"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving," Georgie said, batting her eyelashes in Walt's direction. "Hey, you shouldn't be noticing anyone's boss anyway. Remember? You have Jake"
Kendall slapped her forehead and laughed. "Oh, that reminds me! Georgie, what happened to you last weekend? You promised me you were going to come in here with your new date"
Georgie's smiled faded, then she shot Brad a cross look. "Yeah, well, that was the idea. Unfortunately, the plans I had took an erroneous and unavoidable detour."
"Oh" Kendall looked unsure for a moment, but then her lips broke out into a giddy grin as she bounced on her toes. "Well, the reason I asked is because I wanted to share my good news with you" Unable to contain her excitement for one millisecond longer, she flung out her left hand, exposing a small diamond engagement ring.
Georgie squealed and jumped out of her seat, flinging herself at her friend. Walt took a sip of his beer as he watched the two girls hug and jump with joy, as if they both hit the Mega Million and learned George Clooney would be delivering the check. Amused at the women's gushy display, Walt looked over at Brad to make a smart comment, but he quickly held himself back. At that moment, his friend looked anything but amused.
"I'm going to the john," Brad announced as he stood.
Neither woman took interest in his movement, or his sudden, inappropriate declaration. The two broke away from their embrace and continued to hold hands as Kendall began to explain in detail how Jake had popped the question. Brad shifted around them without bothering to send them a second glance and mumbled out a short "congrats" as he stormed away.
Kendall stopped her story, and her hurt gaze followed Brad across the room. "What's the matter with Brad? I thought he'd be happy for me"
Walt didn't feel it his place to enlighten Kendall on the diverse reactions men and women usually had on the announcement of engagements. Although, considering this woman was supposed to be a friend, he had to admit Brad's response was a little out of the ordinary. And a little interesting. He wondered if his surly mood had anything to do with the pretty waitress suddenly being taken off the dating market.
"Oh, don't mind him," Georgie said with a huff. "For some reason, since he doesn't have a life he's sour on everyone else's happiness. The man needs a love life, pronto. Thank goodness I decided not to wait any longer to do something about it."
Walt rolled his eyes and groaned. "Oh, man, not this again."
Kendall didn't look exactly thrilled with the idea either. "You're going to fix Brad up? Do you really think that's wise?"
"Yes"
"No," Walt blurted at the same time.
Kendall laughed. "Oh dear. I'm sorry, but I think Walt's right. Brad doesn't strike me as a person who needs or even wants a girlfriend. Whenever he comes in here, he's always by himself. He never tries to talk to any women. And believe me, there have been many who've tried."
Georgie planted both fists on her slim hips, and Walt struggled not to fixate on the subtle feminine curve of them. "No offense, but I think I know my brother better than you two"
Walt shook his head. "Yeah, right. You think you know your brother? You entered him in a date contest with a complete stranger. How's that for knowing him?"
"Oh. Well, that might have been one momentary lapse in judgment. But Rae Roberts isn't exactly a complete stranger. Thousands-millions-of people know her from her TV show."
Kendall's eyes bugged out and her bow-shaped lips suddenly formed a giant circle. "You entered Brad in the Win a Date with Clay and Rae contest? Oh dear. I don't think he's going to like that very much"
Georgie's face almost turned green. "Look, can we all just drop the discussion of the contest. I admit that was a mistake on my part, but there's nothing I can do about it now. So let's put our heads together and see if we can find Brad a single woman in this town-preferably before he comes back from the bathroom."
"Too late," Kendall said, motioning behind Georgie with her chin. "He's on his way back now."
Walt downed the rest of his beer and was ready to ask Kendall to bring him a few more in anticipation of the night's events. Hanging around two siblings vying to fix each other up was starting to make him crazy. Or maybe it was just Georgie who was making him crazy.
When Brad came back to the table, he didn't sit down. "Hey, sorry to do this to you guys, but I think I'm going to head out now."
Walt frowned. "Head out? But your sister just got here."
"Yeah, I just got here," Georgie echoed. "At least eat something. You just said you were starving."
