by Tina Martin
She shook her head. “My mortgage is not that expensive, so I can manage paying by the month.”
“Wow.”
“I know you think it’s stupid of me, but that’s what I wanted to do, so—”
“Whoa. Wait. I didn’t say it was stupid.” He held the brush in his hand, looking at her.
“But you were thinking it.”
“No. I wasn’t. I think you should do what your heart moves you to do in cases like this. When my mom died, she wrote up this crazy will requiring Remington to jump through all kind of hoops before he could take ownership of Lennox Enterprises. She left us with millions of dollars as if the money would make up for the fact that she gave us up. It never could for me. Yes, I spend it, I bought my house with it. I by fancy cars, things I wouldn’t have been able to afford had I not inherited that money and a position within Lennox Enterprises, but I have it. Still doesn’t erase the pain and abandonment I feel sometimes. So, I get it. Trust me.”
Jojo nodded.
“I honestly think you are truly one of a kind to do something like that with your coworkers, and I know this company has a lot of making up to do and I’m hoping I can learn a lot from you to better gain an understanding of how to do that, Jojo.”
“I’ll do my best.” The sincerity of his words took her by surprise. Giovanni Lennox was proving to be a lot more than muscles and extremely good looks. Underneath expensive suits and caramel skin was a man with a sincere heart.
Chapter 11
Jojo laid back in a recliner, watching a movie. This past week had been a monster. Between working at the deli, her woodwork projects and the one-on-one consultations with Giovanni, her energy was zapped. This evening, she had time to herself to relax. No sanding tables, serving sandwiches and no Giovanni. Just her, a glass of sweet wine and the TV. She would’ve invited Kierra over for company, but Kierra was out of town this weekend. At any rate, it felt good to have some time to herself.
When her cell phone rang, she lazily looked at the display and saw Giovanni’s number. She hadn’t stored his name and number in her contacts, but she did recognize his number from the business card he’d given her. She didn’t want to answer, had even ignored the first three rings, but then curiosity got the best of her.
She picked it up, and asked, “Why are you calling me on a Saturday?”
“Because I have a question,” he simply replied.
Sounded like he had a mouth full of something. Something crunchy. An apple maybe. “What’s your question?”
“You mean, you’re actually going to let me ask it? I was waiting for the dead silence of the line after you hung up on me.”
She grinned. “Don’t tempt me.”
He laughed.
“So what’s the question?”
“I was just sitting here looking through the records for the lodge and I see detailed documentation for the breakfast bar.”
“Okay. What’s the question?”
“The lodge doesn’t have a breakfast bar.”
“It probably doesn’t have one now, but when I was there, I stocked it pretty well.”
“With what?”
“Fruit, milk, juice, cereal, oatmeal, a waffle maker, and—”
“And you paid for this out of pocket?”
“I did.”
“Would you recommend continuing that?”
“You really want my opinion?”
“Yes, Jojo. I want your opinion.”
“Okay.” She grabbed the remote and muted the TV. “Yes, I think you should continue it. Guests enjoy the perk of free breakfast and a lot of your competition doesn’t offer it. It’s one of the reasons why they would choose Smoky Mountain Lodge over other hotels.”
He crunched, chewed and smacked in her ear.
“What are you eating?” she asked.
“An apple. In fact, this is my second one. I just got back in from a ten-mile run…have to replenish.”
She lifted a brow. “Ten miles?”
“Yeah. It was a piece of cake.”
“If you say so…”
“Hey, what are you doing later?” he asked.
“Why?”
“Because I feel like I need to see you today.”
Jojo smiled. “You feel like you need to see me.”
“Yeah…been seeing you all this week and now I have to wait until Monday to see you again.”
Jojo laughed. “You’re crazy. Why don’t you sit over there and eat your apples?”
“You want one?”
“An apple?”
“Yeah.”
She laughed again.
“I have a juicy Jonagold right here with your name on it.”
When she was able to stop laughing, she asked, “Are you really trying to lure me over to your house with an apple?”
Giovanni grinned. “You make it sound so devious.”
“That’s because it’s you.”
“Why do I have to be all that?”
“Because you are.”
“Well, my plans were to sit on the dock and do a little fishing if you’re interested.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You fish?”
“I do.”
“Where at?”
“My house. I live on Fontana Circle, the street that runs along Fontana Lake. I have a dock, a boat and plenty of fishing poles.”
“I’m not getting on a boat.”
“Don’t have to. We can fish from the dock.” He gave her his house number then said, “Put it in your GPS and come on over.”
“I can’t. I’m busy?”
“No, you’re not.”
She laughed.
“Listen…I’ll leave the gate open. Once you’re down the driveway, come up the stairs, then walk along the right side of the house where you’ll see another gate. Lift the latch and head down a double set of stairs. You’ll see the water and the dock. That’s where I’ll be. Hope to see you soon.”
