by Marie Force
And Georgie did love it. She loved the challenge and the process involved in presenting clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories in a way that enticed and seduced. She loved the brainstorming sessions with her high-spirited, creative team, the drawings, colors, fabrics, textures, and smells. Somehow she had to figure out a way to get her career back on track.
Working quickly and trying hard not to think about what she was doing, Georgie plowed through her mother’s clothes. She divided them into piles of what she wanted to keep for herself and Ali, things to be donated and others to be thrown away. Georgie contemplated a dress that had gone out of style twenty years ago. Curling up her lip with distaste, she mumbled, “What was she thinking holding on to this?”
In the back of the closet, she found a pile of clothes she had sent her mother from Davidson’s, many of them still with the tags attached. Not surprised by the discovery, she laughed. Try as she might, Georgie had never had much luck in upgrading her mother’s fashion sense. Jeans and T-shirts had been the mainstays of Nancy’s wardrobe.
When Georgie finished going through the clothes, she turned to the desk and sorted paperwork, some bills she hadn’t noticed on an earlier mission, correspondence involving the center and a pile of old pictures. The clothes, the hats, the white gloves, and the cat-eye glasses made her smile. In the bottom right-hand drawer, she found a packet of papers tied with a pink ribbon. Curious, Georgie untied the ribbon and gasped at what she found—every letter she had written to her mother during her freshman year of college.
As she flipped through the pages and relived those first few scary months away from home—away from her mother—the wound of her loss tore open once again. Warm tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks as she realized no one would ever again love her quite that much.
Georgie had no idea how long she sat there clutching the letters when her ringing cell phone snapped her out of it. Reaching into the back pocket of her shorts, she retrieved the phone, wiped her face, and flipped it open.
“Georgie? It’s Tara. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No,” she said to her assistant at Davidson’s. “How are you?”
“I’m sorry to bother you on a Sunday and all,” Tara drawled in her deep Southern accent, “but you’ve got to get back here, girl!”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Half the department’s threatening to walk if they bring that witch Nina Taft in as director. They’re planning to tell Lorraine they’re going to quit if she doesn’t hire you back.”
“That’s crazy,” Georgie said, even though she was touched by her employees’ loyalty. “You can’t let them do that. Lorraine is under pressure from above. It wasn’t her fault I got fired.”
“Well, it wasn’t yours either,” Tara said indignantly. “It certainly wasn’t your fault that your mama got sick, Georgie, and it’s not like we’re falling apart without you. We’re holding things together just fine. You’d be proud of us.”
Georgie smiled. “I have no doubt.”
“We were totally shocked when Lorraine sent an e-mail around on Friday night telling us you’d been ‘let go.’ We all got together at Melinda’s last night, and that’s when I heard what they’re planning to do about it.”
“I was shocked, too,” Georgie confessed. “Believe me. But I understand that Lorraine can’t hold my job forever.”
“That’s bull crap.” Tara snorted, too much a lady to curse. “You work your fanny off for her. Your job should’ve been safe indefinitely.”
“I appreciate that, Tara, and I’m sorry I’ve put you all in such a bind.”
“Is there any chance you can get back here? Soon? Before there’s nothing left of our department? We need you, Georgie.”
Feeling torn in a thousand different directions, Georgie thought it over. “I need some more time to get things settled here.”
“If I know for sure you’re going to be back in the next couple of weeks, I think I can convince the others not to quit.”
“Just because I come back doesn’t mean they won’t still bring Nina in.”
“If we tell Lorraine we’re all going to quit if they do, that might get their attention.”
“I don’t want anyone making threats they aren’t prepared to follow through with. You never know. She could call your bluff. Don’t do anything crazy, do you hear me?” Blocking all thoughts of Nathan, Georgie said, “I’ll be back in two weeks, if not sooner.”
Tara released a heavy sigh of relief. “Thank you, Georgie.”
“Hopefully, I can convince Lorraine to hire me back.”
“We’ll get you back. Don’t worry.”
“I appreciate that, Tara. I really do.”
“How’re you holding up?”
Georgie glanced at the letters in her lap. “I have good moments and bad moments, but I’m doing okay. Thanks for asking.”
“We sure do miss you.”
“I miss you all, too.”
“Keep me posted on your ETA?”
“I will. You keep the troops from rebelling.”
“I’ll do my best. Take care, Georgie.”
“Thanks for calling.”
Georgie took the pack of letters with her when she left her mother’s room and crossed the hall to stash them in her suitcase. In the bathroom, she splashed some cold water on her splotchy face and brushed her hair. She was anxious to get to the hospital to see Gus and needed to save enough time to shower and change before Nathan picked her up at two.
Her stomach twisted with nerves when she thought of him and the promise she had just made to her coworker. She had made it clear to him from the beginning that she intended to go home to Atlanta eventually, so it wasn’t like he could be mad at her for doing just that. Right?
As she made the decision to keep the phone call from Tara to herself, Georgie realized it was time to get serious about wrapping things up in Newport. In all the madness of the last few months, it had been easy to forget that she had people relying on her in Atlanta, too. They had worked tirelessly for years to make her look good to her superiors. She couldn’t let them down. She wouldn’t let them down.
