What I Did for Love

Chapter 17

Meg tugged nervously on an amber earring. “I told him he couldn’t come in.”

Lance looked as bad as someone so buff could possibly look. He was apparently growing both a beard and long hair for his next action film because he had an inch of unkempt black scrub sprouting from his jaw, and his dark hair hung unevenly around his square face, not an attractive look, although one that was certain to improve after his hair and makeup people got done with him. His coffee-stained T-shirt stretched over the bulging muscles he spent several hours a day maintaining. Narrow braided bracelets, similar to Meg’s headband, but more frayed, hung at his wrist, and he wore sandals made of rope and canvas. Skillful dentistry had shaped his strong white teeth, but he’d never let anyone touch his slightly crooked nose. His press kit said he’d broken it in a teenage street fight, but he’d really tripped on the front steps of his college frat house and been too frightened of surgery to have it fixed.

“Georgie, I’ve left half a dozen messages. When you didn’t call me back, I was afraid-Why wouldn’t you call me back?”

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. Mostly in 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.”

Exactly what he didn’t need, but Meg’s intentions were good.

Bram gazed at Georgie, and she could see him trying to decide how long and how hard to kiss her. But he wisely underplayed the scene by merely touching her hand. “I’ll be nearby if you need me.”

She’d intended to stay in the foyer, but Lance had other ideas, and he walked ahead of her into the living room. His passion for clean surfaces and hard modern lines would make him contemptuous of this lovely room with its kumquat trees, Tibetan throws, and mirrored Indian pillows. And while Bram’s house was spacious, it could have fit inside one corner of the massive property she and Lance had shared.

She remembered something she should have thought of earlier. “I’m sorry about the baby. Truly.”

He stopped in front of the fireplace, so that the vine curling over the mantel looked as though it was growing from his head. “It’s been hard, but it was early, and Jade got pregnant so easy that we’re not letting ourselves get too upset. Everything happens for a reason.”

Georgie didn’t believe that. She believed things sometimes happened just because life could really suck. “Still, I’m sorry.”

His shrug made her suspect he was secretly relieved. She heard a distant rumble of thunder and wondered how she could ever have loved this man with his shallow emotions and flexible passions. She’d given him tears and entreaties, but she’d never once unleashed her anger. No time like the present to fix that.

She moved toward him. “I’ll never forgive you for the lie you spread about me not wanting children. How could you do something so cowardly?”

He was taken aback by her attack, and he picked at the frayed bracelet on his wrist. “It…was an overzealous publicist.”

“That’s a lie.” Her anger erupted along with a flash of lightning. “You’re a liar and a cheat. You had dozens of chances to correct that story, and you never did.”

“Why are you being so hostile? What was I supposed to say?”

“The truth.” She closed the distance between them. They were nearly the same height, and she looked him squarely in the eye. “Except being honest would have made you look like even more of a jerk to the public, and you couldn’t stand that.”

He started to sputter. “Don’t talk to me about jerks? How could you marry that ass?”

“Easy. He’s hot and he worships me.” Truth and lie rolled up together.

“You’ve always hated him. I don’t understand how this could happen.”

“There’s a thin line between hating someone and finding the grand passion of your life.”

“Is that what this is about? Sex?”

“Definitely a big part of it. And I do mean big.”

That was just plain mean. The fact that Lance wasn’t super-endowed had never bothered her, but it bothered him, and she should be ashamed of herself. She wasn’t. “Bram’s insatiable. I’ve spent so much time naked lately, it’s a wonder I still remember how to wear clothes.”

He’d always refused to acknowledge any problems with their sex life, and he turned his back to examine the Moorish carving on the mantel. “I don’t want to fight with you, Georgie. We’re not enemies.”

“Think again.”

“If you’d just called me back…I have enough guilt. I don’t know how he did it, but I know he coerced you, and I want to help. I have to help you get out of this.”

“Fascinating. Except I don’t need help.”

“The fact that you married him…” He turned to face her again. “Don’t you see? Not only is it bad for you, but it cheapens what we had together.”

At first she was too stunned to respond, and then she laughed.

He puffed up, all injured dignity. “It’s not funny. If he’d been someone decent…Our relationship was true and honest. Just because it didn’t last doesn’t mean it wasn’t right at the time.” He stepped away from the fireplace. “If you married Bram of your own free will-and I’m having a hard time believing that-but if you did, you’ve tainted our relationship and demeaned yourself.”

