"I'm not sure I'm worthy of the name. But it's mine and once we're married it'll be yours. I don't want to hear any more about it from you."
"Yes, sir," she said.
"Woman," he growled at her.
She laughed. It made him feel lighter in that moment than he'd have thought possible. The more he learned of Larissa's childhood, the more he understood why she'd kept Peter a secret. Understanding wasn't the same as forgiving, though.
"Now, let's get back on the road. I don't want to miss our flight," he said, putting the car in gear.
* * *
"Want a drink?" Jake asked once they were seated on the plane in Atlanta. There hadn't been a direct flight to Vegas from Savannah.
"Yes, something strong."
"Still wigged out from the landing of our flight from Savannah?" he asked, waving the flight attendant over to them.
"I'd like to say no," she said.
He ordered two bottles of Corona. He handed her one and Larissa played with the lime and bottle while other passengers filed past them, taking their seats.
"It felt like we were on a roller coaster. I hate roller coasters," she said.
"I love 'em," he said, tilting his bottle back and taking a long drag.
Was there a better example of all that was different between them? "You would. I'm not like that."
"Like what?"
She thought about it for a minute. "Adventurous."
"I'd disagree with that. In some settings you are extremely adventurous."
"Which ones?" she said.
He leaned closer to her. His spicy cologne surrounded her and then she felt his breath brush against her cheek. "Intimate ones."
She gave him a secret smile. Every time she was convinced they were an ill-suited match, this physical spark flamed back to life. There was a bond between them that went way beyond being parents to Peter, and touched on her secret fear of depending too strongly on this man.
"Drink your beer before I decide to test that adventurous spirit," he warned.
She took a sip of her beer and threw caution to the winds. "What if want to take that test?"
"You don't. Platonic friendship, remember?" he asked.
"Hoisted on my own petard," she said. She wondered if she'd merely issued Jake a challenge by insisting on a platonic marriage—a challenge he'd be helpless to resist. She knew him well enough to know he liked to win. Was that why she'd done it? So she could say he'd seduced her into changing her mind? So she could blame him if things went wrong?
She didn't dwell on that too closely, because it made her the worst kind of manipulator. She was only fooling herself. Jake wanted her and had made no bones about it. She was the one attempting to play it safe … and failing miserably.
"Indeed. Changed your mind?"
Time for honesty, Larissa. "About a dozen times but I always come back to the same decision."
"No sex?" He arched an eyebrow at her.
If she changed her mind it would make this ache deep inside her go away. For a little while, things would seem fine between them, but she suspected in the end she'd end up with a bigger ache. "Yes," she said quietly.
He finished off his beer. "In that case I'd better find something to distract me."
She took a sip of her beer and pulled the SkyMall catalogue from the pocket in front of her. Their time in the air passed quickly.
"The pilot has turned on the fasten-seat-belt sign signaling our descent into the McCarran International Airport."
Larissa nervously gripped her armrest. Once the plane landed, everything would be out of her control. Jake had worked on his laptop through most of the flight. He'd scheduled a meeting for late this afternoon with the Vegas D&D's. She was a little in awe of his business persona. It was nothing like the frat boy she'd known in their college days or the man she'd come to know since Jasmine Carmody had forced them back into each other's lives.
He put his hand over hers on the armrest and pried her fingers free. "Nervous?"
"Yes."
"Don't be. I'm right here and I won't let anything happen to you," he promised. Lifting her hand to his lips, he brushed a soft kiss against her knuckles.
She bit her lip and looked away from him and out the window. That was the problem. Jake was here and she wanted to believe it was forever. It was getting harder and harder to remember that he was here because his family had forced him to marry her to save face.
He'd been solicitous during their flight—friendlier than he'd been in the car on their way to the airport. She'd been tempted to lift the armrest and scoot as close to him as she could, to rest her head on his shoulder while he worked. She wanted to pretend for a minute that they were really going to Vegas to marry because they couldn't bear not being man and wife any longer.