She was taking a break to make a grilled cheese and heat up some tomato soup when Margie called.
“Hey sweetie,” she said. “I know that wedding is looming large for you. Just wanted to call and see if you’ve found someone to take. I’m perfectly happy to go with you, but I know you don’t particularly want to bring an old gal like me.”
Georgie flipped her sandwich on the pan and gave the soup a stir. “You know I’d love to have you there, but I also would hate to subject you to Aunt Jeannie. I’ll be fine. After my vibrator comments to her, I think she’ll to steer clear of me anyhow.”
Margie laughed. “I have to hand it to you, Georgie. That was a stroke of sheer genius to pull that one out. I wish I had thought of it myself.”
“I’m not sure where my remark came from, but I’m glad I thought of it. I need to learn to be armed with zingers like that to shut her up more regularly.” She put the sandwich on her plate and cut it in half diagonally, then poured the soup into a mug. “So, Harper’s coming with me. She’s kind of seeing this guy, but he never seems to be around, and I think there’s some other ex-boyfriend she’s trying to shake, so I figured it would be good for us both to have each other’s backs a bit.”
“If you’re certain?”
Georgie dipped the corner of her sandwich into her soup and took a chomp. She rolled her eyes back. Nothing like a good grilled cheese on a cold night. “I’m so good. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“Can’t wait to hear. And remember, behave.”
Georgie laughed. “Surely you don’t think I would do something to embarrass myself.”
“Not yourself, but with that aunt of yours, you never know what you’ll do if she pushes your buttons.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to push the off button here right now so I can eat my sandwich and get back to my quilt. Love you!”
As much as Georgie would love to stick it to old Aunt Jeannie, she wouldn’t do that to her cousin. She’d have to save it for some other time.
~*~
Georgie decided it was best to drive so she could control when she arrived and when she left the big wedding bash. She figured she’d be there till the canapés were passed and then blow out of there, soul intact. And she was certain Harper would be glad to leave as soon as possible as well. Maybe they could go for a drink somewhere with a nice warm, cozy fireplace and could toast to their singlehood and lack of men in their lives. Although Harper had some guy lurking around. And maybe another one, for that matter. She wasn’t letting on too much, but that was the best Georgie could discern, based on Harper’s vague comments.
Georgie decided to go all-out and look her damnedest for this thing—she wasn’t going to give her aunt a reason to fault her. So what that she might need to lose ten or fifteen pounds. To hell with that. She was perfectly happy the way she was.
She pulled on a silver silk dress with a flared sheer floral silver organza overlay. The high-waisted dress was scooped at the neck and landed midcalf. Once her dress was on, she finished her hair, lacing the blond strands into a French braid that helped to emphasize her beautiful icy blue eyes. She even finger-curled the tendrils that she couldn’t catch into the braid.
She slid her feet into a pair of glittery silver pumps that Margie had lent her. And Margie had expensive taste, so she didn’t doubt they cost a small fortune. Taking a look at herself in the mirror, she grinned—she loved herself exactly as she was. If her aunt couldn’t see that, well that was her problem.
After she picked up Harper, they drove to the wedding venue, a charming restored Victorian manor located on the beach. They climbed the wide porch steps and entered a cozy living room with a fire blazing in the fireplace. There, a woman led them through a large dining room, then outside to a deck with a clear plastic-covered, heated area set aside with rows of chairs. Hundreds of candles twinkled both inside and outside the tent.
Sometimes she especially hated that her aunt always made things perfect. And it made her particularly sad because her mother would have found something even more perfect for her, had she been alive still. Had she actually gotten married. Neither of which were realities, unfortunately. She looked over at Harper, who seemed particularly distracted by a handsome man who’d started talking to her as if he knew her. Georgie approached them to see if she needed help.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to be rude. Georgia, meet Noah.”
Georgia glanced at Harper, surprised. “Noah as in that Noah?”
Noah had been Harper’s serious boyfriend for ages but had abandoned her years earlier. Harper had mentioned running into him a couple of times and that she wanted to get him off her back.
“This is the Noah I might have mentioned before.”
Georgia shook his hand as if she’d touched something hot. “Damn, girl, you failed to tell me that he looked like this. No wonder you were pissed at him leaving.”
The corner of Noah’s mouth curled up into a grin. He reached his hand out. “Georgia—delighted to meet you. How do you two beautiful women know each other?”
What a charming man! Georgie needed to get to the bottom of why Harper would want to get rid of him. He was adorable and so sweet.
“Please, call me Georgie. I’m Harper’s right-hand woman in the shop.”
“Oh? What shop is that?”
Georgia threw a side glance at her friend. “He doesn’t even know about the shop?”
Harper frowned. “Um, no?”
“I’d love to hear more about this mystery shop.”
Harper shook her head. “Stop mocking me. It’s not a mystery. I simply didn’t want to share my private business with you. I reserve that for people I trust.”
Georgie licked the tip of her finger and tapped the air, making a sizzling sound. “The score: Harper, one. Noah, zero.”
Noah—who apparently ran the place—ushered them to their seats. Georgie leaned over to her friend. “So, this is the guy you’re trying to get rid of? Sheesh. I’d hate to see the guy you’re hot on if this one isn’t good enough for you.”
