The Trouble With J.J. (10 page)

Abandoning the idea of sheer brute force, she opted for a sneak attack of tickles to the ribs. Well-placed, nimble fingers had him doubled over instantly, screaming, “Personal foul! Roughing the quarterback!”

Ducking the arm he swung out to catch her, Genna grabbed a dishtowel for protection and twirled it in a menacing manner. “Don’t come any closer,” she cautioned, backing toward the refrigerator. “I warn you, I can snap this thing with deadly accuracy.”

To prove her point, she flicked her wrist, cracking the towel a hairbreadth from Jared’s flat belly, effectively halting his advance. He took a step back and dropped his hands to his hips.

“Now,” Genna said, returning to the subject with a clear head, “I’ll admit to a certain … physical … attraction—”

Jared’s eyes lit up like blue neon signs.

“But people need more than that to base a relationship on. Look at us. We couldn’t be more different.”

“Variety,” he argued.

“Common ground,” she parried.

“We have lots of things in common!” Jared said.

Genna arched a skeptical brow. “Such as?”

“A—a—you like to cook, I like to eat. You like to sun, I like to watch you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we’re practically peas in a pod.”

Jared shifted on his feet, inching closer to Genna, his mind automatically sifting through play options to decide how best to get her in his arms. He much preferred the way her mind worked when her body was pressed to his. “Haven’t you ever heard that opposites attract?”

Genna caught his movement and twitched the dishtowel. “Freeze, turkey, or you’ll be sporting matching belly buttons.”

Jared faked to the right then bolted left, grabbing the towel as she cracked it and reeling her in
with a jerk of his arm so that she thudded into his chest. He wasted no time wrapping his arms around her.

“See,” he said with a lazy grin. “Like magnets.”

“Poles apart,” she insisted, trying not to breathe in his warm male scent, trying to block out the feel of the blatantly male anatomy molded against her.

“Look, Gen,” he said, choosing his words carefully so he wouldn’t scare her off, “you’re free. I’m free. We’re both attracted. We’re adults. Where’s the harm in giving it a shot?”

Where’s the harm? Hadn’t she been thinking the same thoughts last night? Now, as then, she couldn’t come up with any good answers. He was right, she didn’t have any hot prospects for romance. She’d be all right with Jared as long as they kept things light. It wouldn’t do for her to fall in love with him, because it wouldn’t work out on a long-term basis—certainly he wasn’t even interested on that level. But of course she wasn’t in any real danger of falling in love with him anyway. Heaven knew she wasn’t even sure she liked him.

Jared watched Genna’s face as conflicting emotions seemed to war within her and he waited for her to comment. She seemed to be considering his
offer of a light romance. Maybe if he reassured her of her freedom she’d be more inclined to accept.

“I’m talking light romance here. We’ll have fun together. Nothing heavy. No pressure. We’ll date. No strings attached.”

Fun. No strings. That was what she’d been thinking too. So why did it sting a little bit when he said it? Pride, she told herself. It just pricked her vanity a little to have him say he wasn’t even considering a serious involvement. Silly, she thought, since I’m definitely not considering it either.

“Light romance?” she asked, leaning back in his arms so she had a good view of his face.

She was definitely thinking about it. He smiled and crossed his fingers behind her back for good luck. “All the fun and a third less calories. What better way to spend the summer?” Once she saw what a good guy he was, he hoped, maybe she’d consider extending the contract.

“Well … okay,” Genna gave in, as she’d known all along she would. She pried her left arm out from between them and checked her watch, then glanced at Jared’s wild black hair. “The only date you need to worry about now is the one I made for you with the barber. If we don’t get going, we’ll be late.”

“You don’t like my haircut?” His eyes glittered as he ran a hand over the ebony spikes.

“It looks as if rodents chewed it off as you slept,” Genna said dryly.

“Well, don’t tell Brutus, you’ll hurt his feelings.”

“You let Brutus style your hair?” The thought of that man loose with a scissors in his hand was enough to make her blood run cold.

“Honey,” Jared laughed. “I let Brutus do whatever he wants.”

