If she was honest, she missed people fawning over her and admiring her a little too. When she’d left LA, she’d been burned out and over the whole scene, but a little adoration every now and then, especially when it was earned, wasn’t exactly a hardship.
She was feeling good when she stepped out of the powder room, her makeup freshened up.
Unfortunately, that was short-lived as Cara was standing there waiting. Liam had clearly failed to find her before she found Georgie.
“Hey, Cara, nice to see you.” It was a white lie, but it was the polite thing to say.
“I doubt that. You’re here wrapped around Liam, just as you’ve always wanted.”
“We’re just friends, Cara. I’m here as a favor.”
The other woman shook her head. “Maybe, but I know how you look at him. You don’t want him for yourself, but you don’t want him happy with anyone else.”
“That is not true.” She hoped it wasn’t, but an uneasy feeling crept through her making its way up her spine and around her heart. “I had nothing to do with your breakup.”
“Do you really believe that? He broke up with me and moved straight in with you.”
“One thing had nothing to do with the other.” She didn’t think it did. “That was just unfortunate timing.”
Cara extended an elegant finger in Georgie’s direction and wagged it. “No, just no. You do not to get to act all Miss Innocent. You ruined our perfectly good relationship, and you refuse to take any responsibility for it. You, more than anyone, know that man deserves to be happy. It’s too late for me to be the one, but you need to step back and let him find his happy with someone else. You think he doesn’t have feelings for you, but I know he does. He’s never looked at me the way he looks at you, Georgie, so you need to make a decision. Take Liam as he is or step away and let him build a life because what you’re doing now is not at all cool.”
Then Cara pushed past her into the restroom and shut the door firmly.
Georgie stood there for a couple of minutes collecting herself. Was Cara right? Was she standing in Liam’s way? She did want Liam, but she also wanted a family and she knew he didn’t want that. If Cara was right and Liam did have feelings for her, then what would she do? Take Liam as he was and give up her dream of a family? Until she knew the answer to that she needed to keep her distance because Cara was right, she was leading him on and both of them could end up badly hurt.
She pulled her shoulders back and headed back into the crowd. She needed to make some decisions, but for tonight she needed to do what she’d been trained to do. She put a smile on her face and worked the room.
SOMETHING HAD CHANGED. By the time they were in the limousine heading home, Georgie had lost her spark.
When Liam had found Cara, she’d been very contained. She’d told him she missed him, but she didn’t create a scene.
“Are you happy?” she’d asked him, and he had caught sight of Georgie across the room as he answered, “Happier.”
“A word to the wise, I know you have feelings for her, but she’s not the one for you, Liam.”
“Cara, you don’t know . . .”
She’d put a finger to his lips to silence him. “I know exactly. You need to understand that a woman like that wants it all. She wants the money and the career, but she also wants the house, the family, and the white picket fence. You can’t give her all that. That’s why we were perfect together, darling. I wanted only as much as you had to give.” Then she’d planted a kiss on his cheek and walked away.
She’d been right of course that he didn’t used to think he wanted any of that, and he definitely didn’t want it with Cara, but with Georgie maybe he did. Georgie accepted him as he was. She was kind and patient enough for the two of them. The truth was her family was already his family. If it had a couple of kids in it, then it was just an extension of what they already had. He’d come to realize that if the kids were a result of true love, they’d be okay, even with him as a father. He’d never been that, never had that, except with Georgie.
“It was a good night. I think you guys will get the account.”
“Only because you told him how cool Mal and I were and how we were the best in the business.”
She cocked her head. “Did I lie?”
“You did not. If he really is willing to listen, we can make him all kinds of money.”
“He’ll listen. He’s arrogant, not stupid. It was a test, and you passed.”
“You know this how?” He pushed a lock of hair over her bare shoulder because he needed to touch her. He needed to connect. The urge to lean down and kiss that shoulder was very real, but he refrained. He rested his hand there instead.
“I do the same thing when I bring new people on board. I go a little bit diva to test them and see how they’ll react. I want them to know what working with me at my worst would be like.”
“You little minx. I didn’t know you had this devious side.” He gave the shoulder a squeeze.
“All’s fair in love and business. I’m not devious in my relationships. Although, Cara would disagree.” He didn’t like where this was headed. He hoped the timeline of the breakup hadn’t been given away.
“Oh?”
“She said I broke you guys up, but I didn’t, right? You were already broken up when I saw you in Chicago?”
Liam was faced with a choice. He could lie to Georgie, which he’d never done, well he’d lied by omission in not telling her he loved her but not an outright lie, or tell the truth.
She was looking up at him. Waiting for an answer and he just couldn’t lie.
“You didn’t break us up. I was already halfway out the door.”
“What?” Her eyes grew wide with surprise. “You implied you were broken up already.”
“I did because as soon as you told me she’d warned you off, then it was over. You’re my family, Georgie, that was never up for discussion.”
Georgie slumped back in her seat. “And did you move to New York because of me?”
“Mal and I had been discussing it for ages. Cara was the one thing holding me back.”
