Chapter Thirty
When Jay arrived home, he felt as though everything he cared about was hanging in the balance. The woman he loved, the family he’d come to feel a part of, and some of his biggest clients might be walking out on him—all because he’d fallen in love. In truth, he couldn’t blame them. He paced the house, shaking his head at all the beautiful rooms that might never be filled with the sound of happy laughter, the spaces where he had dared to hope that children might lay their heads at night.
He went into the kitchen and made himself a cappuccino to take his mind off it all, but then found he didn’t want it. Staring into the frothy cup, he said to Nelson, “In a book or movie, this is what you call the black moment . When the guy not only doesn’t get the girl, but also loses the only family he’s ever known.”
The black moment. Hm. He decided to try to ease the pain in his heart by writing about it. He took the coffee and set it down beside his computer, then stared at the stack of screenwriting books. But he didn’t even open them. He’d watched so many movies, been part of the making of so many, that he knew the structure instinctively.
And he hadn’t lied to Nelson. This was his black moment.
Just as before, when he realized how much he needed to win Erin back, he began to type, his hunt-and-peck style barely keeping up with the words tumbling out of him.
He had no idea how much time had passed when the doorbell rang and jolted him back into the real world. He came to with a start, gut clenched.
He knew who he really wanted to see at the door—Erin. But it could also be four angry Davenport brothers who had decided to ignore her warning to stay out of her love life and had come to pulverize him. He headed for the foyer, Nelson following, and hoped he’d find Erin. But if he confronted Archer, Damien, Finn, and Nick, he’d let them treat him like a punching bag.
In a way, he understood their anger. In a way, he deserved it.
He took a deep breath and opened the door.
And there she was: the woman of his dreams. “Erin,” he said, as love and pain collided.
Erin stepped inside and closed the door behind her. He wanted to go to her and cover her face, her body, in kisses, but he held back in case the scene at breakfast had caused her to change her mind about him. He was more relieved than he could express that she’d come here, as he’d prayed she would, but he was worried too.
“I hope I didn’t embarrass you in front of your family,” was all he could find to say. She was so beautiful and so precious he wanted to pull her into his arms, but it was the truth. He didn’t deserve her. Maybe she was seeing that now.
She laughed, but there was no humor behind it. More irritation and frustration than anything else. “Are you kidding? You finally helped make my overprotective brothers see me as a grownup. I’ve tried for years, but they’ve never listened.”
Jay allowed himself a small smile. “They’re right, though. I’m the trailer trash who doesn’t know how to do anything but hustle. You’re smart and beautiful and educated. You’re a great writer. You could do anything. You don’t want to be stuck with me.”
To his shock, she walked forward and threw her arms around him. He breathed in the scent of her skin, stroked the soft hair flowing down her back. She felt perfect in his arms.
She touched his face with a tenderness he’d never known before. With a smile, she said, “I love you. I love you for bringing me a towel when I’m cold on the beach, for making me hot chocolate with marshmallows, for the way you get excited about books and telling stories that will reach millions of people and touch their hearts. Jay Malone, you may be loud and brash, but you’re always fair and honest. And you have the biggest heart of anyone I know.”
Jay was so happy that for once in his long, loud life, he was lost for words. Finally he remembered to say, “I love you too, Erin. More than anything in the world.”
They kissed deeply, and in seconds he was hungry for her again.
There was so much love and lust in her eyes he knew she was feeling the same way. “Plus you adopted this rescue dog who would have been a goner by now if it hadn’t been for you.” Nelson was listening to every word and wagging his tail. “Sorry, Nelson.” She kissed Jay again. “And I found out for sure that you’re the anonymous donor who saved the shelter.”
Even though he’d already admitted it to her, he was slightly upset. “That donation was supposed to be confidential.”
“I’m a pretty good investigative reporter when I want to be.” She smiled. “Plus, I went to high school with the head of the shelter. She couldn’t hold back about the ‘great-looking man who brought us a huge check.’”
