Larissa watched Zane and wondered what it was about him that made him different. There were muscles, but it was more than that. Not his clothes, she thought, taking in the chambray shirt, worn jeans and cowboy boots. There was also a straw Stetson on the bar next to him.
Isabel and Patience inched toward the man in question. He turned and saw them, then gave a slow, sexy smile that had even Larissa’s toes curling in her flats.
“Ladies.”
“Hi, Zane,” they said together.
“It’s been a long time,” Isabel said.
“It has.” Patience nodded. “So, what brings you to town? Are you meeting with the mayor about the annexation?”
One dark eyebrow rose.
“Everyone knows about it,” Isabel added. “It shouldn’t change anything for you.”
“So I heard.”
His eyes were dark blue and his gaze steady. He wasn’t looking at Larissa and a part of her was grateful to avoid all that male attention. She had enough stress in her life with Jack. She wasn’t looking for a crush on a taciturn cowboy.
“How’s Chase?” Patience asked.
Isabel turned to Larissa. “That’s his younger brother,” she said in a low voice.
“Good.”
“And the, um, steers and everything?”
He nodded, as if to say it was all fine.
Patience and Isabel looked at each other, then back at him.
“We won’t keep you,” Patience said. “It was good to see you.”
Zane nodded again.
The women turned around and left. Larissa trailed after them. When they reached the sidewalk, the two of them hung on to each other and jumped up and down.
“He’s so amazing,” Isabel said. “He smiled.”
“I saw. We talked to him.” Patience sighed. “That was so great.”
Larissa shook her head. “You do realize he spoke maybe eight words, right?”
“That’s not the point,” Isabel told her. “I got to be sixteen again. Even if it was just for a minute. That was totally fun. I can’t wait to tell Ford. He’ll probably remember Zane and tease me unmercifully.”
She sounded cheerful at the prospect.
Patience laughed. “Yes, I’m sure Justice will do the same.” She hugged Larissa. “Thanks for joining us.”
“You’re welcome. And you’re weird.”
“We know.”
Larissa waved at them and started back toward Score. She loved the town, but there were elements she would never understand. Like Patience’s and Isabel’s wild crush on cowboy Zane. But it was sure fun to be a part of it all.
* * *
LARISSA RUBBED HER hands across Taryn’s back. Her movements were long and slow, designed to relax, rather than heal. Taryn was easy, she thought humorously. While her friend would think she was muscled, compared with the guys, she was a wimp. Not that Larissa was ever going to say that.
She liked working on Taryn. The movements were different and they talked about girl stuff, which was nice. There was no discussion of the latest score for whatever game was in season. And during play-offs, she didn’t have to remind Taryn to stay relaxed during the massage. Because the guys always got riled up during play-offs.
Later she would see Jack, then Kenny. By the end of the day, her hands would be tired, but that came with the job.
Her fingers moved against smooth skin. The oil—a calming blend with a nice moisturizer—always left her skin silky.
She liked the differences between her clients. Sometimes she wondered what things would have been like if she’d actually gone into massage therapy instead of going to work for Score. She wondered if she would be at a spa of some kind or out on her own. While her room at the company was hers to do with as she liked, it wasn’t exactly the same as having her own business. Of course, the upside of that was she also didn’t have to worry about her budget. If she wanted a new table or different linens or new anything, she simply had to tell Sam and he ordered it for her.
But to be her own boss would be a different kind of challenge, she thought. First she would have to get certified. Easy enough. She had the education and the work experience. One day, she told herself. One day.
She pressed in around Taryn’s scapula. The tension there surprised her.
“Why aren’t you relaxing?” she asked.
Taryn sighed. “Sorry. I have stuff on my mind.”
“Like?”
“The wedding.”
“I thought Dellina would be handling the details. No one plans a party better.”
“It’s not the planning. It’s the having.” She raised her head and looked at Larissa. “I can’t decide. On the one hand a big wedding would be nice, but doesn’t a small one make more sense? It’s not like Angel and I are twenty.”
“All the more reason to do what you know you want. Taryn, seriously, you don’t do anything small. It’s not your style. Have a dream wedding that makes us all envious and wear a killer dress. We need that in our lives. You’re our inspiration.”
Taryn smiled, then lowered her head. “You’re very good to me.”
“I’m your friend. Be happy. March your skinny-assed self down a long aisle somewhere fabulous. Have a band and your Acorns as bridesmaids.”
“They’re Sprouts.”
“What?”
“The girls. They were Acorns last year. They’ll be Sprouts this year.” The Acorns, or Sprouts, were part of a group called Future Warriors of the Máa-zib. It was Fool’s Gold own version of scouting, based on the ancient tribe that had first settled in the area.“Whatever. Have your Sprout bridesmaids and little tuxedo-decorated truffles as favors for the guests. Go for it—just because you can.”
Taryn raised her head again. “How do you know about tuxedo decorated truffles?”
Larissa grinned. “I have two married sisters. I went through all this twice. When it comes to a wedding it’s all about the dress and the details.”
“I guess. It just feels weird.”
“Because you never thought you’d fall madly in love.”
Taryn put her head down. “Maybe. Mostly.” She sighed. “Angel is so amazing.”
“Yes, he is,” Larissa said, thinking that he was also a tiny bit scary. Taryn was his equal. There weren’t many women who could say that.
She moved down her friend’s back. “Jack won’t mind if you have a big wedding,” she said quietly.
Taryn tensed, then relaxed. “I hate it when you read my mind.”
“It doesn’t take a lot of skill. You’re family, which is sweet, but you were also married before. That makes it weird.”