“Okay, you have officially overstayed your welcome.”

Lance plowed on. “He’s a player. He’s lazy, aimless. The guy’s a drunk and a drug addict, for god’s sake. He’s nothing but a bum.”

“Get out of here.”

“You’re not going to tell me the truth, are you? You’re still too angry. Then tell me this…What would you have done if you were me? What if you’d met the love of your life while you were married to someone else? What would you have done?”

“Easy. I’d never have married someone who wasn’t the love of my life in the first place.”

He flinched. “I know you think what I did was unforgivable, but I’m asking you to look at it a different way. Try to see that what happened with Jade and me could never have happened if you hadn’t shown me what it means to really love someone-with your whole heart.”

His audacity made her want to laugh-scream-she didn’t know which. He pulled at his scruffy beard. “It’s hard to understand, I realize that, but without you, I wouldn’t have known what the heart is capable of.” He started to reach out for her, then must have seen something in her eyes that made him think better of it. “Georgie, you gave me the courage to love Jade the way she deserves to be loved. The way I deserve to love someone.”

A weird sort of fascination had taken hold of her. “Are you for real?”

“I’ve told you how sorry I am for hurting you. I never wanted to cause you so much pain.” She’d witnessed that same haunted expression when he watched television news, read a particularly moving book, or even visited an animal shelter. Lance had always felt things deeply. Once she’d seen him tear up at a beer commercial.

“You can’t imagine how much courage it took for me to leave you,” he said. “But my feelings for Jade…Jade’s feelings for me-they were bigger than both of us.”

“Did you just say ‘bigger than both of us’?”

“I don’t know how else to explain it. You showed me the way to love, and I owe you everything. You won’t tell me how you got trapped in this situation with Bram. That’s your choice. But I’ll help you anyway. Let me do that for you. Please, Georgie. Let me help you get out.”

“I don’t want out.” Another crash of lightning, closer this time, rattled the windows.

“Jade and I have talked about it. She has a house on Lanai. It’s completely private. Leave him, Georgie. Go there for a couple of weeks to relax and then…” He held up his hand, even though she hadn’t said a word. “Hear me out, will you? I know it’s going to seem strange at first, but promise you’ll listen.”

She stared at him. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“I think we’ve found a way to turn what happened between the three of us into something good. Something really extraordinary that will put the polish back on your reputation.”

“I didn’t know my reputation needed polishing.”

“Let’s just say that it’ll make people forget you ever married Bram Shepard.” He tugged on the bracelet again. “You and Jade and I…We have a chance to do something good. Something that will…set an example for the whole world. Promise that you won’t say no until you’ve given it serious thought. That’s all I’m asking.”

“The suspense is killing me.”

“We-Jade and I-want you to come with us when we go back to Thailand.”

Thunder shook the house. “Come with you?”

“I know it sounds crazy. At first I thought so, too. But the more we talked about it, the more we both understood that we’ve been given a golden opportunity. We have the chance to show the world in a big way how people who are supposed to be enemies can live together in peace and harmony.”

Georgie didn’t know whether to throw up or grab a Coke.

Rain slashed at the windows. “The press will go crazy,” he said. “You’ll look like a saint-everyone will forget about your crazy marriage. The causes that Jade and I are fighting for-good causes-will get more attention. But best of all, people all over the world will be forced to examine their own personal feuds and religious vendettas. Maybe we can’t change the world, but we can make a start.”

“I’m…speechless.”

The doors flew open and everyone on the veranda spilled inside. Obviously Bram and Meg hadn’t shared the news of Lance’s appearance because, one by one, they all stopped talking and stared. Finally Rory broke the silence. “You guys throw one hell of an interesting party.”

“I’ll say.” Laura couldn’t take her eyes off Lance, who’d broken into a smile at the sight of Paul.

“Paul, it’s great to see you again.” He strode across the room, hand outstretched. “I’ve missed you.”

“Lance.”

Georgie found it shocking that Paul merely shook her ex’s hand instead of falling on his knees and begging Lance to take her back. But then, he’d probably already done that.

A flush-faced Chaz came in from the kitchen carrying a tray of mugs and a plate of what looked like homemade chocolate truffles. Aaron followed with a coffeepot. Chaz couldn’t take her eyes off Lance and nearly tripped on the rug before she set the tray down. “Th-there’s somebody in the car outside,” she said.

“It’s Jade,” Lance said. “I’d better go.”

