Georgie on His Mind Read online

  "You know, Walt, I'll be heading over to the store in a bit, but if you want to go over to Brad's and unpack first and get yourself settled, you-"

  "No, that's okay. I don't mind going with you now. I can check things out, scope out the store, and you can introduce me to everyone. I might as well jump in with both feet, right?"

  Al smiled. "You're a good man. That would be great. Once you're acquainted with everything, I'm sure I'll feel better leaving you on your own. I really appreciate this, by the way."

  "Tell you what, you can show me how much you appreciate it by making a speedy recovery"-then he added with a grin-"partner."

  "I like the sound of that," his uncle said with a chuckle. "I'll see what I can do. But I'm sure the store will be in good hands. I have a feeling you have a knack with handling business problems."

  Walt nodded. Sure, he was an expert at handling business problems. It was women problems that were an entirely different story. Thank God he didn't have any of those on the horizon.

  Come on, Georgie," Dee called out. "I've got a doctor on line two who apparently thinks he's above waiting more than three seconds, and Randall's in the bathroom again." There was a short pause. "By the way, this doctor sounds single."

  Standing out in the prophylactic aisle of Somers Shore Pharmacy, Georgie held up her index finger to Dee. She needed one more minute to look things over. Something wasn't quite right. And as much as she'd love to start repairing her nonexistent love life, that doctor-single or notwould have to wait.

  Her eyes roamed the condom display for a few seconds. Then she saw the problem. Uh-oh. There must have been at least thirty open boxes of condoms on the shelf. And every single one of them was empty. She winced as she scanned the shelves again. The box count seemed higher on second glance.

  How could she have let this happen?

  She glanced to the right and left of the aisle, and when she was positive no one was around, quietly let out a string of curse words only a woman living with her older brother would have access to.

  She felt only mildly better.

  Al was going to kill her. All those missing condoms added up to a lot of money. Money-according to her brother-the store couldn't afford to lose now. Al would look to her for an explanation, not his useless employee, Randall. Not that she could blame him. If she were Al, she'd look to her too. Although Randall was technically the pharmacist and the person in charge when Al wasn't there, he was useless when it came to doing anything besides tossing pills in a bottle. Randall would be the last person to notice Fourth of July fireworks breaking out in the middle of the store. No, this was all her fault. She was probably asleep at the switch when some sex-crazed thief waltzed into the store, stuck the condoms in his pockets, and waltzed right out.

  Where was her head? Probably up in the clouds like her brother had told her last night. Brad was right. She should care more about her career, not worrying about her social life, especially if she ever wanted to take over as head pharmacist. If she didn't land this job, how was she going to move out on her own? She couldn't imagine working anywhere else. Ever since high school, she'd worked at the Somers Shore store. Her parents had shopped there. Al Somers had made the store a staple in the town's downtown shopping area. She had to come up with an idea to save it.

  "Pleeeease, get your bony butt back here," Dee called out again.

  Georgie's head whipped back toward the pharmacy department. Dee stood, waving the telephone receiver like a runway flag. Customers were making their way to the counter, and the other phone line began to ring. Randall was still nowhere in sight. What a surprise.

  Letting out a sigh, Georgie walked back down the aisle. The condom boxes would have to be cleared away later.

  She stepped behind the counter and took the phone from Dee's outstretched hand with a shrug of apology. Holding the phone up to her ear, the physician barked out a prescription order before she could put a pen in her hand, then abruptly ended the call. She hung up and cast a dubious glance toward Dee.

  Some single doctor. That guy didn't sound single. He barely sounded human.

  Dee finished ringing up a customer and took a cautious step forward. "Uh, sorry about the single doctor thing," she murmured, twisting the end of her long, dark ponytail around her finger. "I didn't mean to get your hopes up, but I kind of got desperate back here"

  "It's okay," she said with a shrug, taking a prescription and sitting down in front of the computer. "After yesterday, my hopes are so low I almost tripped on them walking back here."

