That plan lasted all of five minutes, right up until they reached his car when Kaycee decided that she'd had enough of being dragged around and obeying orders. If he wanted this to be a real marriage then it meant he had to include her opinions not just ride over them.

"I'm not going!" Kaycee declared firmly as they came to a halt beside the car.

"You can save the dramatics for later," Jake said with a sigh and Kaycee glared at him furiously.

"I'm serious. I am not going anywhere with you!" she told him and Jake brushed a weary hand over his face.

"Kaycee, I'm trying to do something nice here. We're going away somewhere that we can get to know each other properly without all the distractions," he explained less than patiently.

"And what? You think that after a few weeks alone together we can come back and everything will be completely different? You think that all those distractions will just vanish?" she asked.

"I think that if we get to know each other more then the distractions won't matter as much. Kaycee we can have a good marriage, but not like this," he warned and she blew out a frustrated breath.

Why was it that nobody ever seemed to understand what she was saying? And if they did they seemed to ignore her opinions. First her family and now Jake, it was just too much for her.

"Well, I have no intention of going on a honeymoon with you!" she said firmly sticking to her guns.

"Kaycee, get in the car," he growled and she shook her head slowly.

"I said no, Jake. I am not going anywhere!"

"Is this still about your family?" he demanded and she rolled her eyes. Why did he think that everything had to do with her father?

"This has nothing to do with them. This is about us and nobody else. Taking a holiday together is not going to change anything!" Kaycee explained calmly and Jakes eyes darkened.

"It will give us some much needed time together, is that not worth anything?" he asked and Kaycee frowned. Did her expect her to drop everything just for a few weeks with him? It would be absolute bliss, no doubt about that, but she wanted them to get to know each other properly not just in the bedroom.

"You promised that we would give each other space and see what happened," she said and Jake sighed.

"And we did but it didn't work," he ground out.

"You gave it all of one day!" she argued and Jake groaned.

"It was enough time to realise that it wasn't going to work," he tried but Kaycee'd had enough. Why did he think that his ideas were the only ones that would work? Neither of them had expected or wanted this marriage and it just wasn't going to work if they couldn't agree on anything.

"How about we try my way first and if that doesn't work then we'll try a honeymoon," she tried but Jake didn't like that idea at all. He couldn't bear another night away from her.

"Kaycee just get in the damned car!" he snapped finally losing his temper but she stubbornly refused. Something he had learned about his wife early on, she could be extremely stubborn when she wanted to be and she very rarely let anyone force her to do something she didn't want to.

"Please!" he begged softly and he saw her waver then apparently she decided it was some sort of trick on his part as her expression hardened and she shook her head once again.

"We try it my way and then we'll try it yours!" she said firmly and Jake blew out a breath. His wife may be beautiful and smart but she was stubborn as a mule and he was fighting a losing battle. Why was it so wrong that he wanted to spend time with her?

He was about to ask her that when his phone rang and with a frustrated growl he fished it out of his pocket and answered, never taking his eyes of Kaycee who was watching his every move.

Kaycee had seen it in his eyes that he was not going to break and let her have her way. But when he answered his phone she was stunned to see his face pale beneath his tan and his voice came out softer. When he finally put away the phone he seemed distracted and didn't even notice when she stepped closer to him.

"Everything okay?" she asked placing a hand on his shoulder only to frown in confusion when he jerked away from her.

"Everything's fine," he snapped and Kaycee frowned up at him.

"You sure? Cos you don't look fine," she noted and he ran a rough hand through his hair.

"I think you were right," Jake said after a moment and Kaycee looked at him in even more confusion.

"I was right?" she repeated questioningly and he slowly nodded.

"We need some time apart to see where we stand, so I'll call you in a few days," he said and then Jake got in his car and drove away leaving Kaycee staring after him wondering what the hell had just happened.