“My help?” Was that a note of surprise he detected? Surprise that he would throw away his pride enough to ask her for a favor?

“Yes,” he answered. There was nothing for it. He made himself say the words. “I need your help to buy a piece of land.”

She blinked. “Jake, I don’t exactly have a lot of spare cash right now.”

“I don’t need your money, Taylor.” This was the crux of it. Even if she still had access to her trust fund and her allowance, it wouldn’t help him at all. Jake had more than enough cash to buy the land he wanted. He just didn’t have...his wife. “I don’t need your money,” he repeated. “I need you.”

I need you. Such a simple phrase, but so devastating to say. All his life he’d done his best to avoid it. And after she’d left he’d sworn he wouldn’t ever say those three words to anyone, wouldn’t ever let himself feel those emotions. But here he was, saying them to none other than Taylor Cassidy.

She leaned back in her chair, a look of disbelief on her face. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. A rich chocolate brown, it had grown out from the short, stylish cut she’d worn before, now curving just below her jaw.

He liked it. It wasn’t so polished and perfect. And he wanted to sink his hands into that extra hair, to feel it sliding through his fingers.

Even now he fought the urge to reach across the table to feel it, to see if it was still as soft as he remembered. They’d used to be husband and wife, free to touch or caress each other when the mood struck. Now there was a wall between them.

In five months of living alone he’d finally gotten used to not having her around. But being so close to her again threw that all to the wind. He was right back to where he’d been last summer, wanting her so much he couldn’t think straight.

Jake took a moment to calm his senses. He had to be rational today. Totally unlike the man who’d fallen for Taylor like a ton of bricks last summer. His future was on the line; he couldn’t let his past mess it up.

“You need me to do what?” Taylor asked.

“I need you to be my wife again.”

She stared at him long and hard. “Forget it.” She started to slide out of the booth.

“Taylor, sit down. It wouldn’t be real. I just need you to pretend to be my wife. For a week.”

Taylor stayed in her seat. Jake suspected it was because the blond waitress showed up just then with a glass of milk and a plate of eggs and toast, rather than because he’d asked her to.

She picked up her fork. “Let me know when you regain your sanity, okay?”

Jake opened his mouth to explain his predicament, but Taylor held up her hand for silence. He kept his mouth shut while she ate. Jake took a bite of his pancakes. They were surprisingly good, so he ate while he waited for Taylor.

Finally she finished and took a sip of her milk. “I can’t tell you how tired I am of breakfast food.”

Was she just going to ignore his request? “Taylor...”

She straightened. “Right. Back to business.” Shaking her head, she said, “Let me get this straight. You want me—your wife—to pretend to be your wife?”

“Yes. Pretend to be my loving, affectionate, definitely-not-estranged wife.”

“I’m a waitress, Jake. Not an actress.”

“I know it’ll be a challenge, but I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll pay you.”

He’d expected her to jump at the offer, but she didn’t. Instead she waved a hand around the Pancake Hut. “I already have a job.”

He’d noticed. But even though it was just the kind of work she needed to give her a dose of reality, he didn’t like the way her customers leered at her. And he didn’t guess she earned much money for her efforts. “What do you make here?”

Taylor hesitated, then named a ridiculously low figure.

“That’s all?” He didn’t know how she even paid for a place to stay on that kind of money, much less any health insurance. Taylor had some hard lessons to learn, but even Jake didn’t think she should be risking her welfare to learn them. “Including tips?”

“Yes, Jake. This place doesn’t attract big tippers.”

“I’ll pay you four times that for a week in Montana.”

She ignored him and took another sip of milk.

He wasn’t reaching her. She might not make much, but four times that amount was getting to be some serious cash. Obviously she wanted to play hardball.

Well, so be it. “Your father told me you’ve got some debts. I’ll pay them off, help you make a fresh start. And of course you’ll have a free place to stay and all the food you can eat for a week.”