Guarding His Heart

by Annie Seaton

  Chapter Five

  Liam shut down the computer, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. At least the ferocious headache had gone. He’d spent a few hours clearing his email and changing the address for some of his bills. Then he’d read through his research notes and waited for inspiration to hit.

  But nothing. Not one word, not one thought crossed his mind. The creative well was dry. He picked up a pencil and opened a fresh notebook. Maybe if he turned away from the computer the words would come. Concentrating, he gripped the pencil so tightly that it snapped in his fingers, and in disgust, he dropped it into the garbage pail next to the desk.

  His heart skittered a beat as the crunching of gears sounded through the window. The interruption was welcome.

  Georgie was back. The house had seemed empty since she’d left late this morning. Liam had not been able to help himself when she’d left. He’d stood at the window and watched her as she followed the dog down the hill to the cottage. She interested him and he wondered why she was living alone in someone else’s house.

  None of my business. But he still couldn’t stop himself from pushing the chair back and crossing the room to the window. An old battered truck was parked in the driveway. The truck bed was loaded with buckets, a ladder, a few lengths of timber, and a large toolbox. As he watched, Georgie opened the door and stood next to the truck. She looked up and he leaned out the open window.

  “Would you like a hand?” He might as well help; there was nothing productive happening here. It was the polite thing to do and it had nothing to do with the warmth that ran through him when she smiled up at him.

  “Yes, please. I won’t refuse that offer.” She waved and disappeared out of sight between the house and the truck.

  Liam buttoned up his shirt and ran his fingers through his hair as he walked downstairs. By the time he opened the door, she’d unloaded half of the gear from the back of the truck onto the pebbled driveway.

  “That was quick.” He picked up two of the buckets and turned back to her. “You unload what’s left while I carry it up. I assume it’s going upstairs where you’ve been measuring up?”

  “Yes, please, but you don’t have to help me. I’m quite used to working by myself.” Georgie held his gaze and a frisson of something ran down his back. He welcomed it; it was so good to feel. He knew he’d been in a state of numb disbelief since he’d come back from Nepal.

  The buckets were heavy and the muscles in his arms were burning by the time he got to the top of the stairs. Despite telling Georgie he’d take everything up, she was right behind him, with a bucket in each hand. Liam put down the buckets he was carrying to open the door, and then stood back to let her past him into the study. Her shirt was still unbuttoned over her T-shirt, and he looked away from the soft swells beneath the close-fitting fabric. A lazy kick of something swirled through him as the fragrance of orange blossom drifted from her, and he pushed it away.

  “I said I’d carry them up for you.” His voice was short.

  “You’re the client. I’m the builder.” She grinned at him as she put the buckets in the far corner and waited for him to carry his load through.

  He should pick them up and stop standing there appreciating her curves, but it was almost impossible. He couldn’t take his eyes from her, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how gentle her fingers had been when she’d looked after his wound.

  Liam clenched his hands around the bucket handle as determination filled him. Push these feelings away; they are crazy. He’d made a vow when Vanessa betrayed him. He’d fallen in love with her when he’d met her at a book signing and these same feelings had filled him when he’d first seen her standing in front of him, waiting to have her copy signed. Any pretty woman in a close-fitting T-shirt would elicit the same response.

  Get over it.

  “Put them over here in the corner. I’ll go and get the tools.” She passed him as he crossed the room and he made a noise of assent in his throat.

  They made four trips from the truck up to the office, but Liam made sure he took his time and that he was upstairs each time Georgie was down at the truck. He was already regretting helping out and the feeling intensified when she came up with the final load.

  “Thanks heaps for the help. You’ve saved me quite a few trips. Your stairs are killers.”

  Reluctantly, Liam turned from the window and looked at her. Her arms were full of assorted small packets of nails and screws that she clutched to her chest with one hand, and she had a medium-size piece of wood held beneath the other arm. He crossed the room and slid the lumber out, and his arm brushed her hand. When she dropped her head and her fair skin pinked up, he knew he was in trouble. What was it about Georgie that made her so easy to read?

  Because whatever he was feeling, the feeling was obviously mutual. She was feeling it as well.

  Holy hell. He had to get out of here before he did something he’d regret.

  He stepped away from her and put the wood down next to the buckets. The packs slid from her arms to the floor, and she crouched down, picked them up and pushed them into a small pile.

  “So what’s next?” He had to say something to break the tension in the room. He knew it wasn’t just him, because something had flared in her eyes as she glanced up at him. He hadn’t seen anyone look at him like that in a long time.

  And I don’t want to.

  Georgie stood and smoothed her hands down over her thighs.

  “Once my muscles stop screaming at me, I’m going to knock out the back wall.” She put her hands up and twirled her ponytail into a knot on the top of her head before she reached into her pocket for a clip. Liam swore he could feel his blood pressure spike as her T-shirt strained against her soft curves.

