“Did you take anything?”
“I ran out.” Her words were nearly a wail. “Leave me alone.” She turned her face into the pillow and said, more softly, “Please.”
Please?Chaz must really be sick. Georgie fetched some Tylenol from Bram’s kitchen, made a cup of tea, and carried it back to the apartment. On her way to the bedroom, she saw a GED workbook open on the coffee table along with a couple of used yellow pads and pencils. She smiled, her first one of the week.
“I can’t believe Aaron called you,” Chaz said again after she’d taken the pills. “You drove all the way from Malibu to give me some Tylenol?”
“Aaron was pretty upset.” Georgie set the bottle on the bedside table. “And you’d have done the same for me.”
That drew Chaz out of her misery. “He was upset?”
Georgie nodded and held out the hot, sugared tea. “I’ll leave you alone now.”
Chaz pulled herself up far enough to take the mug. “Thanks,” she muttered. “I mean it.”
“I know,” Georgie said as she left the room.
She picked up a couple of things she’d left behind, being careful not to even glance in the bedroom. As she came back downstairs, a wash of golden afternoon light splashed through the windows. She’d loved this house. Its nooks and spaces. She’d loved the potted lemon trees and Tibetan throws, the Aztec stone fireplace mantel and warm wooden floors. She’d loved the bookshelf-lined dining room and brass wind-bells. How could the man who’d designed such a welcoming home have such an empty, hostile heart?
And that’s when he walked in.
Chapter 27
Bram’sshocked expression clearly announced she was the last person on earth he expected—or wanted—to see. Her own face was chalky from too many late nights, and her eyes shadowed, but he looked ready for aGQshoot. He had a crisp new haircut, almost as short as he’d worn it during theirSkip and Scooterdays, and she could have sworn his fingernails looked professionally manicured.
She couldn’t bear having him think she’d sought him out. “Chaz is sick,” she said flatly. “I drove over to check on her, and now I’m leaving.”
She set her shoulders and crossed the room toward the veranda, but he was at her side before she could touch the knob. “Don’t take another step.”
“No drama, Bram. I don’t have the stomach for it.”
“We’re actors. We thrive on drama.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. “I haven’t gone through all this, for you to walk out on me.”
The fury she thought she’d conquered burst into flame. “Gone through allwhat?Whathave you gone through? Look at you! You’re not even wrinkled. You’ve been having the time of your life!”
“Is that how you see it?”
“You’re producing and starring in a great movie. All your dreams have come true.”
“Not exactly. I screwed up with you, remember? The most important person in my life.” He trapped her against the French doors. “And I’m trying to fix that.”
She gave a dismissive snort. “How?”
He gazed down at her, his stormy eyes telegraphing an Actors Studio version of a tortured soul. “I love you, Georgie.”
Fireworks flashed before her eyes. “And why isthat?”
“Because I do. Because you’re you.”
“You sound sincere. You look sincere.” She sneered and shoved his arm away. “But I’m not buying a word of it.”
Someone less cynical might believe honest pain tightened the corner of his mouth. “What happened that day on the beach…,” he said. “I know exactly how ugly it was, but I also got the wake-up call I needed.”
“Aww, that’s swell.”
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me, and I can’t even blame you.” He jammed his hands into his pockets. “Just listen, Georgie. We’ve cast Helene. It’s a done deal. What ulterior motive could I still have left?”
No more of the quiet suffering that had followed her breakup with Lance. She let it all spew out. “Let’s start with your career. Three and a half months ago, I was the person willing to sacrifice everything to protect my image, but now it’s you. Your unsavory past was blocking your future, and you used me to fix it.”
