Forget Me Not (28 page)

The knock that sounded on Janelle’s door so early in the morning didn’t give her an easy feeling. Only being behind one month on her rent, she didn’t think her landlord had made a trip to her home. Gideon had sent a very thoughtful, if not late text, so it could be him. After she looked through the peephole, she wished Bigfoot or an alien stood on the other side.

“I know you’re up. I saw you looking through the peephole.” Ida’s voice carried through the door into Janelle’s tiny apartment.

Janelle took a deep breath, smoothed her hand over her oversized T-shirt that doubled as her pajamas, and opened the door. “Good morning to you too, Mom.”

Ida stormed into the apartment and closed the door. “Why aren’t you dressed?”

“Why are you here? I’ve never known you to get up so early?” Janelle looked at her watch.

Hell, she needed to get ready for work. Her plants and flowers wouldn’t care that she’d had a long night, tossing and turning and thinking about the man who she’d turned her back on, but with good reason. He had too much going on with his career and family. She didn’t need to add to his worry.

“I’m here because of this.” Ida turned her phone around so that it faced Janelle.

A grainy picture of Janelle and Gideon sitting together in the hospital cafeteria populated the large screen. She remembered that moment quite well. At the time, she’d wanted to kiss him. She liked the intimacy they had created. Then it had all been ruined.

“So?” Janelle turned her back on her mother and headed to the kitchen. A conversation like this this early in the morning required coffee, and lots of it.

“So? Are you two dating?” Her mother threw her phone on the counter and planted her fist on her hip, her usual stance.

“What we are is none of your business.” She popped a small premeasured cup into her coffeemaker.

The familiar hissing calmed her a bit until round two began.

“None of my business? Don’t think you’re too grown for me to put you over my knee and spank that ass.”

Janelle cocked her head. “Mom, what is it that you want? You have never cared about what man I have in my life. Why start now?”

“Oh, so you are admitting he’s a part of your life? You two are dating? Or are you just having sex?” She punctuated the salacious question by dragging her skinny, pink tongue over her lips.

“Don’t be crude. It’s too early for that.” Janelle rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.

“I may be crude, as you call it, but I’m a realist. And I know how much that man is worth.”

The turn of this conversation raised the hairs on the back of Janelle’s neck. “His money is his money. None of that is my concern or business.”

“Maybe it should be.” Ida strolled across the kitchen to Janelle. “Maybe you stop taking your birth control pills or skip getting the shot or give up the patch for a while and let him give you a full-money guarantee.” She rubbed her hand over Janelle’s stomach.

The touch alone made her lurch. “You’re disgusting. If you think I would ever do that to him or any man, you’re mistaken. If that’s all you came over to discuss, you can leave. I have to get ready for work, and you are holding me up.”

“Oh, I am?”

“Yes. You see some stupid pictures on the Internet and read some dumb stories, and you think that all that should lead to something. It doesn’t. He’s running a flower business just like me. We talk about business.” She didn’t lie. They had discussed flowers. She would leave out the part where he’d covered her in thousands of rose petals and given her some of the best toe-curling orgasms she’d ever had.

Ida moved back to the end of the bar to retrieve her phone and purse. She dropped her gaze down long enough to notice something. She picked up an item Janelle couldn’t see at first. When her mother slammed the red notice on the counter, Janelle’s throat became dry.

“Looks like you might need a little help. That man is there for the taking. Use him. Make him pay your bills.”

“Get out. I don’t know why I keep letting you in my life when all you do is bring me down. I love you, Mom. I don’t like you right now.”

Ida snickered. “Fine. Be all high and mighty. Everybody uses everybody. Don’t think this millionaire is any different. He’s just like every other man out there.” She opened the door in time to be greeted by an older deliveryman with dark hair and streaks of gray on both sides of his head.

He nearly jumped when Ida squealed. He held a tall, gold box with a bow on the top. “Looking for Janelle Gold.”

“I’ll take that.” Ida snatched the box.

“Mom!” Janelle attempted to get the package from her mother while not embarrassing herself in front of the deliveryman. She signed for the package. “Um, let me see if I have some money in my purse.” She knew she didn’t, but she wouldn’t let this man or her mother know that.

