Lisa laughed.
“I used to think he was the cutest boy I had ever seen,” she said.
“Used to?” he asked.
Lisa laughed as she smacked him on the arm.
“Yes, used to,” she smirked.
They sat in the living room. His mom asked Lisa questions about the fire and how she was doing. Lisa talked about how Josh saved her and has been so wonderful to her. She talked about how she was helping him with the business. Lisa asked questions about Josh as a child and his mother told her cute stories about him. She saw him look at his mom sternly, so she knew there were better stories he didn't want her to hear.
When his brother got there, Josh introduced him to Lisa. He bent down and gave her a hug.
“It's very nice to meet you Lisa,” his brother said. “You must be pretty awesome.”
He laughed and she saw Josh give him a dirty look.
“Why's that?” she asked.
“Josh has never brought someone with him on Sunday before,” he said.
“Come on, let's go make the hamburgers,” Josh said, as he grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him out of the room.
Josh's mom burst into laughter.
“Just ignore them. They still act like children.”
“Your home is beautiful. I think it's nice that you get together once a week,” Lisa said.
“I have to keep them together. I want them to be close to each other. His sister will be out in a little while. She works late and sleeps in,” his mom said.
The two women sat and talked while the guys cooked. Lisa was surprised at how comfortable she felt with his mom. She was so nice and made Lisa feel like she belonged. His mom told her how good it made her feel to see Josh so happy. He had been acting different lately, and it was nice that he was letting someone into his life. Lisa told her he was just letting her stay with him until her leg was healed and she could go back to work. His mom didn't respond. She asked Lisa if Josh had told her about his father. They talked about him and Josh's mom showed her a picture of Josh with his dad. Lisa told her that she remembered them throwing the football around in the front yard.
“You're good for him,” his mom said, as she leaned closer to Lisa. “I can see when you look at him, that you care about him. He has changed the last several weeks. It's a good change. Josh has never told anyone about his dad, and he has never let anyone around his business. I am so happy that you found each other. He has had a hard time, ever since his father passed. They were very close. I can tell he blames himself for not being home that day. He puts up a wall so he doesn't get close to anyone. I can see right through it. He's afraid if he loves someone, he will lose them. I know he's stubborn and he probably pushes you away or keeps you at a distance. You're special. I can tell from the way he talks about you. Don't give up on him. He just needs time and patience.”
Lisa felt a flutter in her stomach as his mom talked. She loved her son so much. How was Lisa going to tell her that she had misunderstood? They weren't going to be together. He was just helping her until she could get back on her feet.
“He is an amazing man. I think it's great how well he does with the restaurants. I don't know how he runs them and is a firefighter as well. He still seems to have time to himself. He risks his life to save other people. I admit he is wonderful, but we are just friends. I am staying with him until I can get a place of my own. It's working out well. He is very good about helping me. Neither of us wants a relationship. We both know how the other feels about love. Our reasons for not wanting it are different, but we both agree that we don't want it. It's nice to have someone who feels the same way I do about forever. He doesn't want love, and I don't believe in love.”
His mom sat quietly and listened to Lisa.
“Well then, I'm glad you found each other.”
Lisa was shocked that she didn't try to talk her into love. Usually, people would tell her how crazy it was that she felt that way. She had never had anyone just accept it with understanding. His mom really was pretty special.
“Thank you,” Lisa said.
His mom looked at her with a confused look.
“For accepting what I said and not telling me how crazy it is that I feel that way,” Lisa said.
“Everyone has a reason they feel the way they do. Sometimes things happen to change the way we feel. Maybe there's a reason you two were brought together after all these years. You seem to be helping each other.”
A younger woman walked into the room and smiled.
“Which one of those two brought a girl here?” she asked in surprise.
“This is Lisa. She is a friend of Josh's. Lisa this is his sister Tammy and his brother's name is Jack. I don't think we got that far before Josh pulled him away.”
Lisa shook his sister's hand. She ran off to see her brothers. Lisa could see the three siblings together outside through a window in the living room. Josh's mom caught her watching them and asked questions about her family. Lisa told her everything about them. She usually kept it to herself, but Josh's mom made her feel comfortable, and she wanted to be honest with her. Lisa felt emotions she had never felt before, as she watched the three of them through the window.
They had dinner and dessert. Josh's mom raved about the spaghetti salad. He gave Lisa all the credit for it. She explained how she can't cook and he is teaching her. That was her first lesson. They all laughed about it.
Time went by so quickly. Before she knew it, Lisa watched the sunset through the living room window. Josh asked her if she was ready to go. He had to get sleep, in case he had to work in the morning. They were walking out the door, when his mom stopped her and hugged her.
“I hope you can come with him next Sunday. It will be interesting to see what you bring for us to try. Have a great week.”
Lisa felt amazing. His mom wanted her to come back. Why hadn't she had a mother like her. Josh was really lucky, she thought.
