No, no. Stop it! You're out on a date with Clay Hayes for goodness sakes, and you're thinking about another man? Are you an idiot or something?
Apparently she was. Because here she was on a perfectly nice-although not as exciting as she'd thought-date with Hollywood heartthrob Clay Hayes, and all she could think about was how she wished she were on a date with Walt. She missed him. His laugh, his smile, even the overboard concern he had for her well-being. She'd thought she'd done the right thing by avoiding him this past week, but not seeing him only made her think about him even more.
Why wasn't he here? Brad probably had told him by now that she'd left on her date. She half expected Walt to do something crazy when he found out, like barge in on her date and demand she come home with him. Only ... Walt wasn't barging through the doors. He obviously had listened to her when she'd said she could take care of herself and make her own decisions. Which was good. For the best, really. But ...
This was so unlike Walt. Didn't he care about her anymore?
Clay snapped his fingers in front of her to get her attention. It did, but the rudeness of it also didn't win him any points with her. "Why do you keep staring at the doors?" he asked. "Aren't you having a good time?"
"No, no, I'm having a great time," she said, pasting on a smile and willing her gaze to focus on Clay's nose and not the front door of the restaurant. "It's just that ..
Clay put down his menu, giving her his full attention. "Are you expecting someone?"
Georgie blinked. He was a more perceptive person than she thought or even gave him credit for, and suddenly she felt guilty for allowing herself to be so transparent. "Well..
"I won't tell you I'm surprised. You're a beautiful woman, Georgiana."
She blushed, then smiled a little at his use of her full name. For as long as she could remember, people in town who knew and loved her had only called her Georgie. Including Walt. "Thank you"
"I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't make you forget about another man. I've been doing these date contests all over the country. You're the first woman I've met who's had both beauty and brains."
Walt had said the exact same thing about her. Her gaze dropped to her lap when she realized how foolish she'd been about misjudging Walt's feelings about her. Walt had said he loved her too. But she had been afraid of her feelings, of becoming so attached to him, and she had used her anger at him as an excuse to push him away.
"This is also the first contest I've done where I've had someone spy on me from behind a fake tree," he added.
Georgie's gaze snapped up. "What? Someone's spying?" Her heart lifted. She wanted to turn around and look, but didn't want the perpetrator to realize he'd been pointed out so soon.
Walt. It had to be Walt. He had come to spy on her date. She knew it! Half of her was overjoyed-and the other half infuriated.
Oh, gosh. Did love always make you feel so mixed up?
"Don't worry," Clay said. "I'll handle it." He signaled for his bodyguard to approach the table.
"No. Wait," she said, laying a hand on his arm. "I'll handle it."
An eyebrow arched up. "Oh? Get this a lot, do you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Let's just put it this way. The past few weeks have made me a pro" Not that she was complaining anymore.
Clay was shaking his head in amusement as she stood from the table. Her gaze darted around the room, then she walked toward the tree whose leaves had begun to shake.
Could he be more obvious? Walt's spying techniques were pathetic. But it didn't matter. She was just so glad to have him concerned about her again. She couldn't wait to tell him just that, and she doubled her steps. When she reached the tree, she quickly parted the branches to catch him by surprise. "Ah-ha!" she cried.
Dee and Kendall's shocked faces stared back at her.
Kendall grabbed her chest and sprang up from her kneeling position. "Good heavens, Georgie!" She visibly swallowed, then tried to catch her breath. "What on earth would make you sneak up and scare us like that?"
Georgie ignored the question and quickly scanned the dining area instead. Where was Walt? There was no sign of him anywhere. Huh. So he hadn't come for her after all. She fingered her bottom lip and looked around one more time.
Walt definitely wasn't there.
She didn't know how to feel about his absence. This was what she wanted after all, to be left to her own decisions, to not have him or Brad interfere with her life. Apparently Walt finally got the message. But something suddenly didn't feel right about it. Did she actually miss his overprotecting now? She certainly wasn't feeling smothered any longer. But she wasn't exactly feeling loved any longer either. There were just so many times a man would take being pushed away. What had she done?
"Are you all right?" Dee asked, breaking into her thoughts.
Hardly. In fact, her chest hurt and she was about to burst into tears.
"I ... I think so," Georgie lied, rubbing her heart. She looked at them and the overly concerned expression on her friends' faces snapped her back to the matter at hand. "Hey, you guys have a lot of nerve being mad at me for scaring you. Just what do you think you're doing playing Alias with a plastic birch tree? Clay Hayes could have you both arrested"
"Arrested?" Kendall squeaked. "He wouldn't!"
No, Clay Hayes probably wouldn't. He seemed too nice a guy. But Dee and Kendall didn't know that. "What are you guys doing here anyway? Did Brad or Walt send you to check up on me?" she asked, not sure what she was hoping to hear.
Dee and Kendall exchanged guilty looks. "No," Dee finally said. "We're here because we were worried about you."
