Holiday Magic (Second Chance) (7 page)

“Feel free to stay Friday night. We won’t be up until Tuesday, so  you’re welcome to use the chalet. I really appreciate you doing this for me on such short notice, and I’d like to thank you somehow. You’ll have to bring your own bedding. There isn’t any there, since I’m bringing it up at the first of the week, but I’ll have the caretaker bring in wood for the fire and get groceries. I’ll call him and tell him to get them on before the weekend instead of after.”

“
Thanks, for the offer, but we’ll probably decorate and dash.”

“
Well, I’ll call him anyway. The weather changes suddenly up there.”

He smiled. The thought of having Georgia alone appealed to him very much; maybe as a captive audience, he could get her to listen to him.

Not in a million years,
he thought.

After Mrs. Ingram had left, he checked the long term weather forecast—the lady had been right. There was snow predicted for the weekend, so being prepared to stay might not be such a bad idea. He would call Eleni and make sure she mentioned it to Georgia. Mountain roads could be treacherous, and the four inches predicted could easily be more at the higher altitudes.

Chapter Seven

“How is it going?” he asked, entering the warehouse.

“
Fine,” Sam said and closed the lid on the bin full of favors she had been counting.

Mark turned to Georgia, whose derriere, in tight jeans, as she bent over a box of ribbon was giving his body all kinds of ideas.
Down boy,
he ordered his imagination.

“
Mrs. Ingram’s quote is done. I can finish up here if you like, and you can go work out the details. By the way, you do realize that it’ll be you and me going up there?”

Georgia paled, indicating to him that she had realized no such thing.

“Why can’t the others go?”

Sam laughed. “Did you forget that the Gatsby wedding is next Friday night? We’ll be busy decorating for it all day. Meg is cutting her morning classes, with permission of course, and we’ll need the boys for the church and the ceiling. Allie will have to man the showroom, so unless you can convince one of the seamstresses to go with you, you’re out of staff. Sorry, boss, but we can’t be in two places at once.”

“Damn! I thought the wedding was Saturday.”

He put his arm out to touch her shoulder and felt the shiver run through her as waves of desire flowed through him.

Well, I guess she’s not completely immune to me,
he thought, hoping that what she felt wasn’t revulsion. He remembered the way her body had reacted to his on Saturday night. He knew what made her skin flush that way. He smiled. Maybe there was hope after all. Chemistry was as good a place as any to start.

“
If we leave before noon, we can get up there, decorate, and be back by midnight. It’ll be a long day, but you can sleep in the van on the way home. We just have to be careful about the weather. They can get some nasty, freak storms in the mountains.”

She nodded. “I guess so. I’m sorry about this. If I’d realized that the wedding was the same day, I wouldn’t have taken this contract. I guess I’m no better than Eleni at reading fine print,” she joked. “I’m used to Saturday weddings. I hope it won’t interfere with your other job or your weekend plans.”

“I have enough notice to reschedule, and I had no weekend plans.”
Nothing I wouldn’t have canceled for the chance to spend the day with you.

She smiled reluctantly and left the room.

***

Georgia was amazed at had how quickly the rest of the week had gone. Although Mark was in the showroom each day, he stayed in the back most of the time. He had not commented on her weight, but each day, he brought in some gooey, chocolate treat, the kind of things he knew she did not have the willpower to reject, and seemed pleased when she ate them. He insisted on taking Sam and her out to lunch, claiming that he needed the break to stay focused. She had eaten authentic Philly cheese steaks and fries, a treat she hadn’t indulged in since leaving the city, and she had enjoyed them.

Since she couldn’t walk through Central Park a couple of times a week, she’d have to work hard if she wanted to keep her new figure. Eleni’s treadmill made up for the walking, but she missed the outdoors. She used to enjoy jogs along the river, and she would have to see if she could find a running partner among her friends. She wondered absently if Mark still ran. He had to do something to maintain that lean body of his.

One thing hadn’t changed. Mark could still make her laugh, and she appreciated the effort he made to avoid painful topics. When he brought in pumpkin muffins from the deli down the street on Wednesday, she had wondered if he had remembered that they were her favorites. Each time she saw him, she regretted the loss of what they had had, but their easy-going friendship seemed to be rising like a phoenix from the ashes. Knowing this eased some of the trepidation she felt about next weekend’s decorating assignment.

