Forgive and Forget (8 page)

“Yeah, you were kind of covered in the stuff. It was in your pockets too. Thought I’d gotten all of it. I’m sorry, Tom. We’ll find a lead. You’ll see. Getting yourself worked up and frustrated isn’t going to do you any good, all right? Some hot breakfast, good coffee, and you’ll be all set for sleuthing. I’ll see to it that Bea whips up something special for us. Then we can come back up here, grab my laptop, and see what we can find.”

How did the man do that? A few words and Tom felt like he could take on the world. If Joe told him it would be okay, Tom had no doubts that it would be. He found himself feeling lighthearted again.

“Thanks, Joe.”

“No problem,” Joe replied with a sweet smile that made Tom’s pulse quicken. Then he realized what Joe said.

“Us? You mean you haven’t had breakfast yet?”

Joe’s cheeks flushed while he went back to his ingredients. “No, I thought it’d be best if we had breakfast together. You know, to make it easier for Bea,” he explained feebly, not tearing his gaze away from the table. “Less for her to worry about.”

Joe waiting to eat breakfast had nothing to do with convenience. Tom held back a smile. “Thanks.”

Joe nodded, going back to his baking, and Tom went back to watching him, mesmerized by Joe’s graceful hands as he stirred the mixture, adding dashes and drops of various ingredients, a faraway look coming onto his handsome face, one he seemed to get when involved with his pies.

Despite the daydreaming, Joe’s hands never missed a beat, and he scooped the filling into the piecrust. Once it was all in, he removed his gloves and swiped his finger along the inside of the bowl. Tom nearly fell off his chair when Joe sucked and licked his finger, completely oblivious to how incredibly arousing the gesture was.
Down, boy.

After scooping up some more filling, Joe started to move his finger to his mouth when Tom caught his wrist, snapping him out of his little trance. Looking from his finger to Tom, Joe cocked his head to one side in question. Tom didn’t say a word. He let every bit of his hunger show in his eyes as he very deliberately drew Joe’s finger into his mouth, provoking the gorgeous man to draw a sharp breath. The ocean of his blue-green eyes grew stormy while he stood transfixed by Tom’s tongue as it ran over the gooey, red digit. A tremor went through Joe, and Tom grinned wickedly.

“Mm, do you always taste so fruity?”

Joe arched an eyebrow. “Is that a bad pun? Because if it is, you’re cute, but you’re not
that
cute.”

Tom laughed. He had an overwhelming urge to kiss Joe, but that would be a bad idea. Reining in his wayward thoughts, he averted his gaze. “Thanks for washing my clothes.”

Joe fidgeted with his apron before turning back to his ingredients. “No problem.”

“JOE?
Where are you?”

“Oh!” Joe smiled brightly and turned toward the door. “We’re in here, Jules.”

Tom watched curiously as the kitchen door opened and a petite, young woman with soft red curls stepped in. When she saw Joe, she dropped her backpack on the floor and flung herself into his arms.

“It’s so good to see you!”

Jules was pretty, dressed in jeans and a deep green band T-shirt that brought out her big emerald eyes. Her fiery hair and her crimson lipstick sharp against her pale skin, and she was curvy in all the right places. When she saw Tom observing her, she pulled away from Joe and extended a hand to him. “You must be Joe’s new friend.”

“Tom. Well, that’s the name we’re going with for the time being.”

“It’s a pleasure, Tom. Don’t you worry. You’re in very good hands,” she said confidently, motioning to Joe. “And don’t you let him tell you otherwise.”

“Right, well, Tom,” Joe cut in before Jules could say any more. It was apparent the little redhead knew her friend quite well. “Jules is a great nurse—better than some of the doctors she works with.” He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “That jackass still giving you trouble? Because I’ll go down there and give him a piece of my mind.”

Jules laughed and patted Joe’s arm soothingly. “I know you would, Joe. No need. That jackass won’t be bothering me anymore.”

Tom straightened at the sad smile that came onto her face, just as Joe’s arms fell at his sides.

“What happened?” Joe asked.

“They laid me off this morning,” she sighed.

“What!” Joe took hold of her shoulders. “I don’t understand. Why? How? You’re the best nurse they have!”

