Her fingers curled around the railing. “I didn’t want to.”
Like most of Hollywood’s leading men, he wasn’t exceptionally tall, barely five feet nine, but his granite jaw, manly chin-cleft, soulful dark eyes, and pronounced musculature compensated for his lack of height. “I needed to talk to you. I needed to hear your voice, to make sure you’re all right.”
More than anything, she wanted him to grovel. She wanted to hear him say he’d made the biggest mistake of his life, and he’d do anything to get her back, but that didn’t seem to be happening. She came down one step. “You look awful.”
“I drove here right from the airport. We just got in from the Philippines.”
She forced herself the rest of the way into the foyer. “You were in a private jet. How tough could the trip have been?”
“Two of our people got sick. It was—” He glanced over his shoulder at Meg standing guard behind him. She’d kicked off her orange boots, and the way her bare ankles emerged from her blue leopard-print leggings made her look as though she’d been dipped upside down into a tub of melted crayons. “Could we talk? Privately?”
“No. But Meg has always liked you. You can talk to her.”
“Not anymore,” Meg said. “I think you’re a creep.”
Lance hated not being adored, and distress flickered in his eyes. Good. “Send me an e-mail,” Georgie said. “I have guests, and I need to go back to the party.”
“Five minutes. That’s all.”
An alarming thought struck her. “Photographers are all over the place. If they spotted you driving in—”
“I’m not that stupid. I was driving my trainer’s car, and the windows are dark, so no one could see in. Somebody buzzed me through the gate.”
Georgie didn’t have any trouble figuring out whom. The kitchen had an intercom, and Chaz had to know how much Georgie would hate having Lance show up. Georgie slipped her thumb into the pocket of her chinos. “Does Jade know you’re here?”
“Of course. We tell each other everything, and she understands why I need to do this. She knows how I feel about you.”
“And exactly how is that?” Bram sauntered down the stairs. With his rumpled bronze hair, world-weary tanzanite eyes, and Gatsby whites, he looked like the jaded, overindulged, but potentially dangerous heir to a lost New England liquor fortune.
Lance moved closer to Georgie, as if he needed to protect her. “This is between Georgie and me.”
“Sorry, sport.” Bram ambled into the foyer. “You lost your opportunity for a private chat when you traded her in for Jade. You poor bastard.”
Lance took a menacing step forward. “Stop right there, Shepard. Don’t say another word about Jade.”
“Relax.” Bram rested an elbow on the newel post. “I have nothing but admiration for your wife, but that doesn’t mean I’d ever want to be married to her. Very high maintenance.”
“Nothing you need to worry about,” Lance said tightly.
Even though Bram was considerably taller than her ex-husband, Lance’s perfect physique should have made him a stronger presence. But somehow Bram’s lethal elegance gave him an edge in the macho wars. She couldn’t help wondering how a woman like herself had ended up married to two such impressive men.
She moved closer to Bram. “Say what you need to, Lance, and then leave me alone.”
“Could you…step outside for a minute?”
“Georgie and I don’t have secrets from each other.” Bram let his voice slip into an Eastwood whisper, circa 1973. “I don’t like secrets. I don’t like them at all.”
She considered rising above her baser instincts, but only for a moment. “He’s very possessive.Mostlyin a good way.”
Bram curled his fingers around the back of her neck. “And let’s keep it like that.”
Her flash of amusement proved she’d spent too much time living with the devil. Still, this was her fight, not Bram’s, and as much as she appreciated the support, she needed to handle it on her own. “Lance doesn’t seem like he’s leaving, so I might as well get this over with.”
“You don’t have to talk to him.” Bram dropped his hand from her neck. “I’d like nothing better than a good excuse to throw the son of a bitch out on his ass.”
“I know you would, sweetie, and I’m sorry to spoil your fun, but leave us alone for a few minutes, will you? I promise I’ll tell you everything. I know how much you love a good laugh.”
Meg shot Lance a glare and looped her arm through Bram’s. “Come on, pal. I’ll fix you another drink.”
