Chapter 15
Fifteen
Georgie emerged from the bathroom and heard Cat and Tess talking upstairs. With her hair in a towel, her mother’s robe tied tight around her, and hoping to get the scoop on Ian and Ben, she went up to see what they were talking about.
“What do you think, Georgie?” Tess asked.
“About what?”
“Show her, Cat.”
Cat came out of her room wearing a long, red print Gypsy skirt with one of her signature formfitting tank tops.
Georgie stared at her. She had never seen Cat in such a feminine outfit and was startled by the transformation.
“Don’t you dare laugh,” Cat warned her.
“Me? Laugh?”
“Just tell me what you think,” Cat said with irritation. “Does it look okay?”
“You look great,” Georgie said. “What’s the occasion?”
“She’s having dinner with Ian,” Tess said. “I said I’d rather see her in something shorter that shows off her fabulous legs.”
“I agree,” Georgie said.
“But I don’t have anything like that,” Cat whined. “And I refuse to go shopping for dinner with a guy I met yesterday.”
“I’ve got a few things that might work,” Georgie said.
“Really?” Cat said, brightening. “You don’t mind?”
“Of course not. What’s mine is yours.” Georgie smiled and added, “Are we really hanging out with three brothers?”
Tess winced. “I know. We’re like a bad cliché.”
“So what’s the deal? You first, Tess.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I like him. He’s gentle. He doesn’t let many people see that side of him, but I’ve seen it.”
“Nathan mentioned that he’s had a lot of problems since he got back from Iraq,” Georgie said. “I’d hate to see you hurt after everything you’ve already been through.”
“I would, too,” Cat said.
“I told her everything,” Tess said to Georgie.
“Good. I’m glad she knows.”
“It’s nothing serious with Ben,” Tess assured them. “Don’t worry.”
“Same with me,” Cat said. “We’re just having dinner.”
Tess turned to Cat. “Can I ask you something?” she said tentatively.
“Sure.”
“What’s your problem with Rosie? She can tell you don’t like her.”
“No way,” Cat drawled, rolling her eyes. “She’s what? Three?”
“Almost four and very intuitive,” Tess said. “She can sense it.”
“Oh, please! Just because I don’t go all soft and misty over her the way you do doesn’t mean I don’t like her.”
“I didn’t go soft or misty,” Tess sniffed.
Cat looked to Georgie for confirmation. “Um, yeah, you did.”
“We’re not talking about me,” Tess said hotly. “And she may be only three, but she’s no dummy. If you’re going to hang out with him, you have to be nice to her.”
“I’m not hanging out with him. I’m having dinner with him, and you’re making me regret that.”
“All right, ladies, simmer down.” Georgie stepped between them. “I know you might not mean to, Cat, but you do put out the vibe that you don’t like her.”
“Exactly,” Tess said.
“I don’t dislike her,” Cat mumbled, clearly annoyed at being double-teamed.
“He’s done an impressive job with her all on his own,” Tess said.
“For sure,” Georgie agreed. “Let me get those skirts so we can see if one will work.” She went downstairs and returned a minute later with the clothes. A pair of high-heeled sandals dangled from her fingers.
Cat eyed the shoes with trepidation.
Georgie nudged her into her room. “Try them on.”
While they waited for Cat, Tess went into her room to slip on bright green scrubs and Reeboks.
Cat emerged wearing a black tank with spaghetti straps that showcased her fragile collarbones, Georgie’s denim miniskirt, the shoes and an expression of abject misery on her face. “I can’t wear this.”
Georgie and Tess stared at her.
“Holy smokes.” Georgie rubbed her fingers against her robe. “You’re a babe, Cat.”
“No kidding,” Tess said with envy. “Can I hire you to be my body double?”
“Shut up and get serious, will you? I’ll fall on my ass if I try to wear these girly shoes.”
“No, you won’t,” Georgie assured her. “You’ve got all day to break them in.”
“I don’t feel comfortable, though. He’s going to know that.”
Tess rested her hands on Cat’s shoulders. “Georgie’s right—you’re a babe—and Ian’s going to be so busy trying to keep his hands off you that he won’t notice you’re uncomfortable, believe me.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so,” Tess said. “Have a great time.”
Tess hugged Cat, and Georgie was relieved when Cat reciprocated. Apparently, no hard feelings lingered from their conversation about Rosie.
“Thank you,” Cat said. “Both of you.”
“No problem,” Tess said. “I’ve got to get to work, but I want to check Nathan’s arm first, so I’ll see you later.”
After Tess went downstairs, Cat turned to Georgie. “What do you think of her and Ben?”
“Just that Nathan has some concerns. He doesn’t know what we know about her, but he senses something’s up.”
