Until We Touch

She was lucky that Jack had handled the situation with his usual easy charm, but jeez. What if he’d thought her mother was telling the truth? She didn’t want to think about it.

Love Jack? She had flaws but being an idiot wasn’t one of them. Besides, they were a great team. She would never mess with that.

“You okay?” Taryn asked quietly.

“Yeah. Great.”

Because faking it was much easier than telling the truth.

Taryn, ever stylish in a designer suit that probably cost more than half a year’s rent on Larissa’s apartment, tossed her menu onto the table. “What the hell. Let’s be wild.”

Dellina, a local party planner and Sam’s fiancée, tossed her menu down, as well. “I don’t have any client meetings this afternoon.”

Isabel laughed. “I have a store to run. I’d better be careful or I’ll accidentally put the new merchandise on sale.”

“I love being bad,” Taryn announced. “I just love it.”

“You’ve always been bad,” Dellina told her. “You’re the type. I can tell about these things.”

Larissa leaned back in the booth and prepared to listen. She enjoyed being around these women. They were smart, successful and yet so very different. Taryn was one of the partners at Score. While all four partners were equal owners, the three guys would admit that Taryn was just a little more equal than the rest of them. She was good at keeping her “boys” in line.

Larissa had always admired her. Taryn dressed in beautiful clothes, walked around in five-inch heels and had a handbag collection that belonged in a museum. Better than that, Taryn was a good friend.

Dellina handled events of all kinds in town. Birthday parties, weddings. A couple of months ago she’d planned and managed a big weekend event for Score’s biggest clients. She was also recently engaged to Sam.

Isabel owned Paper Moon. On one side, a clothing store, on the other, wedding gowns. All three women were professionally dressed in suits or dresses. Larissa glanced down at her yoga pants. Maybe in her next life she would inherit the fashion gene, she thought wistfully. Until then, she was going to dress for comfort and practicality.

Jo, the owner of the bar, came over and took their order. Taryn ordered nachos for the table and a pitcher of margaritas. Jo raised her eyebrows.

“Not planning to work this afternoon?” she asked.

“We’re going to see how it goes,” Taryn told her.

“I’ve heard that before.”

“She doesn’t think we’re behaving responsibly,” Dellina murmured when Jo had left.

“Then my work here is done,” Taryn said. “So what’s new with everyone?”

“I’m busy with fall clothes.” Isabel smiled. “You have to come in and see what’s new. There are some beautiful things.” She turned to Taryn. “There’s a suede jacket you’ll love.”

“I’ll come see it when we’re done here.”

Dellina shook her head. “No way I’m stopping by,” she told her friend. “You tempt me with gorgeous clothes.”

Isabel laughed. “That’s the point.”

“I’m saving my pennies.”

“For a wedding?” Larissa asked, her gaze settling on Dellina’s shiny new engagement ring.

“No. I’m going to be moving into an office. Sam’s house is great and he’s mentioned that I can set up my office there, but I think it’s time I joined the real world and had an actual office.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m kind of getting to the point where I need to hire an assistant. That means more space.”

“Wow! Good for you.” Isabel leaned over and hugged her friend. “That’s a big step. Congratulations.”

“Yes, congratulations,” Larissa said, pleased her friend was doing so well.

“You’re a tycoon,” Taryn teased. “Impressive.”

“I’m no tycoon, but I’m doing well. So what’s going on with everyone else?”

Taryn mentioned a new account Score had just signed, then all eyes turned to Larissa. She froze, painfully aware that her life wasn’t like theirs. She didn’t own her own business. In fact, there was a sameness to her days that was kind of sad. The newest thing in her life was her mother’s talk with Jack and there was no way she was mentioning that.

“I adopted a cat,” she said instead. “A lady died. She was ninety-three. Her kids couldn’t take in her cat, so I did. Her name is Dyna. She’s a Ragdoll cat. Really beautiful.”

She pulled out her phone and showed them a couple of pictures.

Dellina’s eyes widened when she saw the photograph. “She’s stunning.” Her mouth twitched. “Taryn, if she were human, she’d give you a run for your money in the fashion department.”

“I’m more impressed you committed to an animal,” Taryn told Larissa.

