No Time for Temptation (The No Brides Club Book 4)

by Monique McDonell

  She felt Alvaro come up behind her. Marking his territory as he often did, even though she’d told him she never dated co-workers. She made the necessary introductions, and the men shook hands and had one of those stupid staring contests men sometimes have to assert their authority. She felt like some sort of odd prize, and she didn’t much like it.

  “We should get back to it, Georgie,” Alvaro announced.

  “Sure. I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby at seven tomorrow night, Zach.”

  “Great, see you tomorrow night.” He gave Alvaro a chin tip before turning to go.

  “You’re having a drink with that guy?” Alvaro asked as she stood watching Zach leave. She hoped she wouldn’t regret going for just one drink.

  Instead of commenting because what she did after hours was none of Alvaro’s business, she went back over to Marnie and told her the moving plans. “We’re moving on Saturday, so if you want to film any of it, we should lock down the schedule.”

  “Is your friend happy to be on camera? He’d have to sign a release,” Marnie asked.

  She bit her lip. Unlike herself, whose whole life had been public from her first kiss to her most recent breakup, Liam was very private. “I don’t know. We haven’t discussed that, but we can film around him. I mean, we’re all about kitchen shots and I don’t think Liam will mind not helping to unpack all my pots and pans.”

  “Okay, let me make some calls.” Marnie disappeared outside to do just that.

  Georgie became aware that Alvaro was looking at her. “What?”

  “You’re dating your neighbor and you’re moving in with another guy, but you won’t even have dinner with me?

  Georgie shook her head. “This, Alvaro, is exactly why we keep the private life and the work life separate. It is none of your concern who I spend my after-hours time with, but Liam and I grew up with each other and I’m having one drink with my neighbor to be friendly. I have plenty of male friends who are just friends and that’s how I prefer it.”

  “Neither of those guys looks at you like they want to be just friends, Georgie.” He made air quotes around the words just friends as he spoke.

  “Now you’re just being ridiculous.” She shook her head. Maybe Zach had a bit of interest in her, but there was no way Liam did. He was Liam. Liam who practically pushed her out of North Carolina and his life, even though she’d had a massive crush on him back then. It was the same Liam who she’d spent hours with and who’d never made a move, Liam who had dated and even lived with several women over the past decade, other women. No, Alvaro was seriously mistaken about that one, which just showed how messed up his perspective was. “Are we done here, on the work side? I need to organize to move and be ready for the weekend.”

  “We’re done for now,” he replied, though it was very clear he had a lot more to say. Georgie shook her head. He was going to have to learn to keep things professional or this would be his last season with the show.

  SHE WAS MEETING Rachel for lunch at their favorite cafe near her work. Thank goodness she had someone to talk her crazy life through with. Before she’d found the girls of the No Brides Club, purely by accident, it seemed that apart from Liam and her mother everyone in Georgie’s life was someone who worked for her or could in some way make money from her. It was refreshing to have friends who liked her for her and not her celebrity.

  She took a seat to wait for her friend at their usual table and waved at her as she approached, ten minutes late as usual. She wore a long boho skirt, a denim jacket, and large gypsy-style earrings dangled beneath her long dark hair. She was truly stunning. Although there were six of them in the group, because Rachel was a dancer and she was a singer and actress, they’d become closer. Somehow nobody understood the trials and tribulations of the industry quite like another performer.

  They also shared a love of coffee, so Georgie had ordered and had one waiting for her friend.

  “Hey, you. How’s it going?”

  “Fine, sorry I’m late. Again. Everything is really good actually.” She was practically glowing she was so happy, and Georgie couldn’t be happier that her friend was in such a great place.

  After ordering her usual chicken salad sandwich, which she loved because the one here had dried cranberries and chopped walnuts inside, Georgie told her about her plan to move in with Liam.

  “You’re moving in with your sexy, brooding best friend? Wow, that’s a leap.”

