Page 113 of Inferno
Prissy waved a dismissive hand. “Girl, please. They’re not gonna hear a thing with all that noise they’re making down there. And the way they blast that television, it’s a miracle none of them have gone deaf.” Prissy scooped up both of their mugs and set them down on the small table beside her, then turned back to her longtime friend. “Now tell me what happened between you and Sterling.”
Georgina blew out a deep breath and dazedly shook her head. With her smooth honey complexion, patrician features and long curly hair, she was a dead ringer for Lonette McKee, that pretty young actress from the movieSparkle.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Georgina confessed in a husky voice. “I still can’t believe what we did.”
“What did you do?” Prissy whispered.
Georgina met her wide-eyed gaze,thensighed. “Let me start from the beginning. I sent Quentin to spend this past weekend with his daddy’s family since he won’t be there for Thanksgiving. They werenottoo happy about that, I might add. His aunts and grandmother gave me a real tongue-lashing for taking Quentin away for Thanksgiving, even though when Fraser was alive, we spent every holiday with his family. You know, since my parents cut me off years ago.”
Prissy nodded sympathetically. “I remember.”
Georgina hailed from a proud old Southern family of doctors and lawyers who’d expected her to marry someone of the same social standing. But when she met and fell in love with a cocky amateur boxer who didn’t have a penny to his name, her family was appalled. When Georgina defied their wishes and married Fraser Reddick, her parents had disinherited and disowned her. Since then, nothing—not Quentin’s birth or the tragic death of his father—had mended the rift between Georgina and her relatives. Prissy thought it would be poetic justice if Quentin—who was overprotective of Georgina—grew up to become a successful doctor or lawyer who’d reject his mother’s family if they ever sought to make amends with him.
“Anyway,” Georgina continued, “I know how much Fraser’s kinfolk love to dote on Quentin. He looks and acts so much like his daddy that sometimes it feels like Fraser never left us. But the Reddicks shouldn’t make me feel guilty for choosing to spend the holidays somewhere else for a change. And it wasn’t just my choice. When I told Junebug that you’d invited us to accompany Sterling and the boys here for Thanksgiving, he wassoexcited. And that was even before I told him about the ski trip.”
Prissy smiled softly. “You know you and Quentin have always been like family. We’re so glad you both came.”
“Me, too.”Georgina sighed heavily. “And the timing couldn’t have been better. I needed to get away from Atlanta for a few days. This past Sunday was Fraser’s birthday. He would have been thirty-five.”
“Oh, Georgie.”Prissy reached over, gently grasping her friend’s hands in hers. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to call—”
“Oh, girl, don’t worry about it,” Georgina said dismissively. “You can’t be expected to remember every date. You always send a beautiful card on our wedding anniversary and the anniversary of his passing. And remember how you and Celeste would come over and drag me out of bed, take me out to lunch and treat me to a massage?”
A soft, reminiscent smile curved Prissy’s lips. “I remember.”
She remembered, too, how shocked and devastated everyone had been when Fraser—a police officer—was killed in the line of duty three years ago. She remembered going home the night of his funeral, getting down on her knees and thanking God that it wasn’therhusband who’d been put into the ground that day. And she remembered Celeste’s guilty confession to her that she’d gone home and whispered the same prayer.
Georgina continued quietly, “Quentin called me from his aunt’s house on Sunday evening. They’d just finished cutting the birthday cake in Fraser’s memory, and Quentin wanted to call and make sure I was okay. I assured him that I was, we chatted for a few minutes, and then I hung up the phone and cried myself to sleep. When I woke up, Sterling was at the front door. He’d stopped by on his way home from work to check up on me. But the moment I saw him, I could tell something was wrong. But he wouldn’t tell me at first. He was more concerned about me.”
“Typical Sterling,” Prissy murmured fondly.
“Yes.” Georgina smiled softly. “Always putting others abovehimself. We sat and talked for a while, and he told me that the fellas at the station had commemorated Fraser’s birthday with some special ritual that involved gathering around a circle and toasting one another with Fraser’s favorite brand of beer.” She laughed ruefully. “I know I’m not explaining it right, but it was very touching.”
Prissy smiled gently. “I’m sure it was.”
Georgina gazed down at their joined hands. “I was moved to tears, Prissy. After Sterling comforted me, I turned the tables on him and asked him what was wrong. I had to keep prodding until he finally opened up and shared the conversation he’d had with Celeste that afternoon.”
Prissy held her breath, wondering if Celeste had changed her mind and told Sterling about her miscarriage.
Georgina’s somber gaze returned to hers. “She told him that she and Grant would be spending the next three months in Minnesota, and if Grant changed his mind about accepting the surgeon position at the Mayo Clinic, she planned to relocate with him.” Georgina shook her head slowly. “Sterling wassohurt and devastated, Pris. He admitted to me thatthatwas the moment he realized that his marriage was truly over. Before then, even despite their divorce being finalized, he’d been secretly hoping that there was still a chance for them to work things out. But Celeste’s decision to move away with Grant dashed the last of his hopes. So it wasmyturn to consolehim.” Georgina’s expression softened. “One moment we were embracing, the next moment we were kissing desperately and undressing each other.”
“Oh, my God.”Prissy was stunned. “You and Sterling…”
“I know. I never would have imagined something like that happening between us. But it did. Oh, Prissy, he wassopassionate.So tender and giving.Lord have mercy, I’m getting flushed justthinkingabout what an amazing lover he was.” Georgina sighed, laying a hand over her heart as tears shimmered in her eyes. “He’s the first man I’ve slept with since….”
“Since Fraser died,” Prissy finished softly.
Georgina nodded. “It wasn’t screwing, like we were just using each other to exorcise demons. We madelove, Pris, and afterward we held each other tight and let our tears fall together.”
As moisture filled her own eyes, Prissy gently squeezed Georgina’s hands. “It sounds incredible.”
“It was. We were two lonely, hurting souls who turned to each other in our time of need, and we shared a poignantly beautiful experience that I will never,everforget.”
“Oh, Georgie.”Prissy’s voice softened as she searched her friend’s face. “Are you in love with Sterling?”
Georgina choked out a soft, teary laugh and shook her head. “You know Fraser is the only man I will ever love. But let me tell you. Sterling Wolf could stealanywoman’s heart, and if I’d met him before Fraser, I never would have wanted for anyone else. Men like Sterling—and your Stanton—represent what every man should be.Strong, dependable, unselfish, fiercely protective and loyal.True gentlemen through and through.Every woman should be lucky enough to have a husband like Sterling.”
“One did,” Prissy murmured sadly, “and she walked out on him.”