  “That’ll be enough for today, and then when the truck brings the rest of the lumber tomorrow, I can start putting in the reinforcements for the shelves. They’re cutting the timber to the right lengths for me since I’ve done all the measuring.” She walked away from him and he stared at the back of her head and not at her shapely butt. “Then I’m going to—”

  Georgie sat on the windowsill and kicked her boot at the floor. “I’m sorry. I forgot you didn’t want to know what’s happening.” She lifted her head and met his eyes squarely; her face pinked up even more. “Thanks for the help. I’ll be fine now.”

  He waved his hand at her. “That’s okay. I asked. I just wondered what was next.”

  “It’s going to be very noisy while I knock that wall out. I hope it won’t interrupt your work?” She chewed on her bottom lip, and he could tell she was ill at ease with him. She hadn’t been like that before.

  “My work?”

  “I’ll be honest with you. If you’re going to live in this town, you’ll soon find out nothing’s private. I heard today in town that you’re quite the celebrity and I put two and two together. But please don’t think I was listening to gossip about you. With all these bookshelves”—his heartbeat kicked up a notch as a grin crossed her face—“I assume this is going to be your work space and you’re working somewhere else while you wait for this room to be ready?”

  Liam was taken aback by her honesty, and he stared at her. Her eyes were clear as she held his with her steady gaze, and he could tell she was being open with him. In the world he’d become used to, no one ever came out and told the truth. There was no coquetry or game-playing in the way she spoke to him. And despite saying she hadn’t been listening to gossip, she’d obviously heard all the stories about him. He looked away but he could still feel her stare fixed squarely on him

  “I thought you seemed sad, and now I know what happened, but it’s none of my business, and if I can help or if you ever want to talk, just—” A strange expression crossed her face and she stopped talking and closed her eyes.

  “Shoot. Total rewind.” She screwed her face up and clenched her hands in front of her eyes. “Please ignore every word I just said.”

  Liam opened hi
s mouth, but before he could speak she shook her head and pushed herself up from the windowsill.

  “Look, I’m sorry.” She brushed past him and for a moment he was tempted to reach out and pull her back. “I’ve changed my mind. I mean I’ve just remembered something I have to do. I’ll come back in the morning, and don’t worry, I won’t bother you again.”

  The sound of her work boots hitting the wooden stairs was followed by the slamming of the front door. Liam crossed to the window and watched as she drove off down the hill a lot faster than she’d driven up just a short time ago. He waited for her to turn onto her driveway, but the truck kept going, and she turned it onto the highway and headed south.

  Maybe she had thought of something she had to do, and he’d read too much into the atmosphere between them. But it had been tense and for some reason he couldn’t fathom why she’d taken off so quickly. And he hadn’t even been rude to her. She’d been upset and that bothered him.

  He tried to forget the way his body had responded to Georgie as she’d brushed past him, but more than that, the way he had reacted to the sadness in her expression when she’d babbled on about changing her mind. His heart had lodged in his throat as her eyes had widened and she’d stared at him.

  Something was bothering her, and it was a good feeling to worry about someone else for a change.

  …

  For the first time since Brent had told her she was not marriage material and then had hightailed it to Los Angeles with his new girlfriend, Georgie let her feelings out. She’d barely made it up the highway to the small beach where Uncle Renzo and Aunt Lucia had brought them to swim when they were small. Turning the truck into the small parking area, she was pleased to see there were no other cars there. The hot tears spilled down her cheeks as she killed the engine and it stopped with a noisy rattle.

  God, she was so embarrassed and so stupid. One look at a man, and here she was offering to help him through his personal crisis. Mortification filled her as she remembered the words she’d said to him. If I can help…or if you ever want to talk.

  A client. And not only a client, a famous author, at that. He must think she was an absolute idiot. He probably had a heap of friends and family, and here was the small-town builder offering to listen to his woes. She dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

  It was so very tempting just to go back home, pack her bags, and leave. Georgie didn’t want to face him again. In fact, she didn’t want to see anyone she knew anymore. She needed to go away and try and find this independence she’d promised herself.

  She pushed open the car door and stepped out into the cold wind. The chill was welcome because it took her mind off her problems for a brief moment as she crossed the parking lot to the wooden steps that led down to the beach.

  The afternoon shadows lengthened as she walked along the wet sand. She had to get over this. It wasn’t that she’d made a fool of herself and offered to listen to him that was the real problem.

  Yeah, she was embarrassed, but being upset had more to do with the fact that she couldn’t help herself.

  Why? Why did she have to be so concerned about other people’s problems? Every time she got involved with someone, it turned out badly. Sienna had always had her own theory about it. She said Georgie was trying to be the mother she’d never had, and so she tried to mother everyone else in her life.

  But that was rubbish. They’d had two mothers. The woman who’d given birth to her, and then Lucia who’d done a great job bringing them up after Marietta had run off and Uncle Renzo had taken them in.

  So it had nothing to do with the way she’d grown up. There must be something lacking in her and she had to face up to that. She was just not meant to be in a relationship. Maybe it was because she tried too hard? Maybe it was because there was something missing in her character? More tears threatened as Georgie muttered, “Maybe I’m just unlovable?”

