What I Did for Love (Wynette, Texas #5)(76)

“Okay, you have officially overstayed your welcome.”

Lance plowed on. “He’s a player. He’s lazy, aimless. The guy’s a drunk and a drug addict, for god’s sake. He’s nothing but a bum.”

“Get out of here.”

“You’re not going to tell me the truth, are you? You’re still too angry. Then tell me this…What would you have done if you were me? What if you’d met the love of your life while you were married to someone else? What would you have done?”

“Easy. I’d never have married someone who wasn’t the love of my life in the first place.”

He flinched. “I know you think what I did was unforgivable, but I’m asking you to look at it a different way. Try to see that what happened with Jade and me could never have happened if you hadn’t shown me what it means to really love someone—with your whole heart.”

His audacity made her want to laugh—scream—she didn’t know which. He pulled at his scruffy beard. “It’s hard to understand, I realize that, but without you, I wouldn’t have known what the heart is capable of.” He started to reach out for her, then must have seen something in her eyes that made him think better of it. “Georgie, you gave me the courage to love Jade the way she deserves to be loved. The way I deserve to love someone.”

A weird sort of fascination had taken hold of her. “Are you for real?”

“I’ve told you how sorry I am for hurting you. I never wanted to cause you so much pain.” She’d witnessed that same haunted expression when he watched television news, read a particularly moving book, or even visited an animal shelter. Lance had always felt things deeply. Once she’d seen him tear up at a beer commercial.

“You can’t imagine how much courage it took for me to leave you,” he said. “But my feelings for Jade…Jade’s feelings for me—they were bigger than both of us.”

“Did you just say ‘bigger than both of us’?”

“I don’t know how else to explain it. You showed me the way to love, and I owe you everything. You won’t tell me how you got trapped in this situation with Bram. That’s your choice. But I’ll help you anyway. Let me do that for you. Please, Georgie. Let me help you get out.”

“I don’t want out.” Another crash of lightning, closer this time, rattled the windows.

“Jade and I have talked about it. She has a house on Lanai. It’s completely private. Leave him, Georgie. Go there for a couple of weeks to relax and then…” He held up his hand, even though she hadn’t said a word. “Hear me out, will you? I know it’s going to seem strange at first, but promise you’ll listen.”

She stared at him. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“I think we’ve found a way to turn what happened between the three of us into something good. Something really extraordinary that will put the polish back on your reputation.”

“I didn’t know my reputation needed polishing.”

“Let’s just say that it’ll make people forget you ever married Bram Shepard.” He tugged on the bracelet again. “You and Jade and I…We have a chance to do something good. Something that will…set an example for the whole world. Promise that you won’t say no until you’ve given it serious thought. That’s all I’m asking.”

“The suspense is killing me.”

“We—Jade and I—want you to come with us when we go back to Thailand.”

Thunder shook the house. “Come with you?”

“I know it sounds crazy. At first I thought so, too. But the more we talked about it, the more we both understood that we’ve been given a golden opportunity. We have the chance to show the world in a big way how people who are supposed to be enemies can live together in peace and harmony.”

Georgie didn’t know whether to throw up or grab a Coke.

Rain slashed at the windows. “The press will go crazy,” he said. “You’ll look like a saint—everyone will forget about your crazy marriage. The causes that Jade and I are fighting for—good causes—will get more attention. But best of all, people all over the world will be forced to examine their own personal feuds and religious vendettas. Maybe we can’t change the world, but we can make a start.”

“I’m…speechless.”

The doors flew open and everyone on the veranda spilled inside. Obviously Bram and Meg hadn’t shared the news of Lance’s appearance because, one by one, they all stopped talking and stared. Finally Rory broke the silence. “You guys throw one hell of an interesting party.”

“I’ll say.” Laura couldn’t take her eyes off Lance, who’d broken into a smile at the sight of Paul.

“Paul, it’s great to see you again.” He strode across the room, hand outstretched. “I’ve missed you.”

“Lance.”

Georgie found it shocking that Paul merely shook her ex’s hand instead of falling on his knees and begging Lance to take her back. But then, he’d probably already done that.

A flush-faced Chaz came in from the kitchen carrying a tray of mugs and a plate of what looked like homemade chocolate truffles. Aaron followed with a coffeepot. Chaz couldn’t take her eyes off Lance and nearly tripped on the rug before she set the tray down. “Th-there’s somebody in the car outside,” she said.