Chaz plunged into the mess. "I have a ton of food in the freezer, so that"s not a problem."
"I need a drink," Bram said.
"Of course you do," Georgie snapped before she could stop herself, which meant Scooter had to jump in and rescue her. "A great idea, sweetie. Open a couple of bottles."
Chaz turned to Bram. "Where"s everybody going to sleep?"
Georgie should suggest Paul share a room with Lance. He"d love cozying up to his favorite person.
Gradually they sorted it out. Meg insisted on taking the couch in Bram"s office, leaving the guesthouse bed to Rory and Laura. Paul would sleep in Georgie"s office. The guest room where Georgie had been sleeping went to Lance and Jade, which forced Georgie to explain that she"d been using it as her dressing room and would need to get some of her things out first. In a whispered argument, Chaz begrudgingly agreed to let Aaron sleep in her living room. That left Georgie cuddled up in her husband"s bed. It was such an unsettling prospect that Scooter once again had to come to Georgie"s aid. "I think the wind is calming down," she chirped. "Let"s light a fire on the veranda. We could even make s"mores."
"Or not," Skip drawled.
Rory phoned her housekeeper and arranged for some personal items to be placed in a rainproof bag by the back gate. Meg lent Laura a roomy sleeping shirt. Jade announced that she slept nude so Georgie didn"t need to bother finding her anything. Chaz and Aaron distributed towels, washcloths, extra bedding, and toothbrushes. All the while Georgie struggled with a sense of unreality.
After the worst of the storm pa.s.sed, Meg led Rory and Laura to the guesthouse while Bram made his way through the remaining sprinkles to retrieve Rory"s things. Her father poured a brandy and went out to sit on the veranda. Lance and Jade wanted to clean up after their long trip, and Aaron led them upstairs.
Georgie began helping an unappreciative Chaz pick up. Before long, she heard the shower go on in her bathroom and-twenty minutes later-turn off.
One shower. How cozy.
Her stomach churned. Having Lance here was horrible enough, but Jade"s presence made the situation unbearable. And it was all Bram"s fault.
She closed herself in his bedroom. She"d make the turret that occupied the far end of the room her sanctuary. An inlaid wooden table sat between a pair of easy chairs, and a lamp with a heavy bronze base rested near a chaise upholstered in a nappy chocolate brown chenille that complemented the buckwheat-honey walls. The chaise could only hold one person, and that"s where she"d sleep. Bram"s bed was for s.e.x, not all-night intimacy.
She walked over to the window and gazed down along the rain-slicked driveway toward the gates. Even though it was after midnight, she could see at least two cars still parked on the street, the paps keeping their eternal vigil and praying for the magic shot that would bring them their fortune.
Public Health now had the names of everyone who"d been quarantined, so the story would leak quickly. They"d all have to release statements. Old problems forgotten. One big happy family. Old problems forgotten. One big happy family. Lance would finally get what he wanted-the appearance of her forgiveness and final absolution in the public eye. Lance would finally get what he wanted-the appearance of her forgiveness and final absolution in the public eye.
She rested her cheek against the window frame and wondered what it would be like to go through life always speaking the truth. But she lived in the wrong town for that. This was a city built on illusion, on false fronts and streets that led nowhere.
The door opened behind her. She heard the inevitable clink of ice cubes and caught the scent of rain as he came nearer. "I didn"t mean it to turn out like this when I invited her inside. I"m sorry."
His unsolicited apology took some of the wind out of her sails. "Exactly how did you expect it to turn out?"
"Look, I was p.i.s.sed." He kept his voice down in deference to the single wall separating them from their unwelcome visitors in the next room. "Where does that guy get off showing up here? Then the whole idea of Jade sitting in the car feeling sorry for you because she figures you"re so destroyed by their great love affair that you don"t have enough backbone to look her in the f.u.c.king eye. It got to me."
Put like that... Still, his high-handedness felt too much like her father"s. "It wasn"t your decision to make." Still, his high-handedness felt too much like her father"s. "It wasn"t your decision to make."
"You weren"t going to make it." He tugged at the b.u.t.tons on his damp white shirt. "I"m sick of watching you wimp out whenever her name comes up. Where"s your pride? Stop believing she"s better than you."
"I don"t-"
"Yes, you do. Jade may be better at some things. She sure as h.e.l.l is better at going after another woman"s husband. But what Jade is or isn"t has nothing to do with you. Grow up and start being happy living in your own skin."
"You"re talking to me about growing up?"
He wasn"t done ripping on her. "Jade and Lance were made for each other. He was no more the right man for you than..."
"Than you are?"
"Exactly." He took a long swig from his gla.s.s.
"Thanks for your insightful input." She s.n.a.t.c.hed the robe and nightgown she"d fetched earlier and stomped into the bathroom to change. But as she washed her face, she had to admit Bram"s heart had been in the right place. Inviting Jade into the house had been his twisted version of being protective. He couldn"t have predicted the consequences.
