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“I don’t know how else to explain it. You showed me the way to love, and I owe you everything. You won’t tell me how you got trapped in this situation with Bram. That’s your choice. But I’ll help you anyway. Let me do that for you. Please, Georgie. Let me help you get out.”
“I don’t want out.” Another crash of lightning, closer this time, rattled the windows.
“Jade and I have talked about it. She has a house on Lanai. It’s completely private. Leave him, Georgie. Go there for a couple of weeks to relax and then…” He held up his hand, even though she hadn’t said a word. “Hear me out, will you? I know it’s going to seem strange at first, but promise you’ll listen.”
She stared at him. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“I think we’ve found a way to turn what happened between the three of us into something good. Something really extraordinary that will put the polish back on your reputation.”
“I didn’t know my reputation needed polishing.”
“Let’s just say that it’ll make people forget you ever married Bram Shepard.” He tugged on the bracelet again. “You and Jade and I…We have a chance to do something good. Something that will…set an example for the whole world. Promise that you won’t say no until you’ve given it serious thought. That’s all I’m asking.”
“The suspense is killing me.”
“We—Jade and I—want you to come with us when we go back to Thailand.”
Thunder shook the house. “Come with you?”
“I know it sounds crazy. At first I thought so, too. But the more we talked about it, the more we both understood that we’ve been given a golden opportunity. We have the chance to show the world in a big way how people who are supposed to be enemies can live together in peace and harmony.”
Georgie didn’t know whether to throw up or grab a Coke.
Rain slashed at the windows. “The press will go crazy,” he said. “You’ll look like a saint—everyone will forget about your crazy marriage. The causes that Jade and I are fighting for—good causes—will get more attention. But best of all, people all over the world will be forced to examine their own personal feuds and religious vendettas. Maybe we can’t change the world, but we can make a start.”
“I’m…speechless.”
The doors flew open and everyone on the veranda spilled inside. Obviously Bram and Meg hadn’t shared the news of Lance’s appearance because, one by one, they all stopped talking and stared. Finally Rory broke the silence. “You guys throw one hell of an interesting party.”
“I’ll say.” Laura couldn’t take her eyes off Lance, who’d broken into a smile at the sight of Paul.
“Paul, it’s great to see you again.” He strode across the room, hand outstretched. “I’ve missed you.”
“Lance.”
Georgie found it shocking that Paul merely shook her ex’s hand instead of falling on his knees and begging Lance to take her back. But then, he’d probably already done that.
A flush-faced Chaz came in from the kitchen carrying a tray
of mugs and a plate of what looked like homemade chocolate truffles. Aaron followed with a coffeepot. Chaz couldn’t take her eyes off Lance and nearly tripped on the rug before she set the tray down. “Th-there’s somebody in the car outside,” she said.
“It’s Jade,” Lance said. “I’d better go.”
“You brought Jade here?” A swarm of bees buzzed through Georgie’s head.
“I told you,” Lance said. “I came right from the plane. And the car windows are dark. No one can see inside.”
A thick silence fell over the room until Bram ambled forward. “Shame on you, Lancelot, for making your wife stay in the car.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Grab an umbrella for me, Chaz, so I can invite her in.”
Georgie froze. Surely she’d misheard. But she hadn’t. Bram was angry and reacting in his typical bullheaded, impulsive way.
Paul leapt forward. “Stop right there.”
Bram’s jaw set in a stubborn line. “It’s a party. The more the merrier.”
She hated him, but she was supposed to love him, and with so many witnesses, she couldn’t let them see how she really felt. Instead, she had to show how a happily remarried funny girl would react to meeting the woman who’d stolen her idiotic ex-husband. “Chaz, while you’re getting Bram’s umbrella, grab a gun so I can kill myself.”
It was the right thing to say because Rory grinned. “This is the best party I’ve been to in years.”