Brad glanced at Kendall then shook his head. "I'm not really hungry anymore. My shoulder's been acting up. I think I need to go home and ice it."
Georgie immediately jumped to his side and started fingering his arm and shoulder area. Walt watched her hands move deftly over her brother and briefly thought about faking an injury himself, hoping he could get lucky enough to get that kind of TLC too. Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen.
"You have a shoulder problem?" she asked Brad. "You never told me that. Where does it hurt? Should I stop at the pharmacy and get you some ibuprofen?"
"No, that's all right, Georgie," he said, removing her hands from his shoulder. "We got plenty of medicine at home. I probably did something to it directing traffic today. I'll be fine" He gave her a weak smile. "You and Walt stay and have fun"
Before anyone had a chance to protest further, Brad had turned and was already walking out the door.
Georgie sank back into her chair, worry etched all over her pretty features. "How odd. Walt, did Brad mention a shoulder problem to you today?"
"Uh, no. But I don't think he's exactly the sort of guy to complain."
"Hmm. I don't know. You haven't lived with him for as long as I have. For a grown man, he can sometimes be one hundred and eighty-five pounds of pure baby."
Walt hid a smile. Although she tried to hide it behind her smart-alecky comments and her complaints about Brad, Georgie had a true tenderhearted side to her that Walt admired. Despite Brad and Georgie's constant bickering, she really did care a great deal about her brother. Walt even felt a tinge of jealousy toward their relationship. He often wondered if his relationship with his father would have been different-if they would've been closer-if he had a sibling to share the grief over his mom leaving. At least Brad and his parents had been around then to help him through it. They had been a wonderful support to him.
Kendall snapped her order book closed and sighed. "I'm sorry, guys. It seems as though my big news was an instant party killer to your night out. I'll give you two some time to decide whether you want to stay or not. Pete's waving me over, so I'll be back in a sec."
When Kendall headed back toward the bar area, Georgie turned to Walt with a shy smile. "So ..
"Yeah. So . . . ," he repeated, wondering what to do next. He'd hoped to get to know Georgie better in the confines of her brother in a nice platonic atmosphere. He hadn't counted on spending any real alone time with her.
"We might as well order, don't you think?" she asked sheepishly. "I guess it'd be kind of crazy not to stay and eat something."
Crazier to stay, he thought, thinking he'd probably enjoy her company just a little too much for his own good.
She frowned, mistaking his silence as not wanting to stay, and she stood. "Yeah, I guess it's a pretty stupid idea. We should just go home too"
Before another rationalization entered his mind, he blurted, "No, stay!" She froze and her eyes widened. Even he was a little surprised at the desperation in his voice. But there was no turning back now.
He grabbed hold of her hand and gently tugged her back into her chair. "I'm sorry. It's not a stupid idea. It's a great idea. I would love if you stayed and had dinner with me" He smiled up at her. "My treat-to make up for any undue pain and suffering I might have caused you over that old Barbie doll of yours"
She planted a hand on her hip and sniffed. "She wasn't old. She was Superstar Barbie. For your information, she wore earrings and even had a d
iamond ring on her finger. I was the envy of all my friends."
"Ah, a fine doll, she was," he agreed, lifting his drink in a toasting gesture. "How about I buy you a glass of wine and we can conduct our own personal wake if you'd like?"
Her gaze dropped to the table as she thought about it. Then she slowly met his eyes and sent him a sexy grin that nearly had him sloshing his beer in his lap. "Now how could I refuse an offer like that?"
He quickly put his beer down and cleared his throat. "Uh, then after we have a bite to eat, we'll head right home and check on Brad"
"Absolutely," she said with a nod. "Sounds like a solid plan. After we eat, we'll head straight home"
Walt smiled, but she had agreed to go straight home with more enthusiasm than he would have liked. She obviously wasn't interested in hanging around, getting to know one another better, and repeating-and maybe getting right?-that near-kiss from yesterday. That spark of interest he thought he saw in her eyes must have been confusion, a feeling he could relate to well. Thoughts like those shouldn't be entering his mind anyway. He's definitely lost it. He better tell Kendall to bring him plenty of coffee with dinner. Wine and relaxed inhibitions would only get him into trouble tonight. And trouble where his friend's sister was concerned seemed to be the one place he was heading.
