“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.
Letting out a little sigh, Jules shook her head. “Joe, I hate to say it but, you knew the kind of man Blake was, and look what happened there.”
Again with Blake. The man seemed to torture him even years after Joe had the misfortune of getting involved with him. Every time he thought about it, he felt like such an idiot, even more of an idiot than Blake had made him feel at the time. “Exactly how is that an argument against what I’m saying?”
“I’m saying it because you can’t have one rotten jerk ruin your chances at happiness. You deserve better, Joe.” She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Look after him. Tom’s going to be feeling frustrated and miserable. You’ll want to reassure him, get his mind off trying to force things. All it’s going to do is give him a headache.”
“I will.” He gave her a kiss in return and squeezed her tight. “You take care, sweetheart, and call me if you need anything at all.”
“You bet.” With a wink she was gone, and Joe released a steady breath. He sure hoped she was right. Well, he’d promised Tom they’d do some online sleuthing, so he best get to it. He asked Bea to make him and Tom a hearty breakfast before he ran upstairs. Inside his apartment, Tom stood by the window, looking out. He looked so lost. Joe had gotten used to Tom’s big dopey grin, and seeing him without one was just… wrong. Maybe he couldn’t do much in the way of helping Tom remember, but he could damn well help him keep his spirits up.
“Hey, Tom. Hope you’re hungry. Bea’s making us enough food to feed an army.”
Tom gave a little start and turned. His smile nearly took Joe’s breath away. “Hey, you came back.”
“Of course I came back. What? Did you think I was going to forget my promise to feed you?” Joe teased.
“I wasn’t worried,” Tom replied
“I’m just going to get my laptop. Be right back.” Joe hurried to his bedroom and grabbed the laptop from his small desk in the corner. He brought it out and motioned to the couch. Taking a seat, he hadn’t expected Tom to sit so close. Their legs were all but pressed up against each other. Of course when he opened his laptop, he realized Tom’s proximity was likely due to him wanting to see the screen rather than any desire to plaster himself to Joe.
Trying his best not to fidget, Joe booted up the laptop then opened his browser. “Why don’t we start with missing persons?” Tom gave him a nod and Joe looked up the NYPD Missing Person’s database. They started with Manhattan, scanning all the photos. When they found no matches, they moved onto the other boroughs. Tom was tense beside Joe, and the closer they got to the end of the final borough’s listing, the more Tom fidgeted.
“Nothing.” Tom sighed. He glanced over at Joe, his expression unreadable. “I guess that leaves the Wanted list.”
Joe couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He gave Tom a curt nod and clicked on the Wanted link in the sidebar. What if Tom was on that list? Tom pushed to his feet and started pacing.
This was a bad idea. If Tom was on there, at least they’d have more information, but it would also mean it was Joe’s moral obligation to inform the police. Seeming to sense his hesitation, Tom turned to face him.
“Do it, Joe. I have to know. Whatever comes up… we’ll deal with it then.”