Until We Touch Read Online Free PDF Page A

of the shoes and handed the jacket to her friend. “I know. I’m not really the makeover type. I like to keep things simple.” She studied her face in the mirror. It was clean and her skin was nice. Her hair was a good color. Medium blond and the only color she used was for highlights, which she got done maybe every six or eight months.
    “Mascara wouldn’t kill you,” Taryn informed her. “I’m not saying you have to dress like me. You could still be comfortable but more pulled together.”
    “Are you saying that as my friend or my boss?”
    Taryn rolled her eyes. “You work for Jack. He’s the one you have to make happy. I’m simply pointing out that about once a month you come in here, try on something of mine and then talk about making a change. That has to mean something.”
    Larissa was pretty sure it did, but that wasn’t why she was here.
    “I need to talk to you,” she said instead.
    Taryn immediately pointed to the sofa in her office. “Sure. What’s up?”
    Larissa sat in a corner of the comfy couch and tucked her legs under her. She angled toward her friend. “It’s about what happened yesterday. With my mom and Jack and what she said.”
    She waited, hoping Taryn would jump in with a laugh and an “Of course no one believes you’re in love with Jack. How ridiculous.”
    But Taryn was silent.
    Larissa drew in a breath. “I don’t love him. We’re friends. We work well together. I like him—he’s a likable guy. It’s just my mom wants me married and I guess I want that, too. Eventually.”
    Because from the outside, marriage seemed really great, but from the inside—at least what she’d observed with her parents—it sucked.
    She supposed that assessment was harsh. After her parents had gotten divorced, they’d both been much happier people. Everyone agreed. Her parents liked to joke that they never should have gotten married. And they wouldn’t have. If there hadn’t been an unexpected pregnancy. Namely her.
    “I could just as easily find the right guy here in Fool’s Gold as in Los Angeles. Probably more easily. It’s hard to date in Los Angeles. There are a lot of unrealistic expectations what with the movie business so close.” She pressed her lips together. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
    “Because you’re doing fine without me,” Taryn told her.
    “Do you think I’m in love with Jack?”
    “I think you have an interesting and symbiotic relationship.”
    “That’s not an answer.”
    “Maybe, but it’s the truth. Jack wants to make a difference in the world, without getting too involved. You want to save the world, but you lack resources. You have heart and Jack has money. Together you make a great team.”
    “Exactly,” Larissa said quickly. “We’re a team. Not a couple. We’re friends. There’s love between friends, but it’s different. It’s not romantic. Like when I needed a temporary place for those three fighting dogs to stay. Jack let me use his house.”
    Taryn’s mouth twitched. “You mean you put the dogs in Jack’s house before telling him and they wouldn’t let him inside his own home so he had to stay at a hotel for a week but he didn’t get mad at you?”
    “You don’t have to put it like that,” Larissa told her. “But, yes, that would be an example of us working as a team.” Although she wasn’t completely sure Jack would agree with her example.
    “Jack’s a good guy,” Taryn said. “He goes along with what you want because it allows him to be connected without getting involved. You like that Jack is always there in the background to rescue you if you need it. You get to take risks without actually putting yourself out there.”
    Larissa winced. “I am not so excited about the total honesty part of this conversation.” She wanted to disagree with her friend’s assessment, but didn’t think she could.
    Taryn touched her arm. “I love you, but I can’t help with this. What you have going on with Jack is