The storeroom was closed on Thursday for the holiday, and Allie, Eleni’s part-time salesgirl, had worked the weekend. The showroom had been opened on Black Friday to take advantage of the early Christmas shoppers. Georgia had underpriced some of her jewelry and put out some of the extra wedding favors, as well as items from various other themes including a few of the stuffed cupid dolls whose cheeks turned pink when you pressed their hands, and the three boxes of last year’s Christmas stock Eleni had reduced by fifty percent.

She had kept the penguin salt and pepper shakers, hers and the one Mark had given her. She should probably have added them to the items, but she couldn’t part with them. Somehow, they seemed to offer a touch of comfort. She smiled regretfully. Who was she kidding? She had kept them because he had given one of them to her. How sad was that!

She’d driven to Atlantic City on Thursday morning, intending to spend a little girl time with Eleni, but things hadn’t quite worked out as planned. Joe hovered around them constantly, and seemed reluctant to leave Eleni’s side. To Georgia, he was more of a bodyguard whose responsibilities included making sure no one got near Eleni, than an assistant. Eleni seemed to enjoy the attention, but it had made her uncomfortable.

She was concerned about her sister. She had yet to meet her employer, but Joe never left her side. It was almost creepy the way he hung on her every word, as if he were obsessed with her. Come to think of it, that obsession might be mutual. She had seen that rapt look on her sister’s face, and it worried her. The meal had been excellent – a traditional Thanksgiving dinner served in her suite. And suite was hardly the name for it. It was as large as most houses, occupying the top floor of the casino’s hotel. She had asked where Mr. Simmons resided, but Eleni didn’t know. Joe had steered the conversation away from that topic. It had been obvious that he was reluctant to leave them alone. What did he think she was going to do? Murder her sister?

When it was time to return to Philly on Sunday, Georgia jumped at the chance to leave early. She felt like the proverbial fifth wheel. She had planned to stay until Monday, but it didn’t take a clairvoyant to know that her sister really didn’t want her there. She had the hots for Joe as they said, and wouldn’t hear a single word against him. They had parted on amicable terms, but the last thing Joe had said to her preyed on her mind.

“
Relax, Georgia. I’ll take care of Eleni. Nothing will happen to her while she is with me.” Who was he protecting her from, and why?

She had wanted to talk to Mark about the weekend, but he’d been called away on Anderson Security business. She’d done her best to answer the accountant’s questions, but her limited knowledge and understanding of the business meant that some of them would have to wait until he returned.

Georgia’s world had come close to being flung out of its steady orbit Thursday afternoon when she had run into Lucy, the last person she ever wanted to come face-to-face with, at the cleaners. Since the showroom was quiet, Georgia had left Sam in charge for the last hour to go and pick up her black dress and drop off the silk suit she’d worn in Atlantic City. She opened the door to leave and held it open for a pregnant woman just coming in. When the woman turned to smile her thanks, the world tilted. Lucy was blooming with happiness and was obviously in the last trimester of her pregnancy.

“
Georgia,” Lucy cried, surprised and obviously pleased to see her, exactly the opposite of what Georgia felt.

“
Is it really you? You look so different! My God, you’ve lost a ton! Have you been sick?”

“
I’m well. Thanks for asking. You look different yourself,” Georgia said, pasting a smile on her face, and since Lucy showed no sign of entering the shop, she closed the door.

“
Wow! It’s been so long. Where have you been?”

“
I was in New York,” she answered, praying for someone else she knew to come along and end this painful reunion.

“
You’ve been busy, I see.”

“
Yes. It’s our second. Our son will be two next week, and the baby’s due in February.”

Regret and jealousy pierced her. Had it not been for this woman, she and Mark might be happy parents with a two-year old of their own. Lucy continued as if there could be no possible reason that Georgia would detest the sight of her, and the words barely registered.

“I was sorry that you didn’t come to the wedding. I really wanted to talk to you, and I hoped we could put all this behind us, and be friends again,” she said.