“Come on, Joe. Times are tough, you know that. Budget cuts. I was lucky they didn’t let me go sooner, what with my being the only one in that clinic with a set of ovaries.” Her eyes teared up, but with a deep breath, she blinked them back and straightened, giving Joe a hearty pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I already have two interviews lined up for next week. So really, I’ll be just fine. Now, Tom.” She turned to Tom with a cheerful smile and motioned to the door. “Why don’t we go into the living room so you can be more comfortable, and we’ll see what we can do?”

“Okay.” He followed Jules out, Joe trailing behind, and sat on the edge of the couch while she pulled a stethoscope out of her bag.

She smiled warmly. “Okay, Tom. I’ll need you to take off your shirt.”

“Sure.” He did his best not to notice Joe’s sudden fixation with the lampshade on the small wooden table. After removing his shirt, Tom laid it on the couch beside him as Jules placed the stethoscope to his chest over his heart. He took the opportunity to sneak a peek over at Joe, who was very blatantly staring at his chest. A little shiver went through Tom, and he had to remember he was in the middle of an examination.

Jules smiled widely. “Sorry, the diaphragm’s always cold at first.”

“Oh, right, of course.” Tom cleared his throat, and Jules glanced at Joe, who was studying the lampshade with great interest and an even greater blush on his cheeks. She turned her attention back to Tom and gave him a conspiratorial wink.

“Okay, Tom. Deep breath, and release slowly. Good. Again.”

He did as asked, conscious of Joe’s gaze on him every time he breathed deeply. Patiently, he sat as Jules took his blood pressure, checked his pupils, felt the now significantly reduced bump on his head, and continued her thorough examination of him. She had very warm and gentle hands, and he immediately felt at ease with her. Once she was done, she started asking him a series of simple questions. He could do math just fine, and he remembered TV shows and movies. He knew the sky was for the most part blue, depending on what state you were in. That you used a spoon to eat soup and who the president was, among various other odd facts.

“Do you remember everything that’s happened after your injury?”

“Anything that’s happened since waking up on Joe’s couch I remember just fine. Before that, I get hints of memories, fuzziness. Figures but no faces, more like shadows. I can’t recall any names or feel any familiarity.”

“What’s the verdict?” Joe asked, his tone filled with concern.

“You’re in great shape, Tom, apart from the memory loss. Obviously anything more in-depth would require the proper analysis and tests.” She put away her equipment as she spoke, her voice calm and soothing. “I’m afraid without hospitalization, it’s hard to know for sure, but from what I can gather, it’s only temporary. Tom, you’ll recover, and I’m certain your brain is starting the process as we speak, but it could take some time. Your semantic memory is fine. That’s the conscious recollection of your general knowledge. Whatever you knew how to do before, like drive, read, scramble eggs, hasn’t been affected.” She placed her hand on Tom’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“I know it’s frustrating, but you were very lucky. Whoever did that to you could have killed you, or if they’d hit you in the right place, just hard enough, your injuries could have been so much worse. Some patients lose the ability to form any new memories. Yours will come back. There’s no telling how it’ll come back, however. With this sort of thing, it’s not just a matter of someone just telling you who you are. That won’t necessarily bring everything back, nor will just looking at something. Listen to your body when it talks to you, your instincts, feelings you get about certain things, smells and sounds. If you need anything, or just need to talk, you call me, okay? Joe’s got my number.”

“Thank you, Jules, I really do appreciate it,” Tom replied, sitting back glumly. He didn’t know what he’d expected. It wasn’t as if she had some magic pill that would undo everything.

Joe took a seat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Tom. You’ll see.”

Tom nodded and gave him a small smile, glad he wasn’t alone.

“Joe?” Jules interrupted quietly. “Would you mind escorting me downstairs? I’d like to say hi to Bea and the kids before going.”

Joe looked a little uncertain about leaving him, so Tom smiled broadly, not wanting to be any more of an inconvenience to Joe. He didn’t want to take over the man’s life. After all, Joe had friends, and a business to run. “You go ahead, Joe. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Joe nodded. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Joe and Jules left, and Tom sat there in silence for a moment, looking around the cozy apartment. One wall was exposed brick, the rest painted a nice cream color. The furniture was slightly worn but comfortable, the sofa and armchair a pleasant chocolate color with quilted throw pillows. A plush clean rug lay on the wood floor, and the rest of the furniture was dark oak, from the bookshelves flanking the small entertainment center to the coffee table. Vintage prints of coffee and old New York City were elegantly framed and painstakingly arranged along the walls. There wasn’t much by the way of trinkets, but the mantel above the small fireplace had photos. It wasn’t fancy, by any means, but it was clean, tidy, and comfortable.

