The Trouble With J.J. by Tami Hoag Read Free Book Online

daughter to grow up.” He reached out and absently stroked the head of a flamingo. “I believe in individuality, but I need to fit in, Genna. I have to learn how to be normal, at least appear normal, or I could lose my little girl.”
    The strain in his voice on those last words almost broke Genna’s heart.
    J.J. turned toward her with hope in his eyes. “You’re a teacher. You’re normal. You need a job …”
    She caught on to the direction of his thoughts and shook her head. “Oh, no. Not me.”
    How could she take on a job like that, be with him every day without succumbing to this weird attraction she had to him? Yes, she had finally decided to be honest enough with herself to admit she was attracted, but she still couldn’t stand him.
    “Please, Gen.”
    “No. Really, Jared, shouldn’t you hire a man for the job?”
    “No!” He abandoned his root beer and got on his knees in front of her lawn chair. One big hand wrapped around her wrist as he gestured with the other. “You’re perfect for the job! Women are always telling men what to do!”
    “Not this woman.” Not that she wasn’ttempted. She thought of Eve—she’d been tempted and look what had happened to her. Of course, a little voice nagged her, succumbing to this temptation probably wasn’t going to sentence all of humanity to eternal damnation or anything. She steeled herself, shutting out the little voice. “No.”
    “Come on, Gen,” Jared begged unashamedly, his thumb stroking Genna’s wrist. “It’s the perfect job for you. You don’t have to dress up or drive to work. You could set your own hours. It’d be for only the summer.”
    She was getting a crick in her neck from shaking her head.
    “You’d be getting paid to boss me around.” He could tell she was tempted, like a fish eyeing a lure. Patience, J.J., he reminded himself. He gave her a devilish smile. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”
    Genna tried without great success to take a steadying breath. She felt as if he had his hand around her throat instead of around her wrist.
    “I have to admit it holds a certain appeal … but … no, I’m sorry.” She tore her gaze away from his smile and congratulated herself on regaining her self-control. “I just don’t think it would be a good idea.”
    Jared reined in his impatience. No one evercaught a fish by yanking the bait away. His grandfather had told him that. His grandfather had also pointed out the similarities between fishing for trout and attracting a woman. He offered up silent thanks now to Grampa Jace for his lessons.
    Jared eyed Genna shrewdly, looking for the weakness in her defense system. Under his thumb her pulse was racing like a rabbit’s. “What are you afraid of, Gen?” he asked, knowing he’d hit the mark when she practically bolted. “It’s a good honest job offer,” he said to reassure her. Slow and easy, J.J., don’t scare her off . “It’s not like I’m asking you to marry me or anything.”
    “Afraid?” she laughed hysterically. “Why would I be afraid?”
    Scared witless, maybe. But wasn’t she adult enough to control her own responses around him? Of course she was. And he’d said himself that he wasn’t asking her to marry him. He probably wasn’t interested in her as a woman at all. Men like Jared never were. She was too ordinary and sensible.
    Even if he were interested, she told herself, she would just explain to him that he wasn’t her type. Simple. No problem.
    She thought of the stack of bills on her dining room table. This was a genuine job offer. Lordknew it was the only one she’d had. What would be worse—spending every day with Jared or having her car repossessed?
    “Fifteen hundred dollars salary,” he offered.
    “Fifteen hundred?”
    “Two thousand.”
    “Two thousand!”
    “Twenty-five hundred. I’ll pay the taxes on it at the end of the year too. And an unlimited budget to make me into Normal Norman.”
    Genna’s head swam. Twenty-five hundred dollars. That