“Okay, so I show up out of the blue and you ditch your girlfriend and move to a new city on a whim. Have I got that right?”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” He turned and grabbed her hands in his. He needed her to look him in the eye and really hear him. “I needed to make some changes and seeing you just gave me clarity to make those changes. I knew things weren’t working with Cara, and I knew I was using her as an excuse not to make a decision. Did the chance to live with you sweeten the deal? Absolutely, but that’s all it did. You’re not responsible for my decisions.”
She shook her hands free from his as the car pulled up. “True, but I am responsible for my own.”
Liam didn’t get a chance to ask what that meant as she went straight inside, up to her room, and shut the door. He had a feeling if he had asked her what she’d meant he wouldn’t have liked the answer.
CHAPTER 13
G eorgie wanted to hide under the sheets and avoid Sunday but that wasn’t going to be an option. Instead, she went for an equally cowardly approach and waited until she heard Liam leave for his run before hopping a cab to her apartment. She hadn’t been to check on the progress in a while, and while it wasn’t yet safe to live in, it was safe to enter. She had some clothes there she wanted for Nashville, which was her reason for heading there. Her excuse was she wanted to be alone.
She needed to process the night before. What Cara had said had put a mirror up to her own actions and behaviors. If she was honest with herself, some of what Liam’s ex had said was true. She did want Liam, but she didn’t want him as he was. He’d never made any bones about the fact that he wasn’t going to have a family.
She stood in her walk-in closet, fingering her sweaters, and thought about the day he’d first told her that. They were twelve and his mother had failed yet again to turn up to parent-teacher night. Yet again he’d been the only kid in class there on his own, a
nd he was embarrassed. It was before her father had gotten sick, and her own parents had divided up and taken turns visiting the teachers with her and Liam until he’d vanished.
She found him down by the creek skipping stones after the evening was over. He’d been in a plain white T-shirt and jeans, his standard uniform back then. Only later would she learn he only owned three shirts, all white.
“Hey. We wondered where you got to.” She slid onto the smooth rock he was sitting on, settling beside him. It was one of their spots, so he hadn’t been hard to find.
“Sorry. I’ll tell your parents thanks tomorrow.”
“It’s fine, Liam. They understood.” She gave his arm a squeeze. “Dad said Mr. Nichols said it was a shame your mother couldn’t be bothered to show up. He knew why you left.”
“I’d say it was a little more than a shame. But that’s what I felt.”
“It’s not your fault.” He cut her off.
“I know. It’s her fault. My father didn’t care enough about me to stay or take me with him, and she can’t get out the front door. I buy the food. I cook the food. I pay the bills. I run that house. It’s not supposed to be like this. My parents are meant to do those things for me, not the reverse.”
“It will get better.” She didn’t know what to say except that, because she really did hope it would get better, but it was hard for her as close as they were to really know what his life was like because he did a pretty good job of keeping her separate from the details. She didn’t know how he did all that, though she did know it wasn’t all legal.
“You bet it will. When I grow up, I’m looking after one person and that’s me. I’m not having a wife or kids or any of this crap. I’ll be a big success in the city. I’ll wear fancy clothes, eat at fancy restaurants, and do whatever I like.” He stood up and skipped a large stone across the water. His movements were smooth and hid his anger in a way his voice didn’t.
“Oh.” She knew she looked shocked. Even then some part of her had expected Liam Stone to be her happily ever after. “You’ll be a better parent. You’ll know what not to do.”
He shook his head. “No way. As soon as I can I’m leaving this place and not looking back. And for the rest of my life the only person I’ll be looking after is me.”
“What about me?” she had asked in a small voice.
“We’ll be friends. Always, but you don’t need me, Georgie. You’re pretty and smart, you have a beautiful voice and a nice family. You’ll do just fine without me, better, even. I’m not good people.”
Of course, he’d been wrong about that. He was very good people, and she’d always needed him but maybe that was selfish of her. And maybe he needed one person in the world who didn’t want anything from him, and as much as she loved him, she wasn’t that person because whenever she saw Liam she wanted everything.
She busied herself packing up some clothes for her trip. By the time she got back from Nashville, she might be almost able to move back here.
Maybe that was what they both needed, a little space. Moving in together had been a bad idea, and she needed to accept that. As much as she loved Liam, she was just torturing herself, and if Cara was right and he did have feelings beyond friendship for Georgie, then even worse, she was torturing him too. She’d go to Nashville and then move home. She’d miss living with Liam like she’d miss oxygen if she went without it, but maybe that was what needed to happen. She needed to give him space to find his happiness, and she needed to get back on track with her own plan. No men and all work.
Maybe that was the best plan of action. Somehow, though, it didn’t have the appeal it had held a few short weeks earlier.
LIAM CAME BACK from his run to an empty house. This didn’t surprise him. Last night had started so well and ended so badly. He didn’t understand what Georgie was upset about exactly, but he knew that she was indeed upset. Why did it matter when he broke up with Cara or decided to move? The point was it was the right decision. He didn’t owe anyone an explanation for his choices, and yet he somehow felt Georgie wanted one.