  “We’re just friends, and he’s not brooding, is he?”

  Rachel laughed. “He’s the very definition around you anyway. I think if he glowers enough, he’ll scare all the other men away.”

  “He is protective like that. Always has been.” Then again, after some of her boyfriend disasters she couldn’t blame him.

  “That wouldn’t be because he has a thing for you, would it?”

  That was the second time today she’d answered that question in not so many words. “Liam does not see me like that at all. We’re friends. Just because we’re moving in together doesn’t mean anyone has an ulterior motive.”

  “Anyone?” Rachel’s eyebrows shot up. “Shut the front door, you have a thing for Liam.”

  The blush crept up Georgie’s cheeks. “I do not.”

  “You are the worst liar. How can someone who acts so well lie so badly?” She shook her head at her friend.

  “Honestly, it’s a curse.” It was the truth, she was a terrible liar, not that she made a habit of lying, but even the times she wanted to tell a little white lie to spare someone’s feelings she would blush, so she avoided it at all costs. She had no choice but to be honest with Rachel. “I don’t have a thing for Liam now, but I did have a massive unrequited crush on him as a teenager. The reason I can move in with him and not worry about that is because I know he doesn’t feel that way about me. We’re honestly just friends.”

  “Are you sure?” Her friend looked skeptical, and she forked a mouthful of salad into her mouth.

  “I’m a hundred percent sure. Anyway, even if he did, we don’t want the same things.”

  “What do you want that he doesn’t?”

  “A family.” She sighed. She didn’t blame Liam for being one hundred percent against a family because of his own childhood. It made sense that he’d vowed as a teen that he would never have one, but it made Georgie’s heart hurt to think about. She didn’t like the idea of him being alone forever because that’s what no family really meant. It also meant even if he did feel the same way as she did they would never work out. Georgie knew she was destined to have a family. She loved her singing and her TV show, but she knew she’d love having a home and a family even more. She was prepared to give up just about everything else in life but not that and that meant she and Liam could never be, which is why she was lucky he didn’t feel for her that way. Problem solved. She shook off the melancholy that touched her whenever she considered that subject.

  “Anyway, I’m having a drink with Zach tomorrow night.”

  “For a woman who has sworn off dating, you sure do have the men circling,” Rachel said, stabbing a cherry tomato with a fork.

  “Please, one drink and one old friend is hardly men circling.”

  “And Alvaro.” Rachel knew all about Alvaro.

  “Oh yes, his panties are in a twist about Liam and Zach. See? Dating is too complicated I just want a simple uncomplicated life these days.”

  Still, as she walked back to the hotel to get Tapioca and take her for a walk, she couldn’t help but think it was either a man drought or men everywhere. After the last few years it wasn’t too hard on her ego to experience the latter, even if she was pretty certain neither Liam nor Zach really liked her like that.

  IT WAS bad timing that Georgie called just as the last of his belongings were being removed from the apartment he’d shared with Cara for the past year, and it was definitely poor judgment on Liam’s behalf to answer the phone.

  Cara who had favored a passive-aggressive pout up to that point went ballistic when h
e took the call, which he quickly ended.

  “You’re just embarrassing yourself chasing her to New York, Liam. She doesn’t want you like that and look at what you’re throwing away.” She gestured suggestively to herself. “And for nothing.”

  “I’m not chasing anyone.” He preferred the term pursuing, and it wasn’t exactly that either. This was his opportunity to get Georgie to see him as more than her friend. He knew he should have broken up with Cara earlier, but he’d hoped maybe it would work out, that she’d be the one that shut down all his feelings for Georgie. It was probably unfair to her, but that’s what he’d truly wanted. It just hadn’t quite panned out that way. He’d told Cara repeatedly that he really had wanted it to work out, and that had been the truth. He could see his moving in with Georgie didn’t exactly send her that message. He stepped around the moving men who were carrying out his sofa. “And I know you don’t believe me, but it bears repeating, I did go into this wanting it to work out for us.”

