She hoped it wasn't Jasmine Carmody again. Though she'd made a kind of peace with her past, that didn't mean she wanted to discuss it with that reporter.
A quick peek through the peephole showed that it was a man she didn't recognize. She opened the door.
"Can I help you?"
"Are you Larissa Nielsen?"
"I used to be. I'm Larissa Danforth, now." God that sounded right to her ears. She'd feared marrying into a moneyed family but she realized her fears were based on her father's attitude and her mother's marriage. Jake was so different than Reilly Peyton.
He handed her an envelope and walked away. She closed the door and reentered Jake's town house. That was strange, she thought. She went into the kitchen and put a cup of water in the microwave. She used her fingernail to open the envelope and pulled out the papers.
She skimmed them and lost feeling in her legs. Clutching the papers, she sank to the floor. Jake was suing her for full custody of Peter. He'd lied about the paternity test! He'd had it done so that he could take her baby away from her.
She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them tight, realizing that her worst fears had been realized. She'd trusted him. And he'd betrayed her. The entire time he'd been playing a game calculated to hurt her in the worst way possible.
She staggered to her feet and went into the guest bedroom Jake had given her when they'd moved in. She took a shower and dressed with care. She didn't know what to do next but knew that she had to confront Jake. If he thought she was going to give up her son because he needed revenge on her, he had another think coming.
But she knew she'd never drag Peter through any kind of custody battle. She never wanted her son to feel as if his birth was something that brought regret to his mother and father.
When she was dressed, she got in her car and sat in the driveway while her hands stopped shaking. She leaned down on the steering wheel and tried to figure out how things could go from being close to perfect to a nightmare.
Finally she had her trembling under control and a slow anger began to build inside her. By the time she got to the hospital, she was ready to tear Jake Danforth apart. How dare he manipulate her that way? Didn't family mean anything to him? Didn't he realize how legal battles tore at a child's security?
She entered the hospital and rehearsed her words in the elevator on the way up. Then she thought about Jake's parents. Miranda had invited Larissa to call her Mom. Had she known that her son was planning to take Peter away? Had they all been in on the scheme to keep her from her son?
The elevator doors opened on Peter's floor and suddenly she was afraid to face the future. She knew that she wasn't going to be her usual levelheaded self. She knew that she was an inch away from tears and outright wailing.
She got off the elevator and walked slowly past the nurses station. It was early in the morning and the halls were filled with doctors making their rounds. She paused outside the door to Peter's room. Tucking a strand of loose hair back into her ponytail, she cautioned herself not to get emotional.
She pushed open the door and stepped inside. The room was dark except for a stream of sunlight coming through the gap in the curtains. Jake lay on the bed next to Peter. He cradled their son against his chest.
The scene looked so right. Too right. Maybe she should do the adult thing and back away. Let Jake have Peter. Jake could give him so many things that Larissa couldn't. He had a large family, plenty of money and most importantly, he loved Peter.
Tears burned the back of her eyes and she fought to keep them from falling but couldn't. They were hot on her face and when she lifted her clammy hands to wipe them away she caught a glimpse of her wedding ring.
She felt like a fool for ever believing that Jake would have wanted her for his wife. Maybe he'd just wanted to get her out of town so that he could build his case against her.
And she'd made it so easy by falling for him. By letting him manipulate her in the most intimate way.
A sob escaped her and she knew she wasn't in any shape to confront Jake right now. She turned to leave the room. She'd wash her face and get herself together.
"Rissa?" he asked.
She steeled her heart against the compassion she heard in his voice. Before, her lonely heart had been looking for love, but now she knew the truth. Jake was using his silky words and smooth ways to lull her into complacency. She glanced over her shoulder at him. Jake sat up, easing his arm out from beneath Peter and crossing the room to her.
"Baby, what's wrong?"
"I…" She couldn't get the words out of her mouth. How could she verbalize the hurt that had come on so unexpectedly? This was her worst fear and why she'd fought so hard to keep from falling in love with Jake.
"Did that reporter bother you again? I'm going to call my lawyers and have them take action against her."
Strangely those words were the ones that made her stop crying. "Call your lawyers?"
"Yes, my lawyers."
"You're good at that, aren't you?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"That I'm well aware of how you've been keeping your lawyers busy—planning to take Peter from me."
Jake cursed savagely under his breath and Larissa took a few steps from him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked at him the way she would an enemy.
"Larissa—"
"Don't bother lying to me now, Jake. I've got the proof in my hands."
* * *
Jake shoved his fingers through his hair. A million excuses and defenses hovered on the edge of his tongue. He knew what to say and how to dance away from her. How to keep himself emotionally safe and protected from the vulnerabilities that only this woman could make him feel.
But seeing her hurting like this, knowing he was responsible, made him feel horrible. He didn't want to see her cry.
He pulled her into his arms. She struggled against him and he knew he only had a few seconds to say the right words. But what were they?
He caught her face in his hands and stared down at her. He rubbed the tears from her eyes and leaned close to her. God, she was so small and vulnerable. "I'm sorry."
