Bad Nerd Falling (26 page)

“
What if she doesn’t show
tonight?”

“
Who doesn’t show?” That
quickly she finally understood why he was so concerned. “Oh, Molly
will come, never fear.”

“
I wasn’t fearing.”
Although quiet, she still heard his comment, but she didn’t call
him on it.

Instead, she dusted off her hands and
strode out of the kitchen to stand in front of him. She grasped his
arms just above the elbows and squarely faced him. “Molly
Wellington is one of the most talented, sweet, friendly women I
know. You have nothing to be concerned about.”

“
I’m not concerned,” he
denied, but the tension in his body eased.

What a big fat
liar
, she thought but didn’t
voice.

“
Good, because there’s no
reason to be.”

“
Is she younger or older
than Vlad?”

“
Younger. He’s a year
younger than Maks, and then Molly is four years younger than
Vlad.”

He nodded. “Is their other sister
younger than Molly?”

“
Yes, she’s the baby,
which makes her two years younger than Molly.”

She wandered into the kitchen again to
see how the dough was rising. It was ready to be spread on the
pizza pans Beau had produced. He stepped forward and nudged her out
of the way. At the same time, someone knocked on her
door.

They left the kitchen to answer the
summons. When she opened the door, Molly launched into her arms.
Laughing and hugging her friend, she was really pleased to see
her.

“
I’m so glad you’re
home.”

“
It’s wonderful to be here
for a little break. Not that I don’t adore America but I do miss
home.” Molly brushed her strawberry blond hair out of her face. Her
eyes, exactly the same vibrant shade as Maria’s, were
warm.

Beau stepped forward at the same time
Vlad picked up his sister and shifted her into the flat so he could
step inside. The two men exchanged looks she didn’t care to
interpret. Instead she smiled at Vlad and then tugged Molly
forward. “Molly, this is Beau DuBois.”

Molly’s bright blue eyes widened in
shock as she stared at him for a moment. “Beau DuBois, as in the
composer?”

He appeared modest for a moment before
a lazy smile crossed his handsome face. For all the anxiety he
showed five minutes ago, now he was all easy, laid back male. She
would never understand men.

“
Yes, I’m a composer.” He
offered Molly his hand and she stared at it for long moments before
realizing she was supposed to shake it.

Then she did so with gusto, and a
minor case of hero worship spilled out as she told him how much she
loved his work.

“
I’ve certainly admired
yours.” He led her into the living area.

Deciding that Beau and Molly were
fully occupied, she turned to the silent, watching man beside her.
He had closed the space between them with ease and next to no
detectable movement. But where before he hadn’t been all that
close, now he crowded her space.

Not that she minded.

“
Hello.” Tilting her head
back so she could stare into his face, she smiled up at him and
appreciated the male appreciation in his eyes.

“
Hello.” He bent to kiss
her. She met him halfway. In less than two seconds, they melted
together and their arms wrapped around each other.

“
It is nice to see these
two
finally
together.” Molly’s voice interrupted in her normal bright
tones.

“
It’s nice?” Beau sounded
dubious.

“
They’ve been in love
forever.”

With reluctance, she took back her
lips. It was a shame because she hadn’t nearly finished her
exploration of Vlad’s mouth. There were still things she had to do.
Make certain nothing changed.

“
Can’t you give us five
minutes?” Vlad groused in typical brother fashion. At least what
she assumed was typical brother fashion.

“
We did.” Molly’s face was
a picture of innocence. She didn’t have Maria’s smoldering femme
fatale qualities like her sister, but she was every bit as lovely.
There was an open yet mysterious quality about Molly that was very
appealing. She was intelligent, but also a little naive.

Beau seemed rather enthralled with
her.

“
We gave you seven
minutes.” Beau gestured to the clock. “We’ve got to start those
pizzas if we want to eat soon.”

He started for the kitchen so she sent
Vlad a smile before following Beau. He washed his hands and then
crossed to the bowl where the dough rose above the rim. He dug in
and quickly separated it into two halves. One half he placed back
in the bowl, while the other one he rolled on top of his fingers
until it spread into a perfect circle.

“
You’ve been holding out
on me.”

“
I didn’t tell you I
worked at a pizza place?”

“
No.”

“
Well, I did.” When the
dough was round enough to place on the first pan, he quickly spread
it to the edges and then started on the second one. She opened the
jar of pizza sauce and spread it out, working quickly, though
probably not as efficiently.

Beau turned to their audience. “Any
preference on toppings?”

They discussed toppings before Helena
dug out the ones they settled on. Soon supper was ready for the
oven. She slid them in and then set the timer so she would remember
to switch them halfway through.

“
So Molly.”

“
So Helena.”

“
I’ve heard good things
about this country singer you work for.”

Molly brightened. “Yes, she’s
spectacular. You’d never know she was so young, but she
is.”

Beau’s eyebrows rose. “How
young?”

“
She’s in her early
twenties.”

“
How did she get to be
such a superstar so young?”

“
I think she got her first
record deal at age fifteen.” Molly stared at the counter as she
thought about it. “Yes, she was fifteen, and her first record came
out soon after she turned sixteen.”

“
You worked for a
teen?”

“
Yes. She’s tall and
really beautiful and very, very driven. She also happens to be
incredibly talented.”

She leaned over the counter, bracing
herself on her elbows. “I heard she writes her own
songs.”

“
She does. Most of them.”
Molly brushed some hair off her face. Beau followed her movement.
He watched her, not unlike a predator watches a potential
mate.

“
I know someone else who
writes his own music.” She used her chin to indicate
Beau.

