A Bookie's Odds (24 page)

Nicholas did not deserve Georgia’s comfort. She was a good woman and deserved better than him. Yet he vowed that as long as she was turning to him she was never going to regret giving him a second chance.

He flinched at the rattle of the doorknob. A second later, someone pounded on the door.

“What’s going on in there?” a deeper voice asked.

Nicholas opened his mouth to reply. A hand covered his mouth, preventing him from cursing the intruder.

“This is the ladies’ room,” Georgia reminded him. She stepped back and tugged on his hand. “Come on.”

He reluctantly pushed away from the sink and followed her to the door. She rolled her eyes when he kicked the trashcan to the side. He showed no remorse as he snatched open the door and glared at the woman he had forced out of the bathroom and the nurse and two orderlies who now accompanied her.

“What were you doing in there?” the nurse asked.

“Minding my own damn business,” Nicholas replied. “You should try it one day.”

Ignoring the woman’s gasp, he marched down the hall.

“Nick, that was rude,” Georgia scolded.

He stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the call button.

When he did not reply, she asked, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

“You feel like going for a ride?”

Georgia threw up her free hand and huffed, but she didn’t argue when they climbed into his car and he headed in the direction opposite of her apartment.

****

Georgia dropped back onto Nicholas’s bed and sighed. The drive to Coney Island and a walk along the boardwalk had done little to lighten their moods. She became more depressed when they stopped in the diner and caught a glimpse of the black eye Mr. Santiano had given Joey for supplying her with a gun.

It felt like the fates were determined to make their lives as miserable as possible. As soon as she found a way to cope with one trial, another tribulation reared its head.

A soft rap on the door was followed by, “May I come in?”

“Yes,” she replied as she sat up.

Nicholas cracked open the door and stuck his head into the room. “I wanted to get my things before you went to bed.”

Georgia smiled. He did not assume they were sharing the bed, despite the previous evening’s activities.

“I don’t want you sleeping on sofa.”

“I’m not gonna let you sleep on it.”

“We could share the bed.” Georgia was unaware of where she found the courage to make the suggestion and go after him to take his hand.

Feeling more confident than she had the previous evening, Georgia reached up and pressed her lips to his. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted another night with him. She would take as many as he was willing to give her, as long as each time they were together he made her forget there was anyone else in the world.

Nicholas’s kiss was more intense than their previous ones. She felt more of an urgency and longing behind it. Knowing how much he desired her made her want him more.

Georgia pulled his shirt from his pants and slipped her hand underneath. He shivered under her touch but did not pull back.

As she fingered the hairs covering his chest, he reached between them and unbuttoned her blouse. He pushed aside the fabric and caressed her breast through her bra.

His attention proved he was nothing like Celeste’s husband. His first priority was not his needs, which gave her hope that each time she was with him, things could only get better.

Georgia pushed his shirt higher, until he broke off the kiss and pulled it off. They quickly shed their clothes, and Georgia crawled onto the bed.

Nicholas tossed his wallet onto the nightstand, then straddled her body. He leaned in and teased her breasts with his tongue. Tapping into the part of her that allowed her to take chances, she reached down and touched him, marveling at his smoothness. He was firm and, despite what he insisted, she still believed he was rather big.

As she encircled him with her hand, Nicholas reached between them and guided her to move from his base to his tip. He wore a look of concentration on his face, and when she did as he indicated, he hissed. Nicholas pulled back from her as he reached for his wallet and got out a condom. Once he was fully sheathed, he settled between her legs.

Nicholas hooked an arm under her right leg and bent it back, then slowly pushed inside her. It was a tight fit, yet there was no pain. Once he entered as far as he could go, he stopped and allowed her to adjust to him.

This time, she enjoyed his fullness. She felt her muscles contract.

“No, don’t,” Nicholas moaned. “I want it to last.”

Understanding the effect she had on him, Georgia relaxed. She waited three seconds before she contracted her muscles again. At the same time, she raised her pelvis.

