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All the men winced.
They looked at Hersch, who was sitting beside Arch. He shook his head. “I’m staying out of this, if you don’t mind.”
Nick, who had remained quiet through the rest of her brothers’ outbursts, said, “Erin’s vulnerable and easily hurt.”
Erin opened her mouth to defend herself one more time, but Jay got there first. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nick. Not the Erin I know.”
Then he gave Erin a smile that warmed her right through to her heart. Still standing, he reached down for Erin’s hand and addressed the whole family. “Erin is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known. She’s a brilliant writer, an incredible surfer, and a first-class human being. Over the past weeks, I’ve come to seeher not as everybody’s kid sister, but as this incredible woman whom it has been a privilege to know better.”
Mila spoke into the silence. “Jay, you’re right. I think we’re all beginning to understand now that Erin is a grown woman who has always been much tougher than we ever knew.”
Just when Erin thought Jay would finally sit down beside her and pile his plate with food, he said, “I know I’m not good enough for her, but I love her. And I love all of you. You’re the family I never had. I’d hate to lose that, but ultimately it’s up to you.” He took one more longing look at Erin. Then to her shock, he called Nelson and turned to leave.
The two of them walked out of the kitchen.
“Nowlook what you’ve done,” Erin cried once Jay had shut the door behind him. “If I lose the man I love because of you guys being so overprotective, I willneverforgive you.”
And then she did something she’d never done in her life. She stormed out of a family breakfast.
“Erin, wait,” Arch called after her, but she didn’t. She was done with waiting. She called Buzzy and at the door, he turned and barked—once, but with meaning.
It was good to know her dog was on her side too.
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 theblack 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.”