Project Seduction Read online

  "If you are sure it's not too much trouble."

  Georgina was already on her way into the kitchen. She lifted one hand to brush the apology away. “Do you want a cup of tea?"

  "If that's not too much trouble."

  Georgina threw a sharp look at Andy over her shoulder. “If you don't stop saying that, you're going to get on my nerves."

  Andy bit her lip to keep from smiling. Georgina was perfect, tough and smart and sassy. It wouldn't be fair to pair her dad with someone weak.

  "I was going to have some tea myself, so making another cup is no trouble,” Georgina pointed out.

  "Thanks,” Andy said. She eyed Georgina's sweatshirt and shapeless pants and frowned. She had to fix Gina's appearance before her dad arrived. She'd seen him look at women often enough to have figured out what worked with him and what did not.

  "Where do you want to sit?” Georgina asked. “Inside, or out on the balcony?"

  "Inside,” Andy told her. The evenings were already getting cool. It wouldn't be hot enough for her purpose on the balcony.

  "Is it all right if I use your bathroom?” she asked, keeping her voice a little shy.

  "Sure. Help yourself. That way.” Georgina pointed down the hall.

  Andy strolled over, but when the bathroom door clicked shut behind her, she moved like lightning. The heating control that allowed her to by-pass the thermostat in the hall was up near the ceiling, above the washing machine. Her dad had shown her how to rig the switch when she had complained it got too cold in the winter, even when the dial in the hall was turned up to eighty.

  She twisted the heating to max, and scaled back down from the washing machine she'd climbed up on. It had only taken a few seconds. She used extra time by poking around in the medicine cabinet and in the cosmetic bag that stood open on the little table next to the bathtub.

  Georgina used something called Clarins for her skin. Andy opened a jar and sniffed. It didn't smell like anything at all. Then she looked at the label which said ‘fragrance free’ and realized it was on purpose.

  She rummaged inside the cosmetic bag. There wasn't much there, just a tube of toothpaste and a lipstick and a wand of mascara. No condoms anywhere, so it must be true about there being no boyfriend. Andy knew what to look for, because her dad always forgot to take the little silver foil envelope out of his hip pocket when he dropped his jeans in the laundry hamper.

  The fact that there was always one in the pocket of his jeans worried Andy. Did it mean that her dad had no luck with women, and he carried the thing around for nothing? Or did it mean that he had an endless supply of them, and he rushed to replace the one in his pocket as soon as he'd used it.

  Every time she was done with the laundry, Andy slipped the condom back in the pocket. One day she would summon up enough nerve to mark it with a little dot, so she could check to see if it was always the same one.

  Realizing she'd taken too long, Andy quickly flushed the toilet and went back into the kitchen.

  "Your tea's over there.” Georgina pointed at a mug with pink and blue piglets on it.

  Andy picked up the mug and took a sip. The tea was scalding, despite the milk.

  "I put in a drop of milk but no sugar. There's some in the cupboard if you want any,” Georgina told her.

  "This is fine.” Andy checked out Georgina's mug. That one had black and white cows. She watched as Georgina drank, hoping that her tea was equally hot and would make her sweat. “Neat cups,” she said.

  "I brought them over from England,” Georgina said. “Tea tastes better from real bone china."

  "Yuk.” Andy lowered her mug and spluttered. “Do you mean it's made of bones?"

  Georgina's brows lifted. “I never thought of that. I have no idea. We can look it up on the Internet later."

  Andy nodded. That was good, the way Georgina had said ‘later'. It meant she was in no hurry to throw her out. Better make her next move.

  "My dad's working. I was supposed to stay the night with Mrs. Donati, but something came up and she can't make it.” Andy's initial idea had been to say that Dominic the Creep was sick, but she decided she'd be less likely to get caught if she used a non-specific excuse. That way Georgina couldn't spill the beans by asking Mrs. Donati if Dominic was better. Andy left it vague, and just stood in the middle of the room and fidgeted with her pink and blue piglet cup.

  "Go on,” Georgina said.

  "So, I thought, like, maybe I could stay with you tonight."