“
Lucy, you have got to be kidding. Even you must realize that there are some things that can’t be put behind you,” she answered bitterly. “That’s one of them. I’m glad your life turned out so well,” she said choking on the hostility that threatened to make her sick. “I’m sorry, but I have no desire to rekindle the friendship we had. I need to move on, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late.”

Lucy stamped her foot, drawing Georgia’s eye to the ridiculously high heels she wore. Surely such shoes could not be good for a pregnant woman’s posture? She looked down at her own sensible walking boots. According to Lucy, she had never known how to dress, why start now?

Lucy put her hands on her hip, and Georgia waited for the unpleasant lecture she thought would follow. She scowled. If anyone should be giving a lecture, it should be her.

“
You are such a prissy snob, Georgia Baxter. I’d have thought with your modern, new look, you might have unbent a little, but you’re still the holier-than-thou prig you always were. I don’t know why I bothered trying so hard to be your friend.”

Georgia felt her temper rise, and her face reddened.

“I may have been naïve where you were concerned, but I learned my lesson. Goodbye, Lucy. Have a nice life, but leave me the hell alone!” She turned to leave.

“
But nothing happened,” blurted Lucy disgusted. “It was all a joke. You weren’t even supposed to be there—well, you weren’t the first one supposed to be there. You overreacted as you always did. If you would have listened, you would have known that. It’s your own fault for being so stuck-up and acting better than the rest of us. Anton got over it. You should too.”

Georgia turned back and stared at her, too stunned to comment. The vision of Mark and Lucy flashed through her mind. Lucy had yelled something, what was it? ‘Lighten up? It’s not what you think?’ It must have been something like that.

She stared at the woman in front of her who had the decency to look embarrassed. It was a prank? The moment that had ruined her life had been someone’s idea of a joke. Tears filled her eyes and blurred Lucy’s image. She shook her head, turned, and walked away without saying a word. She heard Lucy start after her, but in those silly high heels, she would never catch up. Georgia walked faster and faster until she was almost running.

She careened into many people hurrying along the sidewalk, stopping only when she realized it was dark, and she was across the street from Independence Hall. She sat on the bench at the bus stop, and stared into nothingness. Buses came and buses went, and still she sat there in pain, reliving that conversation with Lucy over and over again.

How many people had been in on the joke? Had Mark? Had he thought it funny to embarrass her that way? She looked up suddenly as a thought forced its way to the front of her mind. No matter how much she would like to believe differently, Mark wasn’t like that. What if he didn’t know either? What if they had both been used? How could a person she had trusted do such a thing to them? But then again, he wasn’t entirely innocent, since the possibility had existed that the child Lucy had thought she was carrying was his.

The evening dampness chilled her to the bone. She picked up her dress in its plastic bag and turned to go back to the apartment. The last three years of her life ruined by her excessive pride and a practical joke. It was so sad, that it was suddenly funny. She laughed as tears of regret washed down her cheeks.

How she managed to find her way home was a mystery. At some point it had started to rain, and when she finally unlocked the door to the showroom, she was soaked right through to the skin. The dress would have to be re-cleaned, and Lord knew if it could be salvaged since it had gotten as wet as she had. The good news was that since she had sobbed off and on, the incessant rain had mixed with her tears, and despite everything, she had not made too large a spectacle of herself.

She had taken a hot shower, and sat on the sofa, wrapped in a terry robe, staring out at the blackness of the night. The rain ran down the windows in rivulets, matching the tears that still fell. How long could a person cry? She had read somewhere that women cried thirty to sixty times a year for no more than six minutes at a time. She must be setting the Olympic record today. Surely there was an end to the liquid that the tear ducts held.

She raised her cup of mint tea and sipped, hoping the brew would comfort her.

She continued to agonize over Lucy’s betrayal. She had thought her a friend. Eleni was right. Lucy must have hated her deeply to have done what she did. Even if finding them in the bed had been a joke, Lucy had moved in to stake a claim on Mark. How else could she have been carrying his child?

She wanted to talk to Eleni, but she wasn’t sure that she could bear to have this painful discussion overheard by the ever-present Joe. She thought of calling Gwen, but it was after midnight in west Kansas.