Lisa was in a great mood when they left. She told him how lucky he was that his mom, brother, and sister were so wonderful. The drive seemed to go by fast. When they pulled into his driveway, she looked over and saw a smile on his face.
“What?” she asked. “I talked the whole way home, didn't I? I'm sorry,” she said.
“There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm glad you had a nice time. I like to see how happy you are.”
“Have you really never taken anyone over there before?” she asked. “I thought you had tons of women. I don't believe you have never taken someone with you.”
Josh got out of the car without another word. He opened her door and helped her out of the car. They walked to the door in silence.
“She asked me to come back next week. Does that mean she liked me?” Lisa joked.
“What if I don't want to take you?” he asked.
Lisa could tell by his voice he was joking around. If she thought he was serious, she would have dropped it.
“You have to. Your mom said I can come. We have to make something even better to take with us,” she said.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“So I can impress them,” Lisa said.
“Why do you want to impress them? They already like you. I'm surprised my brother didn't try making a move on you.”
“I don't know. I really like them. You have a great family. I was thinking about something.”
“Oh no, should I be scared?” he asked, as they walked into the house to the living room and sat down.
“I have a different view of firefighters than I did before. I have a much larger appreciation of what they do. I don't think people realize how much firefighters give up and risk to help them, even though they have no emotional attachment to them. I know there is not much I can do to show them my appreciation, but I was thinking. You know how you are going to show me how to cook?” she asked, as he nodded. “I want to make things and take them to the station for them. That way I get to learn and they get to enjoy it. I know it's nothing to them really, but if it make
s one of their days just a little bit better, it will be worth it.”
She looked up at Josh who was staring at a spot on the wall in front of him. He didn't say anything.
“Josh, did you hear me?” she asked.
He shook his head and stood up.
“I think that's a great idea. They would really appreciate it. I'll be right back,” he said, as he walked away.
What was that about, she wondered? What was he thinking about? It was probably nothing. He might have been thinking about his family or something. Lisa felt a sad feeling. It was nothing, she thought. She turned on the television for them to watch a movie.
“Will you bring some popcorn back with you?” she yelled to him.
He came back a few minutes later with a bowl of popcorn and two sodas, and she turned on the movie.
Chapter 20
They spent their weekdays working on business stuff, when Josh was home. If he left, she would show him what she had done while he was gone. He was very impressed with her knowledge. It was exciting to him that she was genuinely interested. She worked on things all hours of the day. He had never expected her to do any of it. Honestly, he thought she would work with him for a couple of days and lose interest. She never did. Each day she seemed more passionate and interested in what he was doing. Lisa started comparing things and writing down ideas she had. He saw a pad of paper on his desk one night, when she was out with Becky. It had some ideas written on it. Curious, he read over each of them. They were amazing. He wondered why he hadn't come up with some of them. If he implemented some of them, they would save him a large amount of money. Why hadn't she shown him? He put the pad of paper back where he found it. He wanted to see when she would show him her suggestions.
He was happy that Lisa and Heath were talking again. They didn't seem as close as before, but it was getting better each day. Heath came over to see her a few times. One day, Heath took Josh aside and apologized for the horrible things he had said to him. He thanked Josh for being so nice to her.
Lisa learned to cook a new dessert each week and Josh drove her to the fire station to drop it off. She would tell them how much she appreciated them and would sit and talk to them. They would tell Josh how glad they were that he saved her, so they could have the delicious desserts. His boss commented on how they would all need to work out a little extra on the days she brought them food. They all signed her cast. She really seemed to get along with all of them. Josh found himself sitting right next to her while they were there. Some of the guys would joke about stealing her away from him, and Josh would feel himself getting upset with them. Each time he would tell himself to knock it off. They weren't together. She could do what she wanted. Shortly after, he would tell her he was ready to leave.
The guys gave him a hard time and teased him about liking her. He told them to shut up and leave him alone. He was starting to think they flirted with her just to see what he would do.
Lisa went with him each Sunday to his mom's house. He could see her getting closer to his family. It made him feel good that they liked her and treated her like she was one of them. She didn't have a caring family, and she deserved one. They took a new dish each week and a plate of whatever dessert she made for the firefighters. His mom was impressed with their cooking. Josh saw his brother talk to her more and more each week. He asked Josh how he felt about her. Josh told him they were good friends. His brother asked him if he had feelings for her. Josh told his brother he didn't do love and no he didn't have feelings for her. It made him happy to see her with his family. He was happy for her.
Josh and Lisa had gotten into a flow at home. It was like they had been roommates forever. Josh hadn't gone out once and never even realized it. They spent more and more time together as the weeks passed. He could not remember ever laughing as hard as he did when they were together. Life was amazing.
