What I Did for Love (Wynette, Texas #5)(93)

“Grown up?”

“He’ll never talk to me again. And it’s not like I have any other family.”

Poor, pitiful Georgie York.

She straightened. She was sick of this. “I’m firing Laura, too. I’m doing it right now.”

“Wow. A Georgie York bloodbath.”

“You think I’m wrong?”

He uncrossed his leg and set down the legal pad. “I think you don’t need anyone else telling you how to run your career when you’re perfectly capable of doing it yourself.”

She appreciated that. At the same time, she wished he’d either argue with her or agree.

He watched her reach for the phone. She felt like throwing up. She’d never fired anyone in her life. Her father had always taken care of it.

Laura picked up on the first ring. “Hi, Georgie. I was getting ready to call you. I’m not happy about it, but I canceled the meeting. I think you should call Rich yourself tomorrow and—”

“Yes, I’ll do that.” She sank into Aaron’s desk chair. “Laura, I have something to tell you.”

“Are you all right? You sound funny.”

“I’m all right, but…” She studied the neat stack of papers without really seeing them. “Laura, I know we’ve been together for a long time, and I appreciate all your hard work, everything you’ve done for me, but…” She rubbed her forehead. “I need to let you go.”

“Let me go?”

“I—I have to make some changes.” She hadn’t heard Bram come up behind her, but his hand settled between her shoulder blades. “I know how difficult my father can be, and I’m not blaming you—truly I’m not—but I have to…make a fresh start. With representation I hire myself.”

“I see.”

“I—I need to make sure that my opinion is the only one that counts.”

“Ironic.” Laura gave a dry laugh. “Yes. Yes, I understand. Let me know as soon as you’ve hired a new agent. I’ll…try to make the transition as smooth as I can. Good luck, Georgie.”

Laura hung up. No begging. No hard sell. Georgie felt sick. She dropped her forehead to the desk. “That was so unfair. Dad established the rules, and I went along. Now she’s paying the price.”

Bram took the phone from her and set it back on the cradle. “Laura knew it wasn’t working. It was her job to do something about it.”

“Still…” She pressed her face into the crook of her elbow.

“Stop it.” He curled his fingers around her shoulders and drew her into a sitting position. “Don’t second-guess yourself.”

“Easy for you to say. You get off on being ruthless.” She pushed herself out of the chair.

“I like Laura a lot,” he said, “and she could probably have been a decent agent for you. But not as long as she served two masters.”

“My father will never speak to me again.”

“You aren’t that lucky.” He planted his hip on the edge of her desk. “So what brought about Georgie York’s nuclear winter?”

“Dad wanted to play cards. And he splashed me in the pool.” She kicked the wastebasket, which accomplished nothing except hurting her big toe and sending trash flying across the carpet. “Damn it.” She dropped to her knees to clean up the mess. “Help me with this before Chaz sees.”

He nudged a wad of paper toward her with the toe of his shoe. “Out of curiosity…Has your life always been a train wreck, or did I just happen to stumble on the scene during a particularly eventful time?”

She pitched a banana peel in the trash. “You could help, you know.”

“And I will. I’m going to help you drown your troubles in some mind-blowing sex.”

Considering the fragile state of her marriage, mind-blowing sex was probably a good idea. “I get to dominate. I’m sick of submission.”

“I’m all yours.”



A wedge of golden lamplight cut across Bram’s naked body from shoulder to hip blade. He fell back into the pillows, spent and struggling for breath. He was a beautiful, debauched angel, drunk on sex and sin. “You’re going to…fall in love with me,” he said. “I know it.”

She shoved her hair out of her eyes and gazed down at his sweat-slicked chest. The aftershocks of her last orgasm had left her soft and defenseless. She tried to pull herself back together. “You’re delusional.”

He gripped her thighs, which were still straddling his hips. “I know you. You’ll fall in love with me and screw up everything.”

She winced and pulled herself off him. “Why would I fall in love with you?”

He ran his hand over her bottom. “Because you have crappy taste in men, that’s why.”

She collapsed next to him. “Not that crappy!”

“You say that now. But before long, you’ll be leaving threatening messages on my voice mail and stalking my new girlfriends.”

“Only to warn them about you.” His side pressed warm against her skin, and the earthy scent of their bodies mingled with the crisp smell of fresh sheets. The sex had been incredible as usual, and later she would blame her pleasure-fuzzed brain for what came next. Or maybe it was simply her day for burning all her bridges. “The only thing I might…might want from you is…” She threw her arm over her eyes and blurted it out. “Possibly…a baby.”