Hot Mess by Lynn Raye Harris Read Free Book Online Page B

out a long breath, clenched his fists at his side, and went to rejoin her.
    She finished chopping everything and he put it on to sauté. When he turned around, she’d found a bottle of wine. She held it up. “Want some?”
    “I’d better not.” He needed to keep his wits sharp, and he couldn’t do that if he were drinking. Not that he expected anyone to show up here looking for Georgie, but he considered himself on duty. Even if he felt like he wasn’t doing a damn thing out here in the boonies.
    She removed the cork expertly and poured herself a glass. He watched her take a sip, remembering when she wasn’t old enough to drink at all. She used to wrinkle her nose at the beer he and Rick snuck out of her dad’s pool house refrigerator. They hadn’t done it often, but when they had, Georgie had never told on them.
    She sat on a barstool on the other side of the tiny kitchen counter and smiled at him. His heart hitched in spite of himself.
    “So did you think when you came to see me this morning you’d be sharing a house with me tonight?”
    “Have to say it was the furthest thought from my mind.”
    She took another sip of wine. “Yeah, me too. I’ve pretty much sworn off men altogether, and yet here you are.”
    He frowned. “I’m sorry Tim hurt you, Georgie.”
    Her expression tightened. “I think we probably hurt each other. But he’s moved on now. Got himself a new fiancée and everything.”
    He could hear the note of hurt in her voice, and it made him want to throttle Tim for her.
    “Seems kinda quick.”
    She picked up a sliver of carrot and crunched on it. “You’d think, but it wasn’t all that quick after all. Tim and Lindsey have been sharing a bed for a couple of years now.”
    Sam blinked. “A couple of years? Then that means…” She looked at him expectantly, an eyebrow raised, but he couldn’t finish the sentence. Tim Cash had been fucking someone else while still married to Georgie? What an asshole.
    She lifted her glass high. “That’s right, Tim had him a little something on the side. To Tim and Lindsey, long may they enjoy themselves. God knows they certainly deserve each other.”
    He hated to see her hurting. He especially hated that it was over another man. “I’m really sorry, Georgie. If it helps, and I’m sure it doesn’t, Tim’s a fucking asshole.”
    She laughed. “Yeah, he is. But he’s not my asshole anymore, so there’s that at least.”
    “Does your family know?”
    She didn’t pretend not to understand him. “I’ve never said as much, but I suspect they have their theories. Besides, I’d rather Rick not charge up here and challenge Tim to pistols at dawn or something.”
    “I could do it for him. Save him the trip. Plus, I’m a better shot.”
    “Haha, funny man. Forget it. Tim is history.” She toyed with the stem of her wine glass. “So why haven’t you married yet?”
    He ignored the flip of his heart. “Never wanted to.”
    “You’ve never been in love?”
    He turned away from her and put the pasta in the boiling water, giving it a vicious stir. When he turned back, she was still watching him expectantly. Damn it. He didn’t quite know what to say. He was thirty years old and he’d never been in love. Not only that, but he wasn’t sure he believed in love. Or at least not for everyone. His parents damn sure hadn’t had it. Neither had Georgie and Tim, apparently. Her parents seemed to be in love, but how did anyone really know what went on between two people?
    He settled for the truth. “No.”
    “But you’ve had girlfriends at least, right?”
    “Georgie.”
    She blinked innocently. “Yes, Sam?”
    “Why are you asking me these things?”
    “It’s called small talk. Remember that?”
    Remember? Hell, he wasn’t likely to ever forget the last time she’d said that to him. They’d been parked by Hopeful Lake and she’d just told him she wanted him. Not only that, but his cock was beginning to harden at the memory. He didn’t