Her head lifted, and she took in the accessories.
Line.
She fingered a necklace and then another. Snatching some earrings and a bracelet, she took those and headed for some clutch purses in a display case.
Sinker.
“Which one can I get out for you, miss?” the woman behind the counter asked.
Georgia pointed. “That sparkly black one.”
“Ah. The Leiber.”
“Leiber... as in Judith Leiber?” Georgia asked.
“The one and only,” the clerk responded as she took out the purse and handed it to her.
She lifted the dainty price tag and then dropped it as though it burned. Then she stepped back, coming out of the trance she had been under.
“I—I’m sorry.” She put the dress she carried and the accessories onto the counter. “I won’t be needing these.”
Carson let her walk toward the door, catching her vacant look as she passed.
Going to the counter, he took out a credit card. “Can I have these delivered this afternoon?”
The woman smiled. “Of course, Mr....” She looked at his card. “Adair.”
“Is your girlfriend a little shy about you spending money on her?”
“Shy isn’t the word I’d use.” He was probably in for a fight when he got to the car.
“Well, I’m sure she’ll warm up to the idea soon.”
He wrote down the address to Kate’s estate for her.
“Are you taking her to a special event tonight?”
“Yes, a fund-raiser at this address.”
She looked down at the piece of paper. “At Kate Winston’s house?” She looked up at him. “The Kate Winston?”
“Yes.”
“Well, your girlfriend is a lucky girl, isn’t she?”
“I hope that’s how she feels when she sees these.” He gestured to the items on the counter.
The clerk handed his card back. “She’s crazy if she doesn’t.”
“Stubborn,” he corrected her.
The clerk laughed politely. “Would you like to include a card?”
“Yes.”
She gave him one and he wrote something quick on it and sealed it inside the envelope. Handing it to her, he said, “Thanks.”
“Any time.”
He felt her awestruck gaze follow him out the door.
Climbing into the limo, he saw Georgia sitting all the way on the other side, close to the window, arms folded, eyeing him with displeasure.
“I have to ask you to stop doing this,” she said.
“Doing what?” He was toying with her, he had to admit.
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Throwing money in my face.”
She was pretty upset. “I’m not throwing it. I’m showering it.”
She blinked a few times, and he wondered if she was having trouble stopping a laugh.
“And not in your face,” he said. “I just want you to enjoy the things I give you and the places I take you.”
“We aren’t even dating.”
“Then let’s go on a date. Tonight. Be my date for the fund-raiser.” He couldn’t believe he’d said it. She was so anti-Adair that she’d be a risk to pursue. But then, isn’t that what appealed to him? She was a tough catch. A challenge. He was on a new mission.
She stared at him, stunned. “What?”
“A date.” Maybe she needed some warming like that clerk had said. “I promise to be a gentleman.”
“I think we do better as friends,” she said, crossing her leg over her knee and bobbing, still with her arms crossed.
Why did the idea of a date with him make her so fidgety? Was it all about her anti-Adair philosophy? Maybe her defenses were crumbling and that’s what made her uncomfortable. And if that was the case, then she liked him.
“We’re going to the party together. We may as well call it a date.”
“You can call it what you want.”
That was fine by him. Date it was. He was looking forward to this.
“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who’d go on dates,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged and her arms loosened, hands in her lap now. “You seem like you’d head straight for the bedroom.”
That almost made him laugh. “I get their names first.”
She slid a suspicious look his way. “Have you ever been in love?”
He’d had affairs and brief relationships, but nothing that lasted. “No.”
“What kind of woman attracts you?”
Why was she asking him that? For someone who claimed to have no interest in Adair men, she seemed awfully interested. “I suppose someone who shares a lot in common with me. Isn’t that what everyone looks for?”
“Sure. But would you look for someone in the same class as you or would it matter?”
Ah. Now he could see why she’d asked. “At the risk of sounding pompous and proving your opinion of my filthy-rich family correct, yes, it might matter.”
“No wonder Ruby didn’t fit in.”
“Are you picking a fight or just trying to convince yourself that tonight won’t be a date?”
“I’m just curious.”
Curious if she was out of the running? Curious if he was pompous? “If a woman has money, I know she isn’t after me for money.”
“She still might be. She might be greedy.”
“Have you met anyone like that?”
“I dated someone who had money.”
“And did he turn out to be pompous?”
“I don’t know if that’s the right word. He liked his money. He liked showing it off to me. But he was nice, I guess. I couldn’t really tell much about his personality because the money got in the way. It defined him.”
“You broke it off?”
“Yes. But it wasn’t ugly. We parted friends.”
“A diplomat, are you?”
“No. A relationship needs to work on a fundamental level. Money can’t play into it.”
“Well, Georgia, it appears we agree on something.”
She smiled, a warm smile that lit up her dark green eyes.
“Now it’s your turn,” he said. “Have you ever been in love?”
That made her go rigid. She turned to look out the window. “No.”
The way she’d reacted to the topic suggested otherwise. She had the look of a woman who’d been hurt.
