Forgive and Forget (5 page)

“I don’t like it,” Bea groused, though he knew she’d do as he asked, so he gave her cheek a kiss.

“Thank you.”

“I want to talk to him first,” she said stubbornly.

Well, it was the best he could hope for. “Okay. Finish up down here and give me about ten minutes. I don’t want everyone barreling upstairs and scaring the life out of him. Try to go easy on the poor guy.” Not waiting around for a reply, he sped through the kitchen to the set of stairs at the back that led up to his apartment. If anyone was in danger, it was poor Tom.

JOE
reached his living room only to find it empty, and for a moment he wondered if maybe Tom had decided to go after all.

“Tom?” Joe took a peek down the hall and spotted the light coming out from under the closed bathroom door.

“I’m just finishing up,” Tom called out. “Be right out.”

Joe couldn’t explain why the mere sound of the man’s voice caused butterflies to appear in his stomach. He tried not to think about how nice it was to hear his apartment filled with more than the sound of the TV, or no sound at all. Man, he really needed to get out more. He’d been so caught up in his thoughts he didn’t hear Tom come out of the bathroom. When he saw movement directly in front of him, Joe gave a start, and his jaw nearly became unhinged.
Oh sweet Betty Crocker.

Tom stood in the borrowed pajama pants and undershirt—which was pulled snugly across his well-muscled chest. His newly washed hair was charmingly tousled, his chiseled jaw clean-shaven, and his skin naturally tanned, which made his silver eyes stand out all the more. He stood barefoot with a towel around his neck and a big grin stretched across his face. He looked younger, but the little creases at the corners of his eyes and the fine silver hairs subtly woven in with his pitch-black hair said Tom was probably close to Joe’s age.

Picking his jaw up off the floor, Joe attempted to regain some form of decorum before Tom ended up thinking worse things about him than him being a little nuts. “There you are. Everything all right?”

“Yeah, thanks. You okay?” Tom cocked his head to one side as he studied Joe.

“Yep, fine. Listen, I hope you won’t be offended, but I don’t really have much—any, actually—family except for Bea, Elsie, and Donnie who help me run the shop, and they’ve gotten it in their heads to have a word with you. So, could you maybe humor them for me?”

Tom swept past him, looking back over his shoulder with a smile that was nothing short of sinful. “They trying to protect your virtue?”

Oh my God
. Joe sucked in his breath and found himself trailing behind Tom without any thought in his head. Tom settled on the couch, those intense eyes directed at him. Was Tom… flirting with him?

“Uh, yeah. Something like that,” Joe muttered, whether to Tom’s question or his own, he wasn’t certain. Could Tom really be flirting? Nah, he was most likely teasing. Maybe Joe was just hearing what he wanted to. Yep, that’s right. Tom wasn’t flirting with him at all. He better get a hold of himself before he did something silly, like invite a handsome stranger with amnesia to sleep under the same roof as him. No, wait. He’d already done that.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay? I mean, I wouldn’t want your girlfriend, or boyfriend getting upset with you.” The smile was gone from Tom’s face, replaced by a sudden intensity in his eyes. His forwardness was certainly unexpected. Would Tom have second thoughts if Joe said he was gay? Joe didn’t hide who he was. He’d spent enough of his youth doing that. He didn’t exactly go around waving a neon sign that pointed it out, but he didn’t hide it.

“No. No boyfriend to get upset with me,” Joe replied, studying Tom’s expression. Tom’s lips curled into a smile, and Joe found himself liking it. “Will that be a problem?”

“That you don’t have a boyfriend? No.” Tom’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Or do you mean being gay? That’s not a problem for me, Joe. I might not remember who I am, but I know what team I play for.” He raked his gaze over Joe and his cheeks went slightly pink before he lowered his eyes to his fingers. “Definitely not a problem. So, there’s no one special in your life?” Tom lifted his gaze to meet Joe’s.

Come on, Joe. What more do you want the guy to do? Change his online status? Announce it on the radio? Send out a smoke signal? Either way, it didn’t matter. Joe knew next to nothing about this man, much less his intentions. He needed to keep his wits about him.

A forceful knock startled them both. Cursing under his breath, Joe let in the chastity brigade. It was probably for the best. He really shouldn’t be entertaining any kind of risqué thoughts about Tom. The man’s name wasn’t even Tom, for heaven’s sake!