Harper shook her head. “It’s complicated. Trust me on that. I’ll fill you in later.” She put her finger to her lips. “The wedding is about to begin.”
Which meant that poor Georgie now had to have her aunt’s good fortune rubbed in her face once more. She couldn’t wait for this day to end.
Chapter Nine
Like it or not, Georgie had to admit Marcy looked stunning. She was elegant in a classic ivory sheath that brought to mind Audrey Hepburn. The silk and lace gown hugged her slim body and made her look model thin. She couldn’t wait to hear how Aunt Jeannie would compare her stronger, fuller physique to her svelte daughter’s. Bring it. Maybe Georgie could be double-fisting doughnuts while she bore the brunt of her insults.
Marcy practically glided down the aisle, her besotted father fighting back tears, her mother beaming with the glow of victory.
But enough about her. Marcy looked overjoyed, her broad smile betraying any silly familial hostilities that might create a subtext to her big day. Her fiancé—James something or other—had broken out into a huge grin as soon as he saw his bride. The two of them clasped hands, and he gave her an adorable kiss even before the vows were exchanged. Georgie was happy for them. She had to remember not to conflate Marcy with her mom because Aunt Jeannie’s behavior certainly wasn’t her fault.
The sun was setting as they finished exchanging their vows. The late-day sun reflected off the water, and soon the pink glow warmed the view considerably. It’s what Georgie loved so much about living at the ocean. You could have a perfectly shitty day and take one look at that sunset over the cresting waves and all would be good with the world.
Nevertheless, she needed a drink. Stat. It was stressful being the ugly-duckling relative at your cousin’s wedding. Even if you weren’t truly an ugly duckling, and it was only that Cinderella’s stepmom kept telling you that you were. Either way, it was time for a cocktail, an
d fast.
The friends made their way to the bar, but Noah intercepted them and offered to get them drinks. Georgie practically pleaded for a Tito’s on the rocks. She tempered it with a splash of sparkling water and lime, even though ideally, in her heart of hearts, she wanted two fat fingers of vodka, straight up, to throw down her gullet and soften the blow of this event.
“So, you gonna fill me in on what’s up with Noah? Or will I have to keep guessing?”
Harper rolled her eyes. “I can’t get into it here. But Noah is a ghost from my past who insists on haunting me. And it’s plucking my last nerve.”
“Sure it’s not tweaking your ovaries a little bit?” Georgie said with a wink. “I caught you stealing glances at him during the wedding. Maybe you two have some unfinished business you still need to resolve?”
“I honestly don’t need that drama in my life. Everything is finally good for me, and I don’t need a blast from the past to drop a load of cement on me right now.”
Georgie shrugged. “Fair enough. In that case, here’s to letting go of the losers, then.” They clinked glasses and laughed as they threw back their drinks perhaps faster than they should have.
Noah approached again. “Look who I found all alone and needing company,” he said, his hand on a man’s shoulder. “Harper, I think you might recall meeting Spencer at the bar recently, right?”
Harper reached out to shake his hand. “Great to see you again. And this is my date for this evening, Georgie Childress.”
Georgie looked up only to realize it was him! The surfboard dude. She was sure of it. Only tonight, he had his longish sandy-blond hair pulled back in a bun. Which normally wasn’t her thing, but damn, it looked hot. Instead of that wet suit, he wore a surprisingly conservative-looking charcoal pinstripe suit, with a crisp medium-blue shirt and coordinating gray flannel tie. She felt that tingle in her belly that had become so unfamiliar to her, but now she recognized it as what it was: lust. Oh God. She was hot for the guy whose surfboard she destroyed.
Spencer, not even looking up, reached for Georgie’s hand and pulled it toward his mouth. “Enchanté,” he said, as he kissed the top of her hand.
“Uhhh, yeah,” Georgie said squinting her eyes. “You seriously don’t remember me?”
He lifted a brow, then winced as he started to snap his fingers. “Oh, man. You.” He pointed his finger at her. “You’re the surfboard-killer chick.”
Harper looked from her friend to Spencer and back again. “Should I ask?”
Georgie shook her head. “Trust me, it’s so not worth knowing.”
She had been too embarrassed about her accident to share it with anyone other than Margie, who she knew wouldn’t judge her.
Harper shrugged. “Okey dokey, then.” She mouthed to her friend, You’d better fill me in on that later.
The wedding director announced they were about to present the wedding party, which meant they all had to take their seats immediately. Hopefully that meant she could avoid the surfer dude, while at some point getting his contact information so that she could maybe anonymously send him his quilt or something. Though damn, she’d grown to love that quilt. Shame she had to give it up. But she did, no two ways about it.
She was about to walk to the farthest table in the room when Noah led them to one too close to the wedding party than she’d have preferred, and then he proceeded to seat surfer dude—Spencer, was it?—smack-dab to her left. Which meant it was going to be an awkward mealtime, for sure.
Chapter Ten
Well, damn. What a strange coincidence. Just as he finishes his board, he runs into the perpetrator. Go figure! He mentally double-checked that it wasn’t mounted on the back of his car outside. Didn’t want her to do a command-performance with this one. His heart couldn’t take it.