Isabel frowned. “I don’t get it. Larissa is always jumping into causes. That cat rescue last month was fantastic.”

Larissa squirmed in her seat. “Taryn means that I tend to give in big gestures. Saving forty cats, not adopting one.”

Jo appeared with a very large pitcher of margaritas and four glasses. She poured and said the nachos would be out shortly.

Isabel raised her glass. “To the women I adore. Thank you for getting drunk with me. One day very soon Ford and I are going to be getting pregnant and then I’ll be on a drinking hiatus.”

“Anytime,” Larissa said. She was going to add something else when Taryn slapped her hands down on the table.

“Okay,” her friend said. “Here goes. I’m getting married.”

Larissa looked at both Isabel and Dellina. They seemed equally confused by the statement.

“You’re engaged,” Larissa pointed out gently. “You have a really big ring. We all noticed.”

“Yes, but I’ve decided on a wedding. Angel and I are going to have a real wedding.”

Larissa nodded slowly. “That will be nice.”

“I’m happy to help you plan it,” Dellina added, sounding equally cautious.

“I have some gorgeous dresses I want you to come see,” Isabel told her. “Designer stuff that will make you look like a sexy fairy princess. Or a slutty one, depending on what you want.”

Taryn squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them. “Really? You think it’s okay?”

Then Larissa got it. Taryn and Angel weren’t young kids. They’d both been married before. Taryn wanted the fabulous dress and traditional service, but she wasn’t sure she deserved it. Because everybody had their weak spots. Some were just better at hiding them than others.

She reached across the table and touched her friend’s hand. “You should have the biggest wedding ever. In a dress so beautiful, it will make us cry.”

Taryn’s mouth quivered. She squeezed Larissa’s fingers then shook off the emotion and reached for her margarita. “Thanks.”

Dellina reached for her bag and pulled out an appointment book. “I’ll call you in a couple of days and we’ll talk.”

Isabel turned to Larissa. “I nearly forgot. Your mom was in yesterday. She bought a dress and a handbag. She’s my new favorite person. Did you two have a nice visit?”

Larissa grabbed her margarita and took a big gulp.

“Uh-oh,” Taryn murmured. “That’s not good. I thought the visit went fine. That’s what you said this morning.”

If only, Larissa thought. “That was before I found out what my mom did.”

Her three friends stared at her. “And that would be?” Isabel prodded.

These women loved her, Larissa reminded herself. They wouldn’t laugh and point. Or if they did, it would be when she wasn’t in the room, which was almost the same thing.

“My mom went to see Jack. She asked him to fire me so I’d move back to L.A. and get married and give her grandchildren.”

Dellina frowned. “Okay, that’s not great, but it’s not horrible, either.”

“There’s more,” Larissa admitted. “She said the reason I had to leave Fool’s Gold was that I was secretly in love with Jack.”

She paused, waiting for the hysterical laughter. Or any laughter. Instead, the three women exchanged a look.

Larissa felt herself start to blush. “I’m not in love with Jack,” she insisted. “I’m not. I work for him. He’s great. But there’s nothing between us.”

“If you say so,” Isabel said knowingly.

“If Felicia were with us, she would say that the boss-secretary romance is a classic archetype,” Dellina said.

“I’m not his secretary.”

“Close enough,” Taryn told her, then picked up her drink. “If you say you’re not in love with him, then I believe you.”

Just then, Jo appeared with the nachos and the subject got dropped. Larissa reached for a chip, but found that she wasn’t the least bit hungry all of a sudden.

This was all her mother’s fault, she thought grimly. She’d opened a can of worms. Larissa was going to have to find every last one of them and put them back where they belonged.

CHAPTER TWO

BEING CALLED IN to see Mayor Marsha was a bit like playing against a rival team, without knowing anything about them, Jack thought as he headed up the stairs toward the good mayor’s office. There was always the potential for something unlikely to happen—and not in a happy way.

Mayor Marsha was California’s longest-serving mayor. Not only did she get intimately involved with the residents of her town, she seemed to know everything and no one knew how. Jack tended to be wary of people like that. He preferred life to be blurry. Honesty could be uncomfortable. Like his talk with Larissa’s mom. He could have gone his whole life without hearing those words.

