No Time for Temptation (The No Brides Club Book 4) Read online

  She was about to lean in and kiss him when the machines Jean was attached too began making new and frightening noises and the room filled with medical personnel. She and Liam were ushered outside, watching silently hand in hand through the glass as they fought in vain to save his mother.

  CHAPTER 17

  L iam was back behind his desk for the first time in a week. His body was here, but his mind was thousands of miles away back in North Carolina. He couldn’t seem to drag it back here to the present. It was as if it was stuck on a loop replaying the events of the last week, or alternatively moments from his childhood he thought he’d long buried.

  From the minute she’d swept into his room, just minutes before his mother passed, it was the first time Georgie had been more than a few feet away from him. She’d stayed right beside him throughout the funeral and even when he’d gone back into that hideous trailer one last time to gather any mementos he thought should be kept. There hadn’t been much there, although he was surprised to see his mother had a scrapbook that had charted not just his own brief moments of success but Georgie’s as well. It had forced him to consider perhaps his mother had cared more than she’d led him to believe. When he’d gone on to find a small stack of letters she’d written but never sent him over the years, he had no choice but to accept that she definitely had loved him and wanted him to be free from her and happy. He wondered if she’d been scared to send them or if her inability to get out had made it so. He’d never know.

  The last letter written only a few weeks earlier had been particularly telling. He pulled it from his pocket where he’d carried it since the funeral.

  DEAR LIAM,

  Like all the other letters I’ve written you, this one will never reach you.

  If it did, I would want you to know how proud I am of the man you have become. I know I made your life harder than it should have been, but even as a small boy you somehow never let that stop you. Your ability to be brave and overcome the difficult parts of life couldn’t be more amazing to someone like me who lives a life entirely governed by fear.

  I know, to use the language of shrinks, you worry that in caring for me you’ve enabled me, but I think you did your very best to keep me going and I am eternally grateful. You have been a far better son than I deserved.

  My health is fading. I keep turning sweet Connie and the doctors away, hoping I can somehow fade away where I am for I truly believe that’s what is best now. It may not go my way, but we’ll see.

  If you do get this letter, please know this. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved. I’ve watched you all the years long for Georgie, and I hope you decide it’s high time you step up and act. You’ve never shied away from anything but love. I know that’s on me, but please don’t do what I did and let love walk away from you.

  Please be happy. Please have a good life. Please know you deserve all the joy this world has to offer.

  Love,

  Your mama.

  HIS EYES PRICKED with tears again, and he slid the letter away. He needed to focus on work, and then he needed to get the girl. She had come straight back here from home and was rescheduling her Nashville studio time, against his advice.

  “We do have record studios in New York, Liam,” she’d assured him. “And when I left, I sent all the musicians home, so there’s no one there to go back to anyway.”

  He hadn’t been happy about it, and he expected it must be going to cost her a fortune to reschedule, but she wasn’t going to be talked out of it. Mercifully, she and Tapioca had moved back into the brownstone with him the night before, all discussion of her condo shelved, at least for now. Maybe she was there out of pity, but the thought of losing her right now was too much for him to even consider.

  “Not an option, Stone,” he muttered to himself before getting to work.

  Liam focused on the emails in his inbox and the morning vanished into the afternoon and he didn’t even stop to eat. The team had finalized the pitch for B-Dog and presented it the day before. Liam had added a few ideas before they submitted, but he decided to let Mal do it without him. He’d do any follow-up meetings if they were needed. Around four Mal, who he’d last seen at the funeral, appeared.

  “Come on, big guy. You need a break.”

  “I really don’t have time.”

  “Yes, you do. You need to eat. I need to eat. Come on.” As Liam’s stomach rumbled, he decided maybe Mal was right.

  “We’ll keep it short,” he said, grabbing his jacket.

  “Or not. We’re going bowling. The guys have missed you.”

  He doubted that. “We don’t have . . .”

  “Yes, we do. Anyway, a little birdie told me it was your birthday. You can’t work through lunch on your birthday.”

  “Georgie.” He shook his head. In the past week he’d gone from being the world’s most private guy to having people all up in his business. He never celebrated his birthday beyond a phone call with Georgie or getting together with her when they were in the same town. This year he’d told her he wanted to flat-out ignore it. Apparently, she ignored that piece of advice too. “There had better not be a cake.”

  “Do I look like a baker? Come on, let’s do this.”

  GEORGIE STOOD on the rooftop and admired the table she’d set for Liam’s birthday dinner. There were candles, a white cloth, and a delicate fishbowl with water lilies sitting in the middle with floating candles in it. Dinner was a selection of his favorite foods—bouillabaisse, ribeye, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach, and for dessert, an opulent layered Black Forest cake. She’d spent the whole day cooking just for Liam, and it brought her inordinate amounts of joy.

  She knew he was still processing his mother’s death and he’d never been a fan of birthdays, but it was time to change that. Georgie intended to spend every birthday from now on with Liam, and it would always involve his favorite foods and there would be cake. That was what their future held, good memories and cake.

