The Geek Girl Squad: Olivia: A nerdy sports/fake relationship romance by Jasmine C. Caldwell
Olivia is a career-driven, unashamedly nerdy girl who needs a fake boyfriend to get her mother off her back at the family reunion. Jake looks like a jock, but hides a nerdy side – and now he has to prove it to Olivia and her friends so he can convince her to turn this fake relationship into the real thing.
Book excerpt:
He opened the car door for her and waited till she got inside before he responded. “I went to the con for you, too.” Olivia’s eyebrows flew into her hairline as he shut her door.
Jake let her chew on that in silence. He probably shouldn’t have dropped that bombshell quite so soon, but the fake aspect of this relationship had been grating on his nerves. And he certainly had a history of saying the wrong thing when he was around Olivia, although texting her as Tuxedo Mask had cured him of most of that.
Lying bothered him. He wasn’t an actor, but that’s what Olivia needed right now. If they were really together, would she have brought him along? No, probably not. One date wasn’t enough to bring someone home to meet the family. But he was enjoying Olivia’s company, and he wanted to get closer. He’d wanted that since he first saw her, so he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity.
The girls he attracted never wanted anything to do with his nerdy side. It was exhausting being seen as only a jock, and it was boring as hell. All those women ever wanted to do was go to movies and shop, maybe see a game if he was lucky. They watched shows like Real Housewives and The Kardashians. Which were fine for a while but he lost interest quickly. He had far more in common with Olivia than he had with his previous dating pool, and he could tell that immediately just from the shirt she’d been wearing. As Olivia’s silence dragged on for miles, he realized she was putting walls up.
Jake took her hand in his while he drove. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have dropped that on you. It makes me sound like a stalker.”
She barked a sardonic laugh. “Just a little.” She stared at their hands.
“Is this okay? Or are you anti-PDA?”
“It’s … I mean … We’re not there yet. So we don’t have to pretend.”
“Okay.” He released her hand, but left his next to hers on the console. “I meant what I said. I only went to that convention specifically to get you to talk to me.”
“And you overheard Nadia and I discussing the costumes in the break room so that’s why you went as Tuxedo Mask.”
“Guilty.”
She jerked her hand back. “Are you sure you’re not a stalker?”
He needed to salvage this. Fast. “Look, I’m not lying to you. I was interested in you at the picnic, but I fucked up and I wanted a chance to start over.”
“But why?”
Jake licked his lips and gathered his thoughts. “You’re the first woman that’s interested me in a long time. I’m tired of hook-ups. Most women look at me and only see a football guy. They see the fame of being on television. These women just want me for what I can give them, they don’t actually want me. They find out I’m more than a cardboard cutout and run.” Straight into someone else’s arms.
The silence dragged on. “Are you mad?”
“Maybe a little. But I’m more shocked than anything.”
He stole a quick glance at her face. She was looking at him incredulously. “Why shocked?”
“Guys like you … don’t go for girls like me. Not really.” She turned her head away and muttered something under her breath.
“What was that?”
A sigh. “I said, ‘Not unless you want something.’”
Ouch. “Um …” he stammered. How was he supposed to respond to that kind of insinuation?
“I’m speaking from experience, okay?” Her voice was exasperated; he’d hit a nerve.
Experience? Jake’s protective instincts flared again, but he kept his voice gentle like he was talking to one of his kids after a bad play. “Who hurt you?”
He caught her shrug from the corner of his eye. “It was a long time ago.”
“Olivia …”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Olivia turned silent again, and he stole another glance at her as they turned onto Route 64. She studied him with her lips pressed together and her brows drawn down. His heart squeezed in his chest. What the hell. Might as well lay it all on the line so there was no question where he stood.
“Last week was real for me. I’ll be whatever you need me to be this weekend, and we don’t have to talk about it again until we leave, but I’d really like a chance. With you.”
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“Forgive me, signorina,” Matteo Garibaldi said in his dark velvety accent. “I did not mean to frighten you.”