He took a long, slow look at her. Before, all he’d noticed was her tears. How could he have gotten past that in the craziness of that episode? Tears and snot in large quantities. But looking at her now, he could see she cleaned up pretty well. She was taller than he recalled, with broad shoulders, perhaps like a swimmer or a rower. She looked like she could kick your ass if need be, but more than likely she seemed to be one of those people who would give you a big bear hug and congratulate you on a job well-done. Her gorgeous sea-blue eyes were fringed with long, full lashes. In fact, she was strikingly beautiful.
Which was good news, since he was stuck distracting her for the rest of the evening so that Noah could have his way with Harper, as per Noah’s request earlier in the evening.
As a waitress served their entrees, Spencer turned to Georgie. “So, uh, Georgie. You do any more harm with that car of yours lately?”
She blushed, which he found awfully endearing. “Um, well, gosh, it’s not like I do that sort of thing every day!” She frowned. “Do you really think I do?”
He held up his hands. “I was only making a joke. I have no idea about your driving skills. Although I did notice your car was a little banged up.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve had it a long time.” She eyed him and bit her lip. “I hope you accept my apologies for that. I felt super bad about it. But that reminds me, were you able to fix it?”
He arched his brow. “Did ya get a look at the thing? It was snapped in two.”
“So, you had to toss it?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t have the heart to toss it altogether. It’s in my garage, awaiting a brainstorm about what to do with it.”
Georgie pursed her lips. “What if you turned it into a couple of little coffee tables?” She rested her hand on her chin as she thought it out. “Like could you do something to finish off the ends and then do that? You could make matching end tables, and then you’d have your board with you all the time. Maybe you could even start selling your tables—call it Broken Board Designs.”
He smiled. “That’s not a half bad idea. I’ll have to give that some more thought.”
~*~
After dinner Harper excused herself to go the restroom, leaving Georgie and Spencer on their own.
“You got somewhere to go?” Spence asked after Georgia looked at her watch for the tenth time.
She looked up. “Huh? Oh, no. Sorry. I was wondering where Harper was. She and I had a pact that we weren’t going to stick around here and once dinner ended was my cue to get the hell out of Dodge.”
“You don’t like weddings or something?”
She shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t like weddings. Even though I’m not exactly keen on them, if I were to be honest with you. But it’s this wedding in particular.”
“Because?” He turned his chair, so he was facing her.
“I have my reasons.”
“What’s got you so unhappy about this one?” He pointed at Marcy and James. “The bride is beautiful and the groom looks happy. Seems like a nice couple of families getting together to celebrate. What could possibly be so wrong about it?”
Georgie heaved a heavy sigh. “The bride’s my cousin. And I’m fine with her. I mean fine enough. It’s only that her mother is such a bitch to me. She’s like Cinderella’s stepmother.” She frowned. “It doesn’t help matters that I don’t have my own mother anymore, so instead all I have left is her to browbeat me and always show me up with her perfect daughter.”
Spencer’s eyes opened wide. “Wow. That’s a lot to digest. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, well, we all have our crosses to bear. Except now I’m ready to shrug that old cross off my shoulders and get the hell out of the wedding, but my date has disappeared.”
“This is where I make a confession.” Spencer glanced from side to side, as if he was looking to be sure no one heard him.
“You kidnapped Harper? Locked her in a closet? Cast a spell on her?” She laughed. “Sorry, guess I got carried away with the evil stepmother theme there.”
“As a matter of fact, while it was pure coincidence that I ended up at this wedding—I work with James—I wa
s enlisted by Noah to be his wingman of sorts.”
“Wingman?”
“Yeah, I’m supposed to help Noah get Harper alone. Which I guess also means I’m supposed to entertain you so that you aren’t trying to find Harper to leave.”
Georgie squinted at him. “Well of all the shitty things—”
He held up his hands in protest. “It wasn’t meant to be a jerky thing. Noah believes he and Harper have things to resolve, and since she seemed to be avoiding him, he thought this would be an ideal time for him to get her alone.”
“What if she doesn’t want to be alone? Though I did catch her with that horndog look in her eyes every time she glanced his way.”
Spencer laughed. “Telltale signs.”
“So, this means Harper’s not coming back anytime soon?”
“I’m afraid not. Looks like it’s you and me, kid.”
“It’s fine. I’m perfectly capable of leaving her on my own. You don’t need to be my babysitter.”
“I’m not being your babysitter. I’ve enjoyed talking with you. Especially when you’re not destroying my cherished possessions.”
She smirked at him. “Ha-ha. I feel badly enough about that—you don’t need to rub it in. Well.” She yawned and stretched her arms. “Here’s hoping Harper and that ex of hers have found a king bedroom in this huge bed and breakfast where they can iron out their differences. If that’s what they call it nowadays.”
“Let me at least escort you home.”
She held her hands up. “Hey, no need for formalities on my part. If you feel like you have to do that to fulfill your duties to your friend, be my guest. But I’m perfectly fine on my own.”
Falling for Mr Maybe Page 4