“Oh my God.” Elsie leaned into Joe, whispering hoarsely and loud enough for everyone to hear, including Tom. “He’s gorgeous!”

Donnie crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. “He’s not that good-looking.”

Elsie ignored him and made her way over to Tom, who smiled and seemed a little too amused for his own good. “Hi. I’m Elsie.” She narrowed her pretty brown eyes and stood on her toes. “You’re not a murderer, are you? Because Joe’s like a big brother to us, and if you hurt him, well, Donnie’s going to knock you out.”

Tom shook his head somberly, though Joe could tell the man was fighting back a chuckle. “I know it’s hard to believe, considering I don’t remember much of anything, but I think something like that is part of a man’s nature. I’m not going to hurt Joe. He’s already done more for me than most people would have. I owe him.”

“Oh, for crying out loud.” Bea faced Elsie and Donnie before jutting a finger toward the door. “You two get going. I expect you bright and early. Joe and I will take care of this drifter.”

“But—” Donnie attempted to protest, only to cower at the sight of Bea’s formidable eyebrow. “Come on, Elsie. I’ll walk you home.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Tom! Good night, Joe,” Elsie said with a cheerful wave.

Tom and Joe waved back before turning their attention to Bea. As soon as the door closed behind the youngsters, she stomped over to Tom with all her usual grace and subtlety, poking him in the shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it before peering at him.

“Do I know you?” she asked.

Tom looked hopeful. “I don’t know. Do you?”

Was it possible Bea had met Tom before? Joe took a step toward her. “Have you seen him before, Bea?”

Bea looked Tom over, and after what seemed like forever, she shook her head. Both Joe and Tom sighed with disappointment. “Felt like maybe I had, but no. I’d definitely remember you.” She tapped the side of her head. “Sharp as ever. Must be the eyes. They remind me of that young fella who was in here this morning with his girl. The one who ordered all the pies.”

Now that Joe thought about it, Bea was right. Ms. Rotherford’s boyfriend had very similar silver eyes. He was tall with dark hair too. Dammit. For a moment there, he thought they’d caught a break. Seeming to get back to her original train of thought, Bea poked Tom in the shoulder again.

“Now you listen here, young man. That bump on your melon ain’t gonna be nothing compared to what I’m gonna do to you if you hurt Joe. You got me?” Tom nodded and took a small step away from Bea—who just took that as an invitation to take one closer. “Joe’s a good man, and I don’t care how handsome he thinks you are. If you hurt him, you’ll have me to deal with.”

Surely, Joe hadn’t just heard what he thought he’d heard? She hadn’t just said….

Tom’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked at Joe. “You think I’m handsome?”

Yep, he
had
heard what he thought he’d heard. Because his life wasn’t awkward enough. Joe tried to appear as aloof as possible, but the crooked grin on Tom’s face wasn’t helping any.

“I never said that. I mean, not that you aren’t—just that I wasn’t—I mean, I’m not saying….” What the hell
was
he saying? He tried to find a way out of the hole Bea had dug for him, and when he couldn’t, he gave up. Not like he hadn’t made a fool of himself already. “Never mind.” He motioned to Bea with a saccharine curl of his lips. “Please, carry on.”

Tom did just that, turning to Bea with a charming smile and leaning over to whisper in her ear. Unlike Elsie, Joe couldn’t hear a word of what Tom was saying. Now he was really starting to get nervous.

“You bet,” Bea stated, winking at Tom knowingly. Again Tom leaned over to whisper, and Joe found himself leaning in the same direction. When had they started playing Chinese whispers? And why wasn’t he being let in on it?

Bea waved a hand dismissively. “He’s just shy when it comes to that sort of thing. It’s been a while. A really, really long while.”

Joe smacked his hand to his head. There was no way on God’s green earth this was happening. Had she lost her marbles?

He stalked over to Bea and dragged her into the kitchen before she started giving Tom figures and statistics. “Have you lost your mind? Why did you tell him I thought he was handsome? And please tell me you didn’t just tell him what I thought you told him. We talked about this. You remember, right? You remember the man who single-handedly destroyed my life? You have any idea what it’s like to end up on the street with nothing? I lost everything Bea, and if it hadn’t been for Officer Baker, I could have lost my life. I just can’t go through that again.”