Uncomfortable with being painted as such a good guy, he swiftly changed the subject and asked how the rest of the family had been after he’d gone.
“I didn’t stick around for long, but my brothers are still pretty mad. If I know Mom and Dad, they’re still at the table, talking them down. My folks seem really supportive of you and me together.”
He kissed her again because he couldn’t help himself. “I went to Betsy when I knew I was falling for you, but thought I’d messed this up. She told me she saw this coming ten years ago.”
Erin’s eyes went wide. “What? I can’t believe how intuitive my mom is.”
“That’s where you get it from.”
“I kind of love that you confided in her first.”
“She really is like family to me. And so kind and understanding.” He paused. “You are a lot like her.”
Erin smiled shyly. She was about as good at accepting compliments as Jay was. They walked hand in hand to Jay’s office so he could switch off his computer.
She eyed the script and the screenwriting books on his desk, intrigued. “Were you busy? Did I interrupt anything?”
“Believe it or not, I was working on the romantic comedy script. This thing better sell, because it looks like I’m losing my biggest clients.”
“They’ll get over it. After all, where are Arch and Smith ever going to find an agent who hustles like you do?” She turned to face him with an expression so sweet and serious. “ And who loves them like a brother.” With that, she moved into his arms at exactly the same time as he pulled her into them.
They went up to his bedroom and made love, their bodies communicating without any need for words, with all the sweetness and tenderness growing between them. Maybe the fact that he had stood up for her, believed in her, told her family in no uncertain terms how strong he thought she was, meant that she was beginning to see herself in that light too.
* * *
Kissing his shoulder, still breathing fast, Erin turned herself onto one elbow. “Jay Malone, you are good for me. I never thought of myself as being that strong.”
“Are you kidding me? You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever known.”
“Maybe you’re right,” she agreed. She had made a beautiful, happy life for herself and now she was in bed with the man of her dreams in the house of her dreams. It was time to put the past firmly behind her and look forward to all the future held.
Tracing patterns on his chest with her fingertips, she said, “You know, Mila was also Team Jay from the start.”
“Wait, she knew about us?”
“I told her I had a crush on you before anything happened. Tessa, too. They both thought we’d be a good match.” She laughed. “Way before I did, actually. They encouraged me to give you a shot.”
Jay picked up her wandering hand and kissed her on the wrist, where her pulse was still slowing. “I owe those two dinner.” He kissed her palm. “Man, I love the way you support each other. If only your brothers felt the same way as the women in your family.”
“I love my family too,” she agreed. “But I’m also pretty irritated with them for butting in the way they did.”
“It’s only because they love you so much.”
“I know. But there’s a difference between love and thinking they know what’s best for me.”
He nodded. “Believe me, I don’t think anyone is underestimating you now. Least of all me.” He paused, and something shifted behind his eyes. He seemed suddenly lighter. She was beginning to recognize that look as Jay’s lightbulb moment. She waited, excited to hear what he was about to say.
He grinned. “Write this romantic screenplay with me. I’m serious about it and I think I’m on to something.”
“What?” She was stunned. “Seriously? I’m a journalist, not a screenwriter.”
Jay’s grin widened and then he looked a little sheepish. “I have a little secret. I read everything you’ve written in the Sea Shell for the past two years. You’ve got all the chops a screenwriter needs. You managed to make a high school musical sound riveting, and how there’s still an unadopted dog in all of California with you writing the Dog of the Week, I do not know.”
She was absolutely floored. “Seriously? You read my writing in the paper? All of it?”
“Sure did. Even the interview with that clown who lost a big shoe and just kept on performing. I laughed so hard.”
She joined in, and when they both finished chuckling, she said quietly and seriously, “Just in case you missed me saying it earlier, I love you, Jay Malone.”
And then he told her, yet again, that he loved her too. Words she would never tire of hearing.