  Georgina frowned. “Does your father know?"

  "No.” Andy shook her head. “He's doing surveillance on a big narcotics case. I can't call him unless it's a real emergency."

  "And I guess this doesn't qualify?"

  "I could get him killed if I called at the wrong moment and blew his cover,” Andy said quietly.

  "All right.” Georgina finished her tea and put down the cup with cows. “You can stay, but you'll have to go down and leave a note for your father, so that he knows where you are when he gets home. What time will he be back?"

  "Some time before the night is over."

  "Tell him that you're with me, and that you'll go back in the morning after breakfast. It's Saturday. I want to sleep late. I don't want him banging on the door and looking for you until I'm up."

  "Sure. I can do that.” Andy had already written the note, but she'd go through the motions anyway, just to make it look good.

  "It's awfully hot in here, don't you think?” Georgina said.

  Andy smiled. “It must be because you're dressed for the arctic."

  "Oh?” Georgina looked down her body. “I guess you're right."

  "I normally just sleep in a T-shirt,” Andy said. “My dad used to sleep with nothing on, until I told him it was gross. Now he wears boxer shorts in bed. What do you sleep in?"

  "When it's hot, I sleep in a T-shirt,” Georgina said

  "It's hot now,” Andy said firmly. She noticed that Georgina had blushed at the mention of her dad. That was a good sign. All she needed now was to get them talking to each other.

  "You are right,” Georgina agreed. “I'm sweltering. I'll change while you go down to leave the note for your father."

  It was almost too easy, Andy gloated as she skipped down to her floor. Georgina had never even stopped to ask what kind of problem had come up with Mrs. Donati, and it had been a piece of cake getting Georgina to change out of those awful clothes into something her dad would like better.

  Andy fished out the key that hung on a string attached with a safety pin to the inside of her shorts pocket, unlocked the door, and went inside. She read again the note she'd written earlier, and chuckled out loud. Her dad would be, like, what the hell's going on, when he got it. He'd be in Georgina's apartment like a shot.

  She tacked the note on the cork notice board in the hall and raced back upstairs.

  Georgina was putting fresh sheets on the bed in the guestroom when Andy rang the doorbell again.

  "Do you want to help me with this?” Georgina asked as they trooped together through the apartment.

  "Sure."

  Andy dashed around, tucking in corners with a competent air. Georgina bet she did all the housework while her father watched football on TV and drank gallons of beer.

  "It's almost ten,” Georgina said with a quick glance at her wrist. “What's your bedtime?"

  "Nine on school nights, ten or eleven at the weekend, depending on what's on TV."

  "We don't have the TV on, so I guess it's got to be ten,” Georgina said.

  "Maybe we could talk a while.” Andy fidgeted with her hair, peering timidly at Georgina. “Huh, it's hot in here. Are you cooler now?"

  "Yes.” Georgina inspected the white T-shirt with a scooped neckline that kept falling off her shoulders. Her legs were bare. She tugged at the fabric to pull it away from her damp skin. “It was a good idea to change."

  Andy wriggled out of her shorts, folding them neatly and placing them on the chair. The black top reached past her hips.
With a bounce, she threw herself on the bed and stretched out. Then she grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, leveling an earnest gaze at Georgina. “Can I ask you something?"

  Georgina sat down on the opposite side of the bed, folding up her legs. She'd been boxed in. Girl talk was on the agenda next, whether she wanted it or not.

  "Sure,” she said, with an easy grace that stemmed from her willingness to accept her defeat. “Fire away."

  "How old were you when your mom died?"

  "I was four. It wasn't just my mom. My mom and dad died at the same time. It was a car crash. A juggernaut driver fell asleep and crossed to the wrong side of the road. The car was totally flattened. It had to be cut open like a sardine tin to get their bodies out."

  "What's a juggernaut?"

  "A huge transport vehicle. I think you'd call it a tractor-trailer."

  "Why were you not in the car with them?"

  "I was at home with a baby-sitter. My parents had gone out to dinner, and they never came back."

