Georgie on His Mind (13 page)

Dee just laughed and sashayed back toward the bar.

Georgie felt hot all over with humiliation. Dee's teasing
about her dating life made her feel foolish and desperate,
which to her dismay was exactly what she was. But Walt
didn't need to know that. "Sorry about that. Dee's in rare
form tonight."

"Not a problem. What are friends for but to embarrass you
in front of other people?"

Georgie couldn't hold back a grin on that one. "Yeah, I
guess that's true. Dee is the number one person I complain
to about my social life around here. Seeing me on what looks
like a date probably sent her imagination into overdrive. I
know she doesn't mean any harm. She's just giddy because
she's out of the house herself."

Walt nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I haven't gotten out in a
while either. But you know what? I had a good time tonight,
Georgie. A really good time. Thanks," he said, treating her
to a muscle-melting grin.

Oh, my, he has a nice smile. She felt herself slipping under the roguish glint in his eyes and quickly had to clear her
throat. "Um, why has it been a while since you've been out?
You don't have the excuse of having an interfering sibling
like I do. Wasn't there anyone special back in Philadelphia?"

Walt's good humor faded. He looked away and didn't answer right off the bat. "Yeah. There was someone" He paused
again. "An ex-fiancee"

Ex-fiancee? Brad never mentioned that Walt had been engaged. The news startled her, and she bolted upright. She
wasn't sure how she had expected him to respond to her
question, but it hadn't been with the ex-fiancee bomb.

I ... see," she said slowly. "Well, if you don't mind me
asking-"

"Oh, come on, Georgie. Give me a break here. Let's just
enjoy the rest of the evening without you prying into my love
life."

Georgie heard the bitterness in his voice, but for some
reason pressed on anyway. "You just said you liked the fact
that I don't hold back what I want to say. You said it was
refreshing. Well, I'm not holding back again. Besides, you
can't argue with me now. You'll ruin our night of firsts"

He gave her a long look before relaxing his features a bit
and giving into a sigh. "Okay, you win. Ask away. What do
you want to know?"

She sat back and crossed her legs. She admired his forthrightness, and it pleased her to have him so readily open up.
Most men shut down when she asked them any personal
questions. Even her own brother never shared his personal
feelings. Yet, here was Walt willing to answer her every
whim; another thing that made him so likable to her. Unfortunately.

Georgie knew exactly what she wanted to ask. She bit her
lip, trying to come up with a delicate phrasing but quickly
gave up and decided to go with her impetuous side. "Well,
fiancee means you asked someone to actually spend the rest
of your life with you, you know what I mean? That's pretty
serious. So I don't understand. How could two people who
were so committed to one another suddenly break up and
decide it was all a mistake?"

Walt blew out another sigh and shrugged. "I don't know.
We were together a long time. I think that translated to us as thinking we loved each other. Kiera really didn't like the
fact that I was giving up my corporate title, nor did she have
any interest in moving here with me. So she made sure she
found someone else, then broke off our engagement"

"Oh, she sounds like a fast operator."

"Not really. She didn't have to look far. My friend, Chad,
apparently didn't think twice before becoming the new man
in her life even though she and I were still engaged"

Georgie flinched, horrified that Walt seemed so calm about
the whole situation. "Ouch. That doesn't sound like such a
friend to me."

"Yeah. Tell me about it. I think that's why my friendship
with your brother means so much to me. He would have
never done something like that. He's really a solid guy. I
know he's been giving you a hard time, Georgie, but it's only
because he worries about you. You're lucky to have someone
so loyal like that in your life."

Her shoulders slumped as she thought about Walt's statement. She knew she was lucky to have such a great brother.
With her parents gone, she would always have someone
looking out for her, caring about her. But weren't there limits
to how stifling love could be?

Walt let out a laugh. "You don't look as though you feel
very lucky."

She blinked up at him. "Oh, no, I know I'm lucky. Really.
It's just that Mom and Dad always watched over me because
I was the baby in the family, and, well, now Brad has been
treating me as though I haven't shed the infant clothes. I
think I need a little break from all this love I've been given.
A little breathing room"

"Oh?" Walt picked up his coffee and casually took another sip. "What do you mean by breathing room?"

"Well, I want to be free to do what I want. See who I want to see. At this point in my life I'm not interested in marriage,
or dating someone who's `good for me' as Brad would say.
I just want to have a little fun. You know, maybe have a fling
or something."

Walt's expression suddenly sobered. "A fling? You want
a fling?"

Walt's tone stirred up her defensiveness. She already
knew where this conversation was headed, and he obviously
didn't approve. Maybe "fling" wasn't the best noun choice,
but just the thought of forming any serious attachment made
her stomach muscles tense.

"Yeah. That's right." She thrust her chin up and looked him
square in the eye. "A fling. What do you think about that?"

He didn't answer right away. His jaw clenched as he took
out his wallet and tossed a handful of twenties on the table.
"I think we should go before I say something that'll spoil
this evening. That's what I think." He stood and, without
sparing her another glance, stormed toward the front door.

Georgie snatched up her purse and waved good-bye across
the restaurant to Kendall and Dee as she scurried after him.
"Wait!" she called once she got outside, but he continued to
stomp out into the parking lot, heading straight for his car.
"Wait! I knew it. I knew you'd think like Brad. But you don't
understand."

Walt finally stopped beside his black SUV and whipped
around, the expression on his face looking stonier than
Mount Rushmore. "Oh, I understand all right. I understand
perfectly. You want a no-strings-attached relationship instead of trying to find a nice man to get married and have
babies with. Well, let me tell you this: women like you aren't
supposed to want flings. It's wrong. It's not supposed to be in
your nature. So just-" He looked up at the night sky and
raked his hands through his spiky hair. "Good Lord, I can't believe I'm even having a conversation like this with you!
Just what kind of woman are you?"

