9.1
"I didn't mean to come in here and talk about blow-up dolls."
I think I hear the Secret Service agent chuckle, but Georgina's face flushes pink. I can't tell if she's mad. Are her nostrils flaring?
"Stop talking," she says, her voice tight.
"Shit. None of that came out right. I'm really not normally an idiot, even though I seem to be when I'm around you." I exhale heavily. "You know what? Yes. Pencil me in for another time."
"Excellent, Mr. Ashby. If I can just –"
Georgina's expression softens as she looks at me, and she puts her hand up, stopping the secretary. "Jane, could you hold my next appointment?"
"Ms. Aschberg, you know how –"
Georgina gives her a look. "Just for a few minutes."
"Absolutely, ma'am."
I follow her into her office and start talking as soon as the office door closes behind me, oblivious to anything else. "Look, I'm man enough to apologize when I say something out of bounds.” I don't know why, but I'm driven by a need to have this girl not think I'm a total moron – or a narcissistic celebrity jackass – even though I seem to wind up acting like both when I'm around her. “And I don't know why I said I was doing you a favor by donating the ranch, because it's not true..."
"Nathaniel, I think you should know that –"
“Georgina.” I cut her off before she can continue because I know that if I don't spit my apology out right now, I'm going to be so distracted by the fact that she's standing here less than a foot away from me, looking up at me the way she's doing right now with her wide eyes and plump, perfectly kissable lips, and… Oh hell, what was I doing again? That's right. I was apologizing. "You're really doing me a favor, letting me donate the ranch. I need the good publicity."
Shit. Why did I say that?
I do need the good press, that's true. It's why my agent suggested I do something with a charity right now. But my ranch is my refuge during off-season. I can count on one hand the number of visitors I've had there. Even Adriano knows not to bug me when I go there to hide out. When I found out about the summer camp that Georgina's foundation runs, I wanted to do it because it was a cool cause.
Except now this girl thinks I'm an asshole who only cares about his public image.
Georgina blanches. "The good publicity. Right. You're up for contract renewal. Of course."
"That's not what I meant, exactly. Fuck, I'm not saying what I mean here."
"It's okay," she says. "Adriano already explained."
"Explained what?" Adriano talked to her already?
Georgina's cheeks flush pink, giving her this glow that automatically makes me think of sex. Hell, everything about this girl makes me think about how much I want my hands on her.
"I explained that you're in the middle of negotiating contracts." Adriano steps into view from where he's apparently been standing on the other side of the office.
What the hell is he doing here?
"So you explained that I'm donating the ranch to help my contract negotiations?" I have to ball my hands into fists at my side to keep from slugging Adriano. I swear, if he weren't my best friend, he'd be dead right now. The best friend part of things is beginning to be questionable, too.
"He didn't say that, exactly," Georgina says, smiling at Adriano. When she looks at him, it sends a rush of possessiveness through me. "He explained that the ranch is really important to you and that it was a big deal for you to donate it for the summer."
"Did you?” I ask, my voice flat. I don't like the fact that he and Georgina have been in here talking, and I like it less that Adriano had time with her to explain my motives for anything.
"Well, not really. I told her you're basically a hermit with no social skills, and that you don't let anyone near your ranch."
I glare at Adriano, until Georgina looks at me. When her eyes meet mine, I swear there's something between us, the same magnetic pull I felt that night at the charity event when I nearly pressed my lips to hers. "I'm not a hermit," I say lamely.
A smile tugs at the edges of Georgina's lips. "It's okay. I completely overreacted. The real truth is, you are doing me a huge favor by donating the ranch – and your time - and the foundation is grateful for it." Her face colors again. "I'm really grateful for it. Personally, I mean. If you are donating your time. I don't mean to assume that you're still interested in showing up at the camp – or that you were even interested in donating your time to begin with before my father put you on the spot."
"I told her you may not have time, what with all of your other obligations," Adriano interrupts.