  "Who brought you up? Did you go to an orphanage?"

  "No. I went to live with my grandmother."

  "Was she nice to you?"

  Georgina selected her words carefully. She'd thought about it many times, but apart from Annabel she'd never confided in anyone.

  "She tried her best, but she wasn't very good with children. She had never had any of her own. She wasn't really even related to me. She was my father's stepmother."

  "Was there nobody else to take care of you?"

  "My other grandparents didn't want me. They traveled a lot, and they thought a child would tie them down. My mother had argued with them when she married my father, so I'd never even met them until my parents died. It was decided I'd go to Grandma Ethel."

  Andy's eyes were intense on Georgina's. “What was she like?"

  "She was very strict and old-fashioned.” Georgina's voice shook a little as she felt the memories flooding back. “I wasn't allowed to dress the same as other kids, which set me apart. And when I first started school I spoke like her, using old-fashioned expressions. People thought I was weird."

  "Did you have any friends?"

  "Not really.” Georgina reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Andy's ear. “I did love my grandmother, and I know that she loved me. She was just not very good at showing it. I wasn't unhappy."

  "My mom doesn't love me,” Andy said quietly.

  "Why do you think that?"

  "She's a drug addict. Sometimes she'd forget to feed me. When I was really small, I got sick all the time because she forgot to feed me, or change my diapers. Sometimes she left me alone in the house and went out. Half the time I was in foster homes because the social services took me away."

  "It's an illness,” Georgina said softly. “She can't help it."

  "She could at least try, if I was important enough to her."

  Georgina bit her lip. She couldn't really argue with that. “How old were you when your mom and dad split up?” she asked.

  "They were never together.” Andy's face lost its sadness and broke into an impish grin. “I'm the product of a careless one-night stand."

  "What?” Georgina burst out laughing. “Who told you that?"

  "My mom's sister. Sometimes my mom sent me to stay with her. I used to sneak out and listen to her talking on the phone with her friends."

  "Is she the one who called your mom a good for nothing dope-head who should never have been allowed to have kids?"

  Andy gave a reluctant nod. “Yeah."

  "I thought it might have been your father,” Georgina admitted.

  "No way,” Andy cried. “He's always defending her."

  "Where was he?” Georgina demanded. “Why wasn't he around to help?"

  "He didn't know I existed. My mom didn't know who my dad was. My dad didn't know I existed until two years ago."

  "I don't understand.” Georgina sat up straight on the bed and scrutinized Andy. “How come you are with him now, if he didn't know about you?"

  "Do you think we look alike?” Andy asked.

  Georgina took stock of the dark hair and the extraordinary black eyes. The likeness didn't stop there. It was also in the square jaw and the full mouth. It simply wasn't obvious because the miniature version was feminine, and the grown-up original was so totally masculine.

  "Carbon copy,” she announced in amazement.

  "My mom was arrested for possession and I went down to the precinct with my aunt. Some of my dad's friends on the force saw me and spotted the likeness. They joked about it with my dad. He checked out my mom's name on the arrest report and it rang some bells. He paid for a test and bingo. I was his child."

  "What happened then?” Georgina's voice fell to a whisper.

  "He offered my mom some money if she would give him custody."

  "He bought you from her!” Georgina cried out in horror.

  Andy grinned with glee. “Yeah. Sort of. Is that cool or what? He said he'd get custody anyway through courts because my mom was so screwed up, and I was old enough to tell the judge that I'd rather be with him, but it would take a lot longer. He was just cutting some corners."

  "You don't have his last name, though?"

  "Not yet,” Andy said miserably. “He doesn't have full custody yet either. My mom keeps dodging the lawyers."

  "Perhaps she wants you back."

  "I don't think so,” Andy said, hanging her head. “Although I have creepy nightmares about it."

  "Then why does she dodge the lawyers?"

  "I think she's trying to get more money out of my dad.” Andy began to twist a corner of the pillow in her fingers. “And he's got no more. He's spent it all on the lawyers."

  Georgina fought and lost a brief battle with the inner voice that told her not to interfere. “Do you know the name of the lawyer?"

