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"She wants eles, fall in love, get randchildren"
Larissa felt heat flare on her cheeks Humiliationreasonably intelligent to say
"She already has two hters," she muttered "Why can’t she leave me alone?"
"She loves you"
"She has a funny way of showing it Are you going to fire me?"
Jack raised both brows this time
She drew in a breath "I’ll take that as a no I’ood news is Muriel is due in three months and the new baby will be a distraction" In the ure out a way to convince herelse?" she asked
"Yeah, there is Your et married because you’re secretly in love withto react, but he’d guessed it would be a show She didn’t disappoint Her face went from red to white and back to red Her htly clenched, sheto kill her," but he couldn’t be sure
Nancy Owens’s words had hit him like a linebacker Larissa in love with hi, she knew him better than anyone except Taryn and to know him was to understand he was all flash and no substance For another, he needed her Lovea relationship meant she would eventually leave No There was no way Larissa could be in love with him
But he’d been unable to shake the words and had realized he had to get the truth from the only person who actually knew
Larissa drew in a breath "I don’t love you We’re friends I like working for you, and the charity work is terrific, and I know you have my back, but I’m not in love with you"
Relief eased the tension in Jack’s always aching right shoulder He kept his expression neutral
"You sure?" he asked
"Yes Positive"
He shook his head "I don’t know I’ for me You’ve seen me nad Now that I think about it, your reaction is inevitable" He sighed "You love me Admit it"
Larissa’s mouth twitched "Jack, you’re not all that"
"But I am Remember that fan who had ed h anted me to lick her--"
Larissa rested her arms on the desk and dropped her head to her arer women than you have been unable to resist my charms"
"In your dreams"
"No Apparently in yours"
She looked at hiive"
"In the end, they all do"
The smile faded "I’m sorry about my mother She shouldn’t have said that I swear I am not, nor will I ever be, in love with you I love ht? That’s better Besides, you have terrible taste in your ‘let’s end this now’ gifts"
"Which is why I let you buy theood?"
"The best" Her smile returned
The last of his worry faded This was the Larissa he knew All funny and earnest Hair pulled back in a ponytail and not a speck of a pants and T-shirts and always had some cause to discuss with hi and he didn’t ood tea her love hi
JO’S BAR WAS the kind of place you’d only find in a quirky small town From the outside, it looked perfectly normal, but the second you stepped inside, you knew that this was a bar unlike any other
For one thing, it ell lit There were no dark shadows, no questionable stains on the floor The colors were girl-friendlyTVs were always tuned to the Style Network or Project Runway
Larissa walked inside She saw the countdown sign that pointed out the number of days until the new season of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Tearinned Yup, life was different here and she liked it
She glanced around and saw her friends in a booth by the s They looked up and waved her over
When she’d first decided to leave Los Angeles for Fool’s Gold, she’d been nervous about starting over What if she didn’t fit in? What if she couldn’t ht as she waved back and crossed to the big table
"I saved you a seat," Isabel said, patting the empty space beside her "You’re just in ti to order nachos for the table and have et back to work or if we’re going to be good and order regular lunches and drink iced tea"
Larissa settled in the chair She glanced at Taryn and grinned "My vote depends on ht now, a drink sounded great
What had her ? The sa Talk about hu and inappropriate As soon as she’d cal to have a very long chat with her mother
She was lucky that Jack had handled the situation with his usual easy char the truth? She didn’t want to think about it
Love Jack? She had flaws but being an idiot wasn’t one of thereat team She would never mess with that
"You okay?" Taryn asked quietly
"Yeah Great"
Because faking it wasthe 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 s this afternoon"