  “Yeah, well, I went into the relationship because I loved you, more fool me.”

  “I’m sorry.” He shook his head. He didn’t really believe what Cara felt for him was love. She was attracted to him, she liked their lifestyle, and yes, they’d had fun, but it didn’t feel like love to him.

  She stood there, hands on hips, and let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not nearly as sorry as you should be. You’re throwing away something good for something you can’t ever have.”

  Maybe she was right, but he had to try.

  Two hours later, he was sitting in first class, sipping a very fine whiskey on the rocks feeling ridiculously happy that the day was behind him. He wasn’t supposed to fly out until Friday night, but he decided to leave early. He had a room booked at the Carlyle where he hoped to surprise Georgie.

  Maybe Cara was right and he and Georgie would never be more than friends. Maybe she was really committed to the single life and her pact with the No Brides Club, but maybe she wasn’t.

  Liam Stone hadn’t crawled his way from the trailer park to the top of the advertising industry by sheer luck. He’d gotten there by working hard, making the most of every opportunity that presented itself, and by taking calculated risks. Back when he’d sent Georgie off to Hollywood he’d had nothing to offer her, but now he was successful and this was his chance for her to see him for who he was now. He knew it was a risk but not as big a one as Cara made out. It was better for his career to be in New York, and while he was working on winning Georgie over, he would continue to build his own career.

  What Cara had forgotten was that Liam Stone had made a pledge never to risk his heart, and so until he was certain of Georgie, he’d be playing his cards very close to his chest.

  THERE WAS a time when all Georgie did was get dressed up and go out. She spent her late teens and early twenties cycling from premiers to openings to awards shows. It had been fun for a while, until it wasn’t. Until she discovered her long-term boyfriend and co-star, Hunter Stephens, had a penchant for making out with waitresses, hostesses, and other available women behind the scenes at these events. She’d been humiliated and heartbroken and hadn’t dated much since.

  Still, she did like to dress up. A drink with Zach wasn’t exactly a movie premier, and she didn’t want to look overdressed or like she was overly keen. Georgie chose a yellow floral Diane von Furstenberg wrap shirt, white jeans, and some cute yellow heels and clutch. She added large hoop earrings and made sure her hair was perfectly straightened. It was for Zach, but it was also in case the paparazzi were having a slow night and decided to target her.

  “What do you think, Tapioca? Acceptable?”

  The dog gave a small yelp and turned in an excited circle. “I’ll take that as approval. And don’t worry, I won’t be late.”

  She was down in the foyer at exactly seven when two familiar-looking men walked through the doorway at the same time. Zach and Liam side by side certainly improved the view in the lobby, but when they both smiled and strode toward her, Georgie couldn’t help but feel anything but awkward. Not that she needed to. She was not dating either of these men and she owed nobody an explanation, and yet she had a feeling that wasn’t how they would see it.

  As Zach was expected and Liam was not, she stepped toward him resting her hand on his arm. “Hey, Zach, right on time. And Liam, you’re a couple of days early.”

  The men sized each other up. This was becoming a habit, it seemed, men staring each other down while she stood by bemused. Zach leaned down and pecked her cheek. “You smell delicious.”

  “Ah thanks.”

  “You have a date.” It was not a question, but Liam didn’t sound happy. “Sorry, I thought I’d come early and surprise you.”

  “And you certainly did.” She gave him a bright smile and reached out to squeeze his bicep, hoping to warm up the disappointment she saw in his eyes. “Liam, this is Zach, my neighbor. Liam is my oldest friend and new roommate.”

  Liam extended his hand, which Zach took. Liam spoke first. “Oh, so you’re the guy who flooded Georgie’s apartment. I should thank you, I guess. Thanks to you now we get to live together while she waits for the repairs.”