Larissa had reassured him, which he appreciated, but being relieved and forgetting were two different things.

He paused outside the mayor’s office. A pretty redhead smiled up at him. “Hi, Jack. You can go on in.”

Jack nodded, thinking he should know the receptionist. He was sure he’d met her before. She was friends with Taryn and Larissa, he thought as he entered the mayor’s office.

Mayor Marsha was in her sixties, with white hair and a habit of wearing pearls. Now that he thought of it, he wasn’t sure he’d seen the woman wearing anything but a suit.

What concerned him more than her appearance, however, was her habit of getting other people to commit to things they didn’t want to do. No way he was going to be guilted into something, he told himself. He was a tough ex-jock. She was no match for him.

“Jack,” she said warmly as she stood. “Thank you so much for coming by to see me.”

“Ma’am.” He crossed to her desk and shook her hand.

She motioned to the seating arrangement in the corner. “Let’s get more comfortable.”

As they crossed the floor, he remembered something about her having been gone for a couple of weeks. “How was your vacation?” he asked.

“Very relaxing.” She settled on one of the chairs.

He took the sofa and realized immediately he was now sitting below her. Clever, he thought, respecting her power play. He was right to be wary.

“I went to New Zealand,” she continued. “Beautiful country. Did you know a lot of our skiers go there to train in the summer? Of course, it’s during their winter.”

Jack did his best to look interested as he waited for the mayor to get to the point. He hadn’t been summoned to talk about skiing.

Her gaze settled on his face. “I’ve followed your philanthropic work with some interest.”

Jack felt himself tense. He consciously relaxed and waited for her to continue.

“With the organ transplants,” she added.

Because that was his cause, he thought. Being a star with the NFL came with plenty of perks and some obligations. One was the expectation that he would take on a cause. Finding his had been easy and over his career he’d often spoken out about the importance of organ donation and transplants.

“I’m happy to help where I can,” he said easily, knowing it was true. Larissa handled the logistics and he showed up every now and then. She was able to serve a cause, which she loved, and he got to pretend he was involved. A situation that worked for both of them.

“The family connection must make it even more meaningful,” the mayor said.

Jack had known that was coming so he was able to nod. “Of course.”

“You lost a brother,” the mayor said. “Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“A twin?”

“Yes.”

An identical twin, Jack added silently. Only somewhere in utero, Lucas’s heart hadn’t formed right. Cells had misstepped or stopped dividing or something. The doctors had never been able to explain it well enough for him to understand. Or maybe they just didn’t know, he thought grimly. So one brother had been born perfectly healthy and the other...hadn’t.

Jack didn’t want to go there. He didn’t want to remember what it was like to grow up always worrying about his twin. He didn’t want to feel the guilt that came with being the one who never got sick, never felt weak, never wondered if he was going to make it to his fifth birthday or his tenth.

Jack knew where this was going now. Mayor Marsha wanted his help. Or more specifically, the money his presence would bring. She knew a family who needed help paying for surgery or finding temporary housing while their child went through a grueling but lifesaving surgery.

Easy as pie, he thought. Or in his case, as easy as telling Larissa what needed to be done.

“Who’s the family?” he asked.

The older woman smiled. “Oh, I don’t need your help with a transplant patient, Jack. It’s something else entirely. Are you aware that we have a four-year college here in town?”

The change in topic surprised him. “Uh, sure. UC Fool’s Gold.”

“Cal U Fool’s Gold, actually, but yes. They have an excellent academic reputation and they’re doing some work with UC Davis to expand the enology department.”

“The what?”

“The study of wine. Our vineyards are doing very well here and we’re starting to be known as a small but prestigious region. We’re petitioning the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to make Fool’s Gold an AVA.” She paused. “American Viticulture Area. For example, the Napa Valley is an AVA here in California. There’s also Red Mountain in Washington State. We want a Fool’s Gold AVA.”

“Okay,” Jack said slowly. “I don’t know anything about growing wine or AVAs.” Although he did enjoy a nice merlot.

“Of course you don’t,” Mayor Marsha told him. “I invited you here to discuss football.”

Jack’s head hurt from the lightning fast change in topics. The old girl sure knew how to keep a guy confused.

“You want help with your fantasy team?” he asked cautiously.

