What I Did for Love (Wynette, Texas #5)(35)

“Do you know where?”

“Maui,” he said.

“Haiti,” Georgie said.

They looked at each other. Georgie went on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his jaw. “Bram and I intend to use this silly overexposure we’re getting to call attention to the plight of people living in poverty.” She didn’t know a lot about Haiti, but she knew it had poverty, and Haiti was a lot closer than Thailand and the Philippines, where Lance and Jade were doing their good works.

“As you can see, we’re still discussing it,” Bram said. Without warning, he drew her into his arms and gave her the lusty kiss the press had been waiting for. She went through all the proper motions in response, but she was tired, hungry, and trapped in the arms of her oldest enemy.

They finally separated. Bram addressed the crowd while he fixed her with a hungry lover’s gaze. “You’re all welcome to hang around, but I can guarantee we’re not going anywhere tonight.”

She tried to blush, but blushing was beyond her. Would she ever know what had happened in that Vegas hotel room? She hadn’t seen any signs that they’d made love, except they’d both been naked, which she supposed was a fairly big sign.

As they walked back to the house, his hand strayed to her bottom for the benefit of the onlookers they’d left behind. “Nice,” he said.

The sadness she’d been trying so hard to suppress oozed to the surface. “I’ve never forgiven you for what happened that night on the boat. I never will.”

He drew back. “I’d been drinking. I know I wasn’t exactly a dream lover, but—”

“What you did was a step away from a rape.”

He snapped to a stop. “That’s bullshit. I never forced a woman in my life, and I sure as hell didn’t force you.”

“No physical force, but—”

“You had a crush on me. Everybody knew it. You threw yourself at me from the beginning.”

“You didn’t even lie down with me,” she said. “You shoved up my skirt and helped yourself.”

“All you had to do was say no.”

“Then you walked out. As soon as it was over.”

“I was never going to fall in love with you, Georgie. I’d done everything I could to make that obvious, but you wouldn’t take the hint. At least that night put an end to it.”

“Don’t you dare act as though you did me a favor! You wanted to get off and I was handy. You took advantage of a stupid kid who thought you were romantic and mysterious when you were really just an egotistical, self-centered ass. We’re enemies. We were then, and we still are.”

“Fine by me.”

As he stormed off, she told herself she’d said exactly what she needed to. But nothing could change the past, and she didn’t feel one bit better.





Chapter 8




Georgie swam for nearly an hour the next morning in the sheltered pool. Yesterday she’d let him see how much he’d hurt her, and displaying that kind of vulnerability was a luxury she couldn’t repeat. Not anymore.

As she was getting out, she heard a voice coming from the path that ran behind the shrubbery. “Settle down, Caitlin…Yeah, I know. Have a little faith, sweetheart…”

Bram moved on before Georgie could hear any more. As she wrapped herself in a towel, she wondered who Caitlin was and how long it would be before Bram sought out one of his mystery women for extramarital sex.

She combed her wet hair with her fingers, tucked the towel under her arms, and went inside to rummage through the refrigerator. As she pulled out a carton of blueberry yogurt, Chaz came in and dropped a pile of mail on the center island. “I’d appreciate it if you’d stay out of the refrigerator. Everything’s organized the way I like it.”

“I won’t move anything I don’t eat.” Chaz was a monumental pain in the ass, but Georgie still felt sorry for her. She didn’t really believe Chaz was Bram’s lover, but she did believe Chaz was in love with him. Remembering the pain of that particular disease, she took a fresh tack. “Tell me about yourself, Chaz. Did you grow up around here?”

“No.” Chaz pulled a mixing bowl from the cupboard.

She tried again. “I can’t cook much of anything. How did you learn?”

Chaz slapped the cupboard door closed. “I don’t have time to talk. I need to get a head start on Bram’s lunch.”

“What’s on the menu?”

“A special salad he likes.”

“Fine by me.”

Chaz grabbed the dishcloth. “I can’t cook for both of you. I already have too much to do. If you don’t want me to quit, you’ll have to take care of yourself.”

Georgie licked the inside of the yogurt lid. “Who said I don’t want you to quit?”

Chaz’s face flushed with anger. Georgie understood, but Chaz’s hostility was making an already awful situation that much worse. She pulled a spoon from the drawer. “Make lunch for two, Chaz. That’s an order.”

“I take my orders from Bram. He said he’d never interfere with how I did my job.”

“He wasn’t married when he said that, but now he is, and your Godzilla act is getting old fast. You have two choices. You can play nice, or I’ll hire my own staff, and you’ll have to share your kitchen. Somehow I don’t think you’d like that.”