Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)

Larissa wrinkled her nose. “You must have better things to do than babysit me today. What about Chloe?”


“She’s with a couple of her friends. It’s an all-day birthday party. She’s going to be exhausted when she gets home.” Bailey smiled. “Sorry, you’re stuck with me.”

“Not stuck. I love the company.”

“Good. Let’s go to Jo’s. I’m dying for nachos.”

Larissa couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like eating. It would have been before things had ended with Jack. Since then she’d only picked at food. Nothing interested her and she was never hungry. But now she felt a little rumbling in her stomach.

“Nachos do sound good,” she admitted. “Okay, let’s go.”

They left the day spa and walked along Fifth. There were plenty of tourists in town for the End of Summer festival, but they mostly kept to the main streets, leaving the rest of town for the locals. It was a good system, Larissa thought. One that allowed the dollars to flow in while keeping things livable.

“I talked to my mom a few days ago,” Larissa said as they crossed the street.

“Did she try to talk you into moving back to L.A.?”

“Yes, but not very hard. I told her I liked it here, that I’d made a lot of friends and had a good life. She was sorry Jack hurt me but relieved it was over. She was very supportive.” There’d been an offer of money, but with Taryn, Kenny and Sam buying her the massage table, she could swing the rest of it herself.

“I promised to go home for Thanksgiving,” she continued. “So everyone can see I’m okay. By then I’m hoping to tell them my business is a success.”

“It will be,” Bailey said confidently. “You’re good at what you do and you’re going to have steady customers.”

Larissa nodded. Kenny and Sam were promising to want regular massages. For a second she wondered where Jack was getting his massages. Probably in Sacramento, she thought, trying not to let the knowledge hurt her. Or maybe there was someone else in town. Not that he or she would understand how to work the scar tissue so it didn’t—

Not her problem anymore, she reminded herself firmly. Jack had chosen to walk away from her. From what they could have been together. There were consequences to every action. He was going to have to deal with his.

“I should really be going on a diet,” Bailey said, “and all I can think about is what kind of nachos Jo is going to have on special today. Maybe I need food counseling.”

Larissa stared at her. “What are you talking about? You look great. You have curves. No one is going to think you look like a boy.”

“No one thinks that about you, either,” Bailey pointed out. She patted her hips. “I could lose ten pounds. Or twenty. I probably should. Maybe if I started walking or something. It’s just I’ve never been a fan of exercise. And when I see Taryn’s bony butt, I just want to eat a brownie.”

“She is intimidating.”

“Yeah, right. You’re the same size.”

Normally Larissa was a few pounds heavier, but she knew that right now she could easily fit into any of Taryn’s tightest dresses. Not eating had a way of doing that to a person.

“Not all exercise requires sweat,” she told her friend. “Have you tried yoga?”

“I’m not super bendy,” Bailey admitted. “Or coordinated.”

“Neither is necessary. All the moves can be modified to your level of flexibility and fitness. The nice part is it forces you to focus on your breathing and your body for an hour. There’s no escaping that. With running or weight training, you can get lost in what you’re doing. But with the emphasis on breath with movement, yoga brings you back to the present.”

“That does sound nice,” Bailey admitted, although she still sounded a little doubtful. “I’ll see if there’s a class somewhere I can try.”

They walked into Jo’s.

It took Larissa’s eyes a second to adjust to the dimmer lighting after being out in the bright afternoon sun. When she’d blinked a couple of times she saw the familiar bar, the specials on the chalkboard—pulled pork nachos today—and the tables and booths.

Speaking of which, several of the tables had been pushed together for a large party and several of the guests were already there. She blinked again as she recognized Taryn and Isabel, along with Felicia, Patience, Dellina, Fayrene and Ana Raquel.

“You’re late,” Taryn said as she approached them. “We’ve all been drinking and it’s not even one in the afternoon.” She hugged Larissa. “Hey, you. How are you feeling?”

Jo carried over pitchers of margaritas. “Nachos are coming up, along with chips, salsa and guacamole.” She gave Larissa a sympathetic smile. “Some men are jerks. The next one won’t be.”