Four For Christmas(26)
Jimmy turned to Flynn. “What about you? Are you fine with this?”
Flynn glanced at Chris, then Georgia. “We knew she would be leaving us, Jimmy. And Chris is right. We don’t want to be responsible for turning a pregnant woman gray.”
Georgia’s vision blurred with tears. This was crazy. They were all reacting to the timing. That was all. Last night had been intensely intimate. It was bound to spill over into the next day. “Thank you all. For the snowmen. For bringing me here. For everything.”
She quickly kissed Chris and Flynn on the cheek, but Jimmy grabbed her arm. “What the hell is going on? What did I miss?”
“I missed it.” She tugged away from his touch regretfully. “I have to go.”
She walked out to find Roux poking her head out of Flynn’s bedroom. The snowcat, it seemed, had scared her. “Come on, girl. Time to take a ride.”
Her tail started wagging. She loved riding in the car. Roux had no idea yet that she was leaving her new best friends for good. That she’d never see them again. She’d be brokenhearted when she figured it out.
Georgia’s eyes were caught by a glimmer of silver. Her locket on that raggedy tree. Her throat closed. It was a gift from one of the most wonderful men she’d ever known, but she just couldn’t take it with her.
Nicholas deserved it far more than she did.
***
She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to face Simon again. Georgia sighed as she rolled out the pie dough with a bit more enthusiasm than she needed to. Not that she had any choice in the matter, since he and the rest of his quartet were coming over for dinner tonight.
Christmas Eve.
After they’d gotten on the road and headed out to the ski lodge, Connie’s hormones had calmed enough for her to realize something was very wrong with Georgia. It didn’t take much for the entire story to spill out into the air for Connie…and Simon to hear.
When she got to the part about her book, her reaction, Connie tried to be understanding, but it was plain to see she was just as confused as Chris had been.
Georgia had known she’d overreacted. That she hadn’t needed bad holiday karma to hurt three men who had been nothing but wonderful and kind and generous with her. She’d done the job just fine on her own.
Grandpa Bale would be ashamed to discover that his holiday happy granddaughter had become a Grinch.
She tossed more flour on the damp dough, peeling it off the rolling pin with absent-minded skill as she thought about him. And them. And the book.
If she had taken a moment she might have marveled at the synchronicity of it all. The tree. Their brother. Her book. In fact, someone without her grinchy blinders might call it fate.
She shook her head. Wishful thinking. She hadn’t been good enough for that stocking stuffer if you combined all her years on the planet. Who had? Three men just for her? Women everywhere would lead mass protests. Her name would be vilified. They would refuse to have sex with another man again unless she shared the wealth, and a national emergency would be declared.
“I think she’s daydreaming again,” Lori Ann spoke from the doorway. “That dough hasn’t got a chance.”
Connie’s laughter had her wanting to bury her face in the flour and hide. “She’s eccentric. Most writers are. She’s either been daydreaming or baking the last few days. Unless she’s daydreaming while eating what she’s baked. She saves me pieces, so I don’t complain.”
“Sorry, guys.” Watching the happy threesome make baby plans wasn’t doing much to lift her spirits. She loved her friend, and she was truly happy for her. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the look of disappointment in Chris’s eyes. Their sadness when they read the letter from their brother.
Peppermint Schnapps.
“You should talk to Charli.” Connie squeezed her from behind, kissing her shoulder affectionately. “If you’re wondering how one woman can have a happy ever after kind of relationship with three men, she knows better than anyone.”
Georgia shook her head. “It’s an entirely different situation. They were all best friends from childhood. They knew each other. Trusted each other. Had matching sets of familiar looking luggage. We just had a few days. One night. Plus they’re brothers.”
“Foster brothers, honey, that’s a really important distinction.” Lori Ann smirked, leaning on the counter beside her. “You think that friendship makes it easier? In Charli’s mind, it only made things harder. Taking a chance on ruining something vital for something that might not work out.”
Connie nodded. “Exactly. And I’m sure I’ve told you this, but she didn’t even realize that they had feelings for her until we pointed it out. You’re welcome, Charli. And yes, she still owes us one. I’m thinking babysitting. Lots of babysitting.” She tugged one of Georgia’s curls and smiled. “Or you could always look at us. I know, it’s weird for some people, but we are blissfully happy together. And we didn’t grow up together like Charli and Company. The point is, if you find something or someone that makes you happy, how can it be wrong?”