“I’ll walk down with you,” Ruby said.
They left the room and rode the elevator to the lobby. Georgia began to sense an ulterior motive in Ruby. Her stepmother kept glancing at her with a funny smile.
“What are you up to, Ruby?”
They went through the carousel doors and Ruby stopped on the curved brick walkway. That’s when Georgia spotted the limousine.
“Mother...”
“Just give him a chance to explain, Georgia. You can be so stubborn sometimes.”
The limo door opened, and Carson rose up from inside.
Ruby was about to walk toward a taxi when Georgia stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Why did you cool it off with Hayden?”
“I loved your father, Georgia. I’m not sure if I’ll ever love anyone else again.”
“It wasn’t because you’re afraid he’ll be like Reginald?”
Ruby laughed, a breathy sound of incredulity. “Goodness, no. I stopped blaming Reginald a long time ago. He was only acting out of pain and misguidance from his parents. Had we not lost our son, he would have been a different man. I got the best part of Reginald. That’s enough for me.”
Georgia nodded with a soft smile. “I love you.”
“Oh.” Ruby moved forward and kissed her forehead, then put her hand on Georgia’s cheek. “I love you, too, my daughter.” She lowered her hand. “Now go and listen to what Carson has to say. And tomorrow, let me know how it went.”
How what went? Ruby glanced back once with a sly smile before getting into the taxi.
After the taxi drove off, Georgia turned to Carson, dreading the sight of him because he always stole her breath and heart.
He invited her to the limo with his hand.
She rolled her suitcase to him. “Carson, what are you doing here?”
“Not letting you get on that plane.” He nodded to the limo driver, who confiscated her luggage and hefted it into the back.
“There. Now you’re trapped.” Carson extended his hand again. “After you, madam.”
With a harsh sigh, Georgia plopped down on the cushy seat and moved all the way over to the other side. “This better not be another one of your surprises.”
“Oh, it is. The best one yet.”
The limo started moving.
“Where are you taking me?”
“It’s about twenty minutes from here. Enough time for me to talk to you about Noah.”
She turned to look out the window. “You don’t have to.”
“Emmaline flew to Paris this morning, so I was unable to question her. But Whit and I did confirm that she had a son in Europe, a baby boy, who was born close to the time Jackson was.”
Georgia turned to him.
“He died three weeks before Jackson was born.”
Georgia inhaled sharply. “Then it’s plausible—”
“It’s plausible, yes, but we know that Emmaline was in Europe during the time Jackson was taken. How could she have kidnapped him if she was in another country? It’s something Whit and I are going to investigate. My aunt Kate is going to send someone to help us. Someone who’s experienced with these types of crimes.” He told her all about their plan.
“Wow.” Georgia faced forward. “So you do believe me.”
“About that...” Carson took her hand in his. “Georgia, at the party when you saw Noah, I was too shocked to react rationally. I didn’t mean to make you feel as though I was putting Whit and Landry ahead of you. I didn’t mean to make you feel like an outcast. I was just shocked. I needed time to digest the idea of Noah being Jackson, the possibility of it. That’s the only reason I let you go that night.”
And neither of them had anticipated that Drake was as big a threat as he’d turned out to be.
“All of you were against me,” she said.
“No. Not against you. Shocked. We all see the need to investigate Emmaline. Thanks to you, Georgia. You made us look there. You made us face it. I can speak for myself, Whit and Landry when I say for that we’ll always be grateful.”
If Noah turned out to be Jackson. What if he didn’t?
“Stop thinking, Georgia. Even if Noah isn’t Jackson, we all appreciate you. And I happen to love you.”
That startled her so much that she didn’t notice where the limo had pulled to a stop.
“I have a present for you.” Carson got out of the limo and waited for her to scoot to the door and get out.
They were in front of a beautiful beachfront home, a big home. It had towering windows in front and intricate trimwork carved in stone. The front was bordered by a fence, and inside, curving flower gardens and trees lined a winding path to stone stairs leading to the porch and a double-glass front door.
“What is this?”
“It’s our new home. Or yours if you don’t want me here yet.”
Her mouth fell open. “You...”
“Yes, I bought it. I actually bought it after we came back from North Carolina.”
“I can’t accept this.”
“Come inside.” He led her to the door and when he opened it, Georgia was lost in what she saw. Decorated cottage style, there was absolutely nothing that she’d change.
“I told the decorator what you liked. I think she got it right,” he said.
Georgia turned in a circle. In the middle of the living room, rather than wide-open, there were several quaint rooms. An office. A den. The living room was spacious but filled with accents and furniture that created a cozy getaway. Through the dining and kitchen area, big windows offered an unobstructed view of the ocean. The deck back there had white wicker furniture adorned with pillows, and an old tin bucket held a bottle of champagne.
Slowly she faced him. “Carson, I...”
“It’s yours, Georgia. Ours.”
“Ours...” She shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why did you do this? I don’t deserve this. And I have no way of paying you back.”
