by Tina Martin
Gianna smiled. “He is.”
“So you’re not going to see him again?”
“Probably not.”
“Aw...”
“Hey, it’s no biggie. Besides, that means I’ll have more time to spend with my little sister. Gianna looked at Gemma and said, “I know Dr. Willoughby gave you two months.”
“How do you know that? Did he tell you because I told him not to—”
“It doesn’t matter how I know. I know.”
Gemma sighed heavily. “He said the chemo could buy me more time. On Monday he’ll let me know if it’s worth doing again.”
Gianna nodded and fought back tears. Her sister needed her strong. Not weak. She cleared her throat and said, “Hey, um, I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. Is there anything you needed in particular?”
“You mean besides soup and crackers?”
“Yes.”
“I could use some cough drops.”
“Okay. I’ll add it to the list. Also, your doctor said you should try to eat as healthy as possible, so I’ll be loading up on carrots, blueberries, apples—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
After a few passing, quiet moments, Gemma said, “I think you should see him again.”
“Who? Ramsey?”
“No, the mailman. Yes, Ramsey!” Gemma quipped.
“Why?”
“Because if he was interesting enough to make you say yes to a date, then there must be something awesome about this guy.”
“Like I said, sis…I doubt very seriously he would want to go out with me again. He hasn’t called me, and if he did call, I probably wouldn’t answer the phone. That’s the messed up part about all of this.”
“Well, I’m proud of you for going. It’ll make it easier for the next guy who asks you out.”
“If you say so,” Gianna said, standing. “Come on let’s get you back inside.”
Chapter 14
Leave it up to Regal to forget to bring salad dressing...
On the way to his parent’s home for Sunday dinner, Ramsey was given the task of picking up some ranch dressing since everyone had arrived but him. He figured he could stop by Trader Joe’s since it was the closest grocery store to his parent’s house but as he approached the Harris Teeter on University City Boulevard, he made a quick decision to stop there instead. As soon as he walked inside, her presence grabbed at him – Gianna’s presence – and he knew without yet laying eyes on her that she was somewhere inside of this store. He looked around, searching for her and boom – there she was at checkout waiting to pay for her groceries. She didn’t see him. He was sure of it. So, he quickly found a bottle of ranch dressing and instead of breezing through self-checkout, he stood in her line, three customers back, even after one of the store’s employees informed him that there was no waiting at self-checkout. He watched Gianna swipe her credit card.
“Um, try it again,” the clerk said.
“Okay,” Gianna said taking the credit card from her wallet and swiping it again. For the second time, it didn’t go through.
“Do you have another card you can use?” the clerk asked her. “Or maybe cash?”
“No. Let me just try it again,” Gianna said, knowing the chances of the card going through were slim especially since she hadn’t paid the bill in two months.
The people in line behind her were growing impatient, already looking around for a shorter line, or perhaps a line that was moving.
Ramsey frowned, watching Gianna swipe her credit card for the third time, and still, it didn’t go through. He’d seen enough.
“Excuse me,” he said to the customers in front of him. He placed the ranch dressing on the candy bar rack and took out his wallet.
“Ramsey?” Gianna frowned staring at him to make sure this was really real and she was not imagining things. It was real. “Ramsey, what are you doing here?”
He took out a black credit card, swiped it and said discreetly, “I’m doing you a favor.”
The clerk handed Ramsey the receipt then he took it upon himself to place her grocery bags in the cart. All packed up and ready to go, he said, “After you.”
He pushed the cart while she, still in a daze, walked to her car. She opened the trunk and said, “I’m going to pay you back. Thank you. I got it from here.”
Ignoring her, Ramsey picked up bags and began placing them inside of her car.
“Ramsey, I got it.”
“Let me help you.”
Already embarrassed – first from their botched date and now from him witnessing her inability to afford groceries – she wanted to get away from him as soon as she could. She could only imagine what he must have been thinking – how was it possible that a woman who owned her own business couldn’t afford to buy groceries or better yet pay her credit card bill?
“Ramsey, I got it, okay. I can put my own bags in the car.”
He was about to grab two more bags when he stopped, looked at her and said, “Let…me…help…you.” He resumed picking up the bags.
“You’ve done enough,” she said attempting to yank a bag out of his hand.
Ramsey released the bag and grabbed her instead, holding her securely in his arms while watching her lips tremble – lips he wanted to kiss until she had no more worries. Resisting the urge to do so for now, he stared into her misty, troubled eyes and said, “I want to help you. Please, let me.”
A tear fell from her eye and Ramsey twitched in pain like someone had stabbed him with a knife. When he was able to shake the pain away, he thumbed the tear away and said, “Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to finish putting these bags in the car for you. I’m going to push the cart over there to the cart return and I’m going to follow you home and help you unload it all. Okay?”
