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Chapter One
When Erin Davenport walked into Anna’s Coffee Shop on Tuesday morning, Tessa and Mila had already settled themselves at their favorite table. Mila was wearing a smart navy blue suit and had a particularly brilliant smile on her face, which usually meant one of two things: a really fun night with her fiancé, Herschel, or she’d sold another house.
Before Erin had a chance to ask her which it was, Mila said, “Today isn’t a coffee day, ladies, it’s a champagne day. Guess who just sold a waterfront home on Scenic Drive?”
Erin stroked her chin, pretending to ponder the question. “Dan Ferguson? I hear he’s the best Realtor in Carmel.”
“Very funny,” her sister said, flipping back her long blonde hair, which was bleached lighter than normal from the July sun. Since Dan Ferguson was Mila’s mentor and had trained her, it was a mild jab at best.
Tessa shook her head at them, a slight frown worrying her usually smooth brow. She was getting better, but she still wasn’t completely accustomed to the way the Davenport siblings liked to tease each other. Erin regarded her new sister-in-law for a moment. Tessa was dressed in what looked to be vintage blue Levis and a pretty pink pastel shirt that no doubt she’d found at one of the thrift stores she loved to visit. Even in a casual, comfortable outfit, she was absolutely glowing—there was no other word for it. Despite her more introverted nature, she’d managed a very public wedding to Erin’s A-list celebrity brother Archer at a grand, sprawling castle in Scotland, which had been splashed across every media outlet from digital to cable toprint. Erin had noticed the way she’d avert her gaze if she saw their wedding pictures on the front cover of an entertainment magazine, but she never said anything, and in Erin’s opinion, Tessa had handled the transition from a very private person to the wife of a big celebrity with true grace. Although, based on the way her paintings were starting to sell, Erin thought she was going to have to get used to the limelight. To everyone’s joy, but possibly Archer’s more than anybody, a Tessa Taylor-Davenport painting was becoming a real collector’s item and the demand—and price—for her work was soaring.
Erin ordered a cappuccino and as she took her seat next to the two women she loved so much, she was perfectly willing to listen to Mila, who was just about bursting to tell them about her latest sale. “Go on.”
Mila grinned. “It’s that house you love, Erin. The one on Scenic Drive with the deco windows and all the Carmel stone. I don’t want to boast, but the commission was a nice chunk of change.”
Erin felt her jaw practically hit the floor. “I can’t believe that house was for sale and I never even knew it.” Even in her wildest dreams, Erin couldn’t have afforded that home, but she loved it so dearly there was a tiny part of her that thought the house was waiting for her. That she didn’t even know it was for sale was like a betrayal.
A little secretive smile played around Mila’s lips. “That’s why they pay me the big bucks, sis. I have my finger on the pulse and I get the scoops. Like you, at the newspaper, except with multimillion-dollar properties.” She paused to enjoy getting in a little jibe of her own, and let the small smile grow. “Plus, it turned out the new owner is friends with another of my clients, and they gave me a recommendation. It was such an easy sale too.”
“Who bought it?” Erin asked. How lucky they were to have that house and how she hoped they would treat it right. She sighed. She wasn’t wealthy like some of her siblings and could never afford her dream house. But she didn’t envy them. She was truly happy at her job as a reporter for theSea Shell, Carmel-by-the-Sea’s local paper, and not earning a big wage was okay with her. She’d created a life she loved and that suited her quiet nature. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than having millions of screaming fans chanting her name, like her rock-star brother Damien, or being hounded by paparazzi like Arch.
Now Mila couldn’t stop the grin from all but exploding on her face. She glanced at Erin in a very significant way. “Actually, you know the new owner.”
“I do?” A spark of joy went through her and she reached out and grasped her sister’s hand. “It’s not Smith Sullivan and Valentina, is it? It would be so great to have them in the neighborhood, especially now that they’re expecting a baby. And Arch—”
Mila shook her head. “Not even close. Well, actually, sort of close. Try again.”
Her sister was clearly enjoying stringing this one out. Erin racked her brain. Who did she know who could afford that place and wouldn’t have told her about it? “Is it another actor?” Mila shook her head. “A director?”
Again, Mila shook her head and Tessa chuckled, happy to take a backseat while Erin tried to read Mila’s mind.
“One of Damien’s friends? It’s not a rock star, is it?” Much as she loved her brother, a rock star wouldn’t be right for that house. She shuddered as she imagined a wild band trashing the grounds with their all-night parties or knocking through walls to create some ultramodern space.
Once more Mila shook her head, looking smug. “Try agent.”
At the way Mila’s eyes were glinting, Erin felt her excitement dim as though a big cloud had passed in front of the sun. “Oh no.”
Mila nodded. “Oh yes. Julius Malone, our old friend Jay, bought that house. He’d told me he was interested in the area and when this became available, I called him right away. I knew it would be perfect for him.”
“But I love that house,” Erin said again, feeling even more forlorn. She didn’t know why it seemed worse that Jay of all people should have it, but it did. Well, that wasn’t true—she knew exactly why. Jay was a brash bulldozer. Not at all the kind of guy who’d treat a historic home like that with any respect.
Tessa said, “Jay is a good guy, Erin. I know he can be a bit... much sometimes, but he has a good heart. He’s more than an agent to Arch. He’s a true friend.”
“He’s also very hotandsingle,” Mila added quickly.
Erin rolled her eyes. As if.
But Mila continued, “I saw the way you two were dancing at the wedding.” She left the last comment hanging in the air.
Tessa giggled. “I agree with Mila. Even though I’d never look at any man besides Arch, obviously, Jay is very hot. I’m afraid I didn’t notice the two of you dancing together, but Mila said there was some real chemistry.”
Erin didn’t choose her men based solely on looks, the way Mila had for most of her life. It wasn’t until Herschel Greenfield had come along that Mila had found herself drawn to something deeper. Erin wished her sister would drop the subject of Jay. “Mila’s just teasing. There was no chemistry.” She had to admit, though, that dancing with Jay had been more fun than she’d have thought it would be.
Mila gently prodded her in the shoulder. “You’ve known him for years. I don’t know what you’ve got against him.”
Erin shrugged. Why did she struggle so much with Jay? He had some good qualities, but he was the very definition of an alpha male. Even though she was used to alpha men in her family, it was different when they were her father and brothers who were so protective of her—almost too protective sometimes, which was why it often sucked to be the youngest Davenportanda girl. She’d also had a terrible run-in with an alpha male at college, a memory she kept buried way beneath the surface. Something about Jay’s confidence struck a difficult note in her, something she’d rather not face.
“It’s not that I have anything against him,” she said finally. “He’s all the things that make him a great agent. He’s just so loud and pushy and in your face. I feel lost when he’s around, as though if I speak, no one can hear me.”