“Why haven’t you?”
Now she shrugged. “It’s not important to me.”
She sounded like him, but she had different reasons. What else would shy her away from him? A broken heart? Maybe that had more to do with her distance than his money.
Chapter 6
Georgia finished showering and left the bathroom that was attached to her room at Kate Winston’s estate. The place was everything she’d expected. Lavish. Extraordinary. Well beyond her means or anything close to what she’d ever be able to afford in her lifetime. Wrapped in a towel with another one twirled atop her head, she went to the bed where she’d laid out her outfit for tonight. She had packed a few dresses but none were cocktail caliber. She went with a formfitting black knee-length that showed a modest amount of cleavage. Her breasts were a nice shape for a D-cup. She didn’t like showing them off and this dress was the most revealing of all her clothes. She had to admit she’d packed it for this very reason—in the unlikely event that she attended an event or dinner with the wealthy Adairs, she’d be prepared.
She had to pinch back the regret for not letting Carson buy her that stunning dress today. The boutique was like nothing she’d ever seen. The mall that she frequented at home didn’t compare. She doubted she’d found online sites that rivaled the character of that place. She could have gone hog wild. She almost had. Until she’d seen the price tag on that Judith Leiber clutch. After her breath had hitched, she’d struggled for composure. Talk about being slapped back into reality. She couldn’t allow Carson to spend that kind of money on her. That rebellious v
oice inside her argued the first-class flight cost more. And clothing was...well...so much more personal.
We may as well call it a date.
He was going to consider tonight a date. She tingled inside the way she had when he’d said it in the limo.
She lifted the cocktail dress that everyone with any kind of fashion sense would know wasn’t anything special.
“Maybe I should come down with a stomach bug,” she muttered to herself. Her head said, And miss a great party with a hot man?
A knock on the door interrupted her inner debate.
She glanced down at her towel-covered body. What if it was Carson?
“Miss Mason?” a woman asked. “I have a package for you.”
A package? The woman must be a member of the house staff. Georgia went to the door and opened it a crack. The woman held a box.
“For you,” the woman said with a smile.
Georgia was instantly wary. “Who sent this?”
“A deliveryman just dropped it off. He said this is from the Silver Button Boutique.”
That’s where the smile came from. Georgia made no fuss when inside her nerves scuttled with excitement, dismay and, ultimately, unbelievable delight.
She took the package and thanked the woman and retreated into the privacy of the room where no one would see the big smile spreading on her face.
Trotting to the bed, she swiped her old, cheap dress aside. It fell onto the floor and she put the box down. The towel around her body fell off as she tore at the packing tape, pulling the lid open.
There was a card on top of tissue-wrapped items underneath. She opened the tiny card.
I hope you have shoes. You ran away before I could get your size. I’ll be waiting in the front entry. C
She bit her lower lip to keep from squealing like a fourteen-year-old. Then, one by one, she lifted the items she’d picked out at the boutique.
“I’m so glad he can’t see me now.”
She held up the new dress in front of her, tickled beyond capacity. She thought she’d burst with pleasure. She wasn’t even going to look for a price tag on it.
Laying the dress on the bed as though it were an ancient museum piece, she took out the other items, each wrapped in pretty tissue paper. Last came the purse.
She held that up in front of her. It was probably more expensive than the dress. The intricate detail of it magnetized her. The stitching. The tiny beads. The front clasp.
“I’ll give this back to him,” she said. She wasn’t going to need a purse tonight anyway.
She placed the purse back in the box, feeling a little mournful. Self-discipline was a bitch.
But, oh...
She looked down at the dress. She was going to look fantastic!
Trotting back to the bathroom, she spent extra time doing her hair and face. When she finished, she relished dressing and then admired the end result in the mirror.
The small, beaded black cocktail dress drew the eye and kept it. She went with no necklace because the scooped neckline of the dress was enough. She only wore simple black earrings and a matching bracelet. She was...sexy. But elegant. If Carson wanted a date, he was going to get one.
All ready, she hesitated at the door. Why was she doing this? Why had she agreed to go with him to a party at a mansion? She was dressed up. For him.
No. For the party. She was dressed up so she’d fit in at his aunt’s mansion.
With a big sigh, she left the room and headed for the front entry. Her heart raced. She felt warm as she glided down the hallway, delighting in the way the smooth, soft movement of the expensive dress felt on her skin.
At the top of the stairs, she spotted him down below in a suit that fit his form impeccably. The way he took her in with his eyes sent tingles all through her, glimmering blue eyes infused with the heat of his reaction to the sight of her.
He didn’t say anything, just watched her step down the stairs. He had to feel good about the fact that she’d caved and worn what he’d had delivered to her. Now she knew why he was so slow leaving the boutique. With anyone else, she’d feel cornered. She wasn’t supposed to be ready for this—for feeling like this in response to a man. It was the first time in a long time that she’d felt anything close to romantic interest.
At the bottom of the stairs, he held out his hand and she laid hers on top of his. Behind him, double doors were open to a crowd and jazzy music that was balanced with the level of noise.
