Georgia On My Mind by Marie Force Read Free Book Online Page A

and her panties were missing in action. Digging around in the sheets, she finally found them and tugged them on, certain she would never look at purple polka dots in quite the same way again.
    Reaching for her earrings on his bedside table, she was swamped with longing. To see him just once more. To feel the way he made her feel, even if just for five more minutes. Was that too much to ask after what she had given him during the night? “You’re the one who said it was a one-time thing,” she mumbled as she stared at the earrings, which all but dared her to leave them there to give him an excuse to seek her out again.
    Before she could change her mind, she slid on her flip-flops and left the room—without the earrings. In the hallway, she heard water running in the bathroom. She went in to find the toilet still flushing. When tinkering with the handle didn’t take care of it, she lifted the cover off the back and fiddled with the plunger thingy, but couldn’t get it to stay up to stop the flow of water. “He’ll flip his lid if I leave it like this all day. I’ll bet he’s a freak about water conservation, too.”
    She looked around for something she could use to fix it. Feeling like she was invading his privacy, she opened the medicine cabinet. Mixed in with all the guy stuff, she found a box of dental floss. Her eyes darting from the malfunctioning plunger to the light fixture on the wall above the toilet, she mulled her options and decided there weren’t any. It was this or nothing.
    With only another moment of hesitation, she grabbed the dental floss, tied it to the plunger and hoisted it up with a knot around the light. Just for good measure, she added a second piece. Satisfied she had done what she could, she returned what was left of the floss to the cabinet, closed the door, dashed down the stairs and out the front door, hoping no one would see her as she left. She didn’t take a deep breath until she reached the foot of Extension Street and hung a left onto Lower Thames toward Dean Avenue , back to her mother’s house, back to her mother’s job, back to the aftermath of her mother’s death.

Chapter 5
     
    As Georgie climbed the hill from Lower Thames , she checked her watch. Five minutes until nine. Hopefully, Cat and Tess had already left or were still sleeping and she could get in and out in time to be at the donut shop by nine thirty. She wasn’t sure what she wanted more at the moment—a tall cup of coffee or a hot shower to wake her up and work out the knots in her aching muscles.
    Rooting around in her purse for her keys, she scooted up the stairs.
    “Well, well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in.”
    Startled, Georgie glanced over to where Cat lounged on the wicker sofa with the newspaper, a cup of coffee, and a smug smile.
    “I thought you didn’t drink coffee,” Georgie said, desperate to talk about anything other than why she was sneaking into the house at nine in the morning.
    “I had to do something to get the juices flowing. Jogger Guy was a no-show.” Raising an amused, pierced eyebrow, Cat said, “Any idea why?”
    “Nope. I took a walk this morning and stopped for coffee at the Handy Lunch.”
    “You are such a liar.” Grinning, Cat put down her cup, stood up, and walked over to Georgie. “Is that a hickey ?”
    “ No! ”
    Cat laughed. “Yeah, right. Let’s see, we’ve also got some whisker burn.” She took Georgie by the chin to get a closer look. “And judging by the suitcases under your eyes, I’d guess less than two hours’ sleep. Am I right?”
    Ashamed, Georgie diverted her eyes away from Cat’s.
    “Oh, you dirty, dirty girl!” Cat howled with laughter. “I’m very proud of you.”
    “ Stop, ” Georgie moaned. “It’s awful. I can’t believe I did this.”
    “Why the hell not? Was it good?”
    Georgie gave her a withering look.
    “The best ever?”
    Reluctantly, Georgie replied with the slightest of nods.
    “Then I repeat, what the hell is