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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'm not going to take Peter away from you. Hell, woman, I don't think I could live without the both of you in my life. And I certainly can't live with the knowledge that I hurt you so deeply.
"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."