When she came out, she found him propped against the pillows, wearing only a pair of knit boxer briefs that gleamed white against his skin. He"d kicked the covers back, and he had a book propped open on his chest. Seeing Bram Shepard reading a book looked weird enough, but not as weird as the pair of steel-rimmed gla.s.ses anch.o.r.ed to the bridge of his nose. She stopped dead. "What are those?"
"What?"
"You"re wearing gla.s.ses?"
"Just for reading."
"You have reading reading gla.s.ses?" gla.s.ses?"
"What"s wrong with that?"
"People with tattoos shouldn"t have reading gla.s.ses."
"I didn"t have them when I got the tattoo." He slipped off the gla.s.ses and took in her T-shirt and blue pajama bottoms. "I was kind of hoping you"d be wearing one of those numbers from Provocative."
"Even if I were in the mood, which I"m definitely not, I wouldn"t do it with them on the other side of this wall."
"I see your point." He got out of bed and pulled her across the carpet to the bathroom, where he shut the door and sealed them inside. "No more problem."
"I"m still furious with you."
"I understand. It"s only because I haven"t made a sincere-enough apology." And he started to kiss her.
Chapter 18.
Georgie hated movies where all the hero had to do to make the heroine forget she was mad at him was to kiss her senseless. She had no intention of putting her grievances aside that easily, just as she had no intention of giving up this welcome diversion. Instead, she poured her frustration into the kiss. She dug her fingernails into his bare shoulders and sank her teeth into his lip. She pushed her knee against... hated movies where all the hero had to do to make the heroine forget she was mad at him was to kiss her senseless. She had no intention of putting her grievances aside that easily, just as she had no intention of giving up this welcome diversion. Instead, she poured her frustration into the kiss. She dug her fingernails into his bare shoulders and sank her teeth into his lip. She pushed her knee against...
"Hey, watch it," he muttered.
"Shut up and earn your keep."
He didn"t like that, and the next thing she knew, her pajama bottoms were around her ankles. She lifted her knee again, but he caught it, and in one motion, pushed that same knee far apart from its mate and set her hips on the long granite counter.
This was all he was good for. She snagged the waistband of his boxer briefs, but she couldn"t pull them off by herself. He released her to complete the job, and she dropped down off the counter. He kicked aside his briefs and set her back up. She squirmed away and headed for the gla.s.s block shower with its copper granite walls and multiple jets. Turning lovemaking into a power struggle was hardly the most mature way to handle a difficult relationship, but it was all she had right now.
"On second thought..." He stepped in with her.
She whipped her top over her head. "Turn the water on hard."
He didn"t have to be asked twice, and within moments, the hot spray pounded their bodies.
Two people. One shower. She wanted Lance to hear.
And then Bram began rubbing her with soap, and she forgot all about Lance. b.r.e.a.s.t.s, hips, thighs. Bram attended to everything. She took the soap from him and left her own slick swirls on his body.
"You"re killing me." He groaned.
"If only." She moved her hand to the place where it would have the most effect.
The water streamed over their bodies. He went to his knees and loved her with his mouth. Just as she was ready to fall apart, he set her against the hard wet walls and lifted her upon him. She clung to his shoulders and buried her face in his neck. They gasped and moved together, riding the flood to its crest.
"Don"t talk to me," she said afterward. "I paid good money for that, and I don"t want it spoiled."
He bit the side of her neck. "Mum"s the word."
Despite her earlier resolution, she ended up in his bed, tossing and turning while he slept peacefully-except during a second bout of lovemaking that she might possibly have initiated, but only to cure her insomnia. Afterward, he had no trouble falling back to sleep, but she wasn"t so lucky. She crept out of bed and carried his unfinished tumbler of scotch to the turret, where she sat in one of the deep, comfortable chairs and gazed at the shadowy patterns on the walls. She didn"t like hard liquor, but the ice had long since watered it down, so she took a big swallow and braced herself for the hit to her stomach.
Something hit...but it wasn"t scotch.
She sniffed the gla.s.s and flicked on a table lamp. The remaining liquid had the faint brownish tinge of diluted alcohol, but not the taste. Slowly, it dawned on her...Bram and his bottomless tumblers of scotch...No wonder he never seemed drunk. All this time he"d been swilling iced tea! He"d told her that"s what he was drinking, but it had never occurred to her to believe him.
She rested her chin in her hands. One more vice down the drain. She didn"t like it. Bram was supposed to be a creature of excesses. Without his vices, who was he? The answer wasn"t long in coming. A more subtly dangerous version of the man he"d always been. A man who continued to prove that nothing he said, nothing he did, could be trusted.
Chaz couldn"t sleep. So much to do. So many people to take care of. The cleaning staff couldn"t come in because of the quarantine so she"d have to take care of everything. Meals to prepare, beds to make, towels to wash. Georgie would try to help, but Chaz doubted she knew what a washing machine looked like, let alone how to use one. So much to do. So many people to take care of. The cleaning staff couldn"t come in because of the quarantine so she"d have to take care of everything. Meals to prepare, beds to make, towels to wash. Georgie would try to help, but Chaz doubted she knew what a washing machine looked like, let alone how to use one.