“Bye, Giovanni.”
“Later.”
Jojo blew a breath, kicked up her feet on the coffee table and crossed them at the ankles. What to do? She chewed on her lip. Going to his fancy, lakefront home did sound fun. But did she trust him enough to hang out at his crib?
And then there was the matter of fishing. She hadn’t gone fishing since her parents died. It was something her father enjoyed doing. In fact, he would plan monthly trips to the lake for the family and have picnics while they fished. She missed those days.
She glanced at her watch. The time was a few minutes after three. It wouldn’t get dark until around eight, and by the time she got dressed, drove to his house and followed all of his instructions, it would be close to 4:30 p.m. That would give her a few hours to fish with him and head back home before dark.
Chapter 12
Armed with fishing supplies and two poles, Giovanni headed to the dock. He’d spoken to Jojo about thirty minutes ago now and was still holding out hope that she’d come by. When he heard his phone ringing, he knew it was her, probably calling to decline, but with a handful, he couldn’t answer.
Quickly walking to the dock and lowering the equipment, he fished his phone out of his pocket and looked at the missed call. The caller wasn’t Jojo. It was his sister, Jessalyn.
He called her right back.
“Hey…Giovanni,” she answered.
“What’s up, Jess?”
“You need to talk to your brother. Ugh!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Okay, so you know I’ve been trying to open up a boutique.”
“Yes.”
“Remy keeps on talking to me like I can’t do it. Like he has no faith in me.”
“I don’t think it’s that, Jess. He knows you.”
“Oh, so you’re on his side.”
He shook his head. He could vision her lips quirked up even though he couldn’t see her face at the moment. “I’m not on anybody’s side. Just hear me out. You have the propensity to jump on a project and jump right back off. You’r
e bored easily. The last thing he wants you to do is invest in this boutique and six months later, you’re closing up shop.”
“That’s not what I’m going to do, Vanni.”
“Then you have to convince him of that,” he said, turning around watching as Jojo made her way down the stairs. He smiled. “Hey, Jess, I gotta go. I’ll call you later.”
He set his phone next to a bucket then stood up and watched Jojo come the rest of the way down the stairs. While he was on the phone with Jessalyn, something told him to turn around – almost as if he could feel her presence. And here she was, in a pair of white skinny jeans and a blue and white striped T-shirt with a pair of white sneakers.
“You look nautical.”
She smiled. “Just threw something on.”
“Didn’t think you would come,” he said when she was closer.
“Me either. I was all set to enjoy the evening with a bottle of wine and some good TV.”
He smiled. “Glad you didn’t. This is much more fun.”
She stopped immediately in front of him while he stared at her.
“What?” she asked.
“You look different.”
She smiled. “So do you. I’m accustomed to seeing you decked out in a suit. In jean shorts and a T-shirt, you look…um…normal.”
His cheek dimpled. “Normal. Okay. I’ll take that.”
“You have no choice but to take it,” she quipped, walking by him.
He caught a whiff of whatever it was she was wearing and pulled in a long breath of the scent. It was her signature smell – like a mixture of cherries and peaches. He turned to follow her to the dock. “Have you ever fished before?”
“Yeah, but not in a long time. I used to with my father.”
“Did he use live bait?”
“He did.”
“Crickets or worms?”
“Worms.”
“Oh, then grab a worm and put it on the hook. You can use the blue rod.”
Jojo frowned. “Wait, I said he used live bait. I didn’t. Well, I did, but he’d put the worm on the hook for me.”
Giovanni laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“The look on your face,” he said, still laughing. “It’s priceless.”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Big, bad Jojo is scared of a little worm,” he teased.
“I’m not scared.”
“Pick it up, then.”
“Fine.” She bent forward to take a worm from a small Styrofoam container filled with dirt. When the slimy thing began to wiggle between her fingers, she dropped it.
Giovanni laughed. “Here. Let me take care of this.” He picked up a worm and linked it up on the hook. “Let me show you how to cast it.”
“Please do. I’ve never used one of these.”
“Oh, you must’ve used those bamboo poles.”
“Yeah.”
“Those are for amateurs,” he said, stepping up behind her, so close that his chest was flush against her back. With his arms around her, he said, “You see this little handle?”
“Un-huh,” she said, hyper-aware of him behind her, feeling tingles run down her spine with the warmness of his skin. She’d never had a man this close to her. Never had a man’s arms around her like this.
“When you catch something, you reel it in like this,” he said demonstrating. “Or you can reel it in if you want to recast, in which case you would crank this rod back behind you like this and when you bring it forward again, you press this button.”
“Oh. Okay. That’s easy enough.”
“You think so?” he asked.
“Yeah…think I got it.”
“All right. Go ahead,” he said, taking a few steps away from her. “Give it a shot.”
