“Why should I care what a jilted woman says?” Georgia asked.
Trudy shrugged. “She also told me Brent’s still not over his first wife, which I imagine is true as well. Talk to Mariah if you want a professional opinion. All I can say is Brent’s obviously got some real issues. I’m sorry to be the one to point out all the potential bad stuff behind his offer.”
Stunned, Georgia held out a hand to stop Trudy’ speech and walked away. She stared at the red room wall paper, letting it all sink in. Had Hollywood been feigning interest? Had he been setting her up this whole time? Her chest hurt at the thought and she rubbed the space between her breasts—the same breasts Hollywood couldn’t seem to stop himself from staring at every chance he got.
Foolish. She’d been foolish to even indulge in the fantasy of them together and grateful now that she hadn’t yet given more voice to it. Her foolishness was going to bite her on the proverbial ass Saturday, just like she’d been fairly sure was going to happen eventually.
At her age, she certainly should have known better. Whatever Hollywood had been trying to prove by his faux courtship, his success at making her feel like an idiot was assured. But it wasn’t just her own consequences that she had to face.
If she didn’t go through with the date now, what would Dr. Brentwood Colombo, asshole date extraordinaire, do to Mariah? Or her business? That worry was alarming too.
Pride aside, she couldn’t let things play out in a bad way. She couldn’t let her daughter suffer for her foolishness. Georgia hung her head, breathed, and then turned back to her friends.
“I’m going Saturday, even if it’s all completely true. I have to go. If Hollywood’s that much of a lowlife, he likely wouldn’t think twice about quietly putting out something negative about Mariah’s business. I can’t take that chance. I have to go there and deal. If he gives me shit after Saturday, I’ll give him the worst rating Mariah’s database has ever seen. He’ll never get another decent date out of her once I expose him for the creep he is. I’m sure there’s worse things I could do to his reputation once I’m at the place where I can think things through.”
“Georgia… you don’t want to put yourself through this,” Ann insisted. She looked imploringly at Trudy, then back at Georgia. “We know you like Brent. We just pretended to go along with your protests because we knew you were scared. Now you could get really hurt here. He’s not worth that.”
Georgia drew herself up tall. She hadn’t survived this long by letting anyone make her feel like less of a person. She had no plans to start with Brentwood The Bastard Colombo.
“What I liked about Hollywood was the idea that I might have been wrong about him. It would have been a nice surprise and I admit I harbored a fantasy or two, but I’m not as naïve as his daughter. I’m a survivor, no matter the crisis, and that’s something no one is going to take from me. I will survive this too.” She looked around the room and lifted her hand in a circle. “So find me the best armor you can. I’m going to need it to face Hollywood’s former harem.”
Trudy stopped Ann from heading back. “No. I know what Georgia needs. She needs a lip zipping display of undeniable wealth.” She walked to a rack and pulled out a cream suit with gold studs on the jacket sleeves and skirt. “Closest thing I have to real armor. The gold studs are real gold. This suit is worth over a hundred thousand dollars. Everyone there will see it and know the gold is real. They won’t be able to say any denigrating crap about off-the-rack anything.”
Ann ran a hand over the finely made suit, and looked at Georgia. “You’re going to need a bright blouse, some heavy gold jewelry, and a gold rinse to turn those silver strands of yours the right shade. We’ll go back to Mariah’s person. You also need to get a professional manicure and makeup to match the blouse we pick.”
Georgia nodded and forced a tired smile. “I trust you both. You know I wouldn’t be able to do this without your help.”
Trudy reached out, took both of Georgia’s shoulders in her hands. “You don’t have to do this at all. Screw Brent and his exes. I care about you more than I do about any of them, and that includes my shallow friend who married him. Now you may have given Brent some grief in the short time you’ve known him, but you at least sincerely liked the man for himself. You aren’t using him financially so he doesn’t deserve the chance to hurt you. And you don’t need to deal with the sick kind of comparison shit that could happen. Not everyone with wealth is petty, but it only takes one or two to hurt your confidence.”
“If this was just about me, I wouldn’t go,” Georgia said softly. “But this is about Mariah. I can’t let him hurt her. I won’t. Let him have his revenge if that’s what this is about. It’s one evening of my life, but I’ll have what I need to protect my daughter’s business afterwards. Then I’ll never have to see the bastard again.”
Trudy nodded, still looking unhappy. “Okay. I have everything you need but the sass. You’re going to have to find that inner bitch yourself. Take buckets of attitude with you.”
“Oh, you know me,” Georgia replied, gently pushing Trudy’s hands away. “I have enough sass to fill up your red room twice over. Now I have to go retreat and lick my wounds. I hate it when I make a mistake this big. But I’ll be back tomorrow to pick up my armor. I’d never go to war without it.”
“God… Georgia. Brent does a lot of these charity things. He raises a lot of money for good causes. I can’t imagine why he’d intentionally do this to you. He never struck me as a malicious person. Mostly, I felt sorry for him,” Trudy exclaimed.
Georgia hugged Trudy. “Don’t worry. Thanks for warning me. It would have been horrible to walk into that situation and be blindsided. Now I won’t be and that’s the best I could hope for in these circumstances. I will not let Hollywood reduce me to being pathetic over this. I swear I won’t.”