“No need.” He bowed and walked away.

As soon as Janelle closed the door, she heard her mother reading the card attached to the box. “Trying to win you back from A to Z.”

Janelle snatched the card from her mother.

“Guess you are seeing him for more than just business.”

Even though her mother had tainted the message, Janelle read the card for herself. She tried hiding her happiness, even though the message seemed cryptic. She opened the box and understood what it meant.

“I’ve never seen a plant like that.” Ida tilted her head like a confused puppy. “Is that a rose?”

Janelle shook her head, knowing full well what Gideon had sent her. “It’s an amaryllis.” She touched the red petals. “Beautiful.”

“Don’t wait. You’ve got an eviction notice and you’re not getting any younger.” Ida smacked Janelle on her backside, gave her a wink as though Janelle had agreed with her heinous plan, and walked out of her apartment.

For a short while, Janelle sat in her quiet apartment, listening to the quiet drip of coffee going into her single-serve cup, and staring at this beautiful plant with its deep, rich, red petals. She guessed from his card that he would be sending her twenty-five more
arrangements. She couldn’t wait.

* * * *

“Wake up, lazy bones.” Gideon felt a hard punch to his shoulder right after he heard the statement.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Gunnar standing between him and their mother. “Is Mom awake yet?” He sat up. The pain in his neck forced him to keep his head still for a moment before he could twist it back and forth.

“I’m awake, darling.” Elizabeth sounded like a shell of herself. She whispered instead of talking with her full voice.

Gideon stood and went to her bed. “You look good.”

She laughed. “I taught you boys to never lie.”

Gideon beamed. “I’m not. You already look healthier.” He held her hand.

“And you look horrible. Did you sleep here all night?”

“Yes, ma’am, I did.”

“You didn’t have to do that, sweetie.” She squeezed his hand. “I don’t want to keep you away from other obligations.”

“The store is fine. I talked to Victor earlier.” He’d made sure his friend had made that special delivery that morning. Gideon hoped Janelle liked it.

“I wasn’t talking about the store. Janelle. Did she stay with you here?”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. She got freaked out by some fans taking pictures of us.”

Gunnar whistled. “Tough break. I don’t get it as bad as you and Thane. No one cares about us MMA fighters unless we go out with a porn star. That makes the news.”

“I’m sure you’re not going to let her get away, right?” Queen asked.

“No, ma’am.”

“Good. Now go home and shower. No woman wants to be with a man who slept in his clothes all night.”

Gideon kissed his mother’s forehead. “Love you.” He headed to the door. “I’ll come back later.”

“Get some sleep. Hopefully, they’ll move me out of intensive care.” She blew a kiss to Gideon.

He barely remembered how he got home, working on adrenaline and hope. He strolled to his greenhouse first. Before he could get any sleep, he had to tend to his beauty. The white roses he’d grown for the upcoming contest wouldn’t be impressive on their own. Yes, he had cultivated them to have large flowers. In this day and age, he couldn’t win on that alone.

Gideon picked up a small pitcher of water and dropped a couple of drops of inky-black food coloring in it. After a good swirling, he poured some into the soil. As he stared at the flowers, he wondered what Janelle would think.

Suddenly, his thoughts went to her being covered in rose petals. His body tingled. He missed her more than he thought he would. If he could get her to his home, he could protect her there. Her need to be independent and self-sufficient drew him to her. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to capture her attention again.

Before he could be any good to her, he had to handle some business. He called his mother’s flower shop first.

“Good morning. Pick ’N Clip. Victor speaking. How can I help you?” Victor’s voice
sounded as light as a spring day.

“Good morning, my friend. How is everything?” Gideon held on to the staircase post, hesitant to take that first step up the stairs. He found if he could get used to the pain first, he could settle in to it a lot easier.

“Gid—uh, I mean, good morning, customer.”

Not subtle at all.

“Bunch of customers in there now?” Gideon asked.

“Yes.”

Gideon could tell Victor kept his answer short to keep the customers at bay.