Chapter 20
At the hospital Georgie found out that Gus had stabilized and his doctors had him scheduled for surgery the next morning.
“He’s not out of the woods yet,” Bad Gus said. “But at least he has a fighting chance.”
“Thank God,” Georgie said, weak with relief.
“Roxy called to say they’ve got Gus’s son Roger in for questioning,” Bill added. “He’s not talking, but they’re working to crack him. They know he had something to do with this.”
“I’ll ask Nathan to see what he can find out,” Georgie said.
Gus raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on with you and that Caldwell boy?”
“We’re friends,” Georgie said for what felt like the hundredth time.
“My heart is broken,” Walter lamented. “I really thought we had something special, Georgie. But how can I compete with tall, blond, built like a brick shithouse—”
“Don’t forget young,” Bill said with a guffaw.
“Well, there’s that, too,” Walter conceded.
Georgie smiled. “If I was sixty-something, Walter, I’d be all about you.”
Encouraged, Walter said, “What’s thirty years between friends?”
“A lifetime?” Bill said.
“Whose side are you on?” Walter huffed.
“I’ve got to run, you guys,” Georgie said with an affectionate squeeze for Walter’s arm. “Let me know if anything changes with Gus?”
“We will, honey,” Walter said.
As she drove home, Georgie was surprised to realize how much she would miss the old men when she left. Despite her initial reluctance to get involved with them, they had managed to work their way under her skin. Just like Nathan. She would miss him, too. To claim otherwise would be a lie. How was it possible that he had wormed his way so thoroughly into her life in just
a few days’ time?
She thought about him as she showered and changed into black capri pants, a floral silk tank top and wedge sandals—an outfit much more in keeping with her usual look than the shorts and T-shirts she had worn lately.
Winding her shoulder-length hair into a twist, she secured it with a clip and applied eye shadow and liner using a technique she had learned at a Bobbi Brown demonstration at the store. She wondered if Nathan would notice.
Tess came down the stairs in a knee-length yellow sundress and sandals Georgie instantly envied. “Does this look okay?”
“I love it. The shoes are fabulous.”
“Wow. Look at you.”
“What? Is it too much?”
“You look amazing.” Tess stepped closer. “What’d you do to your eyes? They’re positively popping!”
“Want me to do it to yours?”
“Would you?”
“Step into my office.”
A few minutes later, Tess studied the result in the mirror. “You’re a wizard! Show me what you did.”
Georgie walked her through the steps.
“That’s it?”
“That’s all there is to it.”
Tess checked her watch. “I’ve got to go get Ben.”
“Are you nervous at all? About meeting his family?”
“Why would I be? Are you?”
“No,” Georgie said quickly. “Is Cat going?”
“Ian asked her, but she said no.”
“I wonder why,” Georgie asked as she smoothed on lipstick.
“From what I hear, she plans to have a somewhat unconventional relationship with him.”
“How do you mean?”
In a scandalized whisper, Tess said, “S-e-x only.”
“No way.”
“Way.”
Georgie shook her head in disbelief. “Damn, she’s something, isn’t she?”
“I give her credit. She knows what she wants and knows how to get it. I wish I was more like that.”
“But a sex-only thing. That can’t really work, can it?”
Tess shrugged. “If anyone can make it work, she can.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“All right.” Tess checked herself in the mirror and ran a hand over her long dark hair, which she had left down for the occasion. “I’m going. See you in a few.”
As Georgie made her way downstairs a few minutes later, Cat came in from a morning at the beach wearing a black bikini top with cargo shorts, her skin bronzed from the sun. “How was it?” Georgie asked.
“Fantastic. Just what I needed.” She glanced up at Georgie. “Va va voom—look at you.”
“Is it too much for a cookout?”
“Not at all. But somehow you manage to make capris look muy glamoroso.”
“That’s not a word—glamoroso.”
“Did it get the point across?” Cat asked dryly.
Georgie’s chuckle died in her throat when she saw Nathan come up the front stairs carrying a bouquet of daisies. Her heart hammered and her mouth went dry. She noticed he had shed the sling that had driven him crazy the day before.
“Hey,” he said when he saw the two women standing inside the door.
Since Georgie didn’t move to let him in, Cat did the honors.
He wore khaki shorts and a white polo shirt that offset his deep tan. “For you,” he said, handing the daisies to Georgie.
Flustered, she took them from him. “I hope they’re organically grown,” she said, relying on humor to hide her emotional response to the flowers.
“I picked them myself, so I know they were.”
Cat sighed. “That’s so sweet. Isn’t it, Georgie?”
“Um, yes,” Georgie stammered. “Very. Thank you.”
“I’ll find a vase for them,” Cat offered, taking the flowers from Georgie.
“Not coming today, Cat?” Nathan asked.
She shook her head. “I’ve got a million things I need to do.”
“I hope Ian remembered to ask you.”
“He did,” Cat said on her way out of the room. “Have fun.”
“Did you hear anything about how their date went?” Nathan asked.