She turned to Ann. “Thanks for helping me. I’ll do everything you say needs done to look my best. Just make the hair stuff temporary, so I can go back to being my normal self next week. I don’t want any reminders of my craziness.”
“Done. Just temporary rinses, I promise,” Ann said fiercely.
Georgia nodded. “Good. I’ll see you all later.”
She didn’t have to swipe any tears away until she got to her car. The floodgates opened then and refused to be stopped. She studied her haggard face in the rearview mirror.
“Sixty-two and a fool for a womanizer. What did you think would happen with a man who looked like him, Georgia?”
It was a misty-eyed drive home, but Georgia got there in one piece.
The quiet of her once again empty nest bothered her today, but that was just her feeling sorry for herself. She was glad Mariah had found a new life and a good man to love her. Every woman deserved to have someone in their life like John.
“Maybe I should get a dog,” Georgia said, thinking out loud.
If she did, she’d get a female dog—a fellow bitch. They’d grow old and be sassy together.
Yes, definitely a female dog.
The last thing she needed in her life was another male of any species.
Chapter Five
Jellica had been in rare form tonight and Georgia was drenched in sweat after her yoga workout. People really had the wrong idea if they thought those poses were easy and not strenuous.
Or maybe it was just Jellica and her intensity driving her students forward.
Whatever the case, Georgia threw her yoga bag in the trunk and climbed wearily into the driver’s seat. Instead of going home though, she went to a salad place to pick up dinner. Deciding she was too hungry to wait, she found a table in the corner and dug into her healthy meal, ravenous despite her heart ache about Saturday.
Instead of bemoaning her fate, she ought to be counting her blessings. One reason she’d survived all the pain in her life was that her appetite had never failed her. She was one of those hearty women who managed to rise above the struggle and look like it never cost them. It was bullshit, of course, but prid
e did keep a woman’s chin up.
A throat clearing had her lifting her head from her food. Hollywood stood in front of her table, looking sheepish and nervous.
And handsome.
Damn the man anyway.
“Stalking me?” Georgia asked. “How sweet of you.”
“I was able to locate your phone and took a guess when I got over this way,” he admitted, looking guilty. “I wanted to talk to you about something in person. Can I sit with you for a few minutes?”
It was the last thing she wanted, but Georgia waved a hand to the seat across the table. “Since you’re here, you might as well have a seat… Brent.”
His eyebrow raised at her use of his real name, but Hollywood said nothing about it as he slid into the chair. Georgia smiled and shrugged. “This place doesn’t have the ambiance of your cafeteria with its eclectic mix of plastic chairs and petit fours, but the salad is good.”
To prove her point, she returned her attention to her food, chewing and swallowing even though her appetite had disappeared the moment she’d seen him. It was hard to ignore his handsomeness, and harder still not to whine about her messy, sweaty appearance. Either would have given him a power over her feelings that she did not want him to have. Not today. Not ever again.
“Georgia, about this Saturday…”
Georgia laughed and raised a hand. “It’s okay. I promise I won’t embarrass you. My more sophisticated friends are dressing me. You don’t have to worry that I’ll show up in my blue sweater and stained silk tank top. I also swear I won’t be repairing any toilets before our… date.”
She watched his head drop and almost believed he felt some measure of regret about his wicked plans. Almost believed… but hadn’t she already learned Hollywood liked playing head games? It was how he’d tricked her into a date in the first place. She’d been anxious to help Ann and would have done whatever he’d asked to get his help.
And she had done as he’d asked.
“You were worried about that… weren’t you?” she asked.
“No,” Brent exclaimed, raising his gaze. “I don’t effing care what you wear. I…”
He drifted off not finishing the statement. Ignoring his pause, Georgia plowed through the remainder of her salad, eating mindlessly as Hollywood stumbled in his search for words. It was interesting to watch since she’d never seen him at a loss for them before. He usually got the verbal upper hand without even trying hard.
But he would not do so tonight. Tonight she was not going to give in to him.
“What?” she challenged. “Have you changed your mind about our date?”
Brent’s sigh was long and loud.
Georgia slid her plastic fork into the disposable paper dish, pushing the empty container to the middle of the table to create a gross barrier. He leaned back away from it and she smiled at his action. How could she have ever thought she could date someone so stuffy?
“Well, you gave me an out for our date, Brent. I suppose I can offer one back to you. If you want to cancel Saturday because you’re afraid I’ll embarrass you, that’s fine with me. I’m probably not the most perfect date you could find for your charity soirée. Maybe you should call Mariah and get a perky young woman to hang off your arm.”
His hopeful look stunned her a little. She hoped her hurt over it didn’t show.
“How about we reschedule our date?” Brent asked.
Georgia raised an eyebrow. “Now I’m the one embarrassed. Well, I can bow out gracefully. Did you double-book a date and forget you asked both of us?”
“No. It’s just…” Brent ran a hand through his hair.
Another swipe made his hair stand up, but he seemed not to notice. If she hadn’t known the truth about Saturday, she’d have been highly entertained at his anxiety.
