She turned down the heat in her car. “No, I’m fine, Gideon.”
“Good. You dropped the Mr. Wells thing.”
“Yeah. Yes.” She sat straighter to give herself a boost of confidence. “I’m calling you because I wanted to thank you again for sending business my way. Most business owners don’t do that. After the way I treated you this afternoon, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d totally ignored me and stolen the rest of my business.”
“The competitive person in me probably would have done that. But my mother told me that flower store owners were nothing like quarterbacks. She told me how much you all support one another. I’m glad for your sales.” His tone remained heavy yet approachable, like Janelle shouldn’t be afraid of him. “Does that mean you’re going out to celebrate? Maybe you and your boyfriend?”
Janelle knew her head must have burst into a bright white flame. “Really?”
“What?”
“That was so not subtle.” She quickly sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth to keep from laughing.
“Ah, so you can take the tackle. Are you seeing someone?” Gideon’s voice dipped down so low the sound rumbled the phone.
“Do you always ask people you’re doing business with personal questions like that?” Janelle slid her hand over her thigh. “I believe you were asking me about my day.”
“Wow. You move faster than a running back.” He moaned before he kept speaking. “The only reason I ask is because my mother is trying to use her matchmaking skills on us. It would be great if I could tell her that you’re seeing someone else already. So are you?”
“Tell your mother that if she wants to ask me something, she can come to me herself.”
“I will. So tell me. Are you seeing someone? I’m asking for myself now.”
Janelle’s skin tingled. “My store and that swamp hibiscus are the only two things I’m interested in at the moment.”
“Good. Good. I’ll take that as a no.” Gideon sighed. “I didn’t mean for that one customer to bail on you and come to Pick ’N Clip.”
“I know you didn’t.” She pressed her thighs together to tamp down the heat. “I would offer you some help with flowers, but I sold everything.”
“Not a problem.”
For a big-time athlete, she found him so down-to-earth. She expected nothing less from someone raised in Queen Elizabeth’s home. Janelle heard some rustling on Gideon’s end.
Then he said, “I hate doing business over the phone.”
She leaned forward. “Yes?”
“I also don’t like the taste of coffee, but I’m willing talk over a couple of mugs of it.” He cleared his throat. “I’m heading home. I have to handle something personal very quickly.”
She chewed on her lower lip as she waited for what he would say. Then again, she could ask him out for coffee. As she opened her mouth, he continued.
“Would you like to meet for some coffee? You ran out the house before we could offer you some along with dessert.”
Janelle pinched her leg to keep from squealing and realized very quickly how that tactic would not work. The intense pain shot right up to her head.
She gritted her teeth before speaking. “I was hoping you would make the offer again.”
Penny would be so proud of her. Would a dull woman get asked out for coffee by a hot guy? Even her mother would approve of this man, but for the wrong reason of course. Ida would want Janelle to use Gideon for his money. Not on her life.
Gideon exhaled. “Good. You can come to my house.”
“You mean go back to Queen’s house?”
“No. My home down at the Oceanfront. I’ll leave your name at the gate so that they’ll let you in.”
Janelle’s smile melted into a frown. She never pictured Gideon, Queen Elizabeth’s son, to be the type to lure a woman to his place for some drive-by sex.
“No. I can meet you somewhere, but I’m not going to your house.” As though Gideon could see her, Janelle sat in her car shaking her head.
“Why not?” Disappointment and surprise filled his voice.
“Because…” Janelle searched for the right words to not insult him and call him a predator.
“Because we just met,” he began.
“Yes.” Her breathing slowed as he shared his understanding of her feelings.
Gideon continued. “And, although you know my mother and we had dinner at her house and you called my personal cell phone, you don’t really know me.”
“Exactly.” Janelle relaxed back against her seat. Maybe now he’ll suggest a nice, brightly lit restaurant to meet.
“Because you don’t trust yourself around me?”
Her back stiffened. “What?”
Gideon laughed. “It was a joke.”
She heard him cursing under his breath. “I have company with me right now. My meeting should take about an hour. If you want to come over afterward, we can—”
“Mr. Wells—”
He groaned. “Oh, no. We’re back to that again.”
Janelle balled her free hand into a fist as she spoke to him. “It sounds like what you’re proposing is some sort of late-night rendezvous.”
Gideon chuckled again. “I think the term you’re looking for is booty call. No, I’m not asking for that.”
Janelle put her hand to her face when it started to feel hot again. “I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to show up this late at your home. We barely know each other.”
“Anything before ten at night is not late. I want to be able to have a normal conversation with you without fan interruption or a reporter or two popping up.”
“Mr. Wells, I—”
Gideon interrupted her. “I know you love plants and flowers as much as I do. And I know now that you have a good heart.”
Janelle heard through the phone what sounded like a knock against a pane of glass.
“One sec,” Gideon said away from his mouthpiece. “I have to go. Look, you know who I am. You know where I work. You even know my mother. I promise all I want you to do when you come over is talk about business and have some coffee.”
“You are an oleander.”
The line went silent.