“Ah. That’s another thing.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out the Beatrix Potter book. “This is yours. Or ours, depending on how you answer a question I have for you.”
“What question?” She started to smile because she had a pretty good idea what it was.
Carson walked over to her, reaching into another pocket of his jacket. Out came a ring box.
She covered her mouth with her hands, shivers of excitement tickling her skin.
He strode toward her, stopping when he stood right in front of her. “Open it.”
Georgia lowered her hands and lifted the lid to reveal an impressive but humbly beautiful round diamond with an emerald halo.
“Will you marry me?” Carson asked.
She looked up at him, still a teensy bit uncertain.
“You fit in, Georgia. You fit me. No matter what happens or who crosses our path, you fit me and you matter more to me than anything or anyone. Do you believe me?”
Tears welled in her eyes and she nodded. “Oh, Carson.” She threw her arms around him and began kissing him. She’d quit her job and start working here. She knew exactly which library she wanted to pursue. They could live here and Carson could work at AdAir. It would be lovely. A dream come true. “Carson.” She kissed him more intimately. “I love you.”
“Hold on, vixen.” He took the ring from the box and, tossing that aside, lifted her hand and slipped it onto her ring finger.
“You knew the size.”
“I’ve had enough practice.”
She knew he was referring to all the times she’d bought her clothes. Laughing, Georgia took his hand. “I want to see the bedroom now.”
* * * * *
If you loved this novel, you
won’t want to miss the next story in
THE ADAIR AFFAIRS:
SECRET AGENT BOYFRIEND
by Addison Fox, available April 2015.
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suspenseful titles from Jennifer Morey:
EXECUTIVE PROTECTION
THE EL
IGIBLE SUSPECT
ARMED AND FAMOUS
ONE SECRET NIGHT
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Chapter 1
Reed Westbrook knew all too well that there were many kinds of torment. Some were subtle, like the way most townsfolk crossed to the other side of the street to avoid having to speak to him, or when salesclerks in the local stores averted their eyes as they reluctantly waited on him.
Reed was pretty damn tired of it.
Judging from the repetitive knocking on Reed’s front door—right in the final forty-five seconds of the play-off football game—Deputy Sheriff George Putchinski was at it again.
Reed debated ignoring it, pretending he wasn’t home. But since his presence was obvious—with his pickup parked in his driveway and the TV turned up pretty loud—he hefted himself out of his chair and headed toward the door.
The first few times this had happened, when he’d opened the door to see a uniformed Anniversary deputy standing on his step, he’d been flabbergasted. Ten or fifteen instances later, he’d gotten his response down pat.
Swinging open the door, he started his spiel. “I didn’t do it. Whatever it was. Now go—”
He stopped. Stared. Not George. No, not even close. The gorgeous woman with the amazing blue eyes definitely wasn’t Reed’s nemesis. And yet she was.
He knew her instantly. Kaitlyn Nuhn had once been the girlfriend of his brother, Tim. In addition to that, she’d been the only person who’d known the truth, and who could have kept Reed from going to prison for his brother’s murder. The fact that she hadn’t, and disappeared instead, brought the anger back, full force. He nearly shut the door in her face.
By some instinct, he held back. Because maybe, after all this time, she’d give him a reason, some freaking closure. And possibly even a chance to finally clear his name and find out who had really shot Tim dead.
Heaven help him if she confessed it had been her.
As he stood staring, their gazes locked, he saw a flash of something in her eyes. He recognized it as pain, an emotion he’d felt often during the dark time he’d spent behind bars. If he hadn’t gotten out on appeal, he knew he would have gone crazy, locked away in hell for a crime he hadn’t committed.
“Kaitlyn Nuhn. I’ll be damned,” he said softly, raking his gaze over her as if he found her repulsive, when in fact it was the opposite. Just like always, his heart stuttered, his chest felt tight and he couldn’t speak. He clenched his fist around the doorknob, frozen with indecision, which pissed him off even more.
When he’d thought of her, which had been more often than he’d like to admit, he’d hoped time hadn’t been kind to her. Surely the ugliness inside had to have manifested in her looks, somehow.
Shocked, he now saw that hadn’t been the case. She still looked...unreal. Still as stunningly beautiful, as if she’d just stepped from the pages of some glossy magazine ad for women’s lingerie. Just as in the old days, the power of that beauty felt like a punch in the gut.
She didn’t speak. Just stood staring up at him, a combination of naked fear, sorrow or regret making hollows in her cheeks. He looked past her, noting the sleek silver luxury car. Why had she returned? To make an apology? She was way too late for that. Three years, to be exact. It would have been longer had it not been for his astute lawyer, the prosecution’s mistakes and lack of evidence.
But that didn’t negate the three years he’d spent in a hellhole, with his brother dead and not knowing who had killed him. Or the way people in this town still treated him like a killer, capable of gunning down his own twin brother.
