Page 126 of What I Did for Love
He picked up a beach stone and rubbed it between his fingers. “She’s not doing it.”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
He couldn’t postpone this any longer. “Because she was never under consideration.”
Georgie sat up straighter. He pitched the stone into the waves. “I lied to you.”
She curled her hands into fists.
He couldn’t look at her. “I had all kinds of good reasons at the time.”
Her mouth twisted bitterly. “You really are a bastard, aren’t you?”
“Exactly! I told you I was!”
Flying sand stung his bare calves as she jumped up. He shot to his feet and went after her. “Think about it, Georgie. Now that I’ve shown my true colors, nothing is standing in your way. The part is yours, and after what I’ve done, you can take it without worrying about any messy emotional crap getting in your way. You should be glad I lied.”
Even as he spoke, he didn’t believe a word of it. And neither did she. “I’m going in.” She picked up her stride.
He matched her steps. “I’m…pretty sure that guy over there has a camera. We need to make out first.”
“Make out with yourself.” Her heels kicked up pinwheels of sand. He slid his arm around her shoulder, forcing her to a slower pace.
He might as well have been hugging a cactus.
The picture would get made without her. They’d find another actress, maybe not as good, but adequate. Except everyone wanted Georgie, and his job as a producer was to make the impossible happen. He couldn’t let any of them—Rory, Hank, the lowliest crew member—see that he wasn’t up to that job.
They reached the house as a crack of lightning broke over the surf. He snagged her wrist, pulling her to a stop just as she was about to climb up to the deck. “Georgie…” He had trouble getting enough air into his lungs. “I’m not quite sure how to tell you this…”
The wind blew another lock of hair over her face. She pushed it back and cocked her head. He released her wrist. “I’ve…missed you these past few weeks. More than I ever thought.” Acid churned in his stomach as she continued to stand there, patiently waiting. “Help me out here.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”
“That…I didn’t realize how much I’d gotten used to being with you until you left. The two of us…I thought it was just a great friendship, but—I don’t know how to say this.” An awning cracked in the wind. “I might be…falling for you.”
She stared at him.
“Ironic, isn’t it. Just when you’ve gotten over me, now here I am…wishing you hadn’t.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“That lie about Jade. There was something a little desperate about it, right? I guess I didn’t want to…admit what I was really feeling.”
“What are you really feeling, Bram? You’re going to have to spell it out because I’m not getting it.”
“You know what I’m saying.”
Apparently she’d had enough of his hedging because she turned away and headed up the short flight of stairs.
“It started right here, you know,” he called after her. “Not fifteen or sixteen years ago duringSkip and Scooter,but right here on Trev’s deck three months ago. You and me.” She stopped at the top and gazed down at him. He took the steps two at a time to reach her. “Ever since we woke up in the Vegas hotel room, we’ve been on this crazy Ferris wheel ride.” A gust of wind blew a newspaper across the deck. “I kept thinking you were the best friend I’ve ever had, but now I know it’s more than friendship.”
“It’s sex.”
He felt a flash of anger. “Sure, it’s sex, but that’s not all. We don’t have to put on false faces for each other. We…understand each other.” He rushed on, forcing out the next part even as he hated himself for what he was about to say. “I’ve even been thinking—Just thinking. Your idea about”—a giant fist squeezed his chest—“about having a baby.” She made a soft, indecipherable sound. He plowed on. “I’m a long way from saying let’s go for it. I’m just saying that…Just that I’m ready to at least talk about it.”
She was swallowing his face with her eyes, and he wanted to yell at her, to tell her he was a liar and not to be so damned gullible. Instead, he set aside whatever shreds of honor he had left and went for the big fucking finish. “I’m…falling in love with you, Georgie. For real.”
She pressed her fingertips to her lips. A boom of thunder shook the deck. “For real?” she whispered.
