When Somebody Loves You by Cindy Gerard

up about wanting to do an article was only that, an excuse to find a way to meet you. All he wants from you is a chance to be with you.”
    January lost her appetite for her salad. “Helen, you know my reasons.”
    “Honey, I know. And I understand. But Jan, you can’t judge all men by your father. And you can’t live your entire life through your work. It’s not healthy. It’s not even wise. You have so much courage. Show some of it now and take a chance on finding a little happiness, on having—heaven forbid—a little fun. Honey, you’re entitled.”
    Entitled. That was a term January had never even vaguely associated with herself. Entitled. She rolled the thought around in her mind, but it drifted away in the wake of a still-vivid, still-terrifying childhood memory.
    “Jan?”
    She snapped her gaze to Helen’s with a start.
    “Honey, where were you? You looked like you were a million miles away.”
    January fought back unexpected threatening tears. She hadn’t cried since she was a little girl. “I was,” she said quietly. “I was a million miles away.”
    The sympathetic expression on Helen’s face compelled January to confide something she’d never told another living soul. “My name was Elaine January Griffin,” she said slowly. “Elaine, for my mother’s sister. January, because my father took one look at me when I was born and said I was the spitting image of my mom. And since my mom was the coldest bitch he’d ever known, he wanted me named for the month that was as cold as she was.” She thought of Michael comparing her kisses to cold beer and smiled tightly. “Some legacy, huh?”
    “Oh, baby.”
    “What if I’m just like her, Helen?” She let the older woman see a weakness she’d never dared reveal, and it scared the hell out of her. “What if I can’t respond to a man the way he needs a woman to respond to him? Maybe my father had a reason to drink. Maybe my mother’s coldness drove him to it.”
    “And maybe your father’s drinking was the reason your mother couldn’t respond. In any event, you are not your mother. Despite everything you’ve been through, you’re a warm, loving individual. Give yourself a chance to find out that you are also a warm, loving woman. Don’t hide behind your fears any longer. Give Michael a chance.”
    She shook her head. “He scares me, Helen.”
    “Of course he does. He’s the first man who’s had a hide thick enough to take all the dirt you dish out and not tuck his tail between his legs and run away. Honey, you shouldn’t let his persistence intimidate you. Let it lift you. He’s one gorgeous hunk of man. Enjoy him.”
    “Enjoy him?”
    “Yes, enjoy him. You do understand the term ‘enjoy,’ don’t you? It’s a bold new concept, I know, but rumor has it that it’s catching on. Why, I understand some people actually work just five days a week now and take the other two days—I believe they call it a weekend—to relax and do fun things like date. Whoops, there’s another new term for you. I’ll explain—”
    “Enough.” January laughed. “I get the picture.”
    “We can only hope.”
    January smiled warmly. “You are a wild and wonderful woman.” It was the closest she could come to an admission of love.
    Helen flashed her a Cheshire cat grin. “So Leonard was saying last night.”
    As if on cue, the phone rang. Helen pounced on it.
    “Good afternoon, January Stewart’s office, how may I help you?” A wide, saucy grin split her face. “You make that request one more time, sweet thing, and I just might take you up on it.”
    January knew immediately that Michael was on the other end of the line. She felt her heart stutter, then slide into a deep, heavy cadence.
    “How’s my favorite flirt today?” Helen asked, then laughed wickedly. “I’ll just bet you are.” She giggled again, then listened. “January?” Helen raised a hopeful brow her way.
    She came close, she really did, but in the end she couldn’t make