The mayor laughed. “No, but thank you for that offer. My problem is more real world than that. Cal U Fool’s Gold needs a new football coach. Well, more than that. The school needs a whole program.”

Coaching? A program? “Not my area of expertise. The athletic director handles that sort of thing, in conjunction with the chancellor and the president of the college. There are also headhunters who specialize in finding coaches.”

“All of which is being explored. However, there is a citizen advisory position on the search committee. That’s where you come in, Jack. I want you to be our citizen adviser. You’re an experienced player, you know what makes a good coach and knowing you’re helping will inspire the group. You are uniquely qualified for this. You’ve made Fool’s Gold your home. I hope you’ll be willing to give back to the community that has taken you in and made you feel welcome.”

He grinned. “You’re not even subtle with the guilt,” he said.

“I don’t see any point. We both know you’re going to agree. Sooner rather than later suits me best, but if you need to be persuaded, I can do that, too.”

“Somehow I know that would involve Taryn.”

“She is only one of many options I have at my disposal.”

“I appreciate the honesty.”

She smiled, but didn’t speak.

Jack shook his head and knew there was no point in avoiding the inevitable. “I’m sure you have better things to do with your day than manipulate me. Sure, I’ll serve on your committee. Give them my contact information.”

Mayor Marsha rose and held out her hand. “I already have. Thank you, Jack. I appreciate your volunteering.”

He shook hands with her. “You’re a scary broad, you know that, right?”

Her smile turned mischievous. “I count on it.”

* * *

LARISSA DIDN’T LIKE feeling unsettled. It wasn’t her way. When there was a problem, she dived in headfirst. If something needed saving—she was there. But as far as she knew, no mammals, birds or reptiles needed her help. Not that she was allowed to help reptiles anymore. There had been an unfortunate incident a couple of months ago involving venomous snakes and Taryn’s fiancé, Angel. Larissa still felt really bad about that.

She walked around in her too-large office. It was attached to Jack’s. She had a computer where she managed his calendar and some file cabinets that were mostly empty. She wasn’t really a filer. She preferred to pile and when the piles got too tall, she shoved them into a cabinet. Maybe a messy system, but it worked for her.

This office was something she accepted but didn’t really like. Her tiny kingdom was the massage room at the other end of the building. There the space was exactly how she wanted it. From the color of the walls to the sound system to the massage table she’d had customized to fit her specifications. The linens were soft yet absorbent. She special ordered oils with an increased capacity to reduce inflammation and deaden pain while keeping the guys from smelling like flowers. For Taryn, she had a collection of organic oils. She had music playlists customized to each of her clients and had personally chosen all the robes and towels used in the massage room, showers and saunas.

In that place, she was comfortable. Calm. In control. But in the rest of her life, well, it was always a crapshoot.

Larissa shut off her computer and walked down the hall to Taryn’s office. Her friend was on the phone, but waved her in. Larissa crossed the thickly carpeted floor. The plushness was required because Taryn had a habit of kicking off her shoes the second she got to work. She spent most of her day barefoot—something Larissa had never understood. Why buy shoes that were too uncomfortable to wear? But then she didn’t get any part of Taryn’s wardrobe.

Today her boss had on a black-and-white color-block sleeveless dress. There was a jacket slung over the visitor chair and some lethal-looking shoes by the desk. The shoes were also black and white. Some kind of fur, with wide stripes and a scary four-or five-inch geometric, sculpted heel.

While Taryn wrapped up her call, Larissa kicked off her own comfy flats and carefully stepped into Taryn’s ridiculous shoes. The additional five inches made her totter precariously and she had to hang on to the desk to stay upright. Once she was fairly confident of her balance, she shrugged into the jacket and then carefully made her way to the closed doors behind Taryn’s desk.

“Sure, Jerry,” Taryn said, her voice thick with suppressed laughter. “I’m all over that. Does Tuesday work for you?”

Larissa pulled open the right-hand door and studied herself in the wide full-length mirror.

The jacket was too small. Taryn might be taller, but she was a good size thinner. But even with it pulling across the shoulders and not coming close to closing, she could see how the cut defined her upper body and made her waist disappear.

