Page 99 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
She had other things to worry about.
She dropped her purse on the bed and sank down beside it. She looked around at everything. Her life had changed in the time she’d been away – and it couldn’t go back to what it had been.
What was she supposed to do now?
She couldn’t go back to being an escort, not even one of the non-exclusive variety. Brody wouldn’t be able to stand it, even if she just went to book readings and Capitals hockey games. She wouldn’t like it either. She loved going out, but she only wanted to do those things with him, her outwardly stoic, inwardly passionate man.
The heaviness around her heart squeezed. She’d been mulling over the problem for days, but she still didn’t have an answer. She couldn’t work for Luxxor any more, and there weren’t that many more odd jobs around Brody’s house. She had to work; being idle drove her nuts. It was time to look for a new way to support herself, a new diversion that focused on her strengths and not her weaknesses, butwhat?
She laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Luxxor had brought her to this point. It had given her opportunities. In the end, though, it had also attracted the attention of Kevin Murphy and Maggie Harris…but that little twit would have been angry whether she’d been escorting Samuel Gunderson or just looking at him cross-eyed.
‘Uggggghhh.’ She covered her face with her hands and rubbed her temples. She’d figure it out. She had to.
Her phone started making noise again. Brody was worrying about her. She felt for her purse and pulled the phone out of her pocket. ‘You’re starting to hover,’ she said.
‘Genieve?’
Her eyes popped open. It wasn’t Brody; it was Nina. She draped her arm over her forehead. Had she summoned her? She wasn’t ready to talk about this, not yet. She hadn’t even made decisions for herself. ‘Hi, Nina. I just got back to town. I guess I should have called. Is everything OK?’
‘Can you meet me at the Apple Tree Grille? I want to talk to you about something important.’
Now? Genieve looked at the time. What could Nina want to talk about that she couldn’t say over the phone? ‘Sure.’
The restaurant wasn’t that far away, and Brody had said he’d be late.
‘I’ll see you there soon.’
‘OK.’ Genieve sat up with a frown. Had something gone wrong with Maggie or Murphy? No, Brody would have told her. Was it something with her friends? Dane or Rielle? Sienna? Jasmine? Casey?
Or had Nina found out about the steps she and Brody were taking against Kevin Murphy? Uneasiness prickled up and down Genieve’s neck. They weren’t trying to sabotage any measures Nina had taken, but they should have spoken to her first. She hoped they hadn’t screwed anything up.
Worried, she stood and brushed off her clothes. She’d worn the jeans and clingy top back from the beach, but the restaurant wasn’t fancy. She went to the bathroom to freshen up and texted Brody before heading out to her car. ‘Meeting Nina at the Apple Tree.’
His response came as she was putting on her seatbelt. ‘What’s up?’
‘Don’t know. I’ll tell you when I see you.’
‘Be safe.’
‘You too.’
* * *
The dinner rush was over when Genieve arrived at the Apple Tree Grille, but the place was still busier than it had been in the wee hours of the night. She looked around for a familiar face. Nina wasn’t there, so she asked for a booth. The waitress put her in the same one they’d had by the window during their late-night visit, and she sat down to wait. That night seemed long ago, and the incident at the Emissary was fading from her memory – or she was pushing it out – although that was when she’d first begun spending more time with Brody…
‘Can I get you something to drink?’ the waitress asked.
Genieve snapped out of her reverie. ‘Water, please. With lemon.’
Part of her wished they were still at the beach.
The door to the restaurant opened, and heads turned when a new customer arrived. It had to be Nina. The clip-clop of heels was a dead giveaway, yet even Genieve did a double-take when her boss came around the corner.
‘Wow,’ she said. The heels were cherry red with a single wide strap around the ankle. She lusted after them. Bad. They matched a clean-lined, stunning red dress that showed off Nina’s slim figure. ‘What’s the occasion?’
Her boss slid into the booth seat opposite from her. ‘An event at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.’
‘Oh, the astronaut gig,’ Genieve said, wiggling her eyebrows. Some jobs were just sexier than others.