“I’m going to be really busy with hosting and it was not a great idea to ask you out for that kind of evening when I really would rather it be just the two of us on our… date.”
Georgia nodded in mock sympathy. “I see. So this Saturday was like when you went out with Ann because you needed a dance partner? It’s okay, Brent. When you didn’t suggest something more intimate, I already figured out you simply wanted help with hosting. That is what you want from me Saturday… right?”
Another swipe put his messy hair back into place. Georgia almost laughed despite her anger, but her heart was too miserable to let it find true enjoyment. Hollywood was being such a coward in not coming clean. How could she still like him enough to even find him funny? It was like he had some sort of Svengali power over women.
“I hadn’t thought things through well enough at the time I asked you to come Saturday. I wanted to go out with you so badly that I jumped at the first social occasion. Only… I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry. Can we please just reschedule?”
Georgia sighed heavily and tried to look sad. “Are you really that worried that I’ll embarrass you in front of your family and friends?” she asked, deliberating taunting the deceitful, cowardly, rat bastard.
“No. Of course not. I don’t care what anyone thinks of you. It’s just that…”
“Good. Then I’ll be there. I won’t let you down. I always keep my word, Brent… always. Do you always keep yours?” Georgia asked sweetly.
“Yes,” Brent said firmly. “Why are you calling me by my real name tonight?”
Georgia felt her mouth stretch into a smile without feeling anything remotely close to happiness. It was like telling someone you’re fine when you’re anything but fine. You did it for the sake of propriety, and for the purpose of sparing the person social awkwardness just for showing your polite concern. She always hated that, and yet now here she was doing it. She was alternately lying to torment him and to spare him. He’d turned her into the kind of woman she despised, but what was one more fib?
“It occurred to me today that my nickname for you might seem disrespectful in front of the people who’ll be attending your gala this weekend. Us accidentally running into each other has given me some practice setting that right. I could never manage to call you Brentwood without laughing, but Brent rolls off my tongue like I’ve been saying it for years.”
“I liked you calling me Hollywood. Are you mad at me?” Brent demanded, searching her gaze. “I mean, more than usual? Have I done something I don’t know I’ve done? Men screw up, you know. It comes with the Y chromosome. We need to be told, not tormented. I feel like that’s what’s happening.”
“Nothing comes to mind. Why? Do you have a guilty consciousness?” she asked.
“About many things,” Brent hedged.
Georgia snickered, enjoying his nervousness. Good. Hollywood needed to be nervous. He needed to be as unnerved as she was about their stupid date.
“Tell me the truth, Brent… you don’t really want me there Saturday, do you?”
She smiled genuinely when he looked like he’d swallowed a sour grape. Bingo. He badly wanted to retract, probably because he knew having her come was a shitty thing to do a new woman he professed to like. He just couldn’t think of how to get out of it gracefully. Well, screw his second thoughts and his paranoia. Only a full confession would stop her from going now. This was practically war.
“Of course I want you with me, Georgia. I just wish I’d thought our date through better. Sometimes I have a tendency to be impulsive. It always gets me in trouble, but I can’t seem to stifle the urge when it comes to… beautiful women.”
Snorting, Georgia leaned on the table and hung her head. His misery was palatable and enough to satisfy her ego. Maybe she should just take the indirect out he was offering, and call this whole charade off. It would spare her countless painful hours of socializing and staring down his harem. It would spare him too.
But she wasn’t sure it would spare her daughter who always acted with the best of intentions. She had to think of what was best for Mariah… not about her or Hollywood’s lack of comfort just because he’d turned out to be a first class jerk.
“If I don’t show up Saturday, are you going to hold our cancellation against Mariah?”
“What?” Brent exclaimed. “No, of course not,” he said, tapping his fingers nervously on the table. “I would just… wait an appropriate amount of time and reschedule my date with you… unless you’re willing to reschedule now.”
“Now why don’t I want to jump on that charming offer?” Georgia asked, staring into his handsome, very handsome face. “Maybe it’s because my daughter has been telling me all along that Dr. Brentwood Colombo is a very honest, very giving person. Take this Saturday gala for example… I hear it’s for yet another of the many charitable causes you support. I hear your entire family takes part in the preparations. I’m honored you thought to include me in something like that… especially since this is technically our first date… a first date you’re technically paying my daughter for. I should be flattered to be included in such an important night in your life. Right, Brent?”
“Georgia…”
Her eyebrow raised. “Yes?”
“I’ll…” He paused and then reluctantly stood. “I guess I’ll see you there.”
“Of course you will,” Georgia said, standing and scooping up her empty salad dish. “I won’t let you down.”
She rolled her eyes at his downcast head when he turned to the door. Shouldering her purse, she tossed her dish in the trash and headed outside. At her car, she turned to find Hollywood standing way too close.
“Okay, then… Brent. I’ll see you Saturday,” Georgia declared cheerfully.
He nodded, but continued to watch her as she unlocked the door of her compact and tossed her purse into the passenger seat.
“Georgia…”
Knowing it was foolish, she turned back to face him anyway. His arms coming around her were a shock.
“You smell divine,” he whispered.
Never A Dull Moment Page 4