“What are you talking about? And don’t you dare for a second think I don’t care about what happens to you Joe Applin. Who took you in and tended to you after what that no good bastard did to you? That man out there isn’t Blake. You need to stop beating yourself up for what happened. You did nothing wrong, Joe.”

It sure as hell didn’t feel that way.

“You need to forgive yourself for what happened and move on with your life. If a man looked at my butt the way Tom was looking at yours when you were talking to Elsie, I’d be enjoying him with a side of ice cream by now.”

“Oh my God!” He was going to keel over, he just knew it. He could feel the palpitations in his heart already. Joe paced. He hated pacing. “Where do I begin? The man doesn’t even know his own name! Don’t you think he has more important things to worry about than whether or not I find him attractive? Doesn’t matter how long it’s been, which by the way, your estimate of that time frame is highly exaggerated, and just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s ready to jump in the sack with me.”

“Why not?” Bea blinked, clearly perplexed.

Joe had no idea how else to explain it to Bea. Just because there was a hot gay man in his living room, that did not mean they would automatically end up under the sheets together, and no matter what Bea thought, Joe was
not
a prude. He’d had plenty of experiences with men, both before and after Blake. Maybe he hadn’t gotten very far with them, but he wasn’t completely inexperienced.

“You could do a lot worse, Joe. If I were you, I’d—”

Slapping his hands over his ears, he spun away from her. “Excuse me for a moment.” He went to the oven, pulled open the door, and dropped to his knees.

The kitchen door creaked, and Joe heard Tom’s worried voice, sealing the deal. “Everything all right in here?” From the corner of Joe’s eye he could see Tom look from Bea to Joe, whose cheek was now resting against one of the oven racks as he felt around for the right knob.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just being overdramatic again,” Bea said with a snort.

“What’s he doing?” Tom asked, bemused.

“I’m trying to bake myself.” Joe’s muffled voice echoed from inside the large appliance. “Would you mind throwing your towel over the radiator in the bathroom? And don’t let Bea give my eulogy. God knows what she’ll say.”

Bea rolled her eyes. “He thinks the world’s gonna implode or something just ’cause you figured out he thinks you’re handsome.”

There was a loud thud as Joe’s head hit the roof. “Christ, woman, you trying to finish me off? He didn’t figure anything out, because you told him! Could someone direct my hand to the right dial? I’d like to finish this quickly.”

“Stop using the Lord’s name in vain,” Bea reprimanded, smacking his ass with what he could only assume was Tom’s towel.

Was there no end to this humiliation? I’m not such a bad guy, Joe thought. I eat my vegetables, respect my elders—Bea doesn’t count and you know that, Lord. What will it take? More donations to the orphans? More volunteering at the Y? I’ll do it. Just make it stop.

“This from the woman who swears like a drunken sailor after getting one cocktail in her!” Joe heard Tom’s husky laugh and groaned as it grew closer. A hand came to rest on his lower back, and he froze. He could feel the heat from Tom’s touch even through his layers of clothing. Either that or he had somehow managed to get the oven going. This was bad, very bad.

“Come on out of there, Joe. It’s okay.”

After some hesitation and a few encouraging murmurs from Tom, Joe carefully sat back on his heels. Perhaps he was being a tad melodramatic. He smoothed down his hair and shirt, muttering embarrassingly, “You’re mentally incapacitated, and my friend’s trying to set you up on a date.”

“Heaven knows you need one,” Bea muttered.

Unbelievable.
“Someone steal your last pair of panty hose or something? Jesus.” Joe let Tom help him to his feet but couldn’t quite bring himself to look the man in the eye. There was no doubt in his mind that if Tom could recall his memories, he’d agree this was the craziest thing to ever happen to him. Joe cast Bea a sideward glance. “What happened to sinister? First you wanted to introduce him to Silver, and now you want me to serve him up with a side of ice cream.”

What is wrong with you? My God, this is getting worse by the minute.
Every time he opened his mouth, strange words came out. Joe swallowed hard and found Tom looking around the room, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Bea opened her mouth—no doubt to reveal more of Joe’s nonexistent love life, so he hastily ushered her toward the door. “Thanks, Bea. Now, you run along, and I’ll call if I need anything.” He got her to the side door leading to the outside stairs, grateful Tom stayed behind in the kitchen. He probably sensed Joe was on the verge of going off like a firecracker.