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Her expression was so warm, so desirable, how could he deny her after she’d said that? After a moment, he nodded. He’d meant to send Jason packing for his crimes against past lovers, but a few days away from the city was an attractive prospect. Besides, Georgie might be associated with the Greg issue. Greg had seen her with them. The last thing Cal wanted was for him to start stalking Georgie if they left her alone in the city.
“It would get me away from Richard, too,” Georgie murmured. “Another good reason to get away.” She pulled her kimono around her shoulders. “We could go to my father’s place in Randlethorpe for a few days.”
She hadn’t talked about her home before. “Sounds good. It won’t be a problem?”
“Not at all. There’s plenty of room. I’ll telephone Felice right now and let them know we’re coming.” She rose and walked over to the phone that hung on the wall close to the door. She glanced over her shoulder, smiling. “As an added bonus, Richard would never even think of looking for me there!”
He listened with interest to her talking to the woman on the other end of the phone. When she came back, he patted the sofa beside him, drawing her in against him when she sat down.
“All done. She’ll be expecting us sometime tomorrow.”
“Why don’t you want this ex, Richard, to find you?”
She groaned, putting her head back against the sofa. “He won’t take no for an answer. He’s just a pain in the proverbial.”
He nodded, but for some reason his curiosity had got the better of him. “Why didn’t it work with him?”
“Well, the sex was good, but there was no friendship, no companionship or mutual respect.”
“I don’t want to know about the sex.”
“You don’t?” She gave him a mock shocked stare.
“The real reason.”
“Ah.” She gave her answer careful consideration, while staring down at her hands. “This is hard.”
“Don’t tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No, I do ...” She looked at him. “Richard was a control freak. As far as he was concerned, I was just there for him. He wanted a trophy girlfriend, and he ... he wouldn’t let me be myself, you know?” Her expression was filled with regret, and he wanted to wash it away, to take all the negativity away for her.
He lifted her hand in his. “I can’t imagine why. You are a goddess when you’re being yourself.” He bent to rest a kiss on her hand. “The man’s a fool.”
“Thanks, Cal.” She dropped her gaze, but not before he caught sight of the tears.
He put his arm around her, and she snuggled closer against his side. That felt good.
They would leave first thing in the morning. He wanted to get her away from the idiot who’d left the disappointed light in her eyes.
Chapter Seven
“I didn’t even know you had a car,
” Georgie remarked.
Cal glanced over his shoulder, putting his fingers to his lips to hush her. It was late -- or early, depending on which way you looked at it. The sky was filled with the feeble light that comes just before dawn truly rises.
With a gesture of unveiling, he walked over to the third of a row of five garage doors that were hidden at the rear of the building, embedded into what would have been the original cellars or delivery area. He pulled open the heavy doors. Georgie looked through the gloom and saw a chunky army jeep, all patches of khaki and rust and newly welded metal. Cal was smiling proudly at her as she looked on, amazed.
“Genuine World War II U.S. Army jeep. You won’t see many of these beauties in the UK.” He walked into the garage, his hands stroking tenderly over the vehicle as he passed.
“Is it road-worthy?” She looked dubiously at the exterior of the vehicle, which seemed to be well past its prime.
“The engine restoration is complete. Luckily.” He gave a quick reassuring pat on the bonnet, upon which was painted a large white star. “I wanted to give her a good test run soon anyway.”
Georgie nodded, still looking at it warily. She was wondering if it would get them as far as Randlethorpe. When coaxed, she walked around and slipped cautiously into the passenger seat.
When the jeep started, it coughed briefly and then roared into life as Cal leaned his foot against the accelerator. She snuggled into the threadbare leather of the front passenger seat. The interior was solid and regulation in design. The back seat had been reupholstered, but the rest of the interior bore the marks of a good life on the road and looked as if it could tell a few tales about its inhabitants over the years. Georgie liked it. She nodded and smiled at him approvingly. The engine sounded good, and as they drove up the slope from the cellar garage, she could see that it was indeed a sturdy, exhilarating monster of a vehicle.
