The Heir and the Spare (Untitled #1) - Emily Albright Page 0,3

the way she introduced Edmund, Mr. Blond-Hottie, made me think I should know who he was. But I didn’t.

Edmund scooted closer to Preston and gestured me to the free spot. Suzy looked like she wished he’d made the spot for her.

“Thanks.” I tucked a wayward curl behind my ear and sat.

“Are you liking England?” Edmund asked, his voice deeper than I’d expected.

Nodding, I said, “So far it’s been great. Granted, I haven’t really seen much of it.”

“Well, there’s lots of great places we can show you. What do you like to do?” His blue eyes met mine.

“Honestly?” I scrunched my face.

He nodded, looking confused.

“I should warn you first, I’m a bit of a geek.”

“Okay.” He laughed.

My words spilled out. “Museums. I love to go to museums.”

“Museums? Really?” One of his eyebrows arched.

Great, Mr. HottieMcHotDude thinks I’m a giant dork.

I shrugged. “My dad and I go all the time,” I started to explain. “My mom was an art conservationist, so maybe it’s in my blood. I just like imagining the artists and what they were like, what inspired them. It’s lame, I know.” My face now an inferno, I turned the subject away from me. “So, what do you do for fun?”

Edmund cocked his head to the side and looked at me. Really looked at me. A fluttery heat settled low in my belly. I glanced around the room, as a warm wave of nerves crashed over me.

“You enjoy museums? Is that true?” He persisted, not following my redirection.

I scrunched my brow. “Um, why would I lie about that?”

He shook his head. “It’s just . . . if that’s the case, I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl like you before.”

“A girl like me? What does that mean?” I eyed him closely, a glimmer of recognition fizzed through me. Hmm, maybe I have seen him somewhere.

“Well, one who’s attractive, modern, and well . . . American.” He angled himself toward me.

Laughter bubbled up inside my throat. “So because I’m American I shouldn’t be interested in history? By that same logic, shouldn’t you have bad teeth?”

Wait, did he call me attractive?

“That’s not exactly what I meant.” He laughed and ran a hand through his mop of wavy hair. “Of course Americans can be interested in history. It’s just not what initially comes to mind when I think of a charming American girl such as yourself.”

I’m charming now?

“Most people find museums boring. They go because they think they should. I’ve yet to find someone who really enjoys them,” Edmund finished.

“He’s right, you know. He’s been dragging me to them for years and it’s painful.” Preston turned from his conversation with Marissa and chimed in, his lip quirking mischievously. “It’s like being in a lecture hall on my off days.”

Suzy and Caroline nodded emphatically in agreement.

“Secretly, you know you love it, you git.” Edmund grinned and elbowed Preston.

“Riiiight, sorry, must’ve forgotten.” Preston rolled his brown eyes.

“I take it you must like museums, too.” I eyed Edmund.

“Absolutely, I love going.”

He’s a geek like me! “Well, if you ever want someone who won’t be miserable, I’m your girl. Any museum, any time.” Oh. My. God. Why did I say that? I fought the urge to bury my face in my hands.

“Deal.” He chuckled. “What are you specializing in?” He leaned closer.

Lordy, he smells delicious. “Um, history of art.”

“Brilliant, we’ll probably have classes together. I’m specializing in history, so I tend to take a lot of the art history courses as well.”

“That’s great; it’ll be nice to see a friendly face in the crowd.” I glanced over at Suzy, who was turned around, talking to a guy on the couch next to ours.

“Well, technically I’m a history and economics major, but I really only enjoy the history.”

“Then why not just major in history?”

“I would, but economics comes in handy with the family business,” he said with a dry laugh.

“What’s your family business?”

Edmund’s brows drew together and he leaned back to study me.

My heart fluttered nervously in my chest. Was that a stupid question?

His face softened and the corner of his mouth curled up. “Well—”

“Edmund! You’re looking gorgeous, as always. How was your summer?” A blond girl rushed him.

It looked like she was going to plop onto his lap. Instead, she stopped a few steps short and bent over so they were eye-to-eye. Well, nearly. She positioned herself to give him a direct view down her filmy white tank top. So, really, they were eye-to-boob.

Edmund smiled tensely, his gaze focused on the girl’s face. “It was good,