“Don’t.” Nicholas shook his head. “You’re killing me.”

Georgia relaxed again, before she did the same thing one more time. The third time was the charm. Nicholas withdrew until only his tip remained in her. He then plunged back in, eliciting a gasp from her. He continued to move, taking care to grind his groin against hers with each entry.

The movement caused the pressure to build once again. Eager to find relief, she met him thrust for thrust until, with one final push, their bodies shook and she saw lights before her eyes.

After what seemed like hours but was probably less than a minute, Nicholas lowered his body onto hers. He was hot and sweaty, yet Georgia relished the closeness of his body as he wrapped his arms around her.

****

Nicholas felt a sense of loss. He opened his eyes and, in the moonlight, he found the answer.

Sometime during the night, Georgia had rolled away from him. The need for contact was new to him. His entire life he had been content to have his space in bed. But now, for the first time, he longed to hold someone.

As he considered the arrangement, he realized it was not just anyone he wanted. It was Georgia. The only woman he had ever shared his bed with.

Nicholas reached across the empty space and considered trading in the queen-sized bed for a twin. At least she wouldn’t have far to go when she rolled away from him.

“What’s wrong?” Georgia mumbled as she rolled back to him.

“I wanted to hold you,” he whispered.

She snuggled against him. “Anytime you want.”

Nicholas leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. He hoped she meant it, because he planned to hold her to her word.

Chapter 20

“Do you have to smoke that thing over there?” Mr. Collins grumbled.

Nicholas glanced at the cigarette he had lit. “No, I could bring it closer to you.”

“Always got to be a wiseass.”

Nicholas crushed the cigarette in the ashtray, then moved from the windowsill to the chair. What was one day, he figured. If Georgia’s father lived to be a hundred, he’d have a little over fifty more years to aggravate the man. He would therefore have plenty of other opportunities to amuse himself.

“Isn’t there a nurse you have to chase?”

“My skirt-chasing days are over.”

“Since when?”

“Since I’m marrying your daughter.”

His future father-in-law raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to ask my permission?”

“I would if I thought there was a chance in hell you’d give it to me.”

“And Georgia actually agreed to marry you without my consent?”

“I haven’t told her yet.”

“You haven’t told her?” Mr. Collins alternated between chuckling and groaning from the pain caused by the laughter. “Do me a favor and wait till I’m there before you tell her.”

“You don’t think she’ll agree?” Nicholas asked, assuming the other man wanted to witness the rejection.

“No, she’ll marry you, after she gives you what for. Even as a child that girl never liked being told what to do.” After a minute, the man sobered. “I hope you are not askin’ her ’cause you have to?”

“No, sir.” Nicholas had made sure he wore a condom each time they were together. But, unlike in his other relationships, he had not worn the protection to ensure he remained childless but to protect her from the stigma of becoming an unwed mother.

“But it’s safe to assume she won’t be a blushing bride.”

Nicholas realized an honest answer to the question was potentially more dangerous than a lie. If the other man took exception to his daughter’s lack of innocence, he could complain to Nicholas’s father, who would have no problem sending someone to deal with the offense. Nevertheless, he refused to start building a relationship with his future father-in-law on a lie.

“No, sir. She won’t.”

Mr. Collins took a deep breath and shook his head. “All I ever wanted was for her to have things easier than me and be happy. I sent her to college so she could find a husband, not so she could work in a diner.”

“Excuse me?”

“The two of you seriously thought I didn’t know about the job? As soon as Joey made the offer, your father called me. I knew she wasn’t going to turn down that opportunity.”

“Why didn’t you want her to work?”

“’Cause she was my princess, and princesses shouldn’t work. They should be treated like royalty, and cared for.”

“I plan to provide for her…legitimately. I’m getting out of the numbers game.”

The other man snorted.

“I figured you’d be happy with the news. I know you never approved of how I earned my money.”

