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Erin could barely swallow her coffee, she was so nervous. She played distractedly with a button on her linen shirt, losing track of the conversation entirely. She thought Tessa was talking about her painting, but then realized she was trying to persuade Mila not to spend a small fortune on a pair of gold sandals. But once Mila got an idea in her head there was no talking her out of it, so she tuned out the conversation again and let her thoughts to return to Jay and her brothers. She’d nearly fallen out of bed with fright that morning when she saw his note and realized he’d gone over to Archer’s to sort things out between them.
For the last hour, Tessa and Mila had been trying to calm her down, but for about the seventeenth time she said, “Do you think I should go over there? I feel like I should go and make sure everything’s okay.”
And for about the seventeenth time, Mila said, “No. You are not going to run to a grown man’s rescue. He’ll be fine.”
Erin stared at her sister. “Okay for you—Hersch isn’t in danger of being beaten up by four of the strongest men in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The odds aren’t on Jay’s side.”
“They’re not going to beat him up.” She took a bite of an apricot pastry and then swallowed. “At least, not very much.”
Erin jumped to her feet and just in time, Mila grabbed her hand. “Joking, joking. Sit down. Have you even met Jay? That guy could talk his way out of a firing squad. He’s going to be fine.”
“Why don’t you tell us about the two of you to take your mind off things?” Tessa suggested. “What’s really going on with you and Jay?”
Despite her anxiety, Erin found herself beaming. “I love him. That’s really the whole story. I could not be more shocked that I fell for someone so brash and loud, but I did.”
Tessa nodded, looking delighted. “You’re just glowing with it. I remember you saying not so long ago, when Mila suggested you hook up, that you thought you’d get lost when he was around. But you don’t. You stand up to him and he listens. And when you told Damien at breakfast to shut up and sit down, it was amazing.”
“I thought I heard angels sing,” Mila agreed.
“I surprised myself,” Erin admitted. “In a good way. I guess I’ve been surprising myself a lot lately.”
Mila looked so smug it was maddening. But Erin supposed she had a right, since the idea of Erin and Jay had been hers first. Finally, Mila couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Didn’t I tell you? I told you so!”
Erin had to laugh. When she was with her sister, sometimes it was like they were teenagers again. “You did, and I didn’t believe you. But you weren’t the first. Jay said Mom got there before any of you. She told Jay she’s known we would get together for more than ten years.”
Mila scoffed and flicked back her long braid, which was still wet from her surf session earlier that morning. “She did not.” Then she looked kind of thoughtful, and Erin could tell she was accepting the fact that their mom had beat her to it. “It’s kind of spooky how Mom can see things.”
Tessa smiled. “It’s because she loves you all so deeply. She’s the heart and soul of your family. And I think she and Howie have such a strong marriage that she understands how love works.”
“You’re not doing so bad yourself,” Mila teased. “You’ve got a glow about you that says ‘I’m married to a hot movie star and getting lots of great sex.’”
Tessa laughed and blushed a little, but she didn’t deny it. “Speaking of being a newlywed, Crystal says she’s got the edited video from our Scottish wedding. Archer wants to screen it tonight at our place at seven.” She leaned over and reached for both Erin’s and Mila’s hands. “We want you all there.” Then to Erin she said, “YouandJay.”
Erin’s nerves quivered again. She shrugged a little miserably. “I don’t know. It depends how things are going at your house.” She slipped her phone from her jeans pocket and stared glumly at the blank screen. No message from Jay. She saw Tessa surreptitiously check her phone as well. Nothing from Arch either.
Mila kept up her attempts at distraction as the three women ate their pastries and finished their coffee, but Erin couldn’t focus. Not until she knew everything was okay between Jay and her family.
Usually she was sorry when their coffee dates ended, because she so enjoyed her time with Mila and Tessa. But this morning she was almost relieved when Mila stood and said, “I’ve got to show a house.”
Then Erin felt released, as though she could do what she’d been wanting to do for the better part of an hour—run back to Jay’s place to wait for him. She hugged Mila and Tessa good-bye and told them she hoped, all being well, that she’d see them both that evening.
By the time she walked back to Jay’s, she was almost out of breath. She let herself in and immediately smelled fresh coffee brewing.
He was home.
She rushed to the kitchen, where she found him standing by the sink with a mug of fresh coffee, all in one piece. He turned as she entered and by the happy, relaxed look on his face she knew that everything was okay. She grinned and ran toward him and he caught her, pulling her into a bear hug and then lifting her up onto the counter.
They kissed and then she broke away. “So it went well?” There was still a note of worry in her voice, because she knew how much Jay cared about Arch and how hurt he would be if the relationship were permanently damaged because he was in love with her.
There and then, Erin decided that if Archer gave Jay any more grief, or even hinted at finding a new agent, she might have to talk to him about finding a new sister.
“It was tough,” he admitted. “Not exactly what I’d call a slam dunk.” He paused and looked a little embarrassed—not an emotion she was used to seeing Jay exhibit.
“What happened?” she asked with some mounting trepidation.
Finally, he said, “The only way I could get them to believe I was truly in love with you was to send them our screenplay.”
She almost laughed as the tension broke. “That’s why you’re looking so green around the gills? Because you sent them a screenplay?”