He couldn’t really provide one without coming clean about his feelings, and he wasn’t sure he was what she wanted. As much as he wanted to be honest with her, he didn’t know how to salvage their friendship if she rejected him, and as always he would rather have her in his life on her terms than not at all.
He snagged a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it down as he wondered what his next move should be. Usually a run helped clear his head and give him clarity. Not today.
His cell phone rang, and he grabbed it. It was Georgie’s mother, Connie.
“Hey, Liam, got a minute.”
He was always happy to talk to her, but he had a feeling the news wasn’t good. There was something cautious about her tone.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“It’s your mother.” He pulled the phone away from his mouth and muttered some expletives under his breath. Could this day get worse?
“Shoot. What exactly is it this time?” He knew he sounded like an ungrateful child, but then again, his mother had never given him much to be grateful for.
“I’m pretty sure she’s had a stroke. Her speech is slurred, and she’s limping.”
“You don’t think it’s alcohol?” Yes, the woman was an agoraphobic and he could almost forgive that, but the alcohol was harder somehow. If she’d been shut in but made the place a home, then that would have been something. As it stood, that definitely hadn’t been the case.
“I don’t think so, honey, this seems different. I called the doctor to come, but she turned him away.”
“I’ll call her, but honestly we can’t make her accept help if she doesn’t want it.” He knew because he’d been trying his whole life.
“We can’t just leave her to rot either, Liam.”
“I’ll see what I can do from here. I’ll keep you posted.”
He hung up the phone feeling utterly defeated. No matter how hard he worked he never seemed to be able to shake off his past. He couldn’t fix his mother, and he couldn’t get it together with Georgie. It was like a part of him was stuck forever in that run-down trailer.
His mother answered quickly, and she didn’t sound too bad to him. Then again, she was conscious.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Liam.”
Of course, she didn’t say it was nice to hear his voice or what a lovely surprise, none of the things a normal mother would say. “How are you doing, Ma?”
“Same as always, hanging in there.”
“I hear you turned the doctor away.”
“Nothing wrong with me.” He scoffed, and she heard him. “Well, nothing new.”
“Connie thinks maybe there is.”
“The great and sainted Connie does not know everything, Liam.”
Her friendship with Connie was complex. Without the other woman, his mother, Jean Stone, would never see another soul and would likely have died a decade ago, but that didn’t mean Jean didn’t resent her kindness and interference.
“Then why not let the doc in, Ma? Put everyone’s mind at ease.”
“I don’t need people snooping around, I’m fine.” Her speech was slow and deliberate, maybe a little slurred but nothing noticeable to him. “When are you coming home?”
Her use of the word home chafed. It had never been a home for either of them. That trailer was a prison, nothing more nothing less.
“Soon.” He had no real plan to go back. He wanted to answer never but that wasn’t his style.
“What does that even mean?” she asked.
“It means soon, Ma. I’ll call again next week. Your groceries will arrive tonight as always.” He hung up and pondered what to do. He couldn’t make her let the doctor in, and maybe Connie was overreacting. She was depressed and overweight, she drank too much, lived on TV dinners, and obviously couldn’t exercise in that small space. Her health was never good, so he just didn’t know. He dragged his hands through his hair.
He cal
led Connie back and tried to reassure her. She was very nice to him, but he knew she disapproved.
“Connie, I’m really doing all I can for her.”
“I know, sweetie. I just don’t want you with any regrets.”
He hung up and shook his head. Regrets, today it felt like that was all he had.
GEORGIE FOUND Liam still sitting at the kitchen counter staring blankly into the distance. This was not the normal Liam. Normal Liam would be showered and shaved and be busy doing something. He never just sat. This Liam looked tired with dark circles and a five-o’clock shadow despite it being only noon.
“Liam?” She let go of the bag she was carrying, and it hit the floor with a thud that caught his attention.
“Hey, Georgie.” He sounded flat, not like her Liam.
“Are you okay?”
He gave her a one-shoulder shrug. “If we’re okay, I’ll be okay.”
She crossed over and leaned forward on her arms across the island from him. “We will be okay. I’m just a little confused about where we stand.”
“You’re my best friend.” He sounded so sad.
“I am, so tell me what’s up.”
“More mom drama, maybe.”
“Maybe?”
He shook his head to indicate he didn’t want to talk about that. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I broke up with Cara after seeing you. Things were already off between us, and I knew you’d been avoiding me. When you told me why, it was the last straw, but it was already a huge bale of hay by then.”
She nodded. She wanted to believe that was true. “Okay.”
“You know me, once I make a decision it’s done.”
“I do know that.” She smiled. He’d always been decisive in a way she wasn’t. She had a pro and con list for everything, not Liam. “I just want you to be happy, Liam.”
“Wouldn’t that be a nice change?” He sighed. “I’ve been as happy living here with you as I’ve ever been, Georgie. If you believe nothing else know that’s the truth.”
She reached out and squeezed his hand. Maybe this wasn’t the moment to tell him she was moving out. “I know. It’s been fun, but it’s confusing.”
No Time for Temptation (The No Brides Club Book 4) Page 12