“That never mattered to me. If people want to throw their money away, that’s their business.”

“If it wasn’t that, then why don’t you like me?”

“’Cause you’re white, boy.”

Nicholas jerked at the admission. He’d never suspected the other man was prejudiced, especially since his wife was Filipino.

“Georgia was five when I turned my back on her at the grocery store. Some old witch came up to her and read her palm. She said she saw blue eyes in my baby’s future. I ran that witch off and told Georgia never to let anyone do readin’s on her or get her involved with roots. I then forgot about the incident until I met you. From the moment I met you, I knew that witch was talking about you and you’d be a part of my baby’s life forever.”

“Don’t you think it’s kind of hypocritical of you, considering Georgia’s mother?”

“No, ’cause I’m comin’ at you as a father who doesn’t want to see his daughter hurt. Y’all get together, and there’ll be plenty of people who’ll wanna do y’all harm. Georgia told me about the fights you got into ’cause some idiot called her out of her name. Take it from me: marryin’ her won’t make things easier. Her mother was disowned when she married me. Things were only marginally better when we went down south, with half my family wishin’ me well and the other half callin’ me a traitor to my own people.”

“So you’re saying, sir, that if you knew back then what you know now, you’d never marry Georgia’s mother?” It seemed kind of odd, considering the picture of Georgia’s mother that hung in her living room.

“The only person I’ve ever loved as much as Georgia was her mother. But honestly, if I’d known, I’m not sure if I’d ever have subjected her to what she had to go through. Bein’ disowned from her family and shunned by her in-laws—she had it rough.”

Nicholas was grateful for the warning from the other man. However, he could not walk away from Georgia unless she said she wanted nothing to do with him. As any addict would be, he was being selfish and putting the decision in her lap.

With a nod, Nicholas stood. “Thank you, sir, for your honesty.”

“You’re still gonna ask her?”

“Yes, sir. I wanna wake up next to Georgia every morning, and I’m willing to fight anyone who has something to say about it.”

Mr. Collins nodded his head, a glint of respect in his eyes.

Nicholas walked around the bed, on his way out. He stopped at the door and turned back to the older man.

“Out of curiosity, sir, do you know whether your wife would have done things differently?”

The older man shook his head and chuckled. “If I had left the choice up to her, she’d have told me to stop bein’ a fool and get my ass to the altar.”

****

“What are we doing here?” Georgia asked as they wandered into Gracie’s

“I wanted to look around,” Nicholas replied, surveying the dining room.

With no one else in the venue, he was able to remember what the place used to look like when his father ran things. Men wearing their best suits and women dressed to impress had frequented the establishment. The floors had been clean and the tables covered with fine linen. The food and entertainment had earned them many glowing reviews in the newspapers.

“What do you plan to do with the place?”

He shrugged. “I may invest in it.”

“If you do, could you do me one favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Hire a decent chef.” She scrunched her face in disgust. “Bologna sandwiches do not belong on a menu.”

Nicholas agreed. However, before he made any decisions, he needed someone to look at the books, and the only person he trusted with the job was standing beside him.

He led her to the back office. The last time he’d been there, he thought she had turned her back on them. Though he could not bring himself to ask her the details, from the recent events he was certain Gianni was responsible for her missing Celeste’s party. And he also knew he would spend the rest of his life trying to make things right for that slight.

Georgia sat down as he searched through the desk until he found the ledger in the center drawer.

“Would you mind looking over the books?” He perched on the edge of the desk. “Of course, there’s probably another set of books in here somewhere. If I find them, do you think you’ll be able to make heads or tails of them?”

“I can try.”

He saw the hope in her eye and was certain she could read his mind. However, he would not voice his thoughts until she confirmed whether there was a chance of fixing the mess his former brother-in-law had created. If the business was beyond saving, he would ask her to help him search for something they could do together during the day, before they retired together in the evening.

For some, that was too much time to spend together. But he figured the day he got tired of being with her was the day they needed to commit him.