Jared, Genna, and Alyssa all trooped down to Gorgeous Guy’s Hair Emporium on Tory Hills’ Old Market Street, where the brick buildings dated back to before the Revolution. When they came out half an hour later, Jared looked more like a
GQ
model than a rock star.

Guy very cleverly had left the top short and had cut off the long strands that had straggled down Jared’s neck. The style left him looking amazingly clean-cut, and Genna’s fingers were itching to run up and down the back of his smooth, strong neck. Even Alyssa liked the new look, proclaiming her daddy to be “very pretty.”

“Clothes make the man,” Genna proclaimed,
dragging Jared by the arm from Gorgeous Guy’s toward Wagnall’s Clothiers, the one and only men’s shop in Tory Hills. They wouldn’t be able to outfit Jared totally here, but at least he could get a couple of shirts that didn’t qualify as walking billboards.

Jared balked, eyeing the nattily dressed mannequins in the window with obvious distaste. “I already have clothes.”

Genna let go of his hand and planted her hands on her hips. She looked up and down at the black tank top and camouflage pants he wore. “Yeah, you’re all set if we want to go out to eat in the jungles of Nicaragua.” She gave Alyssa a wink and a grin. “Come on, Lyss, grab Daddy’s hand and let’s drag him in here.”

Alyssa giggled and immediately began tugging on her father’s hand, jumping up and down and pulling at him. “Come on, Daddy!”

With the help of a clerk who held the door open, they managed to get Jared into the store. He was still scowling when they came back out with two button-down oxford shirts, a plain navy blue tie, two polo shirts, and a pair of navy gabardine trousers.

“Cheer up,” Genna said. “It’s good for your
new image to be seen shopping in the local stores. Besides, now you won’t have to worry about taking me out to dinner at a nice restaurant and having them punish you by making you wear one of those awful ties they keep at the desk for people who underdress.”

Jared didn’t mention that he had a whole closet full of shirts and ties, since it so obviously pleased Genna to dress him up like a Ken doll. Her picking on him about his everyday clothes irked him a little though, and he got back at her that evening by making choking noises over dinner at Leonie’s while tugging at the knot in his new tie.

The next few days were spent schooling Jared on normal, small-town behavior and trying to get him to give up his earring. That was something he flatly refused to do, as the diamond stud had been a gift from his mother. Evenings were devoted to dates that often included Alyssa. They did every normal thing Jared could think of. They went to the movies and to dinner. They even played miniature golf.

Everywhere they went Jared was pestered for autographs. Genna watched him closely as he signed scraps of paper, always smiling, even when a fan interrupted a meal. She also noticed that
many of his fans were women. He attracted them like metal filings to a magnet. It was disgusting. Women of all ages fell willingly under the spell of his unusual charm. More than one woman had made it clear that she would fall under more than that if he were interested, but Jared always turned the ladies away with a wink and a grin.

Wednesday of the following week the three of them piled into Jared’s new Mercedes station wagon and headed for downtown Hartford. Jared had agreed to take Genna shopping for accessories for his house and had promised Alyssa a picnic as soon as he took care of “a little something.”

His “little something” turned out to be shooting a thirty-second commercial for the NFL’s antidrug campaign. Genna and Alyssa were allowed to sit off-camera and watch as makeup people, lighting people, sound technicians, and cameramen fussed over and around Jared. Through all the commotion he remained his amiable self, talking football with the crew and signing autographs. When the director shouted “Action,” Jared simply looked directly into the camera and delivered his lines like a pro.

They did three takes, though Genna would have sworn only one had been necessary. She was more than a little surprised at Jared’s professional attitude
in front of the camera. The way he had talked about his college days and his degree in communications, he would have had her believe he didn’t know a light meter from a lens cap, when obviously he knew a lot more.

His acting ability was nothing to sneeze at either. He was very relaxed in front of the camera. Dressed in jeans and a tight Hawks T-shirt, he casually leaned back against a smooth oak desk, his sneakered feet crossed at the ankle, his hands stuffed into his pockets. The wall behind the desk displayed framed photos of Jared in action on the football field, and the shelves held game balls and trophies. When the film started rolling, he looked into the camera as if he were looking into someone’s eyes and said his lines as if he were speaking directly to that one person. His message was clear and sincere.

