Janet (5 page)

“Come in, my dear. This is a pleasant
surprise.” He opened the door wide, and led her into an expensively
furnished apartment that still managed to look inviting. “Did you
find that dog?”

“I did.” She told him briefly about Harvey’s
condition and his other owner, Dan Albany. “Do you know him?”

“He’s a friendly sort of fellow, Janet.
Dedicated, sincere, Molly would even say charming.”

Janet could barely contain her laughter. She
wanted to say, “Stop the hard sell, Mr. Jed. I’m not planning on
buying him.” Obviously, Molly had already told her daddy about
Janet’s meeting with the
dreamboat,
and had him primed to
advance a romance. Molly was probably the most romantic one in
their group.

“Half the women in Tupelo are trying to get
him to the altar,” Mr. Jed added. He was something of a romantic
himself. His membership in Match.com was proof of that.

“No doubt,” she said. She wasn’t about to
ruin Mr. Jed’s Saturday by admitting that she had no intentions of
leading Dan Albany to the altar. She just wanted to teach him a
much-deserved lesson.

Or did she? Remembering her ill-fated romance
with a Rob Jenkins, she almost cringed. She and Rob had shared
anatomy class, a dedication to medicine, and a love of ballet,
symphony and opera. She’d thought they were going to share a
future. Until he broke it off.

Still, she forged ahead with her plan. She
was stubborn to the bone: when she set out to prove a point,
nothing could deter her, not even common sense.

“I wonder if you could tell me where Dan
Albany has soccer practice?” she asked.

“Hmm.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Just thinking out loud.” Mr. Jed looked off
into space, and if Janet didn’t know better she’d say he’d lost his
train of thought. Was he thinking about her and Dan Albany or was
he thinking about his own cyber-romance?

“Mr. Jed...”

“Two o’clock. The practice field on the south
side of the school.”

“How long will the practice last?”

“Dan usually keeps the kids an hour,
sometimes just a bit longer.” Mr. Jed gave her one of his sweet
smiles. “My dear, I hope this means you’re making friends in
town.”

“I love this town, Mr. Jed.”

It was true, and just evasive enough to give
Molly’s dad something to mull over besides the Wall Street
Journal.

“Good. I hope that means you’ll stay. You
know, Molly will be through with her schooling soon, and she’d love
nothing better than having you here.”

“If I get an offer from the hospital, I’ll
probably take it.”

“There’s no reason you shouldn’t. Top of your
class and all that.”

“Thank you.” Janet was proud of her
accomplishments. Furthermore, she despised false modesty. She
considered herself straightforward to the bone.

Of course, the game she intended to play with
Dan Albany could be evidence to the contrary. She decided not to
think about it. Instead, she visited with Mr. Jed a while, and then
went to her apartment to get ready.

As she was bundling up against the chill, she
thought about Dan. Gracious, he was cute when he tried to be
gallant.

The soccer field was just a block down the
street from her. She could walk it in a few minutes. Before she
went outside, she drank a big glass of orange juice. Vitamin C.
With her heavy work schedule she couldn’t afford to come down with
a cold.

Then she pulled up her hood and started down
the street.

o0o

Dan saw her coming. She was wearing enough
clothes to outfit an expedition to the frozen tundra. But even
under all the clothes there was no mistaking the dark red hair that
escaped her hood and the fluid, gliding way she had of moving.

He hastily lined his team up for practice
kicks into the goal; then he went to meet her at the side of the
field.

“Janet. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Just out for an afternoon stroll.”

Dan could barely keep from laughing out loud.
She was no more out for a stroll than he was a polka-dot elephant.
For some unknown reason, she had come to see him. He was
inordinately pleased by the idea. And he could hardly wait to see
what she was up to.

“What a coincidence that you happened to walk
this way. I’m just finishing soccer practice.”

“Really? How fascinating.”

Her eyes got darker when she lied and her
nose wrinkled up. He had a hard time keeping from reaching up to
touch that pert little nose.