“Reporters and photographers in there?”

“Absolutely.”

Gideon took a deep breath. He should have been an accountant like his mother wanted. He might have had a better love life. “Did you get that arrangement delivered for me?”

“Of course. We handle all deliveries promptly. We enjoy seeing the recipient of our arrangements smiling and happy to get them.”

Gideon’s belly filled with a smoldering heat as he imagined Janelle smiling over the flower arrangement. “Good. I’m glad she liked them. Mom is doing great. Came out of surgery like a trouper.”

“Good to hear. I’ll visit later.”

Gideon heard some rustling on the other end before Victor returned to the call.

“I’ve been at the hospital all night. I need to get a couple of hours of sleep before I come in. Can you hold the fort down for a bit longer?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve secured some help for you. You won’t be doing it alone.”

Victor exhaled. “Thank goodness.”

“I hired someone to help with the deliveries until I can get back there.” Gideon still had to decide if getting the operation on his knee right now would help or hurt his career. “Did you get the other special deliveries made up for me?”

Victor giggled. “I did. She will be surprised.” The scratches on the other end sounded like Victor put the phone to his chest for a moment or covered the mouthpiece. “It’s getting a little crazy in here. Business is good.”

“I know. Good for my mom. I won’t hold you up. Talk to you later.”

“Okay, bye, Gideon.” As Victor disconnected the call, Gideon heard through the phone, “Uh, no. I wasn’t talking to Gideon Wells. Gideon is a very popular name in Virginia.”

Gideon continued working on business. He hit another speed-dial number as he stood by the staircase. He called his agent next. “Scot, what’s the word on the street?” Gideon took the stairs slowly to keep his concentration on his agent’s words.

Scot sighed.
Not good.

“I know you’re not a social-media type of guy, but have you seen what’s out there about you?” Scot asked through an obvious speakerphone.

Gideon hated talking to the man that way. He imagined Scot stood in his office full of sports memorabilia, putting balls into a cup or one of those contraptions that pops the ball back to him if he managed to make the shot.

“I’ve been a little busy lately. Fill me in.” Gideon kept the grunting from the
mouthpiece as he kept his trek up the steps.

“I think I’ve managed to squash the mama’s-boy moniker. I put out pictures of your mom. People think she’s hot. They don’t blame you for dropping everything to be by her side.”

Gideon froze in his spot. “Don’t disrespect my mother. She’s not a commodity in my career.”

“Calm down, Gid, my man. I said that’s been squashed. Besides, I reminded folks that your MMA brother was shot, which is the real reason you went home. Ah, yes!”

Gideon heard the sound of a ball going into a cup. Damn. He hated being right, especially now when he needed his agent’s full attention. “What else?” He turned to his bedroom.

He hated cleaning the rose petals from his room. They reminded him of Janelle. Her scent and the aroma of the roses still lingered in the air. He took in a deep breath as he switched his phone to speaker and set it on the nightstand.

“Did you really kick a She-Wolf out of your bedroom?” With Scot’s Southern drawl, he always sounded like he wanted to burst into laughter after every statement.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Gideon pulled off his shirt and sat on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes.

“She first tried lying and saying you two had sex and now she’s pregnant with your love child.”

Gideon sprang to his feet. The sharp pain in his knee didn’t keep him from reacting. “She what? I never touched her.”

“I know. The world knows now. After I called her on her bullshit story and demanded a pregnancy test, she quickly recanted and said she only said it to try to save your reputation. After she said that, she put out a video.”

“Of what? Me kicking her out of my house and calling the police? That’s all I did.” He remembered when she’d taken the phone from the bookshelf behind him.

He also remembered the time and extra expense he’d taken to ensure she hadn’t bugged the rest of his house. He’d hired a security firm to sweep his home. They hadn’t found any recording devices. He couldn’t imagine what else she could have recorded.

“No, I wished she had posted that. It would further feed into your Gentleman Gideon persona.”

“It’s not an act. I am a—”

Scot cut him off. “She posted a video of you barely being able to climb your own stairs right after the game.”