  She’d had Mal drag him off bowling so he wouldn’t leave work early and ruin her surprise, or worse, work until midnight and ruin it that way. It worked for her, and she knew Mal wanted to be a part of anything that made Liam happy. He was a good friend, and Liam needed to let himself have friends. The time for isolation was over.

  She checked her watch. It was nearly seven, which was when Mal was due to get Liam home. She checked her dress. It was a retro style with a full skirt and a sweetheart neckline that showed a hint of cleavage. She looked like a sexy 1960s housewife. It was time that Liam saw her as a woman and not just his friend, and this dress would certainly help do the job.

  She headed down the stairs and arrived in the kitchen just as he came in from the front door, carrying Tapioca who had raced ahead of her as always, desperate to get to Liam. Georgie knew the feeling, she just had to be a bit more subtle about it. He had his tie and top button undone, he’d shed the jacket somewhere, and he looked oddly disheveled.

  “Wow,” he said when he caught sight of her in the dress. “You look amazing.”

  She did a little spin. “You like? It’s your birthday, and I do know green is your favorite color.”

  “Well, if it wasn’t, that dress would have changed my mind.” She laughed and handed him a beer that was resting in an ice bucket on the counter along with some wine. “This place smells amazing. I gather you made dinner.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “And you told Mal it was my birthday, I assume.”

  “Yep, and I’m not sorry. You deserve to have some birthday fun.”

  He licked his lips. “Birthday fun, huh? What does that entail?”

  “Come on up to the roof and I’ll show you.” That had come out way more suggestive than she had intended, but he followed her with no complaints, putting Tapioca down and carrying the ice bucket instead, so she didn’t apologize.

  When he reached the roof, he took in the view just as she had a few minutes earlier.

  “Wow, Georgie, you’ve gone all out. Thank
you.”

  “My pleasure, now take a seat and we can eat. As much as I love my mother’s cooking, I’ve been longing for something a little fancy all week.”

  He laughed, a low rumbling sound she’d missed over the past week. “I think you just have a cooking show so you can cook.”

  “Pretty much. Living alone didn’t give me anyone else to cook for. But now I have you,” she said, pouring the soup she’d had warming on the grill into a tureen before carrying it over to the table.

  “Now you have me,” he said softly. She ladled out some soup into his bowl. “That must make me the luckiest guy in New York right now.”

  She took her seat and waited for him to taste the soup, a look of satisfaction on his face, before tasting her own. It was perfection. In fact, everything about the evening was going exactly to plan so far. It made her feel oddly nervous, as if she might say something to ruin it.

  “It’s a pretty nice life we have here, isn’t it?” It was Liam who broke the silence. She nodded her agreement. “In fact, this is the best my life has ever been since we moved in together. The last week notwithstanding of course.”

  “Of course. It’s been great for me too.”

  “Is it weird that I feel like everything in my life has been working toward this moment?”

  It wasn’t weird at all, it was exactly how she felt. “No, not weird.”

  THIS WAS IT, Liam knew it was now or never. Georgie had done all this for him. She’d stepped away from her record for him, and he needed to man up, as Mal and the guys had politely told him at the bowling alley.

  Mal’s parting words had been, “It’s obvious to everyone who sees you that you’re meant to be together. Go make it happen.”

  And so he would. The minute he’d seen her in that drop-dead gorgeous dress he knew there was no backing out. He wanted Georgie for his own, forever, and tonight he was going to finally put the past behind him and make it happen.

  “Going back and everything that happened with my mom has brought my life into sharper focus I guess.”

  “I can imagine, and birthdays have a way of making people reflect as well.” She had finished her soup, but she stayed seated, her full attention on him.

  “Maybe so. Anyway, I know what I want from my life now.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep, I want this. You and me together. Forever.”

  “As roommates.”

  He pushed his chair back and circled the table, kneeling before her and taking her hands in his. “No, not as roommates. I love you, I’ve always loved you, and I want everything with you. You’re the best part of my life, and when I’m with you, I’m a better version of myself. It’s like we’re two halves of a whole.”

  Her eyes were wide, maybe in surprise, maybe in wonder. “You love me?”

  “Always. I want to have it all with you.”

  “All?”

  “The home, the family, the concert tours, the cooking shows, whatever all looks like for you, then that’s what I want. If you’ll have me, if that’s what you want.”

  She let go of his hands and ran her fingers through his hair. “I do. I want it all with you too, Liam. I just never knew that you felt that way. I thought we wanted different things.”

  “All I want is you,” he said before claiming her mouth for a kiss that had been years in the making. A kiss that promised a lifetime of love and tenderness and passion. A lifetime of whatever she needed, whenever she needed it, as long as it was with him. It was a kiss that made him forget about everything but the woman whose soft body was pressed up against his, kissing him back as if she too had waited a lifetime for this perfect moment. The first of many perfect moments and many, many more kisses to come.

  EPILOGUE

  G eorgie looked down at the sparkling pink diamond engagement ring and smiled. She and Liam had been officially dating for two weeks and she was already engaged. It was crazy, and yet it seemed like the sanest decision she’d ever made. At the rate things were moving, Georgie had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a long engagement and that was fine by her. As long as Liam and her mother were there, that was all she needed, although having a few friends along would be nice.