“A little,” Taryn admitted. “You know how much I love him, just not that way. I never did.” She paused. “He was good to me. I was able to trust him and I don’t trust easily. Our wedding was like our marriage. Very quick and purpose driven.”
Larissa knew that Taryn had gotten unexpectedly pregnant. Jack being Jack had insisted they marry.
“Would you have stayed with him?” she asked. “If you hadn’t lost the baby?”
“I have no idea. Probably not. One of us would have gotten restless. I was still in shock about being pregnant and then married. I hadn’t figured any of it out. Before I could, the baby was gone.”
“That must have been hard,” Larissa said, thinking she would be crushed. No matter how her mother made her crazy, the other woman was right about one thing. Larissa did want to get married and have kids. The problem was she couldn’t see a way to get from where she was to there.
“It was,” Taryn murmured. “I felt so guilty for getting pregnant in the first place. Then to lose the baby.... I filed for divorce the same day.”
Larissa knew the rest of the story. Taryn had been a junior PR person for the L.A. Stallions. When management found out that their star quarterback was getting a divorce, they did everything they could to make the situation easier. That meant firing Taryn so she wasn’t around to make Jack uncomfortable. Jack had protested. The last thing he’d wanted was for Taryn to lose her job. But the team had stood firm.
Not knowing how else to help, Jack had given Taryn the money to start her own firm. He’d been a silent partner and had thrown plenty of business her way. She’d thrived and had reached the point where she was going to buy him out when Kenny had taken that last hit. Jack had decided it was a good time to retire, as had Sam. Suddenly Jack and his friends had lots of free time on their hands. Then Jack had remembered he was half owner of a PR firm. They’d joined Score and the rest was history.
“I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Jack came to tell you he and Kenny and Sam were joining Score,” she said.
Taryn groaned. “There was a lot of swearing. I felt invaded and manipulated. I was not happy.”
“Still, it worked out.”
“It did. But you can’t tell Jack.”
Larissa chuckled. “I think he already knows.”
She wondered how things would have been different if there had been a baby. Imagining that made her chest tight, which was strange. Jack would be a good dad, she thought wistfully. Despite the fact that he pretended not to care, she knew things touched him deeply. His goal was to keep the world at bay and he mostly succeeded.
He’d lost so much already. His brother. After his brother’s death, his parents had gone away. Both physically and emotionally. Then his child with Taryn. She understood why he protected himself. She enabled that, she knew. Her causes became his causes. He could be a part of things without ever truly being touched by the circumstances.
They were a team. Maybe one that could do with a little therapy, but a team all the same. She counted on that. Needed it. As far as she was concerned, nothing was going to get in the way of their connection. Not her mother’s crazy statements or a kiss she still couldn’t quite explain.
CHAPTER FIVE
JACK HOVERED IN the hallway. Taryn’s massage had ended ten minutes ago and now it was his turn. He liked his turn. He liked knowing that in ninety minutes, his shoulder wouldn’t hurt and that he would sleep better that night because of it. He liked that he could completely relax because Larissa knew what she was doing and she always took care of him.
Except relaxing today seemed impossible. He and Larissa hadn’t spoken since that kiss. If he didn’t know better, he would say they’d been avoiding each other. Which meant they were going to have to talk now and he didn’t want to. Talking about kissing would remind him of the act, and going down that road was dangerous. Not to mention humiliating.
He was determined to keep things under control, so to speak. Which meant vigilance. He couldn’t allow his mind to wander. He had to stay focused on the pain. On staying ahead of his body. Because if he wasn’t careful, he would start to think about her hands on his body. Or worse, that damned kiss. And they all knew what would happen then.
The door opened and Taryn stepped out. She smiled at him. “Larissa’s on her A game today, big guy. Enjoy.”
He nodded and waited for her to walk past him. Then he started toward the half-open door, only to stop. He was na**d, he thought suddenly. Buck-naked, except for the robe he would take off as soon as he got into the room. Naked and alone with a beautiful woman. Under what circumstances was that a good idea?
He swore under his breath. Why hadn’t they hired some guy to do the massages? It would have made all their lives easier, especially his. But it was too late now. Everyone liked Larissa and there was no way he wanted to replace her. It was just, dammit all to hell, why couldn’t he shut off his brain?
He walked purposefully toward the door and flung it open. Larissa looked up and smiled at him.
“You are not my last massage of the day,” she said. “A couple of days ago I was trying out some techniques on Dyna and she loved them. Now I get feline requests in the evening. I give her a kitty massage, then brush her. It’s becoming a ritual.”
Jack nodded because he couldn’t seem to speak. Had the massage table always looked so suggestive—with the top sheet pulled back? And what was up with the soft, sexy music? He glanced around the room, half looking for an escape, then told himself to suck it up. As long as he stayed focused, everything would be fine.
She looked at him, then away. Her shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. “It doesn’t mean anything. It just happened. I’m going to ignore it and I think you should, too.”
At first he thought she meant his erection. While ignoring it made the most sense, a part of him felt a little snubbed. Only then he realized she was talking about the kiss.
The one that had rocked his world and left him hard for the rest of the night. Kissing Larissa had been an impulse—one he couldn’t regret. Not that he would repeat it. Because that led to yet another dangerous place.
“You’re right,” he said. “Ignoring it would be best.”
“Good. Then let’s get on with it.”
She politely turned her back, as she always did. He shrugged out of his robe and hung it on the back of the door, stepped out of his shower shoes, then walked to the table. He stared at it for a second.
“I want to start on my back,” he said.
“Sure.”
He figured he would have a better shot at staying in control during the first half of the massage, when he wasn’t so relaxed.
“I want you to really dig in on my shoulder.”
“Is it bothering you more than usual?”
“Yes,” he lied, hoping the pain she inflicted would help.