“You look stunning,” he said.
She smothered the warming effect of his flattery. “Thanks for the dress.”
“I’m glad you decided to keep it. And wear it.” He surveyed her whole form. “Where’s the purse?”
“Don’t ruin our date, Carson.” She sent him a megawatt smile that shut him up the way she’d intended.
He chuckled, a deep, sexy sound that made her want to forget he was an Adair.
This was nothing like the way Ruby had been treated after Jackson’s kidnapping. The Adairs had held her lower income against her. Carson treated Georgia with respect and held her as an equal to those around him. Or so it appeared. She hadn’t known him very long. Men put on their best face when they first met a woman. The details didn’t emerge until much later. She’d experienced that herself.
She decided not to dwell on all her doubts. Not tonight. Tonight she was going to enjoy herself, and being with Carson, even if he was hell-bent on proving to her that his family wasn’t the haughty aristocrats his grandparents were.
Slipping her arm through the one he offered, she walked with him into the ballroom. Chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, ornately trimmed in white. Windows lined two walls, the sheer curtains swept aside to reveal a lighted terrace and garden outside. A table along the adjacent side was full of items for purchase. They’d be auctioned later. Waitresses and waiters walked around with trays of champagne. There were two corner bars, and another long table near one wall of windows full of food and a chocolate fountain.
People turned as they entered. Georgia was aware of the extra time some of them spent checking her out. A few men were a little more appreciative than a casual notice. And some of the women seemed envious. Maybe they knew the dress she had on was expensive. Maybe they thought Carson had found himself a rich girl. Georgia didn’t like that idea. Just wait until they heard she was a librarian.
“Carson, is that you?”
Georgia turned with him to see an older woman approach. Petite and Georgia’s height, her sapphire eyes sparkled amid fine wrinkles and soft eye makeup. Her short brown hair had a hint of gray and wasn’t styled into anything special for this occasion. Her gown was something of a marvel, though, long and flowing ivory with sequins crossing the bodice.
Beside her was a man of around sixty looking dapper in a tuxedo with a red bow tie and a full head of graying dark brown hair. He was in great shape but had a ruddy complexion and wasn’t quite as tall as Carson. What Georgia noticed most was the way he held the woman’s hand and the loving way they looked at each other.
“Kate.” Carson leaned in for a brief hug. Then he introduced Patrick, Kate’s husband of one year.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Georgia said, shaking Patrick’s hand.
“Georgia is Ruby’s stepdaughter from Florida,” Carson explained.
“Ah.” Kate moved to take Georgia’s hand in a casual shake. “Yes, I’ve heard much about the kidnapping. I’m so sorry your stepmother had to go through that. I can sympathize.”
Georgia had no doubt, after being duped into thinking her baby had died, only to discover years later that the child had lived and was killed in a car accident. This woman knew the tragedy of losing a child.
“I’ll be sure and tell her about your charity. She’ll be thrilled.”
“I wish she could have made it. I didn’t get a chance to get to know her when she was married to Reginald.”
Was she sincere or just practiced at being a gracious host?
“Carson tel
ls us you’re an avid reader,” Patrick said from slightly behind his wife.
Georgia looked at Carson. How much had he told his aunt about her? It seemed they’d had quite a conversation. But he gave nothing away.
She held up her hand. “Guilty as charged.” Lowering her hand as Kate backed up to stand beside Patrick, both of them smiling, she said, “As soon as I learned to read, nobody could stop me. I’m afraid it made me a bit of an indoor girl.” She’d been at the top of her class in English.
Kate laughed lightly. “You could have discovered worse habits. And that’s what personal trainers are for.”
Or gyms. Or a good old-fashioned bicycle.
“Reginald talked about how much Carson loved to read,” Kate said, oblivious to how alien a personal trainer would be to a woman like Georgia. “You two seem to have a lot in common.”
She wouldn’t go so far as to say they had a lot in common. Many people liked to read. That didn’t make her and Carson special.
“Uh-oh.” Patrick elbowed Carson. “Look out.”
Carson grinned and didn’t seem bothered by the teasing.
“You both went after careers rather than hitch up with someone and settle down,” Kate said. “You each had something life-changing bring you together. And you’re both still single. Imagine that.”
While it was true that Ruby’s unexpected inheritance and Carson’s discharge from the military were life-changing, Georgia didn’t believe fate was at work here. “Carson and I just met, and I’m only helping him search for Jackson.”
Feeling Carson looking at her, she caught him eyeing her strangely, as though he thought she had only said that to cover up the truth. What was the truth? That this was a real date? That they did have a lot in common? Maybe he thought that way. He was the one showing her how much she liked the things his money could buy. What he didn’t understand was that she didn’t like what money turned people into.
“It doesn’t matter if you just met. I can see you make a fine couple,” Kate said.
“Kate...” Carson was doing damage control, trying to protect Georgia. That was sweet and it eased her rising tension.
“Kate is extra protective of her nephews,” Patrick said. “Ever since Reginald was killed...”
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