  Instead of Thursday drinks with the No Brides Club girls, they were hosting an impromptu rooftop party to celebrate. She was wearing a silky pink dress, the same color as the diamond, her hair was loose and flowing, and she couldn’t wipe her smile off her face.

  All of her friends were there, and they’d promised she could still be part of the group even if she was off the market permanently. Mal and Marnie were there as was her mother who they’d flown in.

  A surprise twist this time was that Liam had reached out to several of her music industry peers and they were here too. The neighbors were probably wondering why there were security guards down at the front door, but some of these people had seriously high profiles and their security was of paramount importance.

  She adjusted some mini paella cups on a tray before walking over to where her fiancé was standing with Mal and her mother.

  “You shouldn’t be waitressing,” Liam said, taking the tray from her and handing it to one of the staff they’d hired to help.

  “Carrying a tray of food to my fiancé isn’t waitressing,” she said with a roll of her eyes. She kept calling him her fiancé in the hopes that she’d get used to it. It was still almost surreal that they were dating, let alone engaged.

  “Georgie insisted on catering, again.”

  “Please do not do anything to discourage this woman from cooking unless it is getting back in the studio to finish the album,” B-Dog said, coming up with a canape in his hand. “I saw Brian Springer, and he said your studio sessions were amazing. How come you didn’t ask me to be on the album, gorgeous Georgie?”

  She smiled at him. Liam and Mal had gotten his account, and as she predicted, he was more pussycat than diva once you were working with him.

  “Do you want to be? I start in the Lemon Studio in Brooklyn next week. I’m sure we could work something out.” She knew full well that having him on the album would take it to another level entirely.

  “Of course, I want to be, woman. That would be awesome. In fact, I’ve even written a ballad just in case you offered,” he said as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

  She felt the color rise in her cheeks. “You wrote me a song?”

  “You’d be surprised the songs you’ve inspired, Georgie, and not just for me,” he said with a cheeky grin.

  She would indeed. Liam wrapped an arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “What have I been telling you for years?”

  He had of course. “I guess I needed to see it for myself. I thought you were just biased.”

  Liam planted a kiss on her temple. “I am a little because I do think you’re the most amazing person in the whole world, but the fact remains I am not alone and other people think you’re pretty amazing too.”

  She looked around at the group gathered on the roof, colleagues of his and hers and their friends.

  “I think the same can be said for you as well, mister.” Tapioca came up and danced around their feet before lying down for Liam to rub her belly with his foot.

  “If we’ve been amazing apart, imagine the things we can accomplish together. The list is endless, Georgie,” he said, pulling her even closer to his side.

  “It’s going to be quite an adventure, Liam.” And she couldn’t wait to get started. In fact, maybe she’d suggest they move the wedding up, just to be sure. When something was this good, there was no reason to wait even one more minute to begin enjoying it. They’d already wasted enough time, and now she was ready for the future to start right now.

  THE END

  SNEAK PEEK

  Read the first chapter of NO TIME FOR APOLOGIES, book 5 of the No Brides Club…

  Kate (or K.A. as the corporate name plate outside her cubicle at work read) Lewis stepped from the dimly lit stairwell into the still bright evening sun of
the Briarwood Tavern’s rooftop bar in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City. She waved to her best friend Julie Harrison holding down their usual table, hitched her messenger bag up on her shoulder, and went straight for the antique mahogany bar.

  “One fresh cherry margarita coming up,” the regular Thursday evening bartender said when she reached her destination.

  Kate eyed the glass the bartender lifted from the rack and flipped over with a twist of the wrist. “No, Andre, that won’t do it tonight. Give me the monster size.”

  He looked at her straight on. “You know that’s five times what you generally order.”

  “Yep, I did the math on the walk over.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  While she waited, Kate tapped her fingernails on the wood and scanned the room, her gaze fixing on a guy sitting alone at a table for two, his eyes glued to his cell phone. Stood up? She blinked. The guy looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him.

  “Here you go.” Andre slid her drink across the bar to her.

  “Thanks.” She cradled the glass in both palms and walked the table maze to where Julie was sitting.

  “Well, are we celebrating?” Julie asked. “Did K.A. Lewis break the glass ceiling? Am I looking at the DeBakker Funds’ new Growth and Income Fund Manager, the fund’s first female manager?

  “Not exactly.” Kate sat, and took a healthy swallow of her drink.

  “Want to spill or wait for the others? Julie asked.

  Kate glanced toward the entrance. None of the other members of the No Brides Club had arrived yet. The group was her lifeline when she was drowning in frustration over her career. She didn’t want to imagine what her life would be like without the support of other women who were equally focused on their careers. Women who were so focused that they’d decided not to weigh themselves down with the baggage of trying to balance romantic relationships on top of the struggle to climb the corporate ladder.

  “No, I need to get it out.” She was closest to Julie. They’d been friends since college. “But where is everyone, anyway?”