She started to speak, but he pressed his mouth to hers, stopping her words. She smelled so good and he knew he should be concentrating on making his mistakes right. She kept her mouth tightly closed but stopped struggling to get away from him. He lifted his head.
"I was angry when you first told me about Peter."
"I know. But I thought we'd gotten past all that. Dammit, Jake. I thought we were starting a life together."
"We are, Rissa. We have started a life together." He was hedging and she knew it. But if he told her what was in his heart and she didn't return his feelings, he'd feel like a fool. Better a strong man than a fool, he thought.
"It doesn't feel like this is much of a life. I wanted a real marriage, not one based on vengeance."
"I wanted revenge," he said honestly.
"I can't let you take Peter. You can offer him much more than I can when it comes to money and family, but you can't offer him the one thing that every child needs—love and nurturing."
"What makes you so sure?" he asked.
"Because you don't know how to love."
He shuddered. Jake shoved his hands through his hair and turned away from her. Was she right? Had he forgotten all he'd learned about loving relationships in trying to keep himself insulated from the pain that came with failing? He paced to the window and rested his head against the cold glass. There were no answers in the sky or in the densely crowded parking lot below.
The only place with the answers was inside him. And losing Peter or Larissa wasn't an option. He needed them in his life.
He straightened and turned back to the woman who didn't realize she held his heart in her hands. She watched him carefully, clearly not sure what to expect next. He realized it was time to stop running and stop hiding from the emotions that scared him the most and the woman who inspired them.
"I never could have gone through with the suit. It was my back-up plan. A safe way for me to pretend I could keep you under my control."
He opened his arms and she hesitated only a second before running across the room and jumping into his arms. He held her tight and whispered all the words he was afraid to say out loud.
"You are the breath in my body, the light in my soul and the beating of my heart. I can't survive without you. I love you."
"Oh, Jake. I love you, too."
He bent to capture her lips with his and this time she opened her mouth to his. The kiss was deep and sensual, but heavy with the promise of tomorrow. A promise Jake hadn't been able to believe in for a long time.
"Mama? Daddy?" Peter called from the bed.
Jake pocketed the legal papers Larissa had brought with her and they crossed the room to their son.
"Hey, baby. How do you feel?" Larissa asked, brushing his hair back from his forehead.
"Hungry," Peter said.
Jake laughed. His son was always hungry. "I'll go get you some food. What do you want?"
"Krispy Kremes."
"Peter, how do you know about doughnuts?" Larissa asked.
"Daddy told me about them last night and promised we could go as soon as I leave the hospital."
"Sounds like a good plan," Larissa said.
The doctor entered the room and in a short while Peter was discharged. Jake's parents arrived and Jake felt really worthy of being a Danforth for the first time since Victoria had disappeared. He realized that his coffeehouse business and his playboy lifestyle were just excuses to keep from staying still long enough to feel the guilt.
But he let go of the guilt. He knew his sister was alive somewhere and he knew that they would find her.
"Mom and Dad, will you take Peter in your car? We're going to the Krispy Kreme."
"Sure thing, son," his dad said.
Jake took Larissa's hand in his and led her to the Suburban. "What are we doing?"
"I just wanted a few minutes alone with you, Rissa."
"I thought we settled everything."
"I'm going to call Ted Larson as soon as his office opens and drop the custody suit."
"I know."
"You sound pretty confident," he said.
"Honey, you told me I was the air you breathe. I think that gives me the right."
"Am I the air you breathe?"
She leaned up and kissed his jaw. "No."
"No?"
"You're the blood in my veins."
He scooped her up in the parking lot and spun around with Larissa in his arms. Then he bent and kissed this woman who'd given him more than he ever expected to have—love and a family.
* * *
Epilogue
« ^
Jake had decided that their honeymoon in Vegas had been too short and had surprised Larissa and Peter with a two-week trip through the Southeast following Jimmy Buffett's concert tour. This was their last night before heading back to Savannah. They were in Orlando in the parking lot at the TD Waterhouse Center. Jake and Peter wore identical unbuttoned Hawaiian-print shirts and khaki board shorts under grass skirts.
They were parked next to Courtney and Jen, two college girls they'd met at the concert in Miami the day before. They were grilling chicken and making margaritas. Jake came up behind Larissa and slipped his arms around her waist. He kissed her on the neck and whispered delicious promises in her ear.
Larissa leaned back against him and looked over at their son playing nearby. This was the life she'd been afraid to let herself dream of. But here it was nonetheless and it was so much more than she'd ever imagined.
"Mama, look," Peter said.
Their son proceeded to shake his hips and start singing Fins. "Did Daddy teach you that?"
"Yes, come on, Daddy. Let's dance for her."
Peter and Jake did their hip-shaking dance for her and earned applause from the others in the parking lot. Larissa felt a sense of peace and belonging that she'd never thought to find. She closed her eyes. She realized that she was going to have to thank Jasmine Carmody for giving her the family she'd always dreamed of.
* * * * *
SIN CITY WEDDING Page 12