“I’d be glad for you to watch the practice.
Unfortunately, the boys will be leaving in about five minutes.”

She looked crestfallen. “Oh, that’s too bad.
I would so love to learn more about the game.”

He wasn’t fooled; he was merely fascinated.
“You would?”

“Yes. I used to play some with my brother.
She’d allowed Brett to bully her into one game when she was sixteen
and he was fourteen. One smart kick on the shin, and she’d quit the
field. Her soccer experience had lasted a total of three minutes.
“That was many years ago, of course, when we were both young.”

She watched Dan closely to see how well he
was buying her story. She couldn’t tell. All she could tell was
that he looked delicious in his navy sweats.

“I’m a little rusty on the rules,” she
added.

The unspoken invitation was so obvious that
only a fool would have missed it.
Make me an offer
, she
was saying. Although Dan had known he’d take her on the field the
minute he saw her walking down the street, he decided to play with
her a while longer.

“The encyclopedias have excellent
descriptions of the game. Most of them even have diagrams of the
fields.”

“Well... yes...” She flashed him a
provocative smile. She was getting better at flirting, he noticed.
“But it seems such a shame to waste a Saturday sitting inside
reading an encyclopedia.”

“The library has some great books on soccer,
too. I’ll recommend some that you can check out and save for a
rainy day.”

She could have strangled him. “That’s a grand
idea. Still...” She paused and looked into the sky, shading her
hand against the sun. “It’s such a beautiful day.” If he didn’t
take that hint, she guessed she’d have to ask him point blank.

Dan decided to put her out of her agony. “I
have a wonderful idea.”

“You do?”

“Since you’re here and I’m almost finished
with practice, why don’t I give you a few pointers?”

“You’d do that for me?”

He loved her imitation of a wide-eyed
innocent. But there was absolutely nothing innocent about the
wicked gleam in her eyes and the provocative way she stood.

He grinned. “You’re going to love this
private lesson, Doc.”

He took her hand and led her onto the playing
field. His team of thirteen-year-olds crowded around to be
introduced. Afterward, she waited while he talked with them about
their next game.

He was good with children. That was the first
thing she noticed. The next was that the children not only
respected him, they loved him. Watching Dan with his team, she knew
she was watching something rare and beautiful. At that moment the
crack in her armor widened until it was a gaping hole. She was
vulnerable.

But she couldn’t quit now. She was committed.
One man had already dismissed her as too busy and too dedicated to
her career for marriage. She’d be damned if another would do the
same.

Finally the last of the soccer team left the
field, and she was alone with Dan. His incredible blue eyes raked
her from head to toe.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“I beg your pardon?” She pulled her hood
tighter around her face.

“I said, you’re wearing too many clothes. You
need to take some of them off.”

“For what?”

“Soccer.” He grinned at her. “You weren’t
thinking of something else, were you, Doc?”

“Of course not.”

“Good. Neither was I.” He reached out and
began to unbutton her coat.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Habit. Good manners, you know. Helping
ladies on and off with their coats.”

Just in time, she remembered her purpose and
bit back a sharp retort.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He slid the heavy wool
parka over her shoulders and tossed it on one of the wooden benches
that lined the field. Then he caught the tail of his sweatshirt and
stripped it over his head. Underneath he was wearing a flannel
shirt. “Here. Put this on. It’s lightweight, but it’s designed to
keep out the chill.”

The shirt was still warm from his body. It
also smelled faintly of him, a clean, spicy, soap smell. She hugged
her arms around her torso, pulling his warmth closer.

“Cold?”

“No. Just adjusting the shirt.” She began to
smooth down the tail. “It’s a little big.”

“It’s never looked so good. Are you ready for
your first lesson?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then listen closely, Doc.”

Listen? That wasn’t exactly what she had in
mind. She sat down on the bench and waited. She saw the very devil
dancing in his eyes as he propped one foot on the bench and began a
long-winded technical lecture that would have bored the pants off
even the staunchest soccer fan.