“She said it was fine.”
“Interesting. He’s not talking either.”
Georgie started toward the porch, but Nathan stopped her.
“Let me see you,” he whispered as he backed her up against the door. Tipping her chin, he studied her face. “You’re gorgeous,” he said, but then seemed to reconsider. “No, not gorgeous.”
“He giveth and he taketh away.”
“Gorgeous isn’t adequate.” He took a closer look. “Stunning. Yeah, that’s better. Stunning.”
“Thank you.” In search of balance to offset his overwhelming nearness, Georgie rested her hands on his hips. “Nathan?”
He hovered, teased, tempted. “Yeah?”
“You’re invading my personal space.”
His face lifted into a sexy half smile. “Am I?”
“Uh huh.”
“As long as I’m invading, I may as well conquer,” he said as he brought his lips down on hers.
Georgie curled her fingers through his belt loops and held on tight, expecting him to devour. Instead, he seduced with just the smooth glide of his lips over hers. His fingers caressed her neck, sending shivers darting through her.
When he finally ended the kiss, he gathered her into his arms and held her tight against him. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Because of your arm?”
“No, because I was so mad at myself for not staying with you.”
Georgie glanced up at him and wiped a smudge of lipstick off his bottom lip. “You look tired.”
“It’s your fault.”
“How do you figure? You’re the one who said no!”
“Big mistake. Who knows when I’ll get another offer like that?”
“From me or will any girl do?”
“There’s only one girl I’m interested in getting sleepover invitations from.”
“What’s her name?” Georgie teased.
“You don’t know her.”
She play punched him in the belly.
Laughing, he hooked his good arm around her. “Ready to meet the rest of the Caldwell brothers?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Kevin Caldwell’s yard was a beehive of activity when Nathan and Georgie pulled up just as Ben and Tess were getting out of her car. While Georgie battled apprehension, Tess glowed with excitement. Ben kept a firm grip on her hand as he led her up the driveway.
“We grew up here,” Nathan shared as they walked slowly to accommodate Ben. The sprawling three-story yellow Victorian had a wide, inviting front porch. “Kevin and his wife Linda bought the house from my parents when they moved to Florida.”
“Ian and Rosie live in the Fonzie apartment,” Ben added, nodding at the garage.
“That’s nice for him to have support nearby,” Tess said.
“He doesn’t ask us for help very often,” Nathan said.
“Where’s her mother?” Tess asked.
“Don’t ask,” Ben murmured.
“Long story,” Nathan said. “Put it this way—Rosie’s a lot better off without her.”
“I can’t imagine she wants for much surrounded by so much family,” Georgie said.
“She’s very well loved,” Ben concurred.
In the backyard, they were greeted by a mob. Georgie and Tess met Kevin, Linda, their kids John and Chloe, Hugh Caldwell and his wife Dani, who was hugely pregnant and holding hands with two-year-old Sarah, and Luke, their oldest brother. Ian waved from the swings where he was pushing Rosie.
The mob cleared, and Nathan gasped. “Uh-oh, I’m dead meat,” he muttered. “Mom? What’re you doing here?”
Georgie tightened her grip on his hand.
“We decided to surprise you all and come up for the party,” she said as she embraced her sons. “I also wanted to check o
n Ben, who looks wonderful. And then you got shot, so I needed to see you, too. How’s the arm?”
“Much better today.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Um, Georgie,” Nathan stuttered, “this is my mother, Bernie Caldwell. I would’ve warned you that you were going to meet her if I had known.”
Amused by his distress, Georgie said, “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Caldwell.”
“And this is Tess,” Ben interjected.
Bernie hugged both women. “Please, call me Bernie.”
“But never Bernice!” her six sons said together.
“Brats,” Bernie said as she linked arms with Tess and Georgie to lead them away from their dates. “Every one of them. A woman pours her heart and soul into raising six boys and ends up with six overgrown brats. How do you suppose that happens? Where did I go wrong?”
Tess giggled as they made their way to the bar.
Bernie’s gray hair fell in soft curls down her back, and her hazel eyes, Georgie noticed, crinkled in the corners when she smiled the way Nathan’s and Ian’s did.
“Rosie told me all about you two and your other roommate. Cat is it? According to my informant, Nathan likes Georgie, Ben likes Tess and her daddy likes Cat, but Cat doesn’t seem to like kids very much. How’d I do?”
Amazed, Georgie stared at her.
“What?” Bernie asked. “I know who to go to for information around here.”
“Your source is well informed,” Tess said, accepting a glass of white wine from Bernie.
“Is this Cat who doesn’t like kids someone I should worry about?”
Tess shook her head. “Cat’s a great person and a good friend. She just needs to get to know Rosie a little better, that’s all.”
“I hope so. What about you two? Anything I need to worry about?”
Georgie and Tess exchanged glances.
“Um,” Georgie stumbled.
“Relax,” Bernie said with a smile. “I’m teasing.” She turned to Tess. “From what I hear, my Bennett has been a little more bearable the last few days. I suspect you’ve had something to do with that, so please accept my thanks.”
