The Trouble with J.J Part 18

For the second time that evening Jared sat back and stared at the phone. He felt ten times worse now than he had after practice, where two rookie defensive ends had tried to break him in two. He was stunned. Genna was through with him. He didn't know how he'd managed to do it, but he'd lost her.

Genna left Amy sputtering in the living room. Ignoring her friend's demands for information, she walked out the back door and dropped onto the lounge chair to stare unseeing up at the stars.

You've blown it royally this time, Hastings. After the way she'd behaved, she'd be lucky if Jared ever spoke to her again. She'd agreed to the terms; she had no right to be angry because he'd stuck to them. Now she'd not only lost her heart, she'd lost her friend as well.

THIRTEEN.

"I WISH WISH I' I'D never let you talk me into this," Genna muttered for the eighty-ninth time as Amy turned her car in at the gate of Hawks-Riverside Stadium. never let you talk me into this," Genna muttered for the eighty-ninth time as Amy turned her car in at the gate of Hawks-Riverside Stadium.

"Quit your whining," Amy complained. She stopped and showed her pa.s.s to the security guard. "You want to patch things up with J.J., right? You still want to be friends, right? So this is the perfect opportunity."

"But he didn't invite me, he invited you," she pointed out yet again. Her fingers fidgeted with the big red bow on the huge box of cookies she'd brought as a peace offering. "I still don't see why Brian didn't come with you. I'd think a reception for his favorite football team would have taken precedence over a Kiwanis meeting."

Amy bypa.s.sed the larger parking lots and parked her car near a lower-level entrance, hoping Genna was too frazzled to notice there were only half a dozen other cars in the lot. What she wouldn't go through for her lunkheaded friends, she thought fondly. Genna couldn't see past the nose on her face, and Jared-she shook her head as she dropped her keys in her purse. What would they do without me? she wondered.

"I told you. Tonight is their big meeting about the Founder's Day Feast. The barbecued chicken faction needed his vote."

"I hope they win after last year's disaster. Hash and beets don't rank way up there on the feast list with most people."

Kamikaze b.u.t.terflies were attacking the walls of her stomach as Genna climbed out of the car. She smoothed down the skirt of her purple taffeta dress. "Are you sure we're not overdressed?"

Amy smiled down at her new black silk slacks and gold lame tunic she had acquired courtesy of a very grateful J.J. Hennessy. "Not at all. This is a real hoity-toity deal. The owners of the team and all the sponsors and sportswriters and all those big mucky-mucks will be here. They do this every year," she lied. "Don't you ever read the sports section?"

"No," Genna replied as she heaved open the steel door and they stepped into a long hallway with yellow block walls and a plain concrete floor.

Thank heaven, Amy said to herself. If Genna read the sports page, then she would have known the Hawks didn't train at the stadium, but out at their own facility near Newington.

Amy turned right and started down the hall with Genna trailing one reluctant step behind.

"I'm sure he won't be happy to see me," Genna muttered, chewing the lipstick off her lower lip. "He would have called-"

"Will you put a cork in it? How could he call? Your phone has been off the hook for four days. Tell me how he could've called."

They stopped near the darkened runway that led to the playing field. Genna tried to picture the look on Jared's face when he saw her at the reception. She could only hope he wouldn't have the bouncer toss her out. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"I think you're making me me sick. Will you get a grip on yourself?" sick. Will you get a grip on yourself?"

Genna scowled and looked up and down the corridor. There wasn't a soul to be seen. "Are you sure this is the right night?" She shifted from one slim black heel to the other, clutching her cookie box to her chest.

"Maybe we're early," Amy said. "You wait here, I'll see if there's anybody in the locker room who can tell me."

"Amy!" Genna yelled, horrified. "You can't just walk into the locker room. What if there are men in there?"

Amy paused at the door, across the hall, a comic grin on her face. "I should be so lucky."

