Page 21 of Easy Come
"I was just mentioning to Mr. Party Pooper here that his brother has been dancing with a cute blonde."
Chase smiled at the models to let them know he needed his arms back. They reluctantly released him. "Yeah, I was surprised to see her." He looked at me. "I'm guessing you invited her?”
"Invited who?"
Katrina huffed with frustration. "The woman dancing with Quinn. Boy, you really are out of it tonight. Maybe you should have stayed at home, drinking a warm glass of milk in bed."
"Think you're right about that, Kat."
"Well," Chase continued, "did you invite her?"
"What the fuck are you talking about, Chase?"
"The reporter," Aidan snapped, having lost patience with the confusing conversation. "Quinn is dancing with the reporter fromContemporary Lifemagazine."
I stood stock-still and stared at Aidan, wondering if he was joking. He nodded, letting me know he wasn't.
I smacked the glass down on the table behind me and plowed through the crowd. By the time I reached the dance floor, Quinn was reluctantly handing Georgie off to a guy name Lowell, an ignorant asshole who worked for our accountant and who fancied himself to be a real ladies' man. Only theladiesdidn't concur with him on that assessment.
It was a semi-slow dance, and Lowell was taking full advantage by wrapping his arms around Georgie's back and hauling her closer than necessary. The tight line of her forced smile assured me she was not enjoying the dance. Which was all right because Lowell was going to need to find a new partner.
Quinn stopped me on my determined path through the maze of dancers. "Hey, are you coming out here to dance alone? Lowell just stole my sweet little partner, but I plan to get her back on the next song."
"Think again, little brother." I continued on my war path, leaving Quinn no chance to respond. Lowell had a stupid grin plastered on his face as he glanced over Georgie's shoulder at me. The grin faded fast when he realized I was marching toward him. His face blanched, and his arm fell away from Georgie's back.
She turned around to see what had startled her dance partner.
"Trey," she said through parted lips that were glazed in hot pink lipstick and just begging to be kissed.
"Hey, Armstrong," Lowell said, with regained confidence. "You'll have to wait for the next dance. We just got started."
"Sorry, Lowell, your dance is over." Just like with Quinn, I didn't wait for a response. I was in no mood for responses or conversations or small talk tonight. I grabbed Georgie's hand. She put up a good show of a shocked gasp but followed right along behind me.
I led her off the dance floor and past a lot of curious, surprised stares as I walked her out to the hotel lobby.
"That was rather rude," Georgie quipped as she toddled along behind me. I held firmly to her hand and didn't slow down, even as she struggled to keep up with my long, determined stride. "I guess rudeness is one of your character flaws," she continued. "I sure saw it on full display yesterday."
The lobby was crowded. I still hadn't said a word to her or even looked at her, but she continued talking, apparently deciding this was the time to get everything off her chest.
"And another thing, how dare you tell me to use my superpower and then the second I walk out in a bikini to use that superpower—"
I pulled her through the crowded lobby toward the elevators. Some of our guests had spilled out of the ballroom to get fresh air or have a few minutes without the noise. They too watched with dropped chins as I led Georgie across the tile floor. But I didn't give a damn. There was only one person I was interested in seeing right now and that was the woman chattering away behind me.
"And my boobs aren't my superpower—my brain is my superpower. Everything else is just extra, like condiments. Like ketchup on fries . . .”
I slapped the elevator button and the doors opened. I pulled her inside the empty elevator and hit the button to close the doors. Then I turned to face her.
She wasn't wearing her glasses, and her blue eyes sparkled as she blinked at me. "Or nacho cheese sauce, if you prefer extra fattening fries," she said a little less firmly than the first part of her scolding.
"Damnit, Georgie, what the hell have you done to me?" I yanked her into my arms and my mouth slammed down over hers.
Chapter Twenty
Georgie
Thingssort of went blurry after Trey's kiss. Most likely because I'd been waiting for that damn kiss for so long, my head grew dizzy from all the release of tension. We'd hardly spoken more than ten words as we rode up to the top floor and race-walked along the richly decorated corridor to Trey's room.
He slid his room card through the slot. The door opened into a massive suite with a view similar to the view he had at home. City lights decorated the skyline and made the polished marble and wood in the room sparkle. A round couch sat in the center of the living room, in front of a kitchen that was at least three times the size of my apartment.
