Georgie on His Mind (21 page)

His words unnerved her, and she almost dropped his gift.
She thrust it in front of her before that happened. "Uh, here"

Walt's brows came together as he inspected the package.
"What's this?"

"Just a little housewarming gift."

"Aw, you shouldn't have," he said with a grin.

"Well, maybe if you see what it is, you'll really mean
those words"

With a chuckle, Walt placed it on top of the bar and began
tearing at the blue wrapping. His eyes widened when he saw what she gave him: a framed picture of the three of themGeorgie, Walt, and Brad-on the beach as kids. Blown up
and in black and white. "This is great, Georgie!"

Georgie studied the picture in his hands. She came across
it when she had been looking through the old photos the
other night. The picture showed them all laughing in the water playing with Georgie's father. Her mother must have
taken it when nobody had been looking. "You think so?" she
asked, hoping he meant it.

"Absolutely. I'm going to hang it right here in the foyer."

"I'm so glad you like it. I had forgotten how much my dad
had played with us. It was nice to ... to think back on those
times again."

Walt put down the picture and gently took her hand and
kissed it. "Thanks to your family I did manage to have good
times, especially through my parents' divorce. Brad never
treated me differently when my mom left. And your parents,
well, they were the family I always wanted. I suppose that's
why I hung out at your house so much. When I was there,
everything seemed normal and perfect. This picture is a
great memory to have of that time in my life. Thank you"

She was so touched she didn't know what to say, which
was good because Walt didn't seem to be in a talkative
mood. He put his arms around her and lowered his head, first
kissing one corner of her mouth and then the other. She
melted immediately under the light touch of his lips and had
to wrap her arms around his waist to keep from falling over.
She could taste the toothpaste still on his tongue, feel the
desire radiating from his body. This was no simple "thank
you for the gift" kiss. Walt felt the same way she did about
him. And suddenly this risk she had chosen to take with him
didn't seem so risky at all.

"Knock, knock," came a cheery voice.

She and Walt broke apart, turning to see Kendall's bubbly
smile beaming at them through the screen door. "Uh, I hope
I'm not interrupting anything."

Georgie heard a small sigh escape Walt's lips as he
walked over and opened the door for her. "Not at all. I was
just, uh, thanking Georgie for her housewarming gift."

Kendall smirked. "Oh, well, I hope I get as nice a thank
you, because I have a gift too" She held up a plate of banana
muffins. "Fresh from the oven."

"Thanks" With a sheepish grin, Walt took the muffins from
her. "Gee, I should have bought a house earlier. I've never had
so many beautiful women come and bring me gifts."

Kendall laughed. "Keep telling me things I want to hear
like that, and I'll be sure to visit more often" She cocked her
head at Georgie. "I'm glad you're here. I was going to call
you to see if you wanted to go to Singles' Night at O'Connell's Bar and Grill tonight."

"Singles' Night? But you're engaged" And for a brief
moment-for Brad's sake-Georgie actually hoped Kendall
was going to tell her she'd broken up with Jake.

"I know I'm engaged, silly," Kendall said with a laugh. "A
few guys from one of the other platoons put a band together
and are going to be playing there. Jake's platoon is on duty,
and I didn't want to go alone."

Georgie quickly hid her disappointment. "Oh. Uh. .

Walt put down the muffins and cleared his throat. "You
know I could use a break from all this unpacking. How
about if I come too? That is, if you don't mind me hanging
around."

Kendall's face brightened. "That's a great idea." Then she
nudged Georgie with her elbow. "We don't mind Walt coming along with us at all, do we, Georgie?"

Georgie met Walt's gaze, and they shared a smile. "I don't
mind at all."

Georgie was sure she was going to get stopped for speeding as she rushed home from work. Fortunately, she knew
enough of the police force to talk her way out of a ticket but
she didn't have any time to waste. She only had an hour before Walt picked her up tonight.

As soon as she got in the door, she dropped her purse and
raced to her bedroom. She swung open her closet and was in
the middle of surveying her pathetic lack of outfit choices
when her brother walked in. Brad must have just gotten
home from work himself since he was still in uniform.

"Hey, where are you headed to in such a hurry?" he asked,
loosening the button of his work shirt collar.

"O'Connell's" She pulled out an apple-green halter top
and held it out to him. "What do you think?"

"It's terrible."

She took a double-take at the shirt, then frowned. "It's not
terrible. I ordered it from Talbots. And I happen to look fantastic in green." And soon Walt will know how fantastic I
look in it too.

"No, not the top, Georgie. You going to O'Connell's is terrible. It's singles' night tonight, which means there will be
a bunch of drunks, truckers, and unhappily married men
perusing the female patrons. Sheesh, you already won that
Clay Hayes date. Doesn't that fulfill your deadbeat quota for
the month?"

She rolled her eyes. "Brad, you're doing it again. I thought
you were going to take a break from this overprotective
routine. Besides, I'm not going there to meet anyone. I'm
going there to see a band with Kendall. And Walt," she added
casually.

Brad's face washed with relief. "Oh, that's right. I forgot
he'd be there with you"

Her insides twisted and she froze, the halter top still
clenched in her fist. "What do you mean you forgot Walt
would be there with me? You didn't even know I was going
to O'Connell's with him until just now."

"Oh, uh . . " Brad's face suddenly turned reddish-blue as
if he were being choked-something she realized she was
not far off from actually doing to him. He turned away and
tried to slip out the door.

"Stop right there!" she shot before he could make a clean
escape. Brad held up, teetering in the doorway with his back
to her, one foot in her bedroom and the other foot in the hallway. "Brad, why did you say that? That you knew Walt would
be with me. Did you talk to him earlier or something?"