  Dee walked over and laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Oh listen, honey, I hate to see you so down over this. Last night's dating disaster was a fluke. You've had to put up with a lot from your brother these couple of months, but I think things worked out for the best"

  Georgie snorted. "That's easy for you to say. You weren't there. It was like being in my own private episode of Cops."

  "Hey, I personally like that show."

  "It's not funny, Dee. Brad's going psycho on me. He treats me like I'm twelve and hawks over me every waking hour I'm not here" She thought about that statement and wondered if Brad didn't have a patrol car cruising by the place that very minute or maybe even a policeman standing guard.

  Standing up on tiptoe, she took a peek out the window. Whew. No police bodyguard in sight. Okay, so he hadn't gone completely overboard.

  Yet.

  "He's your darling big brother," Dee reminded her. "Overprotection is what they do best."

  Georgie perched herself back on the stool and shook her head. "No. Not to this degree, they don't. Do you know since I've moved back, Brad has not once gone out on a date himself? Once in a while he goes to a poker game at Steve Wilson's house, but that's it. The man has no life, and now he's trying to make me the same way. We're going to end up as the town's only brother and sister spinster team"

  "Can a man be considered a spinster?"

  She shot her a mock glare. "You know what I mean"

  "Okay, I do," Dee said with a laugh. "So you think because Brad has no life, he wants you to have no life?"

  She thought about that for a minute. "Well, no, I guess not. I just think he's been playing the role of Mom and Dad for so long he can't stop. Brad doesn't realize I'm an adult now. He needs to stop worrying about me. He needs ... he needs a diversion."

  Dee leaned her chin in her hands and smirked. "A diversion, huh? What are you going to do, order him a stripper for his birthday?"

  Georgie mulled that idea over. It wasn't bad, actually, but too temporary a solution to her problem. Plus, his birthday wasn't until winter. She didn't think she'd be able to survive seven more months of the brotherly prison sentence she was in, and she didn't know when she'd have enough money saved to move out on her own. No, what Brad needed was someone else to focus on, someone else to care about for a change. And a little fun.

  Dee waved a hand in front of Georgie's face. "Uh, I was kidding about the stripper," she said with concern. "I didn't realize things were that bad at home."

  "They're worse. Brad's giving me a complex. I'm beginning to doubt my ability to make decisions for myself." Georgie picked up a prescription and began entering the information in the computer, then asked, "Is there something wrong with me?"

  "Believe me, it's not you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're just having an off couple of week-ermonths. Besides, Hank wasn't so great. You could do much better."

  Hadn't her brother said the same exact thing last night?

  Georgie finished typing out a prescription and looked up with surprise. "You really think I could do better?"

  "Oh, yeah," Dee said, bobbing her head up and down. "Hank had muscle, but no brain. You need to find someone who's more of an intellectual equal. One who pays his traffic tickets would be a bonus too. But someone hot. He has to be hot. Smart and hot. A smart hottie with-"

  She held up a hand. "Uh, thanks. I get it now. But honestly, looks don't mean that much to me. At this point, I'd set
tle for someone with a face"

  "A face, huh?" Dee snickered. "Okay, I guess that's a start. But besides the obvious necessities of a body, face, and limbs, what else are you looking for in a husband?"

  "Husband!" Her face contorted. "Oh no, Dee, I don't want a husband-unless of course he doesn't want to get married."

  Dee stared at her for a moment, her brows scrunched together. "I see," she said slowly. "A husband who doesn't want to get married. Uh-huh, that makes sense" She shook her head. "Honey, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm beginning to see Brad's side of the story now."

  She let out a laugh. "I'm serious, Dee. I don't want a husband. Besides, I could never find one as great as yours. And just because I don't want to get married doesn't mean I don't want a man"

  After all, she liked men, and she had certain needs like every other woman. She just didn't want the love part. The brotherly love she had from Brad was smothering enough. There was no need to add a husband to that already tight noose.

  "Well, then I'm glad I brought this in." Dee pulled out a folded-up section of newspaper from under the counter and held it out to her. "Read it."

  Georgie wrinkled her nose, making a brushing gesture with her hands. "Not today. I'm not in the mood for any more dating advice from Ann Landers."