Gianna nodded. Her lips were still trembling. When she felt his hands loosen their grip on her arm, she got inside of her car and waited for him to finish placing her groceries inside. Her eyes followed him to the cart return, then she watched him get inside of a different car – a white Range Rover this time – and drive her way. He flicked his lights signaling her to back out and she did. Then he began following her every turn.
Ramsey pushed the phone button on the steering wheel of his SUV. When prompted to say a command, he said, “Call, Regal St. Claire.”
Within a few seconds, he heard the phone ringing. Then Regal’s voice came through the speakers, “Hey, does it take all day to get ranch dressing?”
“Regal, something came up. I’m not going to make it.”
“Oh, that’s how you’re going to do us?” Regal asked.
Ramsey could hear him telling the others that he wasn’t going to make it.
“Tell mom I’ll make it up to her,” he said. “I have to go. Later.” He pressed the button on his steering wheel to end the call, closely following behind Gianna. She made a left onto John Kirk Drive and once they reached the end of that street, she made another left onto Mallard Creek Church Road. Traveling that road, she crossed over Tryon Street and continued over the I-85 overpass. Shortly thereafter, she made a right on Senator Royall Drive and another right on Arbor Vista Drive. After passing a few houses, she pulled into the driveway of a two-story home. He pulled up behind her and got out of the Range.
Walking to her car, he grabbed a handful of bags and she carried them with her left hand. She kept her right hand free so she could unlock the door. So, why was she having a problem getting the door unlocked? Probably because she had a hot guy towering over her shoulder with grocery bags. In addition to that, she was nervous about him seeing Gemma and asking a flurry of questions.
“Do you need me to get that?” he asked.
“No. I can get it. It’s my nerves. One sec.”
When she was able to hold the keys steady, she finally unlocked the door.
Ramsey followed her to the kitchen. “Where do you want me to put the bags?”
“Just…um…set them on the counter.”
“Okay,” he said lowering the
bags wherever he saw available space. He went back to the car and got more bags and she followed, taking the remaining few.
“Is that everything?” he asked, looking at her with his hard, direct gaze.
She looked away. “Yes. That’s everything.”
“You’ll have to show me where everything goes,” he said.
“I’ll put everything away Ramsey. You’ve done enough.”
“I’ll say when enough is enough,” he told her.
She glanced at him. Smiled just barely. “The canned food and boxes go here,” she said walking over to the pantry, opening it.
“Got it,” he said. He took a few bags there and began unpacking them.
She observed him putting cans on the shelf. “I’m surprised you’re actually here and talking to me after Friday night.”
“Why is that?”
“You know why. The date was horrible.”
“It wasn’t horrible, Gianna.”
“It was because I wasn’t comfortable in that setting. I knew I wouldn’t be. I told you that.”
“Yeah, you did warn me. It’s my fault for not listening to you. I’ll try my hardest not to make that mistake again.” He placed two more cans on the shelf.
“Why were you at Harris Teeter on University City Boulevard when you live in Lake Norman?”
“I was picking up some ranch dressing on the way to my parent’s house. They live a little further down Mallard Creek. My mother has this big Sunday dinner once a month and Regal forgot the dressing.”
“You’re supposed to be at your mother’s house right now?”
“Yes.”
“Then, go.”
“No,” Ramsey placed a box of elbow noodles on the shelf.
“Ramsey?”
He turned around to look at her once again watching her shy away from his gaze. “Yes?”
“By all means, please go. I don’t want to interfere with your family time.”
“It’s fine. I already informed Regal that something important came up and, in case you’re wondering, you’re the something important.” He finished unpacking then scooped up the plastic bags off of the floor. “Do you save these?”
“Yes. I’ll take them.” When Gianna reached for the bags, their hands touched. The spark it generated was enough to set her on fire – house and all.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Ramsey slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks and looked around, in no hurry to leave. “You have a nice place. It suits you.”
“Thanks. Um, can you excuse me for a moment? I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be here,” he said, then flashed a smile at her.
Gianna’s stomach quivered when she caught his beautiful smile before walking away to check on Gemma. When she opened the door to Gemma’s bedroom, she saw her sleeping soundly. Gianna smiled, left a light kiss on her cheek, then closed the door quietly as she exited.
Returning to the kitchen, she saw Ramsey on his cell phone. Sounded like he was ordering food. After he ended the call, he attached his phone to the belt clip at his waist and said, “Dinner will be here shortly.”
“You really don’t have to do that,” she said, standing by the table, keeping a good distance away from him.
“I know. I want to do it.”
“Why?”
“You’ve been stressed out all day working on unpacking bags. I want to alleviate some of that.”
“That’s not your job, Ramsey.”
“Then whose job is it, Gianna?”
She froze. She hadn’t thought about it like that. Probably because she never had that kind of support in her life. Sure, she had Felicity, but Felicity wasn’t a man. And Gianna used to dream about what it would be like to fall in love, to have someone who was willing to love you, protect you and be there for you no matter what. Then again, her mother had those same dreams and she never could find a man who was able to do those things for her. Maybe that’s why she relied on herself for everything. It didn’t work for her mother. Why would it work for her?
