Sure, her doctor had said that sex was fine. But there was no way the woman could have had any idea just how much sex he was talking about.

“Tell me when you decided to become a librarian.” She seemed startled by his personal question, her muscles stiffening on his lap as he rubbed his hand down her arm. “I remember you always had your nose in a book.”

“I’ve always loved books,” she said softly. “I love being around them. I love getting lost in a story, a world. I love that I can become anyone, that I can live any fantasy.”

The word fantasy should have filled the room with sexual tension again, but Jake had just realized what an idiot he was, just like she’d said the day before. He should have asked her anything else—about her family, or hobbies, or favorite food. Not books.

When she was in his arms he temporarily forgot the differences between them. That she’d gone to Stanford and he’d barely eked out a high school diploma from sweet-talking his female teachers into not flunking him.

Of course he wanted to know more about her. He couldn’t spend this much time with her and not want that. But hearing about her love of books only served to remind him of the unbridgeable gap between them.

“I can’t believe I’ve never asked you what your favorite book is.” She grinned at him. “I’ve asked pretty much everyone I’ve ever met.”

Jake moved her off his lap. “You probably need to get ready for work soon, don’t you?”

She frowned at his abrupt personality change. “In about an hour.”

Acting like he didn’t realize he was being a dick, he purposely turned his back on her and headed over to the pile of work he’d been sweating over before she woke up. “Let me know when you need me to drive you in.”

The loud scrape of the bar stool’s legs across the wood floor came a beat before Sophie said, “Is that really all this is to you? It’s okay to have great sex all the time, but whenever I try to talk to you about anything at all, even something as ridiculously easy as your favorite book, you get to walk away without answering? How can you even think of marrying me if we’re going to be strangers everywhere but in bed?” Hurt vibrated from her every word.

All he wanted was to make her happy…but he didn’t have the first clue how to do that.

“I refuse to have a life like that. What’s the point of going through the motions for a few more days when it isn’t going to change anything?”

She fled to the bedroom. Before she could slam the door on him, he shoved his shoulder inside and grabbed her hand. She’d been the one who just said she couldn’t stand the way he shut her out, but couldn’t she see that if she ran from him, if she closed off her heart to him, he’d be the one who'd end up utterly destroyed?

“Call the library. Tell them you’re taking the day off.”

She looked at him like he was certifiably insane. “What are you talking about? Why on earth would I do that?”

She tried to push out of his arms and he didn’t want to let her go, but he knew it would be worse if he didn’t. Damn it, he didn’t mean to keep bossing her around. He was supposed to be using these seven days to woo her, not give her even more reasons to stay the hell away from him. But desperation to keep her near clawed at him, made it hard for him to clear his mind so that he could do the right thing for once.

“I want to spend the day with you.”

Emotion flashed in her eyes and he prayed it was the renewal of hope, of the way she’d once felt about him. But all she said again was, “Why?”

“To give me the chance to prove to you that we’ve got more in common than sex.”

“Jake, I don’t think—”

He gritted his teeth and made himself say, “Agree to come and I won’t touch you again today.” Even though it was going to kill him not to. His chest clenched as he watched her consider his desperate request, and he knew he hadn’t yet said the one thing he needed to say. “Please.”

Chapter Seventeen

How had Jake known one of her favorite things to do was ride the cable cars?

Sophie couldn’t help but smile as wind rushed through her hair. A child walking hand in hand with her mother down the sidewalk waved, and Sophie waved back.

The fact that he wanted to spend the entire day with her was surprising enough. But she hadn’t expected him to head to Ghirardelli Square to buy two tickets for the most touristy thing in all of San Francisco...or to hold her hand the entire time.

She was still wary of letting herself trust him again after the way he’d pushed her away that morning, but she couldn’t stand seeing him still looking so tense as he stood beside her. Ever since she’d threatened to end their seven days early, that muscle in his jaw had been jumping.

She tugged on his hand so that he’d look at her. “It’s been way too long since I’ve treated myself to a cable car ride.” She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

She was glad to see some of the tension fade in his shoulders. “Whenever I see one I always think of you.”

Surprise stole her breath at the same time that the cable car bumped over the road, tossing her straight into Jake’s arms. God, she loved being there, always felt so safe when he was holding onto her.

She looked up into his beautiful face. “How did you know I liked cable cars?”

“You’ve always been important to me, Sophie.”

His simple statement sent sparks of joy shooting through her system. Oh, it would be so easy to give in to them, but painful experience where Jake was concerned had her moving from the circle of his arms and saying, “Sometimes I forget you practically grew up with me, my brothers, and Lori.”

Rather than letting her go, Jake tugged her close again. “I spent a lot of time at your house. But don’t try to tell yourself I didn’t pay extra attention to you when I did.”

He had?

He cursed from out of the blue and released his hold on her so that cold air rushed between them, instantly chilling her. “I promised not to touch you.”

Sophie hated that promise. After so many years of not being able to touch Jake, then finally being allowed to give in to those powerful urges to be physically affectionate with him, it nearly killed her not to move back into his arms and kiss him the way she had over the past twenty-four hours.

But she knew why he’d made her that promise. It was too easy to get lost in the sensual sparks that always lit between them, so much easier than making sure they built a true connection, a real bond that would withstand the test of twins...and a possible life together as husband and wife.