“You’re going to have to explain that one,” he said.
“You’re good looking but dangerous.” Too much of a good thing, in both the plant and with Gideon Wells, spelled disaster.
“Then you, my dear, are a ghost orchid.”
Before she could ask him to explain, he expounded. “You are rare. I have never encountered a woman like you.” He chuckled. “I like that you talk in flowers and plants.”
She smiled. “My mother calls me a geek for doing that.”
“You are. So am I,” he grumbled. “If I didn’t have to get up so early, I could meet you first thing in the morning since it looks like tonight is out.” Gideon sighed. “Now that I have your number, I’ll call you when I’m available.”
“That sounds good.”
Good and boring. No way would she get caught up with another man with a separate agenda on his mind. Had she gone to his place and things happened, he wouldn’t be around her long. As soon as Queen got better, Gideon would be traveling with his team and forgetting about her.
She tried hiding the deflated sound from her voice, but it came through anyway. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Janelle peered into her side mirror and saw a man approaching her car.
Her heart raced as she watched the stranger in dark pants, a dark coat, and a black knit cap pulling something from his pocket as he charged to her door.
“Jesus!” She pressed her hand against her car horn, hoping to grab enough neighbors’ attention to witness whatever this psychopath had in mind.
“What’s going on? Janelle?” Gideon sounded as frantic as she felt.
As she screamed, a light flashed in her car, then another. She peered off to the side and saw that this stranger held a camera and
took several pictures of her.
The momentary flashes caught Janelle off guard. She pulled her hand from the car horn to shield her face from the blinding lights with her free hand while she continued holding her phone in the other. From inside her car, she heard Buddy screaming at the maniac with a strange agenda.
“What’s going on out here?” Buddy opened his door and secured his robe around his body. “Hey, get away from her, or I’ll bust your head wide open.” He turned into his apartment. “Get my bat.”
“Calm down. I’m getting a picture of Gid Wells’s new side piece,” the stranger said.
Janelle turned off her car and had the strength to get out of it. “What did you just say?”
“A source said Gideon Wells rushed home after the game because of his brother. When he gets back, he referred some business to your place. So how long have you two been dating?” The man snapped another picture of her.
Janelle felt like she had fallen into the Twilight Zone. “You think Gideon Wells and I are dating? You’re crazy.” Thank God he didn’t mention the fact that she’d had dinner with Gideon and his mother.
Oh, wow. Could she consider their dinner together tonight as their first date? She headed to her apartment. Seeing Buddy made her want to take a detour. She needed to be with people who would keep her safe.
“He kicked out a She-Wolf cheerleader from his home so that he could come to see you.” The photographer continued assaulting her with lies as she headed to Buddy’s apartment. “Pictures of the two of you at your flower shop are all over the Internet already.”
Damn Penny. Janelle would have to fire her, rehire her, then fire her again for this betrayal.
“We’re not dating.” She ducked into her friends’ apartment as Buddy hoisted up his bat and took a swing at the menace.
“Get away from here. Come back, and I won’t miss.” Buddy stood guard at the door until the creep slinked away.
Buddy closed and locked his door while Althea made sure to secure all the blinds and curtains.
“Dear, what is going on?” Althea wrapped her arms around Janelle’s shoulders.
When Janelle went to hug her back, she realized she still had her phone in her hand. “Oh, no.” She put the phone to her ear.
“Janelle? Janelle? Where do you live? I’ll come over and get whoever is there to leave you alone,” Gideon said.
“No, I think you’ve done enough for one day.” She put her hand to her forehead. “My life is completely turned upside down since I’ve met you. I think having coffee with you would be a mistake.” One photographer at her home gave her proof that she didn’t need any entanglements with the famous football star. “Good night.”
“Janelle, wait. I can help you.”
“I don’t think you can.” Janelle didn’t know if she should keep calling him Mr. Wells or Gideon. She disconnected the call before she could make up her mind.
Out of exhaustion, she slumped down into an overstuffed flowered chair in the living room.
“Did I hear that guy right?” Buddy began.
Janelle lifted her head.
“Did he ask you if you’re dating Gideon Wells?”
She nodded.
Buddy scratched his head. “Can you get me an autograph?”
“Really?” She flopped back and covered her eyes with her hand.
“Look at what you’ve done to the poor girl,” Althea said. “She’s tired. That’s okay, honey. You spend the night here. If we see that guy again, we’ll call the police.”
Janelle wouldn’t be able to call the police every day of her life. She would have to do something. No way could she live her life like this. Although, for a fleeting moment, the idea that she could be on Gideon’s arm as his main squeeze, or a side piece as that guy had called her, did tickle her. She didn’t need this added complication.
Chapter 9
By the time Gideon stepped into his house, he couldn’t stand still. He’d parked his car in front of his home instead of in his garage, afraid he would run through a wall. Until Coach Brick closed the front door behind him, he had forgotten he had business to handle.
Hearing Janelle scream had set off the protective nature in him. He had no idea sending business her way would get the media making assumptions.