Genna held her breath and waited for angry shouts to come out of the room, but none came. No one came out either. She leaned back against the concrete block wall, immediately gasping and jerking away from the cold, clammy surface. Goose b.u.mps ran down her bare back. She couldn't decide which was worse-worrying about Jared not wanting to be friends anymore, or thinking about the late movie she'd seen three nights before that had been set in a stadium not unlike this one, where an ax-wielding maniac had chased down and pulverized one plucky cheerleader after another.

One side of her cookie box caved in under the pressure of her hands. What the devil was taking Amy so long?

Suddenly the locker room door swung open and an enormous ghoul loomed over her. She screamed, a blood curdling sound that shrieked down the cavernous hallway.

"It's only me, Miss Hastings," rumbled a deep ba.s.s voice.

"Brutus!" Genna braced a hand against the wall to hold herself up. Her whole body felt as if it were made of fresh taffy, her heart pounded against her ribs like a paddle ball, and she gasped for enough oxygen to keep from fainting. "You startled me."

She worked her facial muscles into what she hoped was a smile and looked up at him. He had gold glitter in his mohawk and wore a big gold hoop earring. Ghoul or Brutus-was there a whole heck of a lot of difference?

"Sorry," he said with a distinctly unapologetic smile. His gold tooth gleamed dully in the light of the hall.

The fact that he was wearing a tuxedo slowly penetrated Genna's brain. A real tuxedo, with a shirt and everything. There wasn't a sc.r.a.p of leather on him. "My, you're very handsomely turned out this evening. For the big reception, I suppose?"

He made a sound in his throat that was close to a panther's purring. He offered Genna his arm. "This way, please."

Who in their right mind would refuse him? she wondered. As he led the way toward the entrance to the field, she glanced back nervously toward the locker room. "My friend Amy-did you happen to see her in there?"

"Mmmmmmmm ..." he purred.

Genna gulped.

As they stepped onto the playing field, lights came on just above the lower deck of seats. Not the bright lights the team played night games under, but more like security lights. They were just enough to illuminate the artificial turf with a hazy glow. At center field stood a table set for two, draped in fine white linen. As they drew closer to it, Genna could see the gleam of china and silver, the sparkle of crystal. A dozen white tapers burned in sterling candelabra. Across from it, delicate pink tiger lilies were displayed in a Waterford vase.

Genna was too stunned to think, much less speak, as Brutus seated her at the table. She sat back and listened to the stadium organist playing a mellow, romanticized version of "Lady of Spain." Brutus retreated with her cookie box to the sideline, where he stationed himself like a monolith.

Otis appeared in a tux with a lavender bow tie. He filled her champagne gla.s.s and the one at the setting opposite her. Still, Genna said nothing. She was too dumbfounded even to speculate. One thing was certain, this party wasn't set up for a bevy of bigwigs. It was strictly a pairs event-one pair, and she was half of it.

"Your waiter's name is Stephan," Otis said in a well-modulated voice. "The main course this evening is fondue Bourguignonne."

"And here I thought a hot dog was the best you could do at the ballpark," Genna said with a weak laugh.

Otis merely smiled politely. "May I direct your attention to our scoreboard, Miss Hastings?"

The ultramodern electronic board came to life in a blaze of lights.

WELCOME TO HAWKS-RIVERSIDE STADIUMHOME OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONHARTFORD HAWKS!!!.

The organist interrupted his song with a brief rendition of Charge!

TONIGHT'S CONTEST: HASTINGS VS. HENNESSYGO HAWKS GO! GO HAWKS GO! GO HAWKS GO!GO HAWKS GO!

A BIG HAWKS-FAN WELCOME FOR LEAGUE MVPJ. J. HENNESSY!!!.

The last sentence was punctuated by several bars of an Irish jig from the organist, who then promptly segued into a tango.

Genna put a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles as J.J. approached from the other end of the field. She still didn't know what was going on, but she no longer felt apprehensive. Jared couldn't have been too angry with her to have arranged such an elaborate affair.