If he thought he was going to get the best of
her, he was sadly mistaken. She called on all the powers of her
scientific mind to listen.

When he had finished the lecture, he grinned
at her. “Did you get that part about fouling?”

“Yes. If a player fouls, the opponents can be
awarded a direct free kick, a penalty kick or an indirect free
kick.”

He was impressed. “And do you remember the
size of the playing field? That’s very important.”

“In international competition the field may
be one hundred ten to one hundred twenty yards long, and the width
may extend from seventy to eighty yards. The field is the same
length in college competition in the U.S., but the width can be
sixty-five to seventy-five yards wide. Anything else, Coach?”

“That’s amazing.”

“I’m a fast learner.”

“Then I’d say you’re more than ready to
play.”

Tossing her mittens onto the bench, she
smiled at him. “I’m equal to whatever play you have in mind.”

Dan watched her sashay toward the goal line.
She had spunk. He’d always admired that in a woman. Of course, she
wasn’t really interested in soccer. She was simply playing a
cat-and-mouse game with him. And he was happy to oblige. It fit
right into his own game plan.

He tossed the ball onto the field. “Defend
your goal, Doc.”

He dribbled the ball expertly toward the
goal, using fancy footwork designed to show off his skills. He knew
he was grandstanding, but he wasn’t above such tactics. When the
stakes were this high, anything was fair.

She ran toward him and tried to kick the ball
away. Her toe connected with his shin. He could have easily
dribbled around her and gotten a clean shot at the goal; but he
hedged, enjoying the sight of her trying to act as if she liked the
game.

She was hopelessly inept, and within three
minutes she’d peppered his leg from ankle to knee with kicks. He
thought briefly of his pads lying on the front seat of his car. It
was just his luck that he’d chosen this practice session not to
wear them. He’d have a few bruises, but that was a small price for
victory.

Suddenly he pulled away from her, sending the
ball racing down the field in front of his expert feet. He drew
back his foot. The ball arced in the air and landed between the
goalposts with a loud thunk.

“Beautiful,” Janet called.

He turned and started running toward her.
“Not half as beautiful as you.”

Before she knew what was happening, he had
tackled her. He hit the ground first, breaking her fall.

Her face was pressed against his broad chest
and her legs were tangled with his. She raised herself on her
elbows and stared down at him. “I didn’t know tackling was a part
of soccer.”

“This is a new game.” Holding her around the
waist, he rolled over, pinning her underneath him. He was smiling.
“The name of this game is Truth.”

“Truth?” Before she had come to the soccer
field, she had counted on being completely in control. Somehow Dan
had managed to wrest control from her. It was time to leave and
regroup. She squirmed under him, testing her possibilities of
escape. That was a mistake. He was stretched full length on top of
her, and her move made her stunningly aware of every inch of
him.

He smoothed back her tumbled hair. “Yes.
Truth. You can start by telling me why you’re here.” His voice had
gone husky.

Ah, but he was clever. And she liked it.
She’d have been disappointed to find he wasn’t a worthy opponent.
And his hand on her face. She closed her eyes and reveled in his
touch. She’d never known a man’s hands could be so gentle and yet
so persuasive. It felt as if her bones melted under his touch.
Scientifically, she knew that couldn’t happen, but what did science
know of romance?

She weighed her options. She could lie to
him, but he’d never believe it. She’d have to change her game
plan—advance the action, so to speak.

Dropping her voice to a seductive purr, she
looked straight into his blue eyes. “Don’t you know why I
came?”

He bent so close his breath stirred the hair
at her temple. “For this?”

His mouth took possession of hers. The slow,
tender persuasion of his kiss made her senses reel. She’d expected
harshness and domination. Dan Albany kept surprising her.

Subtly his weight shifted. It was impossible
not to notice how perfectly they fit together. And how right he
felt. Ahh, he was dangerous. And she was falling, falling into the
delicate trap he had set. A little while longer and she would pull
herself free. She reached for his head and wound her fingers into
his hair.