A side piece. That asshole had called her a side piece. Gideon balled his hands into fists.
“Son, I don’t know who you were talking to on the phone, but I could use you with that anger on the field the next time we play.” Brick waddled over to the couch in Gideon’s living room and took a seat without invitation.
Until Brick sat down, Gideon hadn’t noticed his coach had carried in a tall box. Maybe it contained Gideon’s stuff that he’d left in his locker when he’d bolted from Pasadena.
Gideon shook his head. “Something personal. I’ll handle it.”
“You say that a lot.” Brick snickered. “You’ll handle it. It’s not your responsibility to protect the world. You know that, right?”
Gideon didn’t need this right now. If he didn’t think he would wake his mother up, he would call her and see if she knew where Janelle lived.
Other women, hell, other people would jump at the chance to sit down with him. Gideon would rather that people get to know him before wanting to spend time with him and not because of his career.
A woman had broken into his house, tried to seduce him, claimed that she loved him, and Janelle didn’t jump at the chance to be in an intimate space with Gideon. He liked her character. She intrigued him.
“You’re here for a reason, right?” Gideon stopped his pacing to address his coach.
“Yes, I am.” Brick opened the box and pulled out the iconic silver MVP trophy.
For a moment, the world stopped. Gideon forgot how to breathe. With everything that had happened to his family and the drama surrounding the store, he’d forgotten about his true passion. Winning the Super Bowl meant everything to him. Getting presented with the MVP award showed him what hard work and determination got him.
“I suppose you would like this.” Brick handed the award to Gideon.
Gideon held out both his hands and cradled the substantial trophy like a baby. He caught his reflection in the shiny metal. He thought he would see the look of a hopeful boy gazing back at him. In the angular, slender base that held up a football likeness, he saw a man with a dream fulfilled. He’d done it.
He wanted to share this with his family. It would have been wonderful to show it to a woman, his woman. He didn’t have that. Maybe not having someone in his life allowed him to be a champion.
Gideon broke his concentration on the award for a moment to peer at his coach. “Thanks.” He could only muster that one-word sentiment.
“No use thanking me. You earned it. You worked hard.” Brick cocked up a crooked smile at the side of his mouth. “Now for the real reason I came over.” He pointed to a chair across from him. “You might want to sit down for this.”
“Is it bad?” Gideon asked as he sat on the arm of the chair next to him. He placed his award on the coffee table.
Brick didn’t respond right away. He peered down for a moment before returning Gideon’s gaze. “Have you talked to your agent?”
Gideon blinked. “No.”
“Oh, ignoring his calls too, huh?”
Gideon held up his hand. “Wait. You have to understand. I—”
Brick cut him off. “You’re on the injured list until we get proof from our doctor and an independent doc that your knee is okay.”
“No.” Gideon bolted to his feet. Mistake. His knee took that moment to weaken and Gideon stumbled. “Damn it.” He braced his hand on his knee until the pain subsided enough for him to continue his conversation. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Brick blinked. “No? Son, you almost fell to your knees just now from pain.”
“You saw me at the game. I ran half a football field for that touchdown.” He looked
at his gleaming award. “I’m MVP, for Christ sake. You can’t do this to me.”
“You did this to yourself.” Brick shrugged. “You’re a quarterback. Be a damn quarterback. Throw the ball. Call the plays. Rally the team. For God’s sake, stop trying to be running back and wide receiver.”
Gideon shook his head. “This can’t be happening. I told you I’m fine.”
“But you’re not.”
Gideon reached into his pocket and pulled out the note his mother had given him. “I have an appointment with a doctor tomorrow. If you want to go with me, you can. I’m sure he’ll say there’s nothing to be concerned about. I’m fine.”
Brick struggled to stand. He strolled over to Gideon. “You’re not. You can keep saying that over and over again until you’re blue in the face. You and I know the truth.” He put his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “The one good thing about this is that the big game is over. You did that. Now you can do the talk-show circuit, write a book, or, hell, join Dancing with the Stars. Lots of athletes do that show.” He patted Gideon’s shoulder.
Still full of anger over this news, he shrugged off his coach’s meaty hand. “Am I still on the roster?”
The smile disappeared from Brick’s face. “Talk to your agent.”
“I’m talking to you, my coach. Tell me something. I want to play. I need to play.” Gideon hated the desperation choking every word he’d said.
Not playing meant they could possibly touch his money. He couldn’t have that. Not now.
Brick turned to the door. “You’re young. It’s not the end of the world. Do what the doctor tells you and rest up that knee. I’m sure everything will work out.”
Gideon brought his face up. “You’re not sure if I’ll remain on the team, right?”
Brick took a deep breath before speaking. “Your ring will be mailed to you. You have my number. Keep me in the loop about your condition.”
Gideon didn’t bother walking the man out the door. Brick left without another word. Dropped a huge bomb like that and retreated without asking how he could help.
As usual, Gideon would have to figure out his fate. He would have to thank his mother for setting up the appointment. Right now, he didn’t even know if he still had a team. What would he be now without his life in football?
Forget Me Not Page 12