Legally Addicted - By Lena Dowling Page 0,58

repelled her, shocking her back upright.

‘Don’t think this changes anything between us, Georgia,’ he hissed through a fixed smile, as he let her go to stumble back out into the kitchen.

As soon as she stepped through the swing doors, releasing them behind her to beat back and forth, she collapsed against the nearest wall and closed her eyes.

‘My dear, you were wonderful.’

Her eyelids flew open at the familiar sound of the older man’s voice.

‘Jeffrey?’

‘Here, drink this. It’s just the thing for a shock.’

Jeffrey handed her a crystal tumbler of amber liquid. Without hesitating she gulped a good portion of it back. The drink tasted like brandy and it imparted a warm mellow feeling of wellbeing almost as soon as it hit her stomach.

Brad scanned the crowd looking for Caro. He’d had quite enough of this. He might not be seeing Georgia anymore. He might still be furious with her, in fact, but he sure as hell hadn’t lost his sense of fair play and human dignity. Caro was only lucky he hadn’t decided to ‘announce’ her resignation as chairman of the Women’s Shelter Board along with the impulse donation for the addiction centre.

The woman was poison. The way she constantly dumped on Georgia was outrageous, and she of all people had no right to carry on as if she were vastly superior. He had held his tongue and kept Caro’s dirty family linen, well known but only among a select few, firmly in the hamper, but it was high time it came out for an airing.

He found Caro at the back of the function room and grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her back against the wall, away from the crowd.

‘You owe Georgia an apology. You have no right to carry on like this, Caro. You and I both know the only thing separating yours and Georgia’s upbringing is a decent bank balance.’

Caro gave an indifferent shake of her head.

‘You can talk, Brad, with what your father got up to. I don’t know how your mother held her head up.’

‘Oh no you don’t, Caro, don’t you dare try to make this about me. I’ve never denied it. My father was a dirty, cheating dog. Time you faced up to your past too, Caro. Patronising the women’s shelter isn’t enough. You need to own your mother’s legacy and be honest about what’s driving your philanthropy, instead of hiding it, and projecting on to people like poor Georgia. You’re behaving no better than a playground bully. But you know, you’re actually doing good work, or you would be if you would stop being such a…’ he hesitated, not wanting to say it, but when he couldn’t think of another description as fitting he went ahead and said it anyway, ‘First-class bitch.’

Caro’s face sagged.

‘That’s how people see me, isn’t it?’

‘It’s never too late to change, Caro.’

Having said all he had to, he turned on his heel ready to find his date and take her home. As far as he was concerned the evening was over.

‘Georgia. There you are.’

Georgia shuddered as Caro approached. She wished the woman would just leave her alone.

‘I know that the coffee’s ready to go out to my table, Caro, but I’m taking a moment.’

Georgia hadn’t moved since Jeffrey handed her the brandy, enjoying the warm glow radiating through her, a glow that was neutralising the last of the emotional upset she had sustained: first being hauled up onto that stage, and then experiencing Brad’s coldness. Somehow the alcohol was filtering all of that out, allowing her to accentuate the positive; Brad stumping up with some of the cash for the addiction centre.

It might still be over between them, but at least that was something.

‘No, you stay here, Georgia. Coffee can wait,’ Caro backed up against the wall beside her. ‘Can you give us a moment, Jeffrey?’

‘Of course, Mrs Marsden.’

Georgia took another decent swig of the brandy as Jeffrey left, abandoning her to Caro. Part of her wanted to throw herself at the kindly old man and beg him to stay. She steeled herself, hoping the brandy had sufficient powers to repel the accusations she suspected were coming about manipulating Brad into giving the donation for the centre.

As if.

Ironically, Caro had managed that all on her own. The only reason Brad had pledged to match each donation was his reasonableness and fundamental decency. For a second she had been stupid enough to think that it was because he still had feelings for her, but he had dispelled that theory