She couldn't believe how good it was to see him. He hadn't been gone a week, but she'd been afraid the only time she would see him up close again was at parent-teacher conferences. Even his wild getup looked good to Genna. He wore a black fedora pulled low over his eyes and a very trendy Italian-cut silver-gray suit, over which he wore a long coat of billowing white parachute silk. As he neared her, she could see his diamond earring glittering under the lights.

J.J. felt as if he had a live hamster in his stomach as he walked across the field. What if Amy were wrong? What if Genna really was through with him? Just because she didn't know about his proposal didn't mean she'd say yes when she found out. She'd probably call him an uncouth boor and dump the ice bucket over his head.

She looked like a million bucks in that dress. He'd been so miserable missing her, he'd been driving his teammates nuts. Several of them had suggested he take a soak in the whirlpool-headfirst. If she didn't want him- Before he could turn tail and run, Brutus appeared beside him to take his coat and hat, and then returned to the sidelines.

"Hi, gorgeous," Jared said in a voice like dark velvet as he slid onto the chair across from Genna.

"Hi," she said with a tremulous smile. She gestured to the stadium in general, the elaborately laid table in particular. "How did you manage all this?"

"Bribery." He grinned.

Her smiled faded away. "What for?"

"Peace offering. An apology dinner."

Genna sat back, tearing her gaze away from the hypnotic blue of his eyes. "I'm the one who should apologize, Jared. I had no right to blow up at you the other night. I got too involved when I knew I shouldn't have, and ... well ... I set myself up for it, and heaven knows I can take it on the chin with the best of them. I was just feeling sorry for myself and I took it out on you. If you can forgive me, I'd still like us to be friends."

Speech ended, she tried to clear the tears out of her throat without sounding like a longsh.o.r.eman. She kept her watery eyes trained on the delicate rose pattern that edged the china.

A little more sure of herself than he had been, Jared leaned across the table, hooking a finger under Genna's stubborn little chin and tipping her face up so he could see into her eyes. "We had a little misunderstanding-"

"I know."

"About the note I left."

"Could we just drop it, J.J.?" she asked, trying not to sound annoyed. Why did he have to go on beating that poor dead horse?

"You missed page two," he said, sitting back in his chair. While she squinted at him suspiciously, he took a fortifying sip of champagne.

"There was no page two," Genna said flatly.

"Yes, there was." It had never occurred to him she wouldn't believe him.

"Why are you doing this to me, Jared? I apologized, what more do you want?"

"Page two-and I quote-" he said. "'Then we can make plans to go looking for an engagement ring. I love you. Jared.'"

As he might have predicted, she was speechless. For all of two seconds.

"Baloney!" Genna said, ignoring the part of her that wanted to believe him. If he'd wanted to marry her, he'd have said so. He'd had plenty of opportunity. "There was no page two. What kind of sick joke is this, Hennessy?"

"Joke?" Jared roared indignantly.

"I can tell you right now, it's about as funny as a nuclear holocaust," she said furiously, her eyes scanning the cutlery for a good weapon.

"Look, I like a good joke as much as the next guy, but I'm not about to rent a whole football stadium to play one in. I'm telling you there was a page two!"

"There was not!"

"I ought to know, I wrote it!"

"You ought to have your head examined! There was no page two and this is not not funny!" funny!"

His eyes round and incredulous, Jared raised his hands in a gesture of defeat. Women! "Genna, I want to marry you. Why would I make this up?"

"Because ..." Abruptly the fight drained out of her. She remembered how Jared had stuck up for her with Allan, how appreciative he'd been of her help with Alyssa and Simone. She remembered what she'd taken for pity in his eyes that night in the potting shed. She twisted her pink linen napkin in her hands, then swiped at the tears that suddenly clung to her lashes. "You're so sweet. You'd do that kind of thing out of some sense of obligation, like that business with your T-shirts. I got in over my head, and you think you have to stick with me because we're a team and all that-"

"Genna, honey," Jared interrupted gently as a sudden thought occurred to him. He covered her hand with one of his, "you're behaving very irrationally lately. Are you pregnant, sweetheart?"