Chaz got up to pee. Usually she slept in a T-shirt and panties, but tonight she"d added sweatpants. When she was done in the bathroom, she looked in on Aaron. Having a guy in her apartment should have freaked her out, but not when it was Aaron. She liked that he was a little bit scared of her, especially because he was older and so smart. Life would have been a lot easier if she"d had a brother like Aaron. She used to want a big brother more than anything, someone who"d always look out for her.
She"d been too busy to obsess over how much she"d told Georgie, but as she stood in the doorway with everything quiet around her, she realized she didn"t feel as panicked as maybe she should. Georgie was like her worst enemy, but even Georgie hadn"t said Chaz was a horrible person. And if her worst enemy hadn"t looked at her like she was dirt, maybe Chaz shouldn"t look at herself that way. One thing was for sure. She couldn"t lie about her past anymore or pretend it hadn"t happened, not after she"d blabbed the truth into the camera. For all Chaz knew, Georgie would put that video up on YouTube.
So what if she did?
Chaz stood there for a long time, thinking about everything she"d gone through. She"d survived, hadn"t she? She was still alive and she had this great job. If anybody turned their nose up, that was their problem, not hers. All this time, she"d tried to pretend the past hadn"t happened, but it had happened, and she must have been ready to stop hiding it or she wouldn"t have kept talking to Georgie.
She glanced toward the bookcase where she"d stashed the unopened GED workbooks Bram had gotten her. He"d told her lots of people went on to college with only a GED. He"d done it himself, although hardly anybody knew about the cla.s.ses he"d taken over the years. Chaz didn"t care about going to college, but she did care about culinary school, and she needed a GED to get in.
She must have been making more noise than she thought because Aaron began to stir. She wished he"d stop being so stubborn. If he"d just listen to her, she was sure she could get Becky to like him.
"What do you want?" he grumbled.
She headed for the bookcase. "I couldn"t sleep. I need something to read."
"Get it and go away."
She liked that he"d started talking like a real person instead of a geek. "It"s my place."
"Just go to sleep, will you?"
Instead of getting a book, she settled in the chair across from him and pulled her bare feet up on the edge of the seat. "What if we get SARS?"
"That"s highly unlikely." He sat up, yawned, and rubbed one eye. Other than kicking off his shoes, he was still wearing all his clothes. "I guess it wouldn"t hurt to sterilize the dishes Lance and Jade use."
She wrapped her arms around her knees. "I can"t believe Lance Marks and Jade Gentry are in the house." Aaron put on his gla.s.ses and made his way toward her kitchen. She rose and followed him. "The only celebrity Bram ever invites over is Trevor. He"s great and everything, but I want to meet more famous people than just him. I wish Meg"s dad would show up sometime."
He got a gla.s.s of water. "What about Georgie?"
"Like I care about her."
"You"re so d.a.m.ned jealous."
"I"m not jealous!" She turned toward the doorway. "I just think she should be nicer to Bram."
"He"s the one who needs to be nicer to her. She"s great, and he doesn"t appreciate her."
"I"m going to bed. Don"t eat my food."
"You think I can sleep after you woke me up?"
"That"s your problem."
They ended up watching one of Trevor"s movies. She"d already seen it three times, so she fell asleep against one arm of the couch.
In the morning when she woke up, she discovered Aaron asleep at the other end. For a moment she just lay there and thought about how nice it was to feel safe.
Georgie couldn"t cope with facing the morning, so when Bram, her nonalcoholic husband, got up, she kept her face buried in the pillow. He cracked open one of the balcony doors to let in the morning air, but even when he patted her b.u.t.t, she didn"t stir. Why rush a day that promised to be memorable in its awfulness? with facing the morning, so when Bram, her nonalcoholic husband, got up, she kept her face buried in the pillow. He cracked open one of the balcony doors to let in the morning air, but even when he patted her b.u.t.t, she didn"t stir. Why rush a day that promised to be memorable in its awfulness?
He left the bedroom, and she dozed off, but hardly any time seemed to have elapsed before he came back. "Do you need to make so much noise?" she grumbled into her pillow. "I like my men s.e.xy and silent, remember?"
"Georgie?"
That tentative voice didn"t belong to Bram. It didn"t belong to a man at all. Georgie"s eyes flew open. She twisted and saw Jade Gentry standing just inside the open balcony door. She wore yesterday"s sleeveless black top and slacks, but somehow she still looked refreshed, even elegant. She"d gathered her smooth, straight hair into a casual knot at the nape of her neck and applied dusky eye makeup and pale mocha lip gloss. Her understated jewelry consisted of silver hoops and a simple silver wedding band. "It"s eight-thirty," Jade said. "I a.s.sumed you"d be awake by now."
Georgie blinked against the sun and slipped her left hand with its impressive diamond out from under the sheet. "Not to be impolite, Jade, but get the h.e.l.l out of here."
"You need to have this conversation."
"Wrong." Georgie yanked the sheet free and wrapped it around her naked body. "I don"t want a conversation with either one of you."
Jade"s eyes fastened on Georgie"s neck. "We"re stuck together for the next two days. It"ll make things less awkward if you and I clear the air privately before we go downstairs."