"Not exactly." He slowly faced her, his apprehensive
expression turning sheepish. He then gestured to the bed.
"Listen, you better sit down"

Georgie tossed the halter top onto the bed and sat on it;
she didn't worry about wrinkling it now. Brad's tone concerned her. His voice held the kind of seriousness she could
see him using in his police job whenever he had to deliver
bad news.

Brad gingerly sat down next to her, studying his hands for
a moment before speaking. "Georgie, I've been worried
about you lately."

"I
know.
I've
been
worried
about
you
too.
You
seem-"

"Don't interrupt."

"Oh, sorry."

He gave her a withering look. "This is hard to tell you, but
I think the whole Clay Hayes date thing made me nuts. Honestly, that's the only reason I would ever ... I mean I couldn't
so ... Well, that's why I kind of asked Walt to kind of..

Her throat tightened. "You kind of asked Walt to kind of
what?"

"Keep tabs on you," he blurted.

Her mouth hung slightly open, and an intense sensation to
break down swelled within her. Oh, my gosh, how stupid had
she been? Brad had asked Walt for a favor, to keep an eye on
her. Of course. No wonder Walt had been hanging around
her so much. He didn't want to really be with her. He was
just helping Brad keep an eye on his sister. Why had she
thought Walt was any different?

"Oh, Brad, you big dumb idiot!" she cried, swatting him
on the arm. "How could you do that to me?"

"I'm so sorry, Georgie. Walt was worried about you too.
You know he loves you like a sister. I only asked him because I love you, and I didn't want any man taking advantage of you. I should have trusted your ability to take care of
yourself more, but the whole Clay Hayes thing was the icing
on the cake to what I'd been seeing in your life recently."

She swiped at a tear that had escaped her eye and looked
at him. "What do you mean by what you've been seeing in
my life recently?"

"Don't play dumb. You've been dating men that you-or
any other woman for that matter-could never have a serious future with. I have eyes, Georgie. It's all about control
with you. By hanging around all those losers you were guaranteeing yourself that you'd never fall in love."

Georgie closed her eyes, trying to absorb what Brad was
saying, but only thinking about Walt and how betrayed she
felt. He didn't see her as anything more than Brad's little sister after all. Those kisses they'd shared. Was it just a way to
stick closer to her? Oh, gosh, she was going to be sick.

"I hope you can forgive me," Brad said.

Georgie opened her eyes and looked over at him, sitting there with the sad soulful expression of a loyal basset hound.
Despite her anger at him, she couldn't really blame him for
being concerned. She had been avoiding relationships-and
love. But with good reason. And this whole betrayal by Walt
only affirmed why.

"Oh, Brad, you were right. Kendall told me the same
thing, but I didn't want to admit it."

Brad nodded, then stood. "Look, why don't we talk about
this later when we have time. You better get ready now."

"No, I'm not really in the mood to go out anymore" Or
face Walt.

Brad lowered his gaze. "Sorry. Again, I didn't mean to
ruin your night."

"I should call Kendall and tell her. Walt won't feel the
need to go now that I'm not, and Kendall may not want to be
there by herself."

"I'll go to O'Connell's with Kendall," Brad said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said, looking anything but sure. "Look, I've
been a lousy brother to you and a lousy friend to her. I might
as well start making amends. Don't worry. Everything will
be fine. I think I'm good. I mean I'm finally over her."

Georgie let out a wistful sigh. She could only hope she'd
get over her feelings for Walt just as quickly.

Walt bounded up the steps of Brad and Georgie's condo,
taking them two at a time, careful not to crush the bouquet of
flowers he held. He wanted to do something special for
Georgie, so on his way to pick her up he stopped by the
florist. As soon as he saw the orange roses, they reminded
him of her-warm as a sunset and sweet as citrus-and he
had to get them. The clerk at the shop told him his choice
symbolized passion and that giving a bouquet of orange roses
denoted emerging romantic feelings and the desire to move
a relationship beyond the stage of friendship.

Perfect.

Exactly what he wanted to convey to her. No more tiptoeing around the subject. He was in love with her, and he was
going to tell her tonight.

Walt heaved a grateful sigh that Brad's car was not in the
parking lot. He didn't want to have to explain the flowersor his feelings-to his friend before he explained them to
Georgie. He shifted the bouquet behind his back and rang the
doorbell. When there was no answer, he rang the bell again.

Where was she? He checked his watch. Seven o'clock. He
was right on time.

About to ring the bell again, he heard the deadbolt slide
back, and then the door slowly swung open. Georgie stood
in the doorway with her hair pulled up in a sloppy ponytail
and her face devoid of makeup. Walt blinked as he eyed her
up and down. Clad in a pink terrycloth robe and yellow slipper socks, Georgie hardly looked ready to go out. In fact,
judging by the expression on her face, she hardly looked
ready to let him inside.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, frowning up at him.

He wasn't sure what was going on, so he glanced behind
to make sure she wasn't talking to somebody else. "What do
you mean `what am I doing here'? I thought we were going
to O'Connell's."

Her gaze dropped to the hallway rug, and she shook her
head. "I thought Brad called you. I'm not going to O'Connell's tonight. If you go now, you could probably still catch
up with Brad and Kendall though" She stepped back and
started to close the door.

"Wait." His hand shot out before she could shut it on him.
What the heck was going on? She was so distant, so cold. He
felt he was losing her before he even had her. "I'm not going
to O'Connell's if you're not."

She snorted. "I figured as much."

"I'm not sure what you mean"

"Oh, Walt, just cut the dumb act, okay? Brad told me
everything. You're a free man now. He doesn't want you spying and hanging around me anymore. And frankly, neither
do I."

Brad had told her he wanted Walt to spy on her? Walt's insides turned cold as he realized what she must think of him.
"Georgie, let me in. We need to discuss this. I can explain."