“As quarterback of the Hartford Hawks, I’m known for being a little unorthodox.” He grinned engagingly, then grew serious. “But doing my own thing doesn’t mean doing drugs. I get my highs on the football field helping my team win championships. I don’t need drugs messing that up. Everybody knows drugs are stupid.” He gave
a harsh laugh. “Why do you think they call it
dope?”

When Genna asked him why he hadn’t mentioned the commercial, he just shrugged it off.

“No big deal,” he said, turning his attention to Alyssa. “How’d you like that, muffin?”

Alyssa gave him her shy smile. “Were you on TV, Daddy?”

“I will be.” He scooped her up in the crook of his strong arm so they were face-to-face. “They’ll run that ad this fall when I’m working.”

Alyssa turned to Genna with a proud look. “My daddy plays bootball.”

Genna hid her mirth with a smile. After all, she didn’t know much more about the sport herself. Jared laughed and kissed his daughter’s cheek. “That’s
foot
ball, sweetheart.”

Afterward they ate hamburgers in Bushnell Park on the capitol grounds. Every time Genna mentioned shopping, Jared changed the subject. The day was too summer perfect to spend in a store, he’d said. He drove them to Elizabeth Park instead, where they walked through the famous rose gardens and watched people lawn bowling.

The combination of the warm sun and the intoxicating scent of the flowers made Genna feel
giddy and weak. She had told herself she could have fun with him without getting her heart involved, but as she watched him lift Alyssa so the little girl could have a better view of the flowers, Genna doubted it.

She’d been attracted to him from the start, but that desire had been easily dampened by her initial low opinion of him. The trouble was, he wasn’t Jared the Jerk anymore. He was the Jared who sat on the kitchen floor with her and gently listened to her tale of an unhappy childhood. He was the Jared who forgot little details like winning national awards and making commercials. He was the Jared who always had time for his daughter and his fans. He was the Jared with summer-sky eyes and kisses that stole every scrap of sanity Genna possessed.

She would be a fool to fall for him. He’d never get serious with a kindergarten teacher. And he wasn’t the type for her to get serious with either. He’d said himself this was just a summer romance, nothing heavy. It was a convenient relationship that they were both enjoying.

Really, she told herself, there was no reason for her to be afraid of getting overly involved. They were just working together. The boundaries of
their arrangement were very clear in her mind: they were working together and they were friends for the summer. Certainly she was adult enough by now to lean over the edge of the waters of romance without falling in.

Of course she was. It had been a long time since she’d been attracted to a man on any level. So now that this major league hunk was showing an interest, she was simply overreacting. She’d gotten too involved in a one-sided romance once before and she was afraid of letting it happen again. That was why she’d hardly even gone out with a man since her breakup with Allan. She knew too well how it hurt to give her heart to someone who wanted only to play handball with it. Allan had left her feeling uncertain of herself as a woman and uncertain of her own judgment. It was only natural that she was skittish of the same thing happening again. But it wasn’t going to. She and Jared had become friends. There was nothing scary about that.

Genna smiled to herself as she watched Jared model a big straw bonnet bedecked with flowers for Alyssa. The vendor stood by her cart laughing and clapping her hands at his antics.

Infatuation. That was all she was feeling. He was a good-looking man, personable in his own
strange way. Infatuation. It certainly wasn’t … the L word. No. It was simply a normal attraction between two healthy adults who had been spending a lot of time together.

She breathed easier knowing she wasn’t in any real danger.

Genna sat next to Jared on the edge of his stone patio watching Alyssa at play in the yard with Flurry. She had finally given up on the shopping idea. They had all been ready to come home after their afternoon in the park. “Any news from your lawyer?” she asked.

Jared shook his head. His eyes never left his daughter as he spoke. “Paul said they made all the initial moves, now they just seem to be waiting around. I don’t know what their game plan is, but I don’t like it.” He raised his shoulders as if he were trying to shrug off his apprehension. “Anyway, we’re doing our part, so let’s talk about something else.”

“Okay,” Genna said, honoring his desire to drop the subject. “Why didn’t you tell me about the commercial?”