Looking at Ramsey, she said, “What I mean is, I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything for me.”
“I don’t. I do what I do for you out of the goodness of my heart. And, because I like you,” he added.
“You like me?”
He flashed a smile. “Yes, Gianna. I like you.”
“I don’t understand. You were obviously upset when we parted ways Friday night.”
He grinned. “How was I obviously upset?”
“You asked me if I wanted dessert while I was still eating my spaghetti. You may as well had stood up and shouted, dinner’s over. Get me out of here!”
He chuckled.
She continued, “And then, you walked me to my car and didn’t hug me, kiss me on the cheek or anything. You just opened my car door and closed it.”
“You know what, Gianna. If I didn’t think you would panic and slap me, I would’ve hugged you and kissed you on the cheek, but you were already uncomfortable, sweetness, and I didn’t want to make matters worse for you. It had nothing to do with me being upset. It had everything to do with me respecting your boundaries.”
“Well, even still, you were upset about how the date went.”
He narrowed his eyes at her and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes, I was upset—no, more like frustrated. A little.”
“Why?”
“Because you wouldn’t give me what I wanted. You kept the conversation generic, and I needed something deeper from you. That frustrated me. So, now I’m here to get from you what I didn’t get Friday night—your heart.”
“My—my heart?”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I want to know you—I want to know what matters to you. I want to know why you cry. I want to know about the things, circumstances and situations that stress you out. I want to know why you’ve never been in love. Why it’s so hard for you to accept help when you’re the type of woman to go above and beyond for others? I want to know those things. The deeper things.”
When the doorbell sounded, he said, “It’s probably the take-out. I got it.” He walked to the door and gave the driver two twenty-dollar bills then returned to the kitchen with a paper bag.
“Are you ready, Gianna?”
“To eat?”
“Yes, and to give me your heart.”
“That’s a strange request.”
“Once you get to know me, you’ll see that it’s not so strange. What do you say?”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
“That’s all I can ask of you.” He took the food containers from the bag and set one on the table in front of her and the other for himself. “I ordered a plate for Gemma, too.”
“She’s sleeping right now.”
“Do you think I’ll get to meet her before I leave?”
“I don’t know.” Gianna opened her tray and instantly her mouth began to water as she looked at the Stromboli.
“It’s pepperoni and sausage,” Ramsey told her.
“It looks good. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“I’m sure it’s not better than your mother’s cooking.”
“Doesn’t come close,” he said smiling.
“I feel like I need to personally apologize to her for ruining your family dinner.”
“You didn’t ruin dinner.”
“I did. You’re supposed to be there. You’re not because you’re here with me.”
“No worries. My mother is a very understanding woman but if you insist, I’m sure you’ll get the chance to apologize to her one day.”
Gianna looked up at him when he made the statement, watching as he sank his teeth into the Stromboli as he took a bite. Did he not hear what he just said? That one day she would get to apologize to his mother which meant she would get to meet his mother which, in turn, meant that in his mind, he intended for this ‘thing’ between th
em to be long-term.
“Let’s talk about your parents—can we start there?” he asked.
Gianna grimaced.
“Let me put your mind at ease. I’m not going anywhere, Gianna.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m here. At your disposal. You can use me however you like.”
What the—? “You say that so nonchalantly like it’s not a big deal. You have a business to run.”
“I took a month off.”
Her eyebrows raised. “An entire month?”
“Yes. Tell me about your parents?”
Gianna’s chewing slowed. She took a moment to finish what was in her mouth then washed it down with a swallow of water.
Ramsey studied her hesitancy. To make her more comfortable, he said, “I’ll tell you about my parents first. My mother’s name is Bernadette. Father, Mason. They’ve been married for forty-two years and are still in love. My mother is a retired schoolteacher. My father was an engineer for a train company.”
“What subject did your mother teach?”
“Chemistry.”
“Really?” Gianna asked, remembering how complicated chemistry was.
“Yes.”
“Cool. They sound lovely.”
“They are. They’ve always been good parents.”
“Then, you’re lucky. My situation is entirely different—so different, you couldn’t relate.”
“Maybe not, but I will try to understand. It will help me better understand you.”
“Why do you want to understand me?”
“I find you interesting.”
Gianna grinned nervously. “I think you’re looking at me through filters, but I promise you…there are no enhancements to make me something I’m not. Unfortunately, what you see is what you get.”
“Good. That’s what I was hoping for. Tell me about your parents.”
He was a persistent man. She’d give him that. Glancing up at him, watching him chew his food for a few seconds made her lose her train of thought. Ramsey was one of those men – like those men – the type of man women gushed over but could never attain because he was so far out of their reach. And here he was, in arm’s-length of her, giving her all of his attention. Strange, she thought. She’d had men who were interested – lesser men than him by her own judgment – but never a man like him. She never had a man pay her this much attention, come to the bakery to see her and look at her with such longing in his eyes.