Georgie took the last forkful of her white chocolate cheesecake and let out a satisfied sigh. She and Walt were only supposed to have a light bite to eat, but he had eventually strong-armed her into sharing a large unhealthy platter of fried shrimp and clams since Brad wasn't around. Before she knew it, dessert and coffee were placed before her too. Not that she put up much of a fight about it. A little extra caloric intake along with being in Walt's company for the evening certainly hadn't been a hardship to endure.
Walt had even made her laugh out loud at some of the stories he'd told about Brad when they were growing up. She had no idea he and Brad used to go fishing when they were young-or that Brad had fallen off the dock so many times her parents had suggested he just attach the bait to his belt. It was nice to know she wasn't the only balance-challenged member of the family.
She shoved the empty dessert plate to the side with finality. "I shouldn't have eaten all that," she told him, patting her stomach.
Walt took the last bite of his own dessert and grinned. "Sure you should have. It's not going to hurt to indulge in something you know is bad for you once in a while. Especially tonight being such a special occasion and all."
She cocked an eyebrow at him. "A special occasion?"
"Yep, we're celebrating a night of firsts."
Her lips twitched but she managed to keep a straight face. "And what `first' would that be?"
"Tonight is the first night we've been in each other's company for over an hour and haven't argued"
"Really? Well, the night's not over. I'm laying odds you could still muck things up."
He chuckled. "You know, that's what I like about you, Georgie. You don't hold back from saying what you really feel. You're refreshing to be around"
Georgie didn't want to admit it, but Walt was refreshing to be around too. He was funny and charming and made her forget all about the fact that she wasn't actually on a date. This was the first time since she'd moved back home that she'd been able to relax and have a good time with someone of the opposite sex without any interference from her brother. Something she'd wanted since she'd come home from college. How odd to finally get that from Walt-a person she didn't think would ever treat her as someone other than Brad's little sister.
Walt startled her from her thoughts by reaching out and covering her hand with his. "Hey, you look like you just went a million miles away from me. Did I say something wrong?"
She looked down at their joined hands and swallowed hard. Yes. No. Maybe. She honestly didn't know. The only thing she did know was that she felt that familiar fluttering in her stomach as soon as Walt touched her. Then her throat felt tight.
"Uh, I guess I'm just not used to getting compliments," she said with a shrug, pulling her hand away. "My standard MO lately seems to be acquiring lectures-you know, from you, Brad, Al. Even Mrs. Barkat from the pharmacy told me I slouch too much when I'm working at the computer and that I should cut my hair. She doesn't think the length looks professional enough."
"What? Not professional enough? Mrs. Barkat is like ... a hundred years old. What the heck does she know about professional hairstyles?"
Georgie smiled at his indignant outburst. "Mrs. Barkat is not a hundred years old." Although the woman looked pretty darn close. "She's sixty-two and owned that salon down the street from the pharmacy for over thirty years. So, yes, I think she knows a little something about trends and hairstyles."
"Well, as your boss, I'm telling you not to listen to her. You're professional enough the way you are. More than professional. You're perfect. And what are you talking about not being used to compliments? Your idea about the diabetes expo was awesome, and I told you that. What other way can I show you how much I appreciate your idea?"
Kissing me the way you wanted to the other day would be one suggestion, she thought, but she clamped down on her tongue to keep that notion from spewing forth.
Uh-oh. She didn't want to analyze why that thought had popped in her head. Bad, Georgie, bad. She shouldn't be lusting after him like that. It was one thing to admire Walt's charm-and body-from afar, and quite another to act on it. She was in dangerous territory. One nice dinner together didn't constitute anything deeper than simple friendship. No matter how kind and attractive she happened to find him.
"Well, well, doesn't this look cozy?"