"My other obligations?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
"Adriano explained how busy you are with training ”
"I’m not." I glare at Adriano. "Although I appreciate Adriano looking out for my time commitments."
Adriano grins. "No problem, man. Don't mention it. I told her I'd be happy to donate my time in your place."
"That's shocking." If Adriano thinks for one second that I’m going to let him cock-block me and make a move on this girl at my own ranch, he doesn’t know me at all.
Georgina's brow furrows. "If there's a problem –"
"There's no problem," I insist. "I actually don't have any other commitments that conflict with the summer camp. I'm happy to take a more personal, hands-on approach with the charity."
I look meaningfully at Georgina, whose eyes widen. She takes a corner of her lip between her teeth and in that moment, I know she's thinking about what happened between us. Adriano has no chance with her. I watch her swallow hard. "Um, yes. Right. Your contributions – both of your contributions – are extremely generous."
"Well, both of us are really good at being hands-on," Adriano adds, winking.
Then Georgina looks at him and does the lip-biting thing again. The fact that she does it when she looks at Adriano makes me unreasonably annoyed. She moves to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, the gesture self-conscious, even though there's not a single hair out of place. "Um. Hands-on. Both of you. Exactly. So…" She clears her throat and takes a deep breath, her expression settling into one that's completely professional, her tone businesslike. "The kids would really respond to two famous athletes spending any time at all with them. It would be a great way of kicking off the inaugural camp session and I think it might encourage other athletes or celebrities to get involved, too."
"So it's settled. Two weeks at the ranch," Adriano says.
"Two weeks?" Georgina asks. "Oh, no. I didn't expect that you would be there for the entire time. I figured you could show up and give them a motivational speech, or sign some autographs. Most celebrities donate just a couple of hours or so to charities like this."
"Are you going to be there for the full two weeks?" Adriano asks.
"I always go to the first camp of the summer," Georgina says.
"Then I'll be there. I'm highly motivated to provide a personal touch," Adriano says, grinning.
That grin makes me want to punch him. He thinks I'm going to let him spend two weeks at my ra
nch alone with Georgina? He's out of his damn mind. I clench my jaw as I speak. "Two weeks? No problem. I'll be there too."
"Um. Okay. Well, I didn't expect –" She looks down at the ground before taking another breath and making eye contact with us again. "The fact that both of you are willing to donate your time for two entire weeks is… generous. Really generous."
"It's for the children," Adriano says piously.
Smarmy bastard. I could slap the shit out of him right now. "Charity is important to us," I say before I can stop myself, sounding almost as transparent as Adriano.
"I see," she says. Her cheeks flush pink again. "Well. I don't want to doubt your generosity, but…" Her voice trails off and she takes a deep breath. "I don't want you coming to the camp because you have some kind of ulterior motive."
"Ulterior motive?" Adriano's face is choirboy innocent.
Georgina's face reddens again. "Since, I mean…" She exhales heavily. "Both of you have said – or done - some things that aren't exactly… professional, and this camp would be a purely professional setting."
The thought of what Adriano might have said to Georgina that's less than professional makes me want to explode. "So we'd need to behave appropriately," I say for Adriano's benefit more than anyone else's.
A look of relief washes over Georgina's face. "Yes. Exactly. And I think we're all professionals here."
"I think some of us are professionals," I agree.
Part of me is wondering what the hell I'm doing here. A week ago, I was donating my ranch for the summer so a bunch of kids and camp counselors could run around and ride horses and make s'mores. That was as personal as it was going to get. Hell, giving up my summer getaway was charitable enough. Now, I'm standing here agreeing to two weeks of businesslike behavior with the hottest woman I've ever seen and the best friend who's determined to cock-block me.
"Oh, I can definitely behave professionally," Adriano assents – though his words sound anything but.
Georgina looks doubtful. "It's a children's summer camp, so no, um –"
"Nakedness?" Adriano asks.