"Good heavens," Georgie mumbled as she slapped a hand over her forehead. "Please tell me you didn't just say what I think you said." Her friends were worried about her. Wonderful. First Brad, then Walt, and now them. If this wasn't the end-all kicker in the pants to this last month's overprotective craze, she didn't know what was.
Kendall's gaze flickered with a brief flash of uneasiness toward where Clay Hayes was sitting. She licked her lips before she spoke. "Georgie, Dee and I have a confession to make"
Georgie's mouth fell open. "Oh, no," she groaned. No! No more confessions! She wasn't sure how many more admissions her heart could take in a week.
"You know how you were wondering how you won this date?" Dee asked. "I mean since you hadn't entered yourself in the contest? Well, surprise. Kendall and I entered you. But you were harping on a lot about Brad ruining all your dates," she rushed on to explain, "so we thought it would be almost impossible to ruin a highly publicized one."
Georgie closed her eyes, thinking about how all those foolish things she'd been doing lately must be catching. "So you thought it'd be better if you guys ruined my date instead of Brad?"
Kendall chuckled. "No, of course not. We didn't mean to mess your date up, but after all that stuff Brad said about Clay Hayes ... well, we thought we made a mistake and just wanted to make sure you were okay. And since Walt-"
"What about Walt?" Georgie interrupted. Her gaze darted to the door again. "Is he outside?"
"Uh, well, no. We stopped by his house on the way here, because we figured he'd want to come with us. But he was determined not to come here and interfere."
"Oh. Right." Georgie's heart sank. "That's ... good. I mean I did accuse him of trying to control my life." Funny, but now that Walt was out of her life, her life felt more out of control than ever.
"But weren't you sort of trying to control Brad's life?" Dee gently pointed out.
"No, I-" Georgie's eyes widened. Yes, she had been interfering with her brother's love life. But it was different. It was because ... She blinked several times. Because she loved her brother, she had been trying to interfere in his love life and find him a woman. Oh, great. She had been doing exactly what she accused Brad and Walt of doing in her life. There wasn't any difference at all. Tears formed in her eyes at the thought of how foolish she'd acted toward them. "Somebody please shoot me," she said in defeat. "
I think I may have ruined things with Walt over my stupidity."
"Honey, Walt told us about your fight," Kendall said. "He sure looked miserable, didn't he, Dee? Like it was taking all the willpower in the universe not to think about you out with another man."
Georgie dabbed at her eyes. "You really think so?" Kendall nodded emphatically. "Walt loves you, honey. I think that's why he's not here. He's trying to give you what you said you wanted. No pressure. No interference. You do still want that, right?"
Did she? Georgie thought her legs were about to give way. Dee must have thought so too, because she grabbed a chair and slid it under her. Walt still loved her. And he was trying to show her that. Only she didn't want him butting out of her life anymore. She wanted him in her life. She loved Walt's overprotectiveness. She loved Walt.
Was it too late to tell him all that?
She looked up at her friends. They loved her too, and because of that, decided to spy on her date with a famous actor. She almost laughed out loud. Was this the crazy stuff you did for people you care about that Walt had tried to explain to her? If so, she had been a fool for not realizing this sooner. And she decided she was about due to start doing some crazy stuff herself.
"I'm going to find Walt," she announced, feeling stronger and hopeful at just saying the words.
Her friends' faces lit up like Fourth of July fireworks. "Thank goodness!" Dee exclaimed. "I thought you'd never come to your senses and make up with him."
Kendall grabbed her arm as Georgie stood. "Yeah, we're both happy for you and that's great and all, but what about, uh, you know who?"
Georgie frowned. "Who?"
"Clay Hayes," Kendall said, motioning behind her.
Georgie glanced over her shoulder at Clay, who appeared to be happy enough flirting with one of the waitresses. "Oh, he'll understand," she said with a smirk. "I have a feeling Clay was just looking for a fling anyway."
Walt tapped his pencil against the kitchen table as he pored over the pharmacy's business reports. He figured the best way to forget about Georgie's date with a handsome TV personality-who had little regard for unassuming beautiful women-was to peruse through two months' worth of profit and loss statements. He already noticed the prescription count had gone up by over a thousand for the month.
See? He was totally focused on work and not on Georgie. In fact, he was able to completely block out all the smarmy lines Clay Hayes could be using on her tonight. Hadn't thought twice about how incredible Clay Hayes must be finding the scent of Georgie's hair right now. And he definitely forgot all about those black boots she was wearing now too.
That did it. He shot up out of his seat and his pencil and papers flew to the floor. Who was he kidding? There was only one way to end his maddening thoughts of Georgie. He was going to have to barge in on her "good time" with Mr. Movie Star and make sure she was all right.
He marched over to the TV and started flipping channels. There had to be some news report on their date and where they were headed tonight. Then he found it. Entertainment Tonight said the couple was having a wonderful time so far and had plans to have dinner at a trendy new restaurant in the shore town.