Genna's head came up as all the color washed out of her face and a wave of nausea hit her. It seemed fate had an exceedingly poor sense of humor. Allan hadn't wanted to marry her because she had been had been pregnant, now Jared wanted to marry her only because he thought she pregnant, now Jared wanted to marry her only because he thought she was was pregnant. pregnant.

She stared at him for what seemed like an hour, hurting in ways she had never even dreamed were possible.

"No, Jared," she said in a deadly whisper, pulling her hand out from under his and sliding her chair back. "You can breathe easy. I'm not going to trap you into anything."

She rose with the dignity of a queen, then turned and bolted for the exit, tears of pain and anger stinging her eyes. Her short legs on high heels were no match for one of the top running quarterbacks in the league, however. While he cursed himself for being ten kinds of a fool, Jared's long legs ate up the yards of turf until he was no longer behind her, but blocking her path. He grabbed her by the shoulders and held firm when she struggled.

"Let me go, Hennessy!" she yelled, resorting to kicking at his shins. He dodged her feet and managed to haul her against him so she couldn't move enough to wound him.

"Genna, honey, I swear on a stack of Bibles that thought came to me just now. It had nothing to do with my proposal-not with the one I just made or the one I left you on Sat.u.r.day. Ouch!"

He let go of her and grabbed his side where she'd pinched him. Genna backed away, glaring at him. "Drop the phony-note business. I'd throw myself in a shark tank before I'd let you marry me out of some n.o.ble sense of duty."

"And I'd jump in ahead of you before I'd offer to do that, Genna," he said, looking as serious as she'd seen him. "I made that mistake once. I wouldn't do it twice. There's only one reason I want to get married again. It's because I love you."

He chanced a step closer, then another. One hand seemed to reach out of its own accord to touch her cheek. She seemed tiny and fragile, her smoky eyes wide and full of uncertainty. Jared thought his heart would burst with love for her, his Genna, who seemed so practical and capable on the outside but was so vulnerable on the inside. He wanted her in his arms, safe forever.

"You really believe we just had a summer fling. You think it's all over between us, don't you?"

"Isn't it?" she asked, her heart in her throat. She didn't dare let herself hope. If she had let herself hope, then she really would be lost when she found out she'd been right all along.

Once again Jared's hand lifted to touch the peachy softness of her cheek. What if she listened to all his arguments and still said no? His heart thudded in his chest like a faulty fuel pump. When he spoke, his voice was that whiskey-on-the-rocks rasp that made Genna's pulse race. "Not if you don't want it to be."

Genna tried to force herself to breathe normally, but it seemed she'd forgotten how. What if he were just being a gentleman and giving her a chance to decline first? She'd been so sure he'd wanted nothing more than the summer. But what if she were wrong?

"I love you," he whispered. "I only said that stuff about us being a summer thing so I wouldn't scare you off. I was afraid to pressure you. You hardly even liked me at the time. I thought if I told you we'd keep it light, you'd give me a chance to prove I wasn't the jerk you thought I was."

Her look was skeptical. He gave her his roguish grin, the Jack Nicholson grin that made Genna's knees sway threateningly. He rested his big hands on her shoulders, repeating his claim with heart-stealing tenderness. "I love you. I told you that."

Genna trembled. She'd heard those words before, and they hadn't meant what she had hoped. They hadn't meant anything. "You told me that in bed, but-"

"But nothing," he said, his expression uncompromising. "When I told you I loved you, I meant it. For all time, not just when you're all warm and soft beneath me."

"Ja-red!" She blushed to the roots of her hair and cast a furtive glance back at Otis and Brutus, who were nearly fifty yards away, sitting on a bench studying their playbooks.