“His cop radar’s getting a hit?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, we’ll have to keep an eye on her,” Cat said.
“Yes. What about you? Are you going to be okay?”
“Of course,” Cat snorted. “I hate all this chick shit.” In a high, squeaky, voice, she said, “Dating and guys and what should I wear. Ugh.”
Georgie laughed.
“You know what’s really bugging me? Ian reminds me of an actor or someone famous, but I can’t think of who.”
“Dennis Quaid,” Georgie said without hesitation.
“Yes! That’s it!” Cat laughed. “God, that was driving me crazy.”
“Happy to help.” Georgie moved toward the stairs. “Tomorrow I’ll need a full report on your night with Dennis.”
“Georgie?”
She turned back.
“You and Nathan.”
“What about us?”
“You know I’m on your side, right?”
“Of course.”
“It’s just that I can see how into you he is just by the way he looks at you. He’s a good guy, and I’d hate to see him get hurt if you aren’t as into him.”
Startled by Cat’s candor, Georgie had no idea what to say.
“I know it’s none of my business.”
“No, you’re right,” Georgie stammered. “I’m trying to keep some perspective, but he doesn’t make it easy. He’s so . . .”
“Adorable?” Cat asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
“Yes! And persistent. How am I supposed to defend myself against that? I’ve told him I don’t want to get involved, but it’s like he doesn’t even hear me. And the more time I spend with him, the messier it gets. What am I supposed to do?”
Cat chuckled. “He’s practicing selective hearing—it’s a gift most men are born with. Let me ask you this: have you considered the possibility that he’s ‘the one’?”
“No,” Georgie said firmly. “I haven’t. I don’t want that right now.”
“Love doesn’t work on a schedule, Georgie.”
Georgie’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “Love? What does this have to do with love?”
“Maybe everything?”
“I can’t talk about it anymore. Have fun with Ian. You look amazing.” Georgie ducked down the stairs before Cat could reply and stomped into her room where Nathan sat on the bed.
“Uh-oh,” he said. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” She retrieved underwear and shorts from her dresser and slammed the drawers shut.
“Something happened.”
“Nothing happened! Will you please just—” She spun around to discover his face was once again ghostly pale. “What? What’s wrong? Is it your arm?” She dropped the clothes on the floor, crossed the room to him, and cradled his face in her hands.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and hooked his good arm around her waist. “Tess did that thing with the syringe again. Hurts.”
Georgie felt all the starch leave her spine as she gathered him close to her.
They were quiet for a long time before he whispered, “You smell good.”
“So do you.”
Tilting his head, he gazed up at her.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting.” She shifted a hand to his forehead. “You’re warm again, too.”
“I just took some more pills.”
“Why don’t you go back to sleep while I’m at the hospital?”
He shook his head. “I want to be with you.”
Exasperated, she said, “I’d come back for you.”
“No need.”
“You should take it easy today, Nathan.”
“I will,” he insisted as he stood up without removing the arm he had around her. Leaning in, he touched his lips to hers. “I’ll let you get dressed.”
As the door closed behind him, Georgie flopped backward onto the bed, her hands fisted tight against her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry, she wasn’t going to let him get to her, and no matter what Cat said, she was not going to fall in love with him. No way.
After breakfast at a diner on Thames Street, they took his car to the hospital, but Georgie insisted on driving.
“I didn’t know it was possible for one person to eat that much in the morning.”
He patted his full belly. “I’m a growing boy.”
“No wonder why you run every day.” After a long period of silence, she glanced over at him. “Can I ask you something that’s probably none of my business?”
“Sure.”
“Why are you still single?”
“Don’t you mean—how is it possible that someone with my stellar good looks, charm, sense of humor, and overall sex appeal could still be on the market?”
He had nailed it perfectly, but she wasn’t about to let him know that, so she rolled her eyes. “Give me a break, will you, please?”
Laughing, he shrugged. “Just worked out that way.”
“You’ve never wanted to get married?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Fine,” she said, more annoyed with herself than with him. Why did it matter so much? If she allowed herself to contemplate the answer to that question . . . “Forget I asked.”
“There was someone once. I probably would’ve married her.”
“Except?”
“She died.”
Georgie gasped and took her eyes off the road to look over at him. “Oh God, Nathan. I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
But something in his tone told her the pain was still a big part of him.
Her head spun with questions, but she couldn’t seem to find the words.
“You can ask, Georgie,” he said quietly.
“No, I can’t. It’s not my place.”
He reached for her hand. “I met her during my freshman year of college, and we dated for a couple of years.”
Riveted by his softly spoken words, she pulled into the hospital parking lot, turned off the car and shifted in her seat to face him. “What was her name?”
“Ellen.”
Georgie bit back the litany of questions she wanted to ask and waited for him to comport himself.