She drew herself up straight. "I'm a perfectly normal
modern woman. Welcome to the new millennium. A simple
fling is all I'm looking for at this point in my life. That's
nothing to be ashamed of."

"Oh, is that right?"

Walt took a menacing step toward her, his face suddenly
inches from hers. She felt her breath being sucked from her
lungs as she looked up and saw his eyes lit with a frightening
combination of anger and frustration and ... desire.

He put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest.
"Well, all right," he said, low and husky. "If you're looking
for a fling, then maybe you should go and have yourself one"

Before her mind could wrap around what was happening,
his mouth came down on hers. And it was bliss. Her purse
slipped through her hands and she went limp, allowing her
body to melt into his. His chest was hard and warm and felt
so good against the contrast of the cool evening night surrounding them. She had wanted to kiss him like this, wanted
to know what it would be like, but never in a million years
had she thought kissing Walt Somers would be this good.

She smelled the piney scent of his cologne and felt the
beating of his heart. She slid her arms around his neck and
played with the ends of his fine hair as she explored more of
his mouth, enjoying its unique taste and the softness of his
lips. Then suddenly Walt jerked his head back, holding her
at arm's length.

"Wow," he murmured. He dropped his arms and stepped
away from her so fast she felt as if a QUARANTINED sign
popped up over her head.

She swallowed her hurt and tried to keep her expression calm. "Um, is that a `Wow, that kiss was really nice?' or a
`Wow, that kiss was really awful?'"

His shoulders relaxed a bit and a dry smile kicked the corners of his mouth. "Sorry. It was definitely a `Wow, that kiss
was really incredible, and if I hadn't pulled back we would've
been two seconds away from someone calling the cops on
us.' N

Her eyes widened. She had no idea she had that kind of
effect on him. Or could have that effect on any man. But the
discomfort in his tone caught her attention. Even if he enjoyed their kiss as much as she did, he obviously still thought
it was a mistake. "I feel like there's a `but' about to follow
that statement."

"Yeah, well, there is." He looked down, staring at the tips
of his light tan bucks. "Georgie, I've wanted to kiss you ever
since you first accused me of stealing those stupid condoms
in my own store, and believe me, there's nothing I'd rather
do than continue where we left off, but it's just not going to
happen"

She blinked. "It's not?"

"No, it's not. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was
wrong to say what I did just then when I kissed you, because
I don't want a fling, as you so boldly put it. And even if I did,
I sure as hell wouldn't want to have a fling with my best
friend's sister. I'm sorry, but that's not what a real friend
would do. I owe Brad that much."

Georgie sagged against his SUV, partly because of shock
from Walt's answer and partly because her bearings hadn't
straightened out from that kiss yet. Walt didn't want to kiss
her anymore because of her brother. She almost laughed, despite her desire not to. Brad wasn't even in a five-mile radius
and somehow he was still managing to ruin her love life.

"I felt a connection with you, Georgie. I know you felt it
too. So if you're interested in exploring that-like normal
people do-and maybe seeing where this relationship takes
us, then..

"No," she blurted.

Walt's eyes narrowed and his lips formed two tight lines.
"No? That's all you have to say? No explanation?"

Why did this have to be complicated? Yes, she was attracted to Walt. She felt something there, but she didn't want
to be in any kind of relationship. She had tried in the past
while she was in college with Matt Mandel-until he had
left town and her behind. There were scars on her heart that
hadn't healed yet to prove it. She couldn't deal with that kind
of stuff anymore. Things were better when there wasn't any
attachment involved. Why couldn't Walt just accept that?
She was offering him what would be an ideal situation for
any man.

"What are you afraid of, Georgie?"

Folding her arms, she glanced away. "Nothing," she said
briskly. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. She
didn't like the way he was looking at her either, as if he could
see right through her. It was unnerving.

The restaurant doors suddenly flew open, and Kendall
came running out. Once she spotted them, she rushed over.
"Oh, I'm so glad I caught you guys," she said, breathing hard
and fast. "Georgie, Brad just called. He wants you home
right away."

Georgie threw her hands in the air. "Oh, great. It's not
even nine o'clock. Now he's setting a curfew on me too?"

Kendall shook her head. "I don't think so, hon. He said
there's a bunch of reporters at your door. They're asking for
you. Do you think it could involve the date contest?"

Georgie and Walt exchanged stunned looks. "I-I don't know," she stammered. "I-I have to get home and find out"
She blindly reached down, picked up her purse, and started
to turn away, but Walt seized her wrist.

"I'll drive," he said gruffly. "We'll come back for your car
later."

Georgie saw the no-nonsense expression on his face and
decided now was not the time to argue about her "independence" Besides, between the kiss they'd shared and Kendall's
news, she really wasn't in any condition to drive.

She nodded and climbed in his truck, too worried about
Brad's reaction to the date contest to think about Walt's lips
anymore.

Well, almost too worried to think about Walt's lips anymore.

Walt held on to Georgie's arm and led her up the path to
the condo. Normally, she would have shrugged off his touch,
making sure to emphasize that she was quite capable of handling the situation by herself, but something held her back.
Instead, she leaned on him, giving in to the comfort he was
trying to give her, and it felt surprisingly good. She was glad
Walt was there with her. Between the flashes going off and
the microphones being shoved in her face, she didn't know
how she'd have managed to make it to her front door. As soon
as they did, her brother swung open the door. She prayed he
would be happy about winning.