Georgie on His Mind (11 page)

He followed his friend's gaze where it had settled on a tall,
dark-haired, good-looking guy in a gray business suit. The man
reminded Walt of a young Alec Baldwin. "No way in hell."

Brad's eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding, right? That guy
looks like a normal guy with a halfway decent job, and I don't
see a wedding band on his finger. What's wrong with him?"

Walt thought about that for a second. Unfortunately, he
couldn't think of a thing. Oh, hell. There wasn't anything
wrong with him. On the surface, that is.

Walt studied the guy with a little more scrutiny this time.
He still couldn't find anything physically wrong with himbesides being a bit of a fancy boy with that Brooks Brothers
shirt-and-tie combo. There wasn't a scratch on him either,
not even a stray eyebrow hair in sight. The man looked
charming, successful, and clean-cut.

Then again, so had Ted Bundy.

That settled it. You could never be too sure about men,
case in point was himself. But especially if they were talking
about a man who was going to be with Georgie. There had to
be higher standards set, and Walt was just the man to help his
friend set them. Way high. But first, he had to break it to
Brad in a means he'd understand. Lay out his case in a levelheaded manner. Friend to friend. Man to man.

"I don't like him," Walt blurted, then inwardly cringed.
Oooh, nice manly explanation, moron. Gee, a four-year-old
could've had a better response.

Judging by the look on Brad's face, he'd evidently thought
so too. "You don't like him? You know him or something?"

"Uh, well, no. Not ... not exactly."

"Okay, then let's go over there and strike up a conversation with him and see what kind of guy he is. If he seems
decent enough, we'll introduce him to Georgie. Sound like
a plan?" Brad didn't wait for an answer and started to
stand.

"No!" Walt cleared his throat, then lowered his voice. "I
mean, I don't think that's such a hot idea. I don't know him
personally, but I know the business-executive type. I dealt
with them in Philadelphia. Georgie wouldn't like a man like
that. Those kinds of guys are into themselves and are not the
friendly sort. Very cold." He rubbed his upper arms for effect,
just in case Brad had forgotten what the definition of cold
was, and added an exaggerated, "Brrrr."

Brad shot a dubious glance over at Mr. Wall Street again.
The man was smiling pleasantly, shaking hands with Pete
the bartender, and he was getting a few slaps on the back
from some nearby customers. Obviously, the man was popular too.

Definitely not Georgie's type.

"Are you sure about that?" Brad asked. "Pete seems to
like him. Don't you think we should at least check the guy
out and give him the benefit of the doubt? He has to be
better than some of the guys Georgie's been meeting."

Walt shook his head, thinking if he were Pinocchio his
nose would be enjoying the clean crisp mountain air of the
Swiss Alps right about then. "No. Trust me. I'm sensing
something's up with him, and it's not good. You'll be sorry.
The guy shouldn't even be in the running."

Brad sat back and frowned. "Wow. Jeez, I'm glad you
were here then. That really saved me some time."

"Happy to help." Unable to look his friend in the eye another second, Walt glanced away and across the bar just in
time to see Georgie standing at the entrance on tiptoe, scanning the crowded room. He wasn't the only one that had seen
her come in. Mr. Wall Street's attention suddenly shifted and
lingered at the front door too.

Walt gritted his teeth. Back off, buddy.

As much as he felt like poking the guy's eyes out right at
the moment, Walt couldn't exactly blame him. Not with the
way Georgie looked tonight in that aqua tank top and those
tight white jeans, clinging to the short curve of her hips.
Used to seeing her in baggy sleep shirts and oversized lab
coats, Walt couldn't help but appreciate how tiny but wellproportioned a body she had.

Oddly enough, Georgie's body wasn't the first thing Walt
had noticed about her tonight; it was her eyes. With her wild hair pulled back and gathered in a low ponytail, she drew more
attention to her face and her beautiful eyes appeared bluer
than ever. Georgie looked sweet and sexy and could have been
considered a walking oxymoron-the girl-next-door and a
Victoria's Secret model all wrapped up in one.

