Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)(76)

“I know. I saw the dress.”

Her gaze locked with his. “I want you to be my maid of honor.” Her brows drew together. “I guess you’d be the man of honor. Whatever. I want you to be the one next to me.”

Which was just like her. “As long as I don’t have to wear a dress.”

“I was thinking a nice tux would work.”

“Then I’m in.”

She tilted her head. “You’re sure. It won’t bother you?”

He knew what she meant. They’d been married before. They had an unusual past that could have made things awkward, but didn’t.

“If Angel’s good with it, I’m all in.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You know I’ll always love you.”

“I do. The same way I’ll always love you.”

Like family. Not exactly exes and not exactly siblings. They were connected. And he would happily stand next to her while she married Angel. Whatever romantic feelings he’d once had for Taryn were long gone.

She hugged him, then wobbled off to find her fiancé. Jack watched her go, then shifted so he could search for Larissa.

* * *

AFTER WEEKS OF prep work, Larissa woke up three days before the Pro-am event to find she had nothing left to prepare. She’d confirmed Jack’s team, had double-checked on the sponsors, had coordinated every detail with the people in charge and now there was nothing to do.

She showered and dressed, then fed Dyna and looked at her email. Not much was going on today at all. She had a woman coming by to look at a chiweenie. That appointment was at ten. Eddie had come through and taken one a few days ago. Now there were only two left at Jack’s place.

Work was good, Percy was continuing to study for the GED and, according to Kenny and Sam, making great progress. Larissa decided to reward herself for a calm and organized life by going for a run.

She went down the stairs of her apartment building and decided to head for the park. She would take the trail there. It was a beautiful late-summer morning. There was the slightest hint of crispness to the air. Fall wasn’t that far away.

Larissa started with a fast walk as her warm-up. She crossed the street and wondered what all the trees would look like as they changed colors. She imagined children playing in piles of leaves.

This would be her first year with the full change of seasons, she thought happily. In Los Angeles, the passing months were marked by different clothing in the stores, but the actual temperatures didn’t vary that much. It was in the sixties in winter and near a hundred in the summer. But it wasn’t as if they ever got super cold or had snow. Some years it barely rained.

She picked up her pace to a slow jog. She was looking forward to snow and all the fall and winter festivals. Christmas was going to be great, she thought happily. Beautiful and fun. She’d heard rumors of a giving tree, where you could pick a tag from a child and get them a gift. That would be fun.

She reached the park and started along the jogging path. Her pace increased, as did her breathing. Would she be spending Christmas with Jack this year? Of course, they were frequently together around the holidays, but things were different now. They were together. She spent a few nights a week at his place.

A week or so ago, she would have said yes, of course they would be together for the holidays, but now she wasn’t so sure. While she was supposed to be getting over Jack, she was actually falling for him more each day. He, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have the same problem. He’d been unable to plan for six or seven months in the future.

Obviously her “get over Jack” plan had flaws. Like the fact that spending time with him only made her want to be with him more. And the thought of being with anyone else was horrifying. Which didn’t bode well for her future. She wanted...

She wanted what Dellina had, she admitted to herself. A happy relationship with a future. She wanted what Taryn had. A gleam in her eye when she talked about the man she loved. She wanted to be the most important person in someone’s life. She wanted to matter.

She wanted to be more than her causes.

Larissa came to a stop in the middle of the path and blinked against unexpected tears. That was it, she realized. She wanted to be more than the woman who rescued owls and snakes and chiweenies. She wanted to be a part of something that lasted longer than a temporary rescue. She wanted a family of her own. She wanted love and happiness and forever.

Maybe it was her fault that her parents had had to get married and maybe it wasn’t. The guilt had been with her so long, she couldn’t imagine what it would feel like not to have it. But however she’d come to exist in the world, she deserved more than the half life she was living. Her happiness or lack thereof didn’t change the past. It only affected her future.

* * *

“YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?” Percy asked, sounding doubtful.

Jack laughed. “Kid, it’s no big deal. I mean come on. It’s golf.”

Percy didn’t look convinced. Jack guessed that from his perspective, the scene was a little chaotic. The charity event had begun with a breakfast with the pros and the celebrities were introduced. Percy had gone a little wide-eyed when he’d realized that a couple of basketball greats were part of the lineup, along with baseball players, a few guys from the car-racing world and several actors.

Adding to the noise were the paparazzi and the spectators milling around.