“You brought Jade here?” A swarm of bees buzzed through Georgie’s head.

“I told you,” Lance said. “I came right from the plane. And the car windows are dark. No one can see inside.”

A thick silence fell over the room until Bram ambled forward. “Shame on you, Lancelot, for making your wife stay in the car.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Grab an umbrella for me, Chaz, so I can invite her in.”

Georgie froze. Surely she’d misheard. But she hadn’t. Bram was angry and reacting in his typical bullheaded, impulsive way.

Paul leapt forward. “Stop right there.”

Bram’s jaw set in a stubborn line. “It’s a party. The more the merrier.”

She hated him, but she was supposed to love him, and with so many witnesses, she couldn’t let them see how she really felt. Instead, she had to show how a happily remarried funny girl would react to meeting the woman who’d stolen her idiotic ex-husband. “Chaz, while you’re getting Bram’s umbrella, grab a gun so I can kill myself.”

It was the right thing to say because Rory grinned. “This is the best party I’ve been to in years.”

“Ever!” Laura exclaimed.

“Fluff your hair,” Meg said to Georgie as Bram and Chaz disappeared, with Lance trailing behind. “And put on more lipstick. Quick.”

“Don’t you dare.” Rory’s hand shot out. “You’re fine just the way you are.”

“Rory’s right,” her kiss-up agent said. “Jade Gentry doesn’t have a thing on you.”

Meg rolled her eyes. “Except the most beautiful face in the universe, a body to die for, and Georgie’s ex-husband.”

“No, really,” Georgie retorted as she sank down on the couch. “All I need is a gun.”

Paul hurried forward. “Come with me, Georgie. You’re not doing this.”

Her father’s ill-timed order made her determined to do exactly the opposite. “Sure I am. Jade’s not important to me.” A lie. Just because Georgie had stopped loving Lance didn’t mean she’d ever forgive either him or Jade. She wanted revenge.

Moments later, Jade entered her living room while an invisible klieg light seemed to illuminate her stunning presence. Why did Jade have to be so exquisite? It was ironic…Most male movie stars looked better in person, but female stars tended to look vaguely encephalitic with heads too big for their sticklike bodies. Not Jade. She was even more breathtaking in person, an exquisite throwback to old Hollywood with Audrey Hepburn’s doe eyes, Katharine Hepburn’s cheekbones, and creamy Grace Kelly skin. A shiny sweep of straight dark hair framed a perfect valentine face without even a dab of makeup. Her breasts were generous but not vulgar. Her waist small and legs long. She wasn’t as tall as Georgie, but she carried herself with such commanding confidence that Georgie had to talk herself out of feeling as though she’d started to shrink.

Lance stood on Jade’s left and Bram on her right. As Paul stepped forward to greet Jade, he blocked her view of Georgie. Who knew whether it was deliberate or accidental? “I’m Paul York. I understand you just got off a plane.”

“It seems like we’ve been traveling forever.” Like Lance, she was rumpled, but her straight-legged black slacks and sleeveless black top still looked chic. Nothing about her signaled a woman who’d lost a baby less than a month ago. She shifted her weight, trying to see around Paul. She undoubtedly wanted to find Georgie so she could give her a big freaking hug. Fortunately, her cell rang before that could happen. “I need to take this. A couple of our people were deathly ill on the plane.”

She slid her hobo bag off her shoulder, pulled out her phone, and stepped away from them. Laura filled a coffee mug, and Meg swiped a chocolate truffle. Bram drifted toward Georgie. She hoped he didn’t get too close because she’d never be able to resist the temptation to kick him.

Rory did her best to ease the tension. “Laura, I hear you’ve been pushing Georgie for the lead in Rich Greenberg’s project? It’s a cute script. I wish we’d had a shot at it.”

“The movie about the bimbo vampire?” Meg wrinkled her nose. “Mom was talking about it.”

“Georgie’s perfect for the part,” Paul said.

“Georgie’s not interested,” Bram said. “She’s tired of doing comedy.”

He was right, but Georgie was angry and not the only immature person in this marriage. “Laura’s set up a meeting for me with Greenberg.”

Jade was growing agitated, although none of them could make out more than a few words. Finally, she snapped her phone shut and returned to Lance’s side, her perfect brow knit in distress. “Bad news about Dari and Ellen. Remember that outbreak of SARS in the Philippines? The doctors are afraid they both might have it.”

“SARS? My God…” Lance took her hand, the two of them against the world. “Are they going to be okay?”

