for a minute. But it would be by the skin of her teeth.
That was one thing Ivy knew about Jake. She could take him at his word. But why did she know that? Because he was a Marine? No, there was more to it—to him—than that. He had shown honor in a number of ways. First, by stopping to help. Then by distancing himself when the pot started to boil. He had called an end to their game when it became more than that.
Jake was a man she could trust. That was a foreign idea to Ivy. Her father had never so much as dropped a birthday card in the mail. He had left her and Holly long before Ivy had a decent memory of the man. And at this point, for all she knew, her father could be dead. Trace had done little to inspire trust. He had, in fact, crushed even the hope of finding that with the beatings.
“You learn anything about me, Ivy?”
She nodded but it took a moment to find her voice. Even so, she sounded breathless, “You’re a man I can trust.”
“That scares you.”
She nodded. “You’re dangerous.” And it had nothing to do with his size, his confidence or the certainty with which he conducted his life. Trust made a woman vulnerable.
“And you want to run.”
She turned to him, even though her eyes were flared with fear. “You’re wrong about that, Jake. I stopped running a long time ago.”
He nodded. “I won’t push. Not too hard.”
“And I might pull left, but I’ll stand my ground.”
She watched a smile lift the corner of his lips.
“It looks like we got the communication thing down.”
“So far,” she agreed. “So we’re going to see each other again?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Count on it.”
She liked his swift and sure answer, but decided to test it anyway.
“But we’re not in any hurry.”
He turned quickly and shot her a look. “Define hurry.”
“Is dinner Saturday night too soon?” That was a whole week away. She tried to look at him with wide-eyed innocence, but a teasing quality had entered her voice. Jake noticed it, too, and smiled into her challenge.
“You’ll need your car before then,” he pointed out.
She frowned. Ivy had no idea how she was going to get home from work at the end of her shift. But there was time enough to figure that out.
“Tuesday?” Jake offered.
“I work until seven.”
“You’ll need to eat.”
She nodded. “I’ll need exercise, too. I usually take advantage of the long days and run after work.”
“Sounds good to me. A run and then a late dinner.”
She let her eyes dip to his legs, powerful against the denim. “You’re a runner?”
“I’m a Marine.”
She thought about that. She knew there was a certain amount of physical aptitude required to join the Corps and that maintaining it was expected. Still, she had been running for almost two years now. “You’ve met your match,” she declared.
His bark of laughter startled her. “Competitive, too,” he said.
Ivy smiled. “Not really. Running is a very solitary sport. For me, anyway.”
“You’ve never run with anyone,” he guessed.
She thought about Holly. They had never run together. They talked about it, about when
she would be ready and how Ivy would be right by her side. She hoped that day came, and soon. She hoped they weren’t grasping at the impossible.
“No, but I think I’ll like it.”
“Me, too.” He looked into the rear view mirror and then changed lanes. They passed a sign that read San Diego 67 miles.
“You want me to tell you more about the Grand Cayman’s? The G version,” she promised.
“No way. You can tell me more about your Caribbean vacation, picking up exactly where you left off, on our second date.” He paused and put a little more thought into that. “No, better make it our third or fourth.” He turned to her and smiled. “How’s that for pacing?”
Ivy pursed her lips as she pretended to think about it. “About the blinding speed of a freight train stuck in neutral.”
Chapter Four
Ivy made it to work with four minutes to spare. She had punched her number into his i-Phone, and then placed herself on speed dial using an image of ivy, with clear heart-shaped leaves, as her icon.
“In case you forget my name,” she told him.
“Not a chance.” His mouth softened and when he accepted his phone back from her, his fingers trailed smoothly over the sensitive skin of her wrist. It was a deliberate touch and when her lips parted in reaction, his smile