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Her part would be hurtful. At least to his ego, because she had to be truthful with him. Once she had thought she wanted to marry him, but that was before she met Riggs. And before she witnessed Josh's recent behavior. Before she knew the real him.
Both of those factors changed her mind. She didn't want to marry him, so would not. That would be a disservice to both of them. Georgie didn't want a marriage for the piece of paper or the need to fit into a particular social circle or be viewed in a certain light. When and if she ever married, it would be for one reason.
Love. From what she'd observed and witnessed in life thus far, that mattered most and was what she wanted. She didn't care about social standing, wealth, or fame. She only wanted to love and be loved, to share a life with someone she enjoyed being with.
Naomie taught her that. She said she wanted what her parents had. Naomie's parents were extremely wealthy, yet their home was modest, and they never behaved or appeared to be multi-millionaires. They were more like old hippies, which they were once upon a time.
What made them special wasn't their wealth but their hearts. They still looked at each other with love, laughed and smiled most of the time, and were the most generous people she'd ever known.
Other than Naomie. That apple didn't fall far from the tree at all. She learned from her parents and incorporated what she learned into her personality.
Just like the patent for the new IMES, she handed it to BioNow without a second thought. Georgie's boss told her the patent was worth billions. Naomie only asked that BioNow be charitable with their good fortune and help amputees who didn't have the funds to get what they needed. She wanted a trust set up and twenty-five percent of what they earned from the IMES to be deposited into it for helping people without funding.
How like Naomie to think about other people, to just give away billions of dollars like she'd shared a candy bar. These people inspired Georgie and showed her the person she wanted to be.
Now, it seemed, Josh had taught her another valuable lesson. She knew now, without doubt, the kind of man she did and didn't want. Josh fell into the latter category.
But in the first category was a man she never even dreamed of. He was a real-life hero with a heart as big as the state he called home. The man she wanted to share a life with.
She knew now, beyond all doubt, that she wanted Riggs.
Chapter Ten
Three months. That's how long it'd been since Riggs was admitted to Mass General. Had it not been for his family, he'd have been sent to a VA hospital. It was a given that if that had happened, he wouldn't be just weeks away from receiving a state-of-the-art prosthetic limb.
Georgie was sure some people would find fault with that, accuse Riggs of getting preferential treatment, and agreed that was the case. He received preferential treatment, but not because his family was wealthy or his uncle was President.
No, he was getting the VIP treatment because he was loved. Naomie would move heaven and earth for someone she loved, and she loved Riggs. So, she made it possible for him to get the best treatment and was indifferent to the opinions of others on the right or wrong of her decision.
The way Georgie saw it was that others outside the family didn't stop to consider that Riggs lost his limb while risking his life for his country, trying to save a child. In her way of thinking, that made him a genuine hero and thus deserving of help to become whole again.
And, without Riggs, there would be no improved IMES, thus no improvement in intelligent limbs. Naomie donated the patent for the IMES in the Walker family name. That was a tremendous gift that would make life immeasurably better for amputees.
Georgie considered that as she drove to work. She wanted to get there early. Naomie was coming in to complete the final testing of the working prototype of the IMES. If all went well, they would have the next generation IMES ready for Riggs' next surgery, scheduled for only a few weeks away, depending upon when Naomi declared the IMES ready.
To her surprise, Naomie and Riggs were sitting at the small table in his room, having breakfast, when she arrived. "You're here!" Georgie was delighted to see Naomie.
"I am," Naomie rose and hurried to hug Georgie. "From what I hear, the big guy is making great progress with his PT."
"He is amazing," Georgie glanced at Riggs and smiled. "I've never had anyone work as hard or be as strong about working through discomfort and pain."
"Except yourself," Naomie replied. "I guess that's what makes you a good team. You have a perspective the others on the team lack. You've been where he is. That makes you uniquely qualified."
"I guess so," Georgie looked at Riggs again. His smile warmed her, inside and out. Funny how something as simple as a smile could fill her with such a glow of excitement. She'd sure never experienced anything like this. If this was love, she wanted all she could hold of it.
When she turned her gaze to Naomie, she saw her position and expression. One arched eyebrow and a hand on one hip gave Naomie the look of a woman waiting for an explanation.
Or maybe that was just Georgie's anxiety over keeping their attraction a secret. "What?" she asked.
Both of Naomie's brows rose. Georgie heard Riggs chuckle and turned her attention to him. He just shrugged and grinned. "Okay, fine. I'll confess. I have it bad for my PT goddess, and I'm not ashamed."
Georgie looked from him to Naomie to see her smiling. "I'm guessing the feeling is mutual."
"Yes," Georgie admitted, thrilled by what Riggs said. "And?”
"And what?"
"Do you have a problem with it?"