Georgie blinked up and saw Dee standing next to their table with a satisfied smirk, obviously coming to the wrong conclusion that she and Walt were on a date and maybe even .,an item" already.
"This isn't what it looks like!" Georgie exclaimed. Walt's eyebrows shot up, and she blushed. She didn't mean to raise her voice, but Walt had no idea what a hard time they would endure if Dee thought there was anything really going on. People would read too much into it.
"Easy there, hon," Dee said, grinning and squeezing Georgie's shoulder. "I didn't say it looked like anything, except ... cozy."
"Oh, don't give me your semantics. We both know what you meant. You think Walt and I are on a date. Believe me, this is not a date. Right, Walt?"
Walt didn't respond. With a glimmer in his eyes, he simply lifted his coffee cup and took a long sip.
Great. Now was not the time for Walt to be cute. Little did he know that action alone was adding fuel to Dee's gossip fire. He wouldn't be taking this misunderstanding so lightly if he knew what an unusual talent she had of broadcasting news around town. Her mouth practically had its own call letters.
Georgie turned to Dee again. "See? Walt's so shocked, he can't even answer. Brad was here with us, but then he didn't feel well, so Walt and I decided to stay and grab a quick bite to eat. Uh, then you walked in, and, well, here we all are"
Dee peered at the remnants on the table and nodded knowingly. "Hmm. Just a quick bite to eat, eh? I guess you decided to grab a quick dinner, a couple of quick cheesecakes, and quickly linger over a cup of coffee too?"
Walt chuckled. "Busted. But actually, all that was my idea. Georgie wanted to rush back home early tonight. I'm sure she's expecting a call from one of her many would-be suitors. I had to practically chain her to the chair to have her stay here and eat with me"
Georgie sighed in relief. Walt's explanation should squash any funny ideas Dee had about the two of them. She didn't need her friend-or anyone else in town-giving her a hard time about Walt when Georgie wasn't even sure what was going on with him herself.
"Georgie's been a real sport about staying here with me. As you can see I have a rather large appetite," he added.
"Walt has a rather large appetite, Georgie. My, my, isn't that interesting to know?" Dee's eyes shimmered with laughter. "Are you two at least having a good time?"
"Peachy. Until you showed up,
" Georgie muttered. "What are you doing here anyway, aside from harassing me? Don't you have a diaper to change or a husband waiting for you at home?"
"Actually, I have a hubby waiting for me right over there." Dee raised both arms and waved wildly toward the row of barstools in the back corner of the bar. Her husband, Brody, picked up his pint of beer and saluted them with it-his version of hello. He and Dee never got out that much, even before they had a baby. Unlike Dee, Brody was socially shy and never really felt comfortable getting out and meeting new people. Brody probably saw newcomer Walt and headed straight for the bar.
"All this dating talk of yours made Brody and I realize that we were overdue for a night on the town too," Dee said, beaming at her husband. "So we got a babysitter and decided to have a date night of our own"
Wonderful, Georgie thought. Now even married-withchildren people had a better social life and went on more dates than she did.
"Would you two like to join us?" Walt asked.
Dee shook her head. "No, thanks. This is strictly a night for the two of us, but hey, maybe we could all go on a double date sometime," she said with a wink.
"That's real cute, Dee. If you don't watch it, I'll get my so-called boyfriend here to fire you."
Dee just laughed and sashayed back toward the bar.
Georgie felt hot all over with humiliation. Dee's teasing about her dating life made her feel foolish and desperate, which to her dismay was exactly what she was. But Walt didn't need to know that. "Sorry about that. Dee's in rare form tonight."
"Not a problem. What are friends for but to embarrass you in front of other people?"
Georgie couldn't hold back a grin on that one. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Dee is the number one person I complain to about my social life around here. Seeing me on what looks like a date probably sent her imagination into overdrive. I know she doesn't mean any harm. She's just giddy because she's out of the house herself."
Walt nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I haven't gotten out in a while either. But you know what? I had a good time tonight, Georgie. A really good time. Thanks," he said, treating her to a muscle-melting grin.
Georgie on His Mind Page 8