“I don’t know. They’re in isolation right now, being shot full of antibiotics.”

“We’d better get over to the hospital right away.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Sure it is. We’ll go in through the back.”

“That’s not the problem.” She shoved the phone back in her purse and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “We can’t go anywhere.”

Lance stroked her fingers. “What do you mean?”

“That was the head of the county public health department on the phone. The hospital alerted him. Ellen’s and Dari’s test results won’t be back for forty-eight hours, and until they know for sure whether or not it’s SARS, everybody who was on the plane is under quarantine.” She looked around the room. “Along with anyone we’ve come into contact with since.”

Dead silence fell. Georgie felt dizzy, and Bram went still at her side.

“You don’t mean us,” Paul finally said.

“I’m afraid so.”

Bram didn’t move. “Are you saying we’re all supposed to stay here-in my house-for the next two days? We’ve barely had any contact with either of you.”

“Until Tuesday morning,” she said tightly. “Ironic, isn’t it?” Her gaze drifted to Georgie.

“Impossible,” Laura said. “I have back-to-back meetings on Monday.”

Meg frowned. “Mom and I are going riding tomorrow.”

“If I have to be quarantined, I’m doing it in my own house.” Rory glanced around for her purse. “I’ll go out through the back gate.”

“You’d better clear it with Public Health first,” Jade said. “These guys mean business. I’m sure you’d have to send your staff away first.”

Rory paused in her search for her purse, apparently remembering the filmmakers she was housing.

Chaz had taken the coffeepot from Aaron and turned to Bram. “What’s SARS? I don’t know what that is.”

Aaron answered for him. “Severe acute respiratory syndrome. It’s a serious disease. Very contagious. There was a pandemic a few years ago that killed hundreds of people and made thousands sick. A pandemic is like an epidemic, except a lot bigger.”

“I know what a pandemic is,” Chaz retorted so defensively Georgie knew she was lying.

“This is bullshit,” Bram said. “Lance hasn’t even been in the house fifteen minutes. And, god knows, nobody kissed him.”

Jade flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I explained that to Public Health, but they won’t budge.”

Laura whipped out her cell. “Give me the number. I’ll make them budge.”

But she wasn’t the only alpha dog in the room, and the others-Bram, Paul, and Rory-already had their hands on their own phones. Aaron took one look at Georgie and grabbed his, too. Lance glanced around. “Everybody can’t call.”

“I’ll do it,” Rory said. “I have contacts.”

For the next half hour while Georgie sat silently, the rest of them listened in on Rory’s conversations as she spoke to officials in the county’s Public Health Department and then the mayor himself. Finally, she conceded defeat. “Pulling strings isn’t going to work. This is political. Because celebrities are involved, nobody wants to be held responsible if this thing gets out of hand. It’s definitely overkill, but it seems as though we’re trapped.”

People began looking in Georgie’s direction, judging her reaction to being cooped up with her ex and his new wife. Scooter Brown would have known how to handle this. Scooter always came through in tough situations. Fine. Let that perky little bitch deal with it.

She pushed Scooter up from the couch. “We’ll make the best of it. Like a big house party. It’ll be fun.”

Chaz plunged into the mess. “I have a ton of food in the freezer, so that’s not a problem.”

“I need a drink,” Bram said.

“Of course you do,” Georgie snapped before she could stop herself, which meant Scooter had to jump in and rescue her. “A great idea, sweetie. Open a couple of bottles.”

Chaz turned to Bram. “Where’s everybody going to sleep?”

Georgie should suggest Paul share a room with Lance. He’d love cozying up to his favorite person.

Gradually they sorted it out. Meg insisted on taking the couch in Bram’s office, leaving the guesthouse bed to Rory and Laura. Paul would sleep in Georgie’s office. The guest room where Georgie had been sleeping went to Lance and Jade, which forced Georgie to explain that she’d been using it as her dressing room and would need to get some of her things out first. In a whispered argument, Chaz begrudgingly agreed to let Aaron sleep in her living room. That left Georgie cuddled up in her husband’s bed. It was such an unsettling prospect that Scooter once again had to come to Georgie’s aid. “I think the wind is calming down,” she chirped. “Let’s light a fire on the veranda. We could even make s’mores.”

“Or not,” Skip drawled.