The shoes might technically match her black yoga pants, but they looked ridiculous with the casual style. And they were impossible to walk in. Still, they were sexy, she thought wistfully. Sexy and sophisticated.

“I swear to God, you’re going to kill yourself one of these days,” Taryn said, coming up behind her. “You know you can’t walk in high heels.”

Larissa carefully turned to check out the shoes from more than one angle. “I know, but you always look so stylish. I look like I shop at a resale store.”

“Because you do.”

“My clothes are new,” Larissa said, trying not to sound defensive. Which was hard, because she felt defensive. “New-ish. They were when I bought them.”

“Uh-huh,” Taryn said, sounding unconvinced. “We have this conversation every few months. You say you want to dress better, I offer to help. You promise to set up a shopping date with me and never do.”

Larissa stepped out of the shoes and handed the jacket to her friend. “I know. I’m not really the makeover type. I like to keep things simple.” She studied her face in the mirror. It was clean and her skin was nice. Her hair was a good color. Medium blond and the only color she used was for highlights, which she got done maybe every six or eight months.

“Mascara wouldn’t kill you,” Taryn informed her. “I’m not saying you have to dress like me. You could still be comfortable but more pulled together.”

“Are you saying that as my friend or my boss?”

Taryn rolled her eyes. “You work for Jack. He’s the one you have to make happy. I’m simply pointing out that about once a month you come in here, try on something of mine and then talk about making a change. That has to mean something.”

Larissa was pretty sure it did, but that wasn’t why she was here.

“I need to talk to you,” she said instead.

Taryn immediately pointed to the sofa in her office. “Sure. What’s up?”

Larissa sat in a corner of the comfy couch and tucked her legs under her. She angled toward her friend. “It’s about what happened yesterday. With my mom and Jack and what she said.”

She waited, hoping Taryn would jump in with a laugh and an “Of course no one believes you’re in love with Jack. How ridiculous.”

But Taryn was silent.

Larissa drew in a breath. “I don’t love him. We’re friends. We work well together. I like him—he’s a likable guy. It’s just my mom wants me married and I guess I want that, too. Eventually.”

Because from the outside, marriage seemed really great, but from the inside—at least what she’d observed with her parents—it sucked.

She supposed that assessment was harsh. After her parents had gotten divorced, they’d both been much happier people. Everyone agreed. Her parents liked to joke that they never should have gotten married. And they wouldn’t have. If there hadn’t been an unexpected pregnancy. Namely her.

“I could just as easily find the right guy here in Fool’s Gold as in Los Angeles. Probably more easily. It’s hard to date in Los Angeles. There are a lot of unrealistic expectations what with the movie business so close.” She pressed her lips together. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Because you’re doing fine without me,” Taryn told her.

“Do you think I’m in love with Jack?”

“I think you have an interesting and symbiotic relationship.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Maybe, but it’s the truth. Jack wants to make a difference in the world, without getting too involved. You want to save the world, but you lack resources. You have heart and Jack has money. Together you make a great team.”

“Exactly,” Larissa said quickly. “We’re a team. Not a couple. We’re friends. There’s love between friends, but it’s different. It’s not romantic. Like when I needed a temporary place for those three fighting dogs to stay. Jack let me use his house.”

Taryn’s mouth twitched. “You mean you put the dogs in Jack’s house before telling him and they wouldn’t let him inside his own home so he had to stay at a hotel for a week but he didn’t get mad at you?”

“You don’t have to put it like that,” Larissa told her. “But, yes, that would be an example of us working as a team.” Although she wasn’t completely sure Jack would agree with her example.

“Jack’s a good guy,” Taryn said. “He goes along with what you want because it allows him to be connected without getting involved. You like that Jack is always there in the background to rescue you if you need it. You get to take risks without actually putting yourself out there.”

Larissa winced. “I am not so excited about the total honesty part of this conversation.” She wanted to disagree with her friend’s assessment, but didn’t think she could.

Taryn touched her arm. “I love you, but I can’t help with this. What you have going on with Jack is complicated. You’re both getting something out of it, but the relationship also keeps each of you from looking for more. You know Jack’s a bad bet, so you are careful not to take things too far. Which is smart. But I wonder if what your mom meant is that you’re just committed enough that you’re not interested in looking for someone else.”