Trendy? Here in Maritime City? He scratched his head. He could think of maybe two possible restaurants. There wasn't time to waste if he had to check them both out. He grabbed his jacket, flung the door open, and crashed right into a warm body. A soft, warm body who squeaked and smelled like ... Georgie.
"Georgie?" He reached out with both hands to steady herand himself. His mind had trouble focusing. He couldn't believe Georgie was actually standing in front of him. She looked liked an angel-in knee-high biker boots. Those boots looked even better in real life than in his imagination. He gazed into her eyes and was filled with so many emotions, so many things he wanted to say to her, he didn't know where to start. "I like your shoes," he said.
I like your shoes?
After spending a torturous week apart that's the first thing he says to her?
The corners of Georgie's mouth quirked up. "Thanks. I like yours too"
Walt looked down and realized he was barefooted. In his haste to find Georgie and rip her out of Clay Hayes' arms he had forgotten his shoes.
"Um, were you going somewhere?" she asked.
"Yeah" To find you. But here she was. His hands automatically tightened on her shoulders. He had her now, and he wasn't about to let go anytime soon. "Why aren't you on your date now? Did Clay Hayes try anything?"
Her chin lifted. "Would you have cared if he had?"
"Georgie, stop playing these games," he snapped as he searched her face for the truth. "Why are you here? Are you hurt?"
She looked down and nodded solemnly.
"Son of a-" He sprung back, rage eating at his insides. He grabbed her hand and began pulling her down the steps. "We'll call Brad on the way. Right now we're going to go pay Clay Hayes a visit. He better have the number of a good plastic surgeon, or his TV days will be over."
"No, stop," she said, digging in her heels and yanking him to a stop. "Wait"
"What do mean wait? If that guy hurt you, he needs to answer for it."
Georgie shook her head, her eyes brimming with sadness. "He wasn't the one who hurt me, Walt. You were"
Walt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His nerves were wound up tightly over what he'd thought Clay Hayes had done to her. But she was okay. Thank God. Physically at least. Emotionally she was still hurt. And it was his own fault.
"Walt, I need to know something. Were you really not going to interfere with my date with Clay Hayes?"
He opened his eyes and gazed down at her beautiful face. He really wished he had the answer she wanted to hear, but he couldn't help the way he was. Whether she wanted him to or not, whether she loved him or not, he would always look out for her best interests. There was no changing that. "To be honest, I was going to interfere. I tried to stay away, but the thought of you two together was driving me nuts. In fact, I was on my way over to find you before you showed up on my doorstep. I know this news isn't going to make you happy. I'm sorry, but-"
Georgie flung herself into his arms right then, her mouth landing squarely on his. He staggered back a few steps. But his shock passed quickly, and his arms came around her, bringing her in close. He wanted this so badly and thought he'd never have the opportunity again. She felt so warm, tasted so good. He'd missed the feel of her body and the scent of her hair. He'd missed her and almost melted in relief at having her in his arms again. But he needed to make sure she was in his arms for the right reasons.
"Georgie," he said against her lips.
"Hmm?" She tilted her head back ever so lightly, a mild glint of amusement in her eyes.
"Not that I'm complaining, but maybe you didn't understand what I was telling you. I was purposely going to try to break up your evening with Clay Hayes tonight."
A small smile broke out on her lips. "I know."
"You know? And you're okay with that?"
"I'm more than okay with it. In fact, when you hadn't shown up at the restaurant, I actually missed you not looking after me. I realized-even after all my complaining about having people interfere with my life-I was guilty of doing the same thing to Brad. You were right. Love does make you do crazy stuff." She looked down at his feet again with a smug smile. "Maybe even things like rush out of a house without shoes to protect the woman you love?"
"Yes, that's right, because I do love you" He grinned and was about to bring his lips down to hers again when he heard her murmur, "I love you too" At that moment there wasn't much-aside from a house fire-that would get him to stop kissing Georgie, but those four words did the trick. He backed away a little and took in the dazzling woman standing in front of him, the woman he loved more than anything in the world.
The woman who just said she loved him back.
"Just so you know," he told her teasingly, "love me, love my protective nature. You better get used to it. I'm always going to love you and look out for you, Ge
orgie, for as long as we both shall live."
She sighed a contented sigh, as she cupped his face. "I'm counting on it. Just as long as you know, I'll be loving you back and looking out for you always too, for as long as we both shall live."
"I'm making you put that in our wedding vows."
She laughed. "Deal"
"But, ah, just promise me one more thing."
Her brow wrinkled. "What's that?"
"Don't enter any more contests."
"Okay, I promise," she said, planting another kiss on his lips. "Besides, who needs to enter any contests when I already have the best prize around?"
"I'm glad you think that" He grinned and wrapped his arms around her tighter. "Otherwise I'd have to sic your brother on you"
Georgie on His Mind Page 16