He sent a dark glance in Rylan’s direction. Then, as if realizing he’d uncharacteristically raised his voice and showed some emotion, he ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “I’m over her. Have been for years.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes.” He took a deep breath. “This discussion is about you and the big mistake I’m trying to save you from.”

“And I appreciate it.” Rylan gripped his brother’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, well, it’s what big brothers do.”

“But I’m going to keep seeing Miranda.”

Frazer stared at him for a couple of seconds before shrugging. “Your funeral.” His phone chimed. “Time for the meeting.” He pulled his phone from his shirt pocket and shut off his app. “Can’t wait to hear what you have to say.” Straightening his shoulders, he walked out into the hall.

Rylan picked up his laptop bag and started after him.