  Maybe I should disappear and go and work in one of those African orphanages or something? But the thought of leaving the safety of Half Moon Bay and all her friends and family scared her half to death. Georgie knew she was firmly entrenched in her comfort zone and she didn’t really want to leave it, no matter how excited she was pretending to be about this once-in-a-lifetime trip. It would probably be better to put the money it was going to cost for the trip into a house here at Half Moon Bay.

  And forget about men, marriage, and the white-picket-fence dream the girls tease me about.

  There was something about her that turned men away as soon as they got to know her, and Georgie knew she tried too hard to compensate for whatever it was. She looked up as a gust of cold wind came around the rocky point at the end of the bay, and realized it was getting dark. She turned around and walked slowly along the shore until the parking lot was in view again.

  She let her thoughts settle on Liam and what she’d blurted out. Was it because of the attraction that had kicked in between them? She’d been aware of him watching her as she’d unloaded the truck. He was such a good-looking man and on top of that, his sadness had pulled at her heartstrings.

  Why can’t I just get on with my life, do the job that has to be done, and stay aloof? Independent.

  She needed to take lessons from Sienna. No one could ever tell what she was thinking, and she pretended she didn’t care about anyone. And she didn’t spill her heart at the first opportunity, blab her business, and scare everyone off.

  Now that she’d made a fool of herself, maybe he’d disappear and she could put her head down and work as fast as she could. Get his shelves finished and get out of there.

  Maybe she’d call Blake and see if he could find someone else to do the job. But she knew things had been tight since he’d taken over the store, and she didn’t want to see the job go to a city firm because her cousins were booked up for months. So she’d honor her commitment.

  Her cell was ringing when she got back to the truck. Georgie reached for it and a wry grin lifted her lips when she glanced at the screen.

  We might not be twins, but there is a connection between us.

  “Hi, Sienna.”

  “Hey, sis.”

  A warm feeling settled in Georgie’s chest and she laughed. “Don’t you mean, hey, coz?”

  “No, we’re sisters at heart. That’s why I’m calling. I just had a feeling that something was wrong. You haven’t called and I was worried about you. Is everything okay?”

  Georgie hesitated. She and Sienna had always been completely truthful with each other…but now Sienna had Jack and she was finally happy.

  Really happy. She doesn’t need my problems.

  “Georgie?”

  “Yes?”

  “What’s wrong? I knew something wasn’t right when you put your trip off for a month.”

  “No, everything’s fine.” Georgie hastened to reassure Sienna. “I’ve delayed my vacation as a favor for Blake.”

  “But you’re still going?”

  “Yes, I leave Christmas Eve.” It looked like she’d managed to divert Sienna from the “are you okay” talk. “I’m going up to San Francisco to the travel agent on Tuesday to make the final plans on my itinerary.”

  “So what’s so important about this job for Blake?”

  “The guy who bought Joe Humphries’s place is an author and he needs his study fitted out quickly. Tony and Johnny are on a big job at the moment and Blake asked me to take it on. He didn’t want to lose the job to a city firm.”

  “Anyone we know?”

  “No, I’d never heard of him. It’s Liam Wyndham.”

  “Liam Wyndham! Are you kidding me? The same Liam Wyndham who wrote the Guardian series?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Georgie, have you been living under a rock? My God, he’s huge. And he’s living in Half Moon Bay? I’ve got all his books.”

  Georgie knew something was coming by the tone in Sienna’s voice. They might as well be twins. They could read each other like a book.

  Very appropri
ate. She giggled softly…Sienna could always cheer her up.

  “Do you think you could get him to autograph them for me?”

  “No.” Georgie could think of nothing worse than facing Liam again. “No way. I hardly see him. He’s made it quite clear he wants his privacy and he’ll be closeted in his study while I work.” A hit of warmth ran up her neck as she remembered how she’d breached that privacy. “I tell you what you could do though, and you might get to see him. Mind you, only a very small might.”

  “What?”

  “Are you busy this weekend? I could use some help. How would you and Jack like to come up to visit and you could do some fancy edges on a set of bookshelves for me?” If Sienna helped her out she’d be able cut the job by a few days. And Sienna’s work with wood was amazing. It would give the shelves that special touch to suit the old place. “I could do with some company, too.”

  “Suits me just fine. Jack’s going back to New York to sign for a commission in a building up there.” The pride was evident in Sienna’s voice and Georgie loved hearing it.

  “I was thinking about a visit. And we can catch up and you can tell me what’s wrong with you.”

  Georgie rolled her eyes. She thought she’d gotten away from that inquisition.

  “I’ve got to take Jack to the airport on Friday. I’ll come to Ana’s place after that.”

  “Girls’ night in. Sounds good. Shame Ana’s in New York.” Georgie was feeling happier by the minute. A gossip session with Sienna was just what she needed…as long as her cousin didn’t pry too much into Georgie’s feelings.

  “Chill the wine,” Sienna said.

  “If you cook.” Georgie laughed as they finalized their plans, and she threw her cell phone onto the seat after they disconnected. The afternoon light was fading quickly by the time she backed the truck out of the small parking lot and turned onto the highway. Winter was taking a hold on the coast, but she’d soon be in a warmer climate. After that, who knew? In a way, it was exciting not knowing where she was going to go after Hawaii.