Jojo tried her best to make a good impression because he was staring at her so intently. Following his instructions, she held the rod over her right shoulder and cast it forward and that’s when everything went downhill. Not only did she forget to press the button, she tossed the entire fishing pole in the lake.
“Oops,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand.
Giovanni let out a loud chuckle that turned into an all-out belly laugh. He laughed so hard, his face turned a shade of red and he bent forward, resting his hands just above his knees, too weak from laughter to stand up straight. “Oh, man. This is more fun than actually fishing.”
Jojo laughed with a shamed, embarrassed face. Then she said, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. There’s—” He could barely talk for laughing. “There are more…more poles in the shed. I’ll fish this one out later,” he said, chuckling more. “I’m sorry. It’s rude of me to laugh at you, isn’t it?”
“And yet, you’re still laughing,” she said, laughing, too.
“Okay. Okay.” He sniffled pulled himself together and said, “I’m going to be laughing at this for years to come.”
“Yeah. Maybe I should just watch you fish.”
“No. We’ll do it together,” he said, taking another worm, securing it on the hook and handed her his rod.
She refused to take it. “No. I’m going to throw it in the water again.”
“No, you’re not. I’m going to help you, this time, sweetie,” he said, close behind her again, his torso pressed against her back. He extended his arms around her until his hands met hers on the fishing pole.
She could just melt. He didn’t realize how nerve racking it was for her to feel his body up against hers. To have those strong, muscular arms locked around her. To feel his breath against the side of her face when he said, “You’re nervous.”
“A little,” she admitted.
“Don’t be,” he said. “And loosen up a lil’ bit. You feel stiff.”
“How loose am I supposed to be?” she asked jokingly.
Moving her body with his, he said, “Bend forward a little so our bodies are contoured together.”
“Like this?” she said, obliging.
He didn’t say anything for a moment. He just stood there with his arms around her, thinking about how much he liked the feeling of being this close to her. Where did that come from?
“Giovanni?”
“Yes?”
“Am I doing it right?”
He snapped out of it and said, “Yes. Okay, now, let’s move it back over your right shoulder.”
She did as he instructed while he assisted. “Now, put your thumb on the release button.”
“Okay. Got it.”
“Now, the moment we cast it forward, you need to press the button.”
“Okay.”
“You ready?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. On a count of three. One-two-three,” he said and helped her launch the rod forward.
Jojo pressed the button like he said and the line flew out into the water. “Yay! We did it!” she said, excited.
Giovanni pulled in a long inhale of her fragrance, her scent, felt the heat from her neck, her entire body and said, “Yeah. We did it. Now, we wait.”
“Do we have to wait with your arms around me?”
“Depends on whether you like it.”
Oh, she liked it. She’d never had a man’s arms around her, let alone this much attention from one. But she’d never get too close to him or anyone else. Even though she was seeing a different side of him, one that she liked, she knew she couldn’t get too involved. Friends were as far as it would go. “I need some breathing room.”
He took a few steps away from her again and watched as she held on to the pole. “If you feel something tugging at it—”
“I know. Reel it in.”
“Yep.”
She looked around and said, “You have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you. When we’re done fishing, I’ll show you around.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“Only about a year. Scooped it up when it first came on the market. My brother told me it was time for me to settle do
wn.” He smirked.
“Your brother Remington? The one you said adopted you guys?”
“Yes. That brother. The only one you’ve met.”
“Oh.”
“I have a lot of respect for him, and though he irks me sometimes—no, make that all the time, he still gives me the best advice. So, I bought the house—my first step towards settling down I suppose.”
“What’s the second step?”
“I guess that would be finding a woman I can keep barefoot and pregnant.”
Jojo shook her head.
“I’m kidding,” Giovanni said. “Don’t even know if I want children or not. I’m still figuring out this settling down thing.”
“Hmm…I see,” Jojo said, checking the pole.
“What about you?”
She looked at him. “What about me?”
“Anybody have the ‘settle down’ speech with you yet?”
“No.”
“Not even, Kierra?”
Surprised, she looked at him. “How do you know Kierra?”
“I told you I would make it my business to know everything about you, Jojo.”
“Why? I agreed to your consultation thing. No need to do any further investigation on me.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
Smiling, she shook her again. Then she said, “Kierra has pestered me to date.”
“So you don’t date?”
“No.”
“Ever been on a date?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Been busy trying to keep my sanity.”
“You know what helped me with my parent’s death and especially abandonment issues?”
“What’s that?”
“My family.”
“Well, you’re lucky to have that support,” she said. With sad eyes, she continued, “I don’t have a family.”
“Then I’ll be more than happy to share mine with you.”
She looked at him, held his gaze.
“Hey, stop staring at me,” he said. “You got something.”
“What?”
“The rod, Jojo. You got something.”
“Oh,” she said gripping the rod tighter.
“Here, let me help you,” he said, standing behind her again, arms around her, reeling in whatever was on the pole.