  "Just read the headline," Dee huffed. "Clay Hayes is coming to town in a few weeks."

  Clay Hayes? Her all-time favorite actor?

  "Let me see that." Georgie flew over to Dee and grabbed the paper from her hand. "Holy smokes! He is coming to town! He's promoting a TV movie, but he owns a beach house here and wants to give back to the community for all the wonderful vacations he spent here as a child growing up. He loves Maritime City and wants to help preserve the charm that makes the town such a wonderful family resort." She looked back up at Dee and sighed. "That's so sweet. Doesn't that sound genuine?"

  Dee chuckled. "Yes. I think he sounds sincere too. And I know how much you adore him. That's why I think you should enter."

  "Enter? Enter what?"

  "His show, Until Tomorrow Begins, is running a charity contest, `Win a Dream Day with Clay and Rae.'"

  "Rae?"

  "Oh, you know. Rae Roberts. She plays Clay's love interest, Jessica, on the show. Clay's character thinks Rae's character is little Miss Perfect, but unbeknownst to him, she's hiding a secret so terrible it-"

  "Yes, I remember now. I watch the show, thank you very much. Get back to the contest information."

  "Oh, sorry," Dee said, blushing. "Got carried away. Anyhow, men who enter will win a date with Rae, and the women who enter will win a date with Clay. The money they raise will go to a needy family in town. Clay plans on donating a large amount of his own money for the beaches and to help fix up the downtown area"

  "That's nice of him."

  Dee frowned. "That's all you have to say? `That's nice of him'? How about, `Thank you so much, Dee, for telling me about this. You're the greatest, bestest friend in the world and when I enter this contest, get married, and have his child, we'll name our baby after you and buy you a brand new Cadillac.'"

  "So you think I should try to win a date with him, huh?" she asked with a laugh. She shook her head as she folded the newspaper back up. "I don't think so. Sounds like a hoot, but there must be millions of women trying to enter this thing. I mean, what are the actual odds I'd win?"

  "One in six thousand-give or take a few thousand."

  "Gee, with odds like that, how could I not enter?" she smirked. "But even if I did, you're forgetting about my brother. You know how crazy overprotective he's been lately with all the men I've been trying to go out with. He'd actually fanned his gun at the guy I tried to date before Hank"

  Dee blinked. "Fanned his gun? I don't even know what that means. Look, Georgie," she said, taking her by the shoulders, "you said Walt Somers was going to be in town. Brad wouldn't dare embarrass himself in front of his friend. Besides, what could he possibly say about Clay Hayes? The man is a complete Boy Scout. Your brother should be thrilled you're finally trying to date someone who's more your caliber."

  She raised a brow. "An actor is more my caliber?"

  "Well ... maybe not, but not only is Clay Hayes hot, he's smart. Did you know he'd actually thought about going to medical school?"

  "Wow. He did?"

  Dee pursed her lips for a second. "Uh, I think so. Anyway," she said, waving away her own doubt, "he has to be ten times better than any of the guys around here, aside from my Brody. You have to do this. Come on, just look at yourself."

  Georgie obeyed and looked down, but only noticed a small jelly stain on her lab coat. She licked her fingers and tried to rub it out.

  Dee let out an exasperated sigh. "No, no. I mean, look at yourself in general. You just said you need to expand your dating horizons. You shouldn't be wasting your time with the slobs in this town. You're gorgeous. Women would kill for hair like yours. You just need to spruce up a bit with some makeup-oh, and lose the lab coat"

  Gorgeous? Her? She tentatively ran her hand through her long reddish-blond curls. She didn't know about gorgeous, but she supposed she looked better than average. Better than she had in college. Better than she had in high school. Well, at least better than she had in the womb.

  "Georgie, your brother doesn't trust your judgment in relationships with the opposite sex. What does he know? You just said Brad's not doing so hot in the dating department either. And this is a chance of a lifetime. The point is, how do you know you won't win if you don't try? Best of all, if you do win, your brother won't be able to do a darn thing to muck it up without embarrassing himself."

