pause in the doorway to the gym, a halo of black curls surrounding her head. His heart stopped beating for the longest moment as his mind began to race.
Surely, he was going crazy. Maybe he was having a stroke. Georgia Weber couldn’t be at his physical therapy clinic, staring at him from across the room with those gorgeous emerald green eyes.
His first gut reaction was to step behind the bench and hide his metal leg from view. The old Alaric would’ve done just that. But instead, he slowly stood tall and returned her steady gaze, swallowing back the nerves. She’d been the one to convince him to reveal it all on the yacht. She wouldn’t judge him. Georgia Weber was too good of a person to do such a thing.
Her gaze trailed down his t-shirt, to his athletic shorts, and down to his leg. Alaric thought he saw something that looked like pride reflecting in her eyes when she met his gaze once again.
“I was in town, visiting Linex Investments,” she started, taking a timid step toward him. She looked out of place in her black blazer and fitted skirt, as if someone had attempted to wipe away the effortlessly cool rocker side of Georgia and stuff her in a cubicle office. Her brow furrowed and she licked her lips nervously. “I saw the video of you leaving the hotel.”
He raised his chin, not sure what to say to that. Was she here to tell him that he’d crossed another line? That was twice he’d talked to the paparazzi without her permission. He really couldn’t seem to keep his promises around her.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let them get to me,” he said, his voice breaking. He cleared his throat and took a few steps toward her, until only about five feet separated them. “I just couldn’t let that guy get away with badmouthing you. I’m really sorry, Georgia.”
“Don’t be.” She shook her head, her cheeks pale. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn’t have asked you to leave. I should’ve heard your side of the story.”
“No.” Alaric’s voice came out harsher than he’d intended. He took another step toward her, shaking his head and frowning. “Never apologize for that. You had every right. Every single right to react the way you did. I expressly broke our agreement.”
Desperation entered her eyes. She looked up at him, her gaze searching his face. “But I shouldn’t have reacted so harshly.”
“No, Georgia.” He tensed his jaw, willing her to understand what he was trying to say. “I betrayed your trust when you needed it most. You confided in me about how Vance treated you and I treated you just as poorly. I don’t deserve your forgiveness and you certainly don’t owe me an apology.”
His heart screamed at him, threatening to dislodge from his chest. He could see the confusion in Georgia’s eyes. The lack of certainty. His head told him that if he wanted to, he could use this to his advantage. Smooth over his crimes and get back the woman of his dreams. But he wasn’t that kind of man anymore. Georgia deserved so much better. And he would never manipulate her like that again.
“You don’t want my apology?” she asked, pressing her lips into a thin line. Running a hand through her hair, she dislodged a few strands of curls that fell into her face. Her eyes darted nervously around the gym, at everything except for him. “It’s just…after that video, I thought…”
Her voice trailed off and she seemed to withdraw into herself. Alaric couldn’t help but smile, his gaze softly caressing her face. She really didn’t know how powerful she was. Even when they went to school together, she’d had a kind of magnetism that the other kids noticed. Her fans saw it. And he did, too.
“Georgia, I wish I hadn’t screwed up so badly.” Against his better judgment, he reached out to softly brush the hair back from her face. Her green eyes darted to his and she inhaled sharply as he tucked the curls behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her soft cheek. “But you…you should be so proud of yourself. I know you won’t ever let anyone manipulate you again. You proved that yesterday morning. You are the strongest woman I know. And resilient, and talented, and kind. Not to mention, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I know you’re going to succeed. You were made to stand out in this world.”
Electricity coursed down his arm as she placed a hand on his and pressed it tight against her reddening cheek. She blinked up at him with as much trust as anyone had ever given him. He had to hold himself back from pulling her toward him and kissing her soundly. That was something the old Alaric would do.
“Georgia, what I said on the red carpet…”
“Stop. Just stop.”
She closed the gap between them, throwing her hands around his neck. Their lips met with an urgency that Alaric felt in every bone in his body. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist to steady himself and pulled her closer to his chest. Her hand moved its way up the back of his head, her fingers combing through his hair.
Molten heat burst in his gut and across every inch of his skin. Oxygen seemed to have failed him and stars danced on the back of his eyelids as he deepened the kiss, knowing he wouldn’t survive if she broke off the kiss now.
He wanted to melt into her. To forever have the sweet taste of her mouth on his lips and feel the soft curves of her body pressed against him. It was as if they’d been made for each other. Every gentle sigh from her lips, every soft stroke of her hand against his cheek drove him to hold onto her tighter, not caring if the rest of the world dissolved around them.
She was everything he’d ever needed.
Chapter Eighteen
Georgia posed in her knee-length silver sequin dress for the photographers at the Union Ball, her black curls twisted into an elegant knot at the back of her head with tendrils falling around her face. Around her, celebrities of every sort arrived on the red carpet, sure to make the most of the year’s biggest event. Most of them had arrived with dates.
Georgia was one of the few cutting a lone figure tonight.
Although, that wasn’t completely true. She had arrived with one person. Georgia turned to see Sally racing after her with a vanity mirror in one hand and a comb in the other. She came to a stop in front of Georgia and dabbed a bit of powder on Georgia’s nose before twisting her brilliant red lips into a dissatisfied scowl.
“Now, don’t forget to skip on the dessert tonight. One ounce of cheesecake and your face puffs up like a balloon.”
Georgia held up a single finger, her eyebrow arching as she stared down the woman who had been with her since nearly the beginning of her career. There were a lot of things that Sally was great at — getting the right public appearances, coaching her through tough spots, maintaining her public image. She mothered Georgia as if she were a toddler, unable to feed or dress herself. But times had changed and Georgia no longer needed that level of assistance.
“What did we talk about, Sally?” she asked, pursing her lips.
The blood drained from Sally’s face and she bit uncertainly at her bottom lip. It was a foreign expression on her usually confident face. “No more lectures, no more treating you like a child?”