He rolled his eyes. “It’s what I
do.”

“
Not every musician can,
you know.” Molly tucked the same strands of hair behind her
ear.

“
No, but for those of us
who do, it’s vital.”

Molly cocked her head to the side.
“How so?”

“
I’ve been composing ever
since I understood you could string notes together to make a
melody.”

Helena straightened. “Like
Mozart?”

Beau grunted. “No one was like Mozart.
He started at age four or five or some such ridiculous
age.”

That made her pause. People who were
really good in their field apparently started out early. Like
Mozart at age four or so, Molly’s country singer boss who got her
record deal at age fifteen, and her eyes slid to Vlad. And like
Vlad who started learning all things military at age
five.

She shuddered. If they got married and
had children she didn’t want her children learning about war that
young. It was ugly and grim and bloody. Not at all what she wanted
for them.

Glancing at Vlad, she noticed he took
in everything they said with the air of a man who hadn’t spent much
time with friends and family like this. He seemed a bit…
shellshocked.

That made her sad.

“
When did you start
composing?” The lamplight caught in Molly’s hair and made it
shimmer like gold.

With a casual shrug, that she doubted
was all that casual, Beau answered, “I might have been eight or
nine.”

Molly’s breath audibly caught in her
throat. “You were that young, oh wow.” Her eyes widened to the size
of pepperoni and her lips parted as she stared at him in
awe.

A shadow crossed Beau’s face, one she
didn’t have time to dwell on because the timer dinged. She crossed
back to the oven and switched the pizzas. Then reset the timer. No
sense in making them too brown.

The air in the kitchen was scented
with the baking pizzas. It made her stomach growl. She crossed to
the fridge and tugged out a bowl of fresh fruit. Setting that on
the counter, she wasn’t surprised when everyone helped themselves.
The next item was the salad. Only Molly picked a carrot out of
that.

Finally she handed Beau some drinks.
He carried them to the table and then moved to the drinking glass
cupboard and took those down. The timer dinged and she hurried to
remove the pizzas. The cheese bubbled and the crust was perfectly
browned.

Molly leaned forward. “Wow, that looks
fantastic.”

“
I’m impressed, myself.”
They grinned at each other before she carried the first pizza to
the table. Beau grabbed the second one.

After locating the pizza slicer Beau
brought she handed it to him. As usual, he made the task look
simple and easy.

She paused beside Vlad. Here was
another man who did a lot of things well. The man was also beyond
yummy. While the hot pizzas smelled super delicious, she could be
persuaded to go for this yummy man instead.

He might prove to be an excellent
weight loss program. Really, she’d never met any food that tasted
better than him. Chocolate came close, but he still nudged even
that amazing creaminess out.

“
Let’s eat,” Beau
announced once he finished slicing the pizza.

They all gathered around the table.
Vlad seated her while Beau appeared to enjoy seating
Molly.

Who sent Beau a private smile of
thanks that he obviously got. He wasn’t favoring his left side
tonight, so that boded well for him. Perhaps they could play his
newest piece for Molly. Another musician would enjoy the mini
concert.

“
This is delicious,
Helena,” Molly said, her face lit with happiness after they started
eating.

“
Thank you.” She slanted a
glance at the reason why Molly thought it was so good. “I had
help.”

Molly grinned. “You both did a
spectacular job.”

Vlad passed the salad bowl to her. She
helped herself, then passed it to Beau, who sat on her left. Molly
sat beside him, across from her. Beau and Vlad faced each other.
She picked up the fruit bowl and added a large helping to her salad
before passing it to Beau.

He stared at her fruit laden salad
with revulsion. “That’s disgusting.”

“
If you don’t like it,
then yes, it would be. I happen to love fruit and salad together.”
She shrugged and added a little salad dressing. Then she stirred
the entire creation and speared some on the end of her
fork.

“
It’s perfect,” she
decided after she swallowed.

Vlad didn’t seem any more enamored
with the combination than Beau, but he did send her an amused look.
“Whatever you want.” He took a bite of his pizza.

His jaw and neck muscles worked and
she nearly dropped her fork. There was no reason why a man chewing
should be so utterly sexy, but Vlad had just shown it was possible.
She stared at him and when an inquiring dark eyebrow rose, shook
off the daze, as her cheeks turned pink, if not fiery
red.

He leaned forward and whispered, “Can
I help you?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but was
pretty certain the promise in them mitigated the effect. “Not right
now.”

“
They flirt like that all
the time.” Beau leaned in to complain to Molly.

A tinkling laugh was his reward and
she turned in time to see that he was rather charmed by that laugh
and the woman who created it. Molly’s cheeks were bright with color
and her eyes sparkled.

“
I’m sure they do.”
Molly’s voice was a little throatier than normal.

Beau’s eyes narrowed as he sent a lazy
smile to Molly, appearing to enjoy her animated
features.

Hot breath blew across her ear and
Helena started. Just like that, Vlad turned her brain to the
consistency of breakfast porridge.

After eating they decided to head to
Beau’s flat for some music. By the time they reached his door, he
had the key out and ready. Within moments he ushered them all
inside.

Molly, as though drawn there by a
string, surged to the piano. “It’s beautiful,” she said in hushed
tones and gazed at it with rapt attention. It gleamed in all it’s
dark splendor in the lamp light Beau snapped on. Really, it was a
fabulous piece. Black wood polished to a patent leather shine. The
workmanship was simple and elegant, utterly graceful and
compelling. Shiny wood notwithstanding, it was much like Beau
himself.