Tom was used to bigger surroundings. For some reason that occurred to him just then. Something about Joe’s place felt so warm… like his life had been lacking in it for a long time. Did he want to remember who he was? Of course he did. How could he not? He wanted to know where he came from, what he did for a living, his own damned name, for Christ’s sake. Mostly he wanted to know the kind of man he was. He couldn’t lose faith. After all, he had Joe. And for now, that was more than enough.

THIS
should be interesting.

Jules had that look on her face. One Joe knew too well. He escorted her down the steps leading into the hallway just outside the shop’s kitchen, bracing himself when she came to a stop at the bottom. Something was weighing on her mind, something she didn’t want to say in front of Tom.

Jules turned to him, her lovely face filled with genuine affection. He’d known Jules since she was in college, coming into the shop for her mandatory cup of coffee in the morning, chatting away to Joe about everything and anything. They’d gotten along from the first day, when she’d asked Joe to marry her after taking a bite of his pie.

“I’m sorry about your job, sweetheart.”

“It’s okay, Joe,” Jules said with a smile and a shrug. “I have no intention of giving up so easily. If it’s worth having, it’s worth fighting for, right? Joe, Tom should really go to a hospital. He needs proper medical attention.”

With a deep frown, Joe shook his head. “I’ve tried. There’s no talking him into it. I promised to help him, and I have every intention of doing that. Is that what’s on your mind?” He peered at her warily. “Because I know that look.”

Mischief twinkled in her big green eyes. “You like him.”

“What?” Where had
that
come from?

“Don’t even try it. I saw the way you two were eye-sexing each other.”

Joe gasped. “I was not eye-sexing him!”

“You so were. And you wouldn’t stop blushing! There you go, blushing again!”

Dammit! Was he that obvious? He dared to sneak a peek at her and groaned at the smug smile on her face. Nothing got past Jules. She had a way of making him squirm under that sharp gaze of hers. It was like she took lessons from Bea or something.

“He
is
hot,” Jules added with a wicked smile.

Joe’s eyes widened as he clamped a hand over her mouth. “You’re not supposed to notice things like that,” he whispered hoarsely. “You’re a nurse.”

“With eyes,” Jules muttered after moving his hand away from her mouth. “Tom is not my patient. He’s a friend of yours who I was helping out. Joe, don’t you go shying away from this one. Not only is he gorgeous, but he’s clearly attracted to you. He kept sneaking glances at you the entire time I was examining him. I thought my stethoscope was going to melt from the heat he was giving off.”

“Why is everyone so concerned about my love life?” he grumbled.

“Probably because you haven’t had one in over a decade.” Her expression softened. “You two need each other, Joe. You deserve someone who will treat you right and make you happy.”

“The man doesn’t remember who he is, Jules. What if he has someone?” Even if Tom didn’t, it wasn’t the ‘falling for someone’ part that had Joe worried. It was everything else that went with it, and everything that came after. That was the average relationship. What he had with Tom, he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. There were more unknowns in this mess than there were holes in Swiss cheese. “Besides, I don’t want Tom to be with me because he feels indebted to me.” He didn’t know whether he was saying that for Jules’s benefit, or his own.

Jules gave his arm a sympathetic pat. “Give the man more credit than that. You think a man like that’s going to hang around someone just because he feels he owes something? Being grateful is one thing. Wanting to jump a guy’s bones is something else.”

“For crying out loud,” Joe groaned. “You’ve been gossiping with Bea again, haven’t you?”

Jules let out a giggle. “No more than the usual. I’m just saying, don’t get so caught up in what you don’t know and pay attention to what you do know. Take a chance. The man lost his memory, but who he is at his core hasn’t changed.”

Joe could stand here all day, giving perfectly logical reasons as to why he shouldn’t jump headfirst into this insanity, and get no closer to changing Jules’s already made-up mind than he was now, so he gave up. If only he had half the doggedness the women in his life possessed.