Rory phoned her housekeeper and arranged for some personal items to be placed in a rainproof bag by the back gate. Meg lent Laura a roomy sleeping shirt. Jade announced that she slept nude so Georgie didn’t need to bother finding her anything. Chaz and Aaron distributed towels, washcloths, extra bedding, and toothbrushes. All the while Georgie struggled with a sense of unreality.

After the worst of the storm passed, Meg led Rory and Laura to the guesthouse while Bram made his way through the remaining sprinkles to retrieve Rory’s things. Her father poured a brandy and went out to sit on the veranda. Lance and Jade wanted to clean up after their long trip, and Aaron led them upstairs.

Georgie began helping an unappreciative Chaz pick up. Before long, she heard the shower go on in her bathroom and-twenty minutes later-turn off.

One shower. How cozy.

Her stomach churned. Having Lance here was horrible enough, but Jade’s presence made the situation unbearable. And it was all Bram’s fault.

She closed herself in his bedroom. She’d make the turret that occupied the far end of the room her sanctuary. An inlaid wooden table sat between a pair of easy chairs, and a lamp with a heavy bronze base rested near a chaise upholstered in a nappy chocolate brown chenille that complemented the buckwheat-honey walls. The chaise could only hold one person, and that’s where she’d sleep. Bram’s bed was for sex, not all-night intimacy.

She walked over to the window and gazed down along the rain-slicked driveway toward the gates. Even though it was after midnight, she could see at least two cars still parked on the street, the paps keeping their eternal vigil and praying for the magic shot that would bring them their fortune.

Public Health now had the names of everyone who’d been quarantined, so the story would leak quickly. They’d all have to release statements. Old problems forgotten. One big happy family. Lance would finally get what he wanted-the appearance of her forgiveness and final absolution in the public eye.

She rested her cheek against the window frame and wondered what it would be like to go through life always speaking the truth. But she lived in the wrong town for that. This was a city built on illusion, on false fronts and streets that led nowhere.

The door opened behind her. She heard the inevitable clink of ice cubes and caught the scent of rain as he came nearer. “I didn’t mean it to turn out like this when I invited her inside. I’m sorry.”

His unsolicited apology took some of the wind out of her sails. “Exactly how did you expect it to turn out?”

“Look, I was pissed.” He kept his voice down in deference to the single wall separating them from their unwelcome visitors in the next room. “Where does that guy get off showing up here? Then the whole idea of Jade sitting in the car feeling sorry for you because she figures you’re so destroyed by their great love affair that you don’t have enough backbone to look her in the fucking eye. It got to me.”

Put like that… Still, his high-handedness felt too much like her father’s. “It wasn’t your decision to make.”

“You weren’t going to make it.” He tugged at the buttons on his damp white shirt. “I’m sick of watching you wimp out whenever her name comes up. Where’s your pride? Stop believing she’s better than you.”

“I don’t-”

“Yes, you do. Jade may be better at some things. She sure as hell is better at going after another woman’s husband. But what Jade is or isn’t has nothing to do with you. Grow up and start being happy living in your own skin.”

“You’re talking to me about growing up?”

He wasn’t done ripping on her. “Jade and Lance were made for each other. He was no more the right man for you than…”

“Than you are?”

“Exactly.” He took a long swig from his glass.

“Thanks for your insightful input.” She snatched the robe and nightgown she’d fetched earlier and stomped into the bathroom to change. But as she washed her face, she had to admit Bram’s heart had been in the right place. Inviting Jade into the house had been his twisted version of being protective. He couldn’t have predicted the consequences.

When she came out, she found him propped against the pillows, wearing only a pair of knit boxer briefs that gleamed white against his skin. He’d kicked the covers back, and he had a book propped open on his chest. Seeing Bram Shepard reading a book looked weird enough, but not as weird as the pair of steel-rimmed glasses anchored to the bridge of his nose. She stopped dead. “What are those?”

“What?”

“You’re wearing glasses?”

“Just for reading.”

“You have reading glasses?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“People with tattoos shouldn’t have reading glasses.”

“I didn’t have them when I got the tattoo.” He slipped off the glasses and took in her T-shirt and blue pajama bottoms. “I was kind of hoping you’d be wearing one of those numbers from Provocative.”

“Even if I were in the mood, which I’m definitely not, I wouldn’t do it with them on the other side of this wall.”

“I see your point.” He got out of bed and pulled her across the carpet to the bathroom, where he shut the door and sealed them inside. “No more problem.”

“I’m still furious with you.”

“I understand. It’s only because I haven’t made a sincere-enough apology.” And he started to kiss her.