  Georgie bit her bottom lip. The crazy idea was suddenly beginning to have some merit. What would be the harm? Well, for one thing, she'd give Brad a heart attack. But on the other hand, he deserved it. She should be able to do whatever she wanted. She didn't need him making decisions for her. She was an independent woman. Sort of. "Let me think about it."

  "Well, don't think too long. The deadline is midnight tonight." Dee handed the folded newspaper back to Georgie. "The e-mail address is at the bottom"

  Randall finally sauntered back to the pharmacy, carrying an extra large coffee and a pink glazed donut he had to have walked two doors down to buy. Dee and Georgie exchanged annoyed looks.

  "Nice of you to rush back for our sakes, Randall," Dee commented, not hiding her sarcasm.

  Randall, of course, was oblivious to it. "No problem," he said with a little yawn. "Anyone waiting? I'd like to eat in peace."

  "No," Georgie rushed out before Dee told him where he could shove his donut. "We have everything under control. You're free to enjoy yourself at the moment"

  With a grunt, Randall sat down and made himself comfortable, as though he was attending his own little personal picnic.

  Georgie went back to typing out a refill, but as soon as she typed out two numbers, Dee grabbed her arm. "Hey, don't look now," Dee said in a whispered tone, "but we have an eavesdropper at eleven o'clock."

  Her fingers froze over the keyboards. "What?"

  "There's a guy over there who's been lingering around the condom section, and he doesn't appear interested in buying any. What do you think about that?"

  Georgie carefully peered over her computer monitor and saw a very tall, lean man in jeans and a blue polo shirt. Probably not a local, since he wasn't in the traditional casual garb of shorts and flip-flops. She tilted her head to get a better look, but he had a cell phone up to his ear, partially covering his face. "Maybe he's casing the pharmacy, or maybe he's already pocketed something," she said from the corner of her mouth.

  Thinking of the stolen condoms, she started to stand up but Dee's hand on her shoulder kept her on the stool. "Take it easy, Georgie. I didn't say I saw him steal anything. I just thought that he was cute and maybe he was checking you out. Yowsa, take a gander at that body," she said, practically foaming at the mouth. "He doesn't look like a thief to me. In fact ... he looks a little familiar."

  Georgie
threw her hands up in the air. "Don't you pay attention to those TV shows you watch? Smart criminals don't try to look like criminals. They try to look like you and me. Besides, I don't care how nice a body he has. I think I should confront him." She cast a side glance at Randall licking frosting off his thumb. "Someone has to be the pharmacist around here."

  With a chuckle, Dee slapped her on the back. "You go, girl. Show him who's boss"

  Georgie gave her a curt nod and stepped from behind the counter. Then tripped and stumbled.

  Okay, I can do this, she thought, steadying herself. Confront the perpetrator. Let him know who's boss. She was only weeks away from being an actual pharmacist. If she was ever going to prove she could be in charge, she'd have to step up to the plate and show everyone how "adult" she was now.

  She slowly made her way up to the man and, taking a deep breath, tapped him on his beefy bicep. When the man swung around and looked at her, she thought her legs would give out from under her-only not from fear.

  Oh please, oh please, don't be a condom thief!

  Dee was way, way off in her description of this guy. He wasn't just "cute" with his surfer-spiky blond hair and tanned skin. Anyone with a decent pair of eyes would judge a face like his as handsome, almost beautiful-not merely cute. But he was saved from looking like a Ken doll by a nose that was slightly crooked and a five o'clock shadow that was already starting to take place at eleven in the morning. In her opinion, it only made him look more approachable and definitely not like a criminal.

  She hoped.

  The man flashed her a dazzling grin. "Hey there," he said in a husky voice.

  She melted under his unwavering gaze and tried to lick her lips, but her tongue felt like a dried-up old sponge. "Uh, hello," she answered, finally finding her voice. "I, um, couldn't help but notice you here, uh, around the condoms"

  His grin widened. "Please don't tell me you're here to give me some pharmaceutical advice."