Walt's mouth went dry. Then he realized, like every other
man in the bar-minus Brad-that he was gawking. Well,
there was no doubt about it. Walt wanted her. Georgie was
all woman now, and he couldn't help but think of her in an
all-male way.

God help him-and his friendship with her brother.

Walt stood and waved her over. Her face brightened when
she saw him, and she waved back, making a beeline for their
table. "Hey, guys," she chirped, as she took a seat between
Walt and her brother. Her fruity scent of mandarin oranges
and cranberry permeated the air around them, causing Walt's
heart rate to spike further. "Sorry I'm a little late," she added
sheepishly.

"You're more than a little late," Brad shot. "Sheesh. What
are you trying to do, starve me to death?"

Georgie looked at her watch in disgust. "I'm fifteen minutes late. Hardly enough time to have you die from hunger.
Besides, if I really wanted to starve you I'd delete the pizza
delivery number you have on your cell phone speed dial."

Brad slapped his menu down on the table. "That's not
funny, Georgie. I work long hours so I don't always have
time to-"

"Oh, please. I've seen you order pizza for breakfast. Your
arteries must be so clog-"

"Children, children," Walt interrupted, hiding a smile.
"We're in a public place. Maybe we could all just decide
what we want to order, and you two can settle your dietary
differences in private later."

Georgie cast a pointed look at her brother. "Fine. I'm going to have the Greek salad with a vinaigrette dressing on the
side."

"Good for you and your arteries," Brad muttered.

Walt chuckled at their banter. At least some things hadn't
changed. Their sparring helped ease the tension he felt about
being around Georgie tonight. That is, until she stood up and
her gold-hoop belly ring caught the direct line of his vision.
He turned his head and tried to blink away the image from
his mind.

Oh, hell. She even made his eyelids sweat.

"It's a little quiet in here tonight," she said, her gaze traveling around to the bar area. "I think I'll go put some quarters in the jukebox"

Walt looked over to where the jukebox was-three feet
away from Mr. Wall Street-and felt the blood between his
ears grow hot and thick. Wasn't this just a dandy prospect?
There was no way he was about to let her go and parade herself around like some fawn in front of a hungry lion. He felt
a surge of protectiveness toward her, but this time he knew it
was for purely selfish reasons.

"Do you have to do that right now?" Walt asked her. "I
mean, you just sat down. Wait a few minutes." Until Mr. Wall
Street goes home. Or until I can find a parka to cover you up
with. "At least wait until you order."

To Walt's dismay, the waitress who had been MIA since
he and Brad had first sat down at their table suddenly materialized.

"Are you ready, or do you need more time?" the waitress
asked, staring down at her spiral order book. Then the pretty
brunet glanced up and her brown eyes brightened when she
took in her customers. "Oh, for goodness sake! I didn't even
realize it was you guys"

"Hi, Kendall!" Georgie beamed at her. "I forgot you'd be
working tonight."

"When am I not working?" Kendall rolled her eyes with a
smirk then turned to Brad and poked him in the shoulder.
"Hey, what's up with you? No hello? I noticed you haven't
talked to me much since I started dating Jake. Are you mad
at me because I'm now consorting with the enemy?"

Brad smiled at her joke, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I have nothing against Jake. It's not his fault he chose to be
a firefighter instead of something respectable like a lawenforcing public-safety providing police officer."

"Oh, pish posh," Kendall said, waving her little notebook
in the air. "I'll never understand why the fire and police departments can't get along."

Georgie snorted. "Probably has something to do with too
much floating testosterone and not enough territory to mark.
Oh, by the way," she said, gesturing to her right, "Kendall, this
is Walt Somers. He's just moved into town. He's co-owner of
Somers Shore Pharmacy with Al"

"Walt Somers? Oh, you're related to Al?"

Walt nodded. "Al's my uncle."

"Well, what a small world. It's a real pleasure." Kendall
smiled and held out her hand. Walt took it and was surprised
to find quite a grip behind such a delicate feature. "Georgie's
new boss, huh? I never get bosses that look as good as you
do," she added with a good-natured wink.

"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.