He took her to the doctor to get her cast off. She still had to use crutches for a couple of weeks. It aggravated her, and Josh would remind her that it would get a little easier each day. He encouraged her and helped her the best that he could. Josh drove her to therapy and would take her to the park to walk with him. He felt bad seeing her upset about how hard it was. She hadn't realized she wouldn't just walk out of the doctor's office when they took her cast off.
They were working in his office one day. It had been weeks and she still hadn't mentioned anything about her ideas to him. Why wasn't she bringing it up? She should have been proud of what she thought. He liked the ideas, but couldn't say anything. They were talking about one of the restaurants and he realized it was his chance to mention it. He knew one of her ideas would fit perfectly in the situation they were discussing.
“Do you have any ideas of how to improve anything here? There has to be a way to improve profits, but I can't figure out what it is,” he said.
She sat quiet for a few minutes. He could see her hands shake. Why was she nervous about telling him?
“I do have something that might work. I'm not sure how you will feel about it. I have a couple of ideas, but I don't know if I should tell you. This is your business, and I don't want to do anything to harm it. You have worked so hard for what you have. I wouldn't want something to fail and it be my fault.”
Are you kidding, he thought? She was afraid he would blame her if something went wrong. How could she think that? Her ideas were amazing.
“I would like to hear what you think. I think you could bring something new to me that I have missed.”
She reached into a drawer and pulled out a pad of paper. He could see passion in her eyes as she told him her thoughts. There were even more notes on the paper than there had been when he found it.
They spent the next few weeks going over her thoughts and making changes. He wanted to use many of her ideas. Josh made sure to tell her how amazing each idea was and why he thought it would work. He let her implement her ideas and wanted her to see the difference it would make. Josh hugged her tight and told her she should have talked to him sooner. They were going to save so much money, and it was all because of her.
They had gotten so close to each other as the weeks passed. When they watched movies, they would fall asleep against each other, and she would put her head on his chest. They laughed and joked and talked about so much.
She told him she wanted to do something for the firefighters and their families and asked him if he would help her. Lisa wanted to use one of his restaurants to have a party for them. He told her he could close for an afternoon to have the party. She had a list of ideas about what she wanted to do. Lisa wanted to have a nice meal for them, dancing, games, and something small for each child. She told him families gave up so much and put so much on the line. They should be celebrated as well.
Lisa wanted to wait until she got her insurance money from the fire to pay for it. Josh told her no. She needed that money to replace the things she had lost. He told her she should call each of his friends and get them to donate. They each had a business and would be willing to help her out. He said he would cover all the food and drink costs. She cried and hugged him as she told him how amazing he was.
Josh caught himself thinking about her and how much he didn't want her to leave. The weeks went by so fast. He wasn't ready for her to go. They were very good friends and he would do anything for her. He felt like she was quickly becoming his best friend.
They started looking recipes up online and making them at home for dinner. He laughed every time they were successful. She was so proud. The days they weren't as successful, they would order pizza and laugh about the disaster.
The Sunday before her final doctor's appointment, they were at his mom's house. Josh was in the kitchen and Lisa was in the living room. He was waiting for his brother to come to the kitchen, so they could grill the food. It had been a while, so he peeked out the kitchen door and saw his brother sit down on the couch next to Lisa. The two of them were alone in the room. Josh watched to see what Jack was doing.
“
You and Josh are just friends right?” Jack asked.
“Yes, we're good friends.”
“I wanted to ask you something,” Jack began. “Would you go out to dinner with me?”
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Yes,” he answered.
Josh felt like he couldn't breathe. What the fuck was going on? Did his brother seriously just ask her out? He felt his face redden as he clinched his fists. Sure, they weren't together, but what was he doing? Josh thought back to how Jack asked him before if they were together. He didn't realize his brother wanted to go out with her. No way, that was not happening. She was not going out with Jack. He knew he didn't own her, but he didn't care. There was no damn way it was happening. He was so pissed. He calmed himself enough to keep listening.
“I don't think so. I'm staying with Josh. We are very good friends. I don't think I could date his brother. I'm sorry,” she said.
Josh felt his breath release. He hadn't even realized he had been holding it.
“You don't have feelings for each other, right?” he asked.
“Feelings just get you into trouble. I can't talk to you about who I have feelings for, Jack. I'm going back to work and then I need to find an apartment. I need to concentrate on getting my life in order, so Josh can have his back. He has put up with me invading his personal space for a long time. He needs to be able to have his life back the way it was before I interrupted it. He is an amazing man. The most amazing man I have ever met in my life. He has done more for me than anyone ever has. I need to concentrate on giving his life back before I can think about dating anyone. I'm sorry.”
Josh walked back into the kitchen, out the other door, and went to sit out in the backyard. His mom came out and sat next to him. She sat not saying a word.
“I can't believe he just asked her to go out on a date,” he snapped.
“Did you tell him you were just friends?”
“That doesn't matter. He shouldn't have done it without asking me.”
“What would you have said to him?” she asked.
Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) Page 11