“What do you want?” he asked, not bothering to be polite. He’d let her say her spiel, nod in response and close the door in her face. Then he’d go back to his football game and his ordinary, quiet life. And try to forget the way seeing her brought the past rushing back up.
“I came to tell you I’m sorry.” Her husky voice wavered and she swallowed, continuing to keep her gaze locked on his.
“Sorry?” He spat the word. “Too little, too late. Your apology means nothing to me.”
Bowing her head, she nodded, as if she’d expected this. “I’m sorry about what happened to you. That’s why I came back. I wanted you to know the truth, about all of it. I know who murdered Tim.” Pausing for breath, she kept her gaze locked on his. “And then he set you up to go to prison for it. He couldn’t keep you from filing the appeal or from getting out, but he tried.”
Of all the things she could have said, he hadn’t expected this. Worse, he didn’t believe her. Why should he, after all this time? “You also knew I couldn’t have done it. Especially since you’d left me in your bed, waiting for your return.”
Unbelievably, she blushed. “That was a mistake.”
“You’d better believe it was.” He met her gaze full on, letting his loathing show. “You were my only alibi, and you disappeared. And you know what? For the longest time, I thought you might have been who killed Tim.”
Recoiling as if he’d stabbed her, she stared at him. He only looked away when her bottom lip started trembling, furious with himself that he could still feel any emotion at all toward her.
“Why are you really here?” Reed took a step closer, aware he was clenching his hands into fists.
“I wanted to apologize. For everything. He set it up so that we’d blame each other.” She swallowed again, the movement drawing his gaze to her graceful throat. “I came as soon as I learned the truth.”
Part of him wanted to believe her. After all, he’d spent years wondering who’d really killed Tim and set Reed up to take the blame. Prison had given him time to burn for revenge.
And now, when Kaitlyn held out the information like a poisoned T-bone in front of a starving dog, he wasn’t sure what to believe. The past he’d shared with this woman had proven that she wasn’t to be trusted. No matter how great her beauty.
Finally, as he’d known he would, he went for the bone. “Who?” he rasped. “Give me the name.”
The fact that she still hesitated made another strike against her.
“The name,” he repeated.
She glanced at the doorway, almost as if she expected someone to come charging through and save her. Or knock her down.
Finally, she spoke. “Okay.” She met his gaze straight on and lifted her chin. “Alex Ramirez.”
At first he didn’t recognize the name. When he did, his first impulse was to think she was lying. “Lieutenant Governor Ramirez? The same guy who’s been talking about making a run for governor?”
“Yes.” Though her generous mouth thinned, making her appear miserable, she stood her ground. “That’s the one.”
He nearly snorted out loud. “Why him? And if you’re telling the truth, why didn’t you come forward before now?”
Again the hesitation. Just enough to make him question whatever she might say.
“I couldn’t.”
“Why not?” He fired back.
“Because I’ve been Alex’s prisoner for the last three years.” She took a little breath, blowing it back out her nose. “He likes to brutalize wounded things.”
Her words made no sense. “Why should I believe anything you have to say?” he said. “Don’t show up here and then try to play me for a fool.”
“I’m not, believe me.” Her chest heaved as she turned to go, drawing his unwilling gaze. “You know what? You’re right. I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
Something she’d said haunted him. “Wait,” he told her. “What do you mean about him liking to brutalize wounded things?”
Her blue eyes blazed—either with hope or with pain. In his mind, sometimes the two had become indistinguishable.
“Exactly what it sounds like. And now I’ve escaped. If he finds me, I’m a dead woman. Especially since I know what he’s done.”
Still not entirely convinced, nonetheless he stepped aside and motioned her into his living room. “Please. Come in.”
As she moved past him, he caught a whiff of her scent, which surprisingly reminded him of vanilla rather than the flowery perfume he remembered.
“Have a seat.” Though he sounded churlish, he didn’t care. Indicating the sofa, he tried not to stare as she sank gracefully onto the leather cushions. She wore a T-shirt and jeans—ordinary clothes that were elevated to an entirely new level by her feminine curves. Her kind of lush, wild beauty would make any red-blooded man break out in a sweat.
And Reed was no exception. The sharp surge of desire he felt when he looked at her was nothing new, though certainly as unwelcome now as it had been before. He’d always had trouble not wanting her, even back then when she’d belonged to his brother. He didn’t understand how this could still be so, especially now when he should despise her.
Noise from the television drew his attention. The football game had gone into overtime. Since he no longer cared, Reed grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.
Deciding to continue standing, he crossed his arms and glared at her, deliberately hostile, feeling it was safer this way. “Explain,” he ordered, when she showed no sign of elaborating.
She sighed and smoothed back her wealth of golden hair with perfectly manicured fingers, although a few wisps defied her hand and continue to frame her perfect, oval face. Her skin glowed, the flawless alabaster of fine porcelain, beauty personified. Eyeing her he wondered exactly as he’d done in the past, how his brother had been able to get a girl as lovely as her.
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