  Zach did not look like he wanted a thank you. In fact, he looked more than a little annoyed by Liam. “Yes, well, it was an unfortunate accident. Hopefully, we’ll both be back in the building soon.”

  “Don’t rush on my account,” Liam said as his dark eyes fell on Georgie. “Well, you guys enjoy your evening. I’ll check in and get myself settled. Do you want me to walk Tapioca?”

  She shook her head. “All good. Well, welcome to New York, Liam. We’ll catch up tomorrow.”

  “Of course.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek, and the warm familiar smell of him warmed her heart. Liam was here and all she wanted to do was spend time with him, but she had a commitment, maybe even a date with Zach. Though, it definitely wasn’t off to a great start.

  “So where are we off to?” she asked her now scowling neighbor.

  “How do you feel about tapas?”

  “I love it,” she said, her voice sounding far brighter than she felt. He put his hand on her lower back to guide her out of the lobby, and she didn’t have to turn around to know Liam was watching them. She could feel his eyes without seeing them.

  They took a left out of the hotel. “So, you guys are moving in together?”

  “Yeah, he’s relocating to New York, so it was perfect timing. We’ve found a great brownstone with a perfect kitchen for filming.” She filled him in on the details of her new home and neighborhood as they walked along. She hoped to avoid any uncomfortable silence and erase the awkwardness that she’d felt earlier.

  They stopped outside a new tapas place she’d heard only good things about. “Oh, I’ve been wanting to try this place.”

  Her genuine happiness seemed to bring him back to a version of normal. “I’m so pleased. I know you’re a foodie, so I wanted to make sure I chose somewhere that wouldn’t disappoint.”

  “Well, you succeeded.” They were given seats at the bar and handed menus. “I judge my tapas bars on their sangria, their jamón, and their potatoes bravas.”

  “There’s criteria?” he asked, turning his body to face hers so that their knees touched. His voice held a hint of amusement now.

  “Oh yes, every type of restaurant has criteria,” she explained happily. “I take my food very seriously.”

  “Well, then maybe I should let you order.” She liked that. Given food was her business, she hated when men ordered for her or assumed they could. The fact that he’d offered was a good sign. Not that they would be dating, so no signs needed. She was sworn off men, she reminded herself as she looked up into his very handsome face.

  “Let’s do it together.”

  It was fun deciding what to get. It had been a while since she’d eaten out with anyone but her work colleagues or the No Brides Club. He ordered a beer, and she chose a traditional sangria.

  “Cheers,” he said, clinking h
is glass toward hers. “I’m sorry it took a flood to finally get us together.”

  “Yes, well, it does seem rather extreme,” she agreed with a laugh. “Where have you moved to?”

  He explained he had a buddy who was a pilot with a spare room in Queens. “It’s unlikely we’ll even be there at the same time. It’s not a great place, but I’m not there much.”

  “Yes, well, obviously it’s a bit different for me because I work from home. I need the right place.”

  “But only some of the time,” he corrected me. “Is that why you moved in with that guy?”

  She had a feeling he didn’t want the answer, “I moved in with Liam because he’s my favorite person on the planet.” “Well, I moved in with Liam because Tapioca hates the hotel, but also because I have spent enough time in hotels already to last a lifetime, so I wanted to live in a home. It needs to be a place with a great kitchen for filming. And the pieces of the puzzle came together.”

  They were interrupted by the arrival of their first plates of tapas, and Georgie hoped that would be the end of the Liam portion of the evening. It was a false hope but nice while it lasted.

  She asked Zach about becoming a pilot and where he was from originally, and he asked her about the start of her TV career.

  “You were pretty much everywhere for a while there,” he said, licking his fingers after sampling a shrimp.

  “I pretty much was. It was a lot to deal with for a teenager.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  She gave her head a shake. “I miss acting a bit, and I definitely miss singing, I’m making another studio album soon, but the fame and the stress and the lack of privacy, not even a little.”