  "It's in a big building downtown San Diego. If you want, I can get the address for you. My dad has stacks of files full of letters from the lawyer. The address is always on top of the letters."

  "I'd like to borrow one,” Georgina said. “But it might be a good idea not to tell your dad. Since I walloped him with my handbag, I don't think I'm exactly his favorite neighbor."

  Andy nodded at her. “I'll get you one tomorrow."

  "Good. And now it's sleepy time. Goodnight.” Georgina reached out to brush Andy's hair back from her face.

  The child sprung up and threw her arms around Georgina. “Goodnight. Thanks for letting me stay."

  "That's all right,” Georgina whispered, overwhelmed by the alien feelings that filled her heart.

  * * * *

  At first, Georgina wasn't sure what had disturbed her sleep. She strained her eyes in the dark until she found the bedside clock. The red digits glowed 3.27. She stared at the display, while her brain slowly took in the sounds that had woken her.

  The front door.

  Who in God's name could be attacking her front door at half past three in the morning, making a racket like the world was coming to an end? Still more than half asleep, Georgina scrambled up and rushed out to the hall.

  It had to be some kind of emergency. There could be a fire, or even an earthquake. They got those in California. And it had to be tonight of all nights, when she had the added responsibility for a child.

  Drawing a deep breath to steady her pounding heart, Gerogina reached for the lock and yanked the front door open.

  The menacing shape of Rick Matisse loomed over her. He was clad completely in black. His shoulders were hunched and his fists were clenched, and his unshaven face was darkened with stubble and fury.

  "Where is she?” he growled.

  Georgina took a step back. “What are you talking about?"

  He followed her in. When he lifted one of his big hands, Georgina thought at first he was going to strike her. Then she saw a crumpled sheet of paper clutched between his fingers. The paper rustled as he tightened his fist.

  "Where is she?” he demanded once more.

&
nbsp; "She's sleeping. In the bedroom. Over there.” Georgina's hand shook as she pointed. She lowered her arm quickly and steadied it against her side.

  Rick pushed past her. She stared at his broad back as he disappeared down the hall.

  "What's going on?” She ran after him, calling out to him, but it was like talking to a mountain. It was there, but it paid her no attention.

  She caught up with him in the bedroom. He crouched by the bed, a figure as solid as the rocks that bordered the ocean. One of his big hands rose to gently stroke the sleeping girl's forehead. “Wake up, baby,” he whispered. “I've come to take you home."

  Georgina stood in the doorway. She watched the pair of them, biting her lip to fight the ache inside her. The fear that had made her unsteady ebbed. It was replaced by envy, and then the envy was replaced with shame, because the pain was old, from her childhood, and it should have been spent a long time ago.

  Andy stirred under the covers and whimpered. Then her eyes fluttered open and a sleepy smile spread over her face. “Dad,” she muttered, managing to cram that single word full of love.

  "Are you okay, baby?” He glanced over his shoulder at Georgina. The venom carried in that brief look was so staggering it felt like a physical blow.

  "Of course I'm okay,” Andy said. “What's up? How come you're home so soon?"

  Rick turned to smile down at his child. He kept stroking Andy's brow. “It's half past three in the morning. Why are you not at Mrs. Donati's?"

  "I wanted to stay with Georgina instead.” Andy peered at her father through her lashes.

  Rick turned to throw Georgina another look over his shoulder. His black eyes were hard as flint. Georgina shivered, despite the stifling heat in the room.

  "Andy told me that something came up and Mrs. Donati couldn't make it,” Georgina said, easing forward. It was her home. Rick's behavior needed explaining, and she'd get an explanation out him, even if it was the last thing she did.

  "Baby, are you sure you're all right?” Rick crooned at his daughter. Although the words were gentle, an edge of menace sharpened the tone.

  "I'm cool, Dad. Honest."

  "Let me see what you're wearing.” Rick pulled up the covers and peered underneath.

  "It's your black T-shirt,” Andy confessed. “I washed it. You can have it back tomorrow."