“It’s destiny, Jake. We’re two halves of one perfect whole. We’re—”
“Cut the crap,” he said harshly.
Hope heard the revealing gurgle as she swallowed back the threatening tears. She laid her hands flat on Jake’s chest above his folded arms, undaunted by his rigid posture, and felt him inhale sharply. He wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted her to think.
“All right, if you don’t want romance, think of the practical ways I’d be a helpmate if you married me.”
Jake snorted.
“I have a degree in computer science with a minor in business. For a start, I’d be able to do the bookkeeping on the ranch.”
“I have an accountant who does that for me.”
“But you wouldn’t have to pay me,” Hope said with a smile meant to charm. It didn’t seem to be working, so she added, “And I’m very good with kids.”
“That’s because you’re a kid yourself,” he retorted.
“I’ve seen a great deal of the world,” she continued doggedly, “and I can tell you, Jake, there’s no place like home. I’d never leave you like…” Hope broke off as she saw the muscle flex again in his cheek. No sense bringing up memories of his previous failed marriage.
She knew Jake’s experience with a wife who wasn’t satisfied to live on an isolated northwest Texas ranch was part of the reason he didn’t trust his feelings for her. Once before he’d succumbed to the charms of a younger woman, and she’d left him high and dry. “I’m not like her,” Hope said softly.
“You’re exactly like her,” he accused. “Young and flighty and—”
“That’s not fair,” she said, her hands sliding down and clutching his folded arms. “There’s nothing ‘flighty’ about me. I’m dependable and hardworking and loyal—”
“And too damned young for me.”
She let the tips of her breasts graze his forearm and felt his whole body stiffen. “Maybe three years ago I was,” she conceded. “Not anymore. I’m twenty-one, a college graduate, a world traveler, a—”
“Baby!” he spat. “You’re a goddamn babe in the woods. How many men have you slept with, Hope?”
Hope blushed a rosy red, but she didn’t retreat. “I don’t want any man but you. I’ve never wanted any man but you. I’m a virgin, Jake, and I will be until you—”
“Shut up, Hope.” The muscles in his forearms had turned to stone. “Shut the hell up.” She could feel him withdrawing as her arms slid up his rock-hard chest toward his nape, but with his back to the door, there was nowhere for him to go. His eyes locked on hers, hot and hungry.
Suddenly, their positions were reversed. Jake had her by the shoulders, his body imprisoning hers against the door, and she could feel the hard male ridge against her abdomen that put a lie to all his protests. She saw the struggle in his eyes, felt the tautness in his body.
“I’m not going to do this,” he said.
“Then I will,” she said as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.
For a moment, he resisted her. For a fraction of a second, she thought all was lost. She softened her mouth against his, sliding the tip of her tongue along the crease of his lips.
His whole body quivered. He lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes heavy-lidded. “Aw, hell,” he muttered. His mouth came down on hers, and he took her fast and deep.
She’d forgotten how it felt to be kissed by Jake, like sliding down a fast chute where there was no end in sight. She was on her toes, her body clasped hard against his, and she could feel his heart pounding in his chest. She couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t catch up, the feelings were so powerful, so overwhelming.
Suddenly, their positions were once more reversed, and she was standing the width of his outstretched arms away.
“You have to stay away from me, Hope.” The anger was back again. And she heard desperation in his gravelly voice.
“I’m going to marry Amanda. And I intend to be a faithful husband. Don’t do this again.”
“What is it I did, Jake?” asked Hope, whose anger matched his. “If you were really in love with Amanda, you would’ve let someone else rush to the rescue when that cowboy got fresh with me. And you wouldn’t have brought me here where we were sure to be alone. You wanted what just happened to happen. Because you l—”
“Don’t say it, because it isn’t true,” he interrupted. “I brought you here because it’s obvious to me—and it must be to anyone who cares to look—that you’ve got some kind of juvenile infatuation for me. It’s embarrassing to be mooned over by someone half my age.”
The insult hurt, as she was sure Jake intended it should. But she didn’t let it discourage her. “You were jealous of that cowboy. Admit it. You don’t want anyone touching me but you.”
“Grow up, Hope,” Jake said. “This childish behavior has to stop.”
“You’re the one who brought me up here, Jake,” she retorted. “You kissed me back.”
She saw the flush rise on his cheekbones. The admission that he wasn’t blameless.
He let her go and leaned his head back against the door, rubbed a hand across his eyes and heaved a sigh. “I came up here hoping we could straighten out this…whatever this is between us. I was hoping you’d see reason.”
“I’m fighting for my whole life, Jake. I’m trying to get you to see that you don’t belong with Miss Carter. You belong with me.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere.” Jake reached for the doorknob, but Hope’s hand covered his.
“Why can’t you see what’s staring you in the face?” she pleaded.
“I’m engaged to someone else,” he said. “Even if I wanted to change my mind, I couldn’t. I’d never do that to Amanda. She’s waited three years—”
Hope’s eyes had gotten round as she listened to Jake. She could see a tiny crack of light, where before there had been darkness. For the first time, he was talking in terms of changing his mind. “You’re the one who’s been putting off the wedding?” she asked. “Not Miss Carter?”
“It’s been mutual,” Jake said.
“Why has she been putting it off, if I may ask?”
“That’s between her and me.”
“Well, why have you been putting it off?” she persisted.
“That’s none of your business.”
“I think it is,” Hope said. “I think you’ve been waiting for me to grow up,” she said with the beginning of a smile. “I think you’ve been hoping
