Page 23 of California Love Songs (The Davenports, #4)

Chapter Sixteen

A fter sharing a green smoothie and—Damien had to admit—having a good chat about music, Jay excused himself to get on with some work.

Damien headed back to the beach with Buster and stared at his phone.

With Opal coming the next day, he should have been getting things ready at the recording studio, but he was finding it hard to motivate himself.

Planning for Opal’s arrival could wait; he had something more pressing to do.

He hit dial on Crystal’s number. No answer. Then he texted her. Twice. No reply.

He must really have blown it with her big time. He stared at the dark screen, waiting for it to light up with her name. He waited. And waited.

Should he drive over to her place? But he’d known Crystal a long time and pushing her if she wasn’t ready to talk was a bad idea. Buster began to tug on his leash. “Okay, you’re right,” Damien murmured to the dog. “If she wants to talk to me, she will. It’s time to get on with the day.”

He began the walk back to his parents’ home, running through the options to take his mind off Crystal.

He’d written that new song overnight, making him creatively spent for the day.

His body was too tired for a run, and besides which, he didn’t want to be alone with his own thoughts.

The images that kept coming back were all of Crystal, of them together, and he felt confused and frustrated.

Back at the family home, he took Buster off the leash and watched, smiling, as he happily bounded around the house to let everyone know he was home. Damien found his mom in the kitchen, grading papers.

She smiled at him and then checked her watch. “Did you have a good time with Erin? You’ve been gone for ages.”

“Yeah, it was great.” He paused. “After she left, I stayed and talked with Jay. He’s a good guy.”

His mom kept her face neutral, but he could tell she was surprised—happily surprised. “It’s good you two are getting on again. He’s part of the family now.”

It felt strange to hear his mom say that, but all the same, he realized it was true. Erin and Jay were so happy that he’d put money on Erin being the next Davenport to get married. He smiled to himself. Maybe she’d even beat Mila to the altar.

To his mom, he said, “Where are Dad and Finn? I was hoping to spend some time with them, too.”

“They’re at the new building site,” she replied. “I’m sure they’d love a visit. You never get to see them at work.”

“They’re working? On a Sunday?”

She shrugged. “It’s a rush job, a friend of your dad’s, so he didn’t want to say no.”

Damien figured heading to a work site was even better. Maybe he could even help out. There was nothing like manual labor to focus the mind. His mom gave him the address.

He stopped at home and changed into grubby jeans and a flannel shirt, grabbed one of his favorite ball caps, put on dark glasses, and dug out the steel-toed boots from the back of his closet—boots he hadn’t worn in years.

When was the last time he’d been on one of his dad’s building sites?

It had certainly been a while. Maybe Damien wasn’t the best builder in the world, but he could drive in a nail, mostly straight.

His dad and Finn were working on an extension to one of the Arts and Crafts houses in the main part of town.

As he parked outside, he immediately saw how beautiful the place was and how well they’d designed the extension to blend seamlessly with the original structure.

According to his mom, it was going to be a bigger kitchen and a playroom for the couple’s recently born twins.

Damien stepped out of the car and found Finn and his dad busy at work out back. He inhaled the familiar scent of sawdust and listened to the distinctive music of saws and hammers. Already, he felt his focus shifting.

Finn spotted him first and climbed down from the ladder, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Damien, what’s up?”

His dad turned off the saw, raising his eyebrows. Something must be up if his musician son surprised him with a visit to a building site. But Damien didn’t want to tell them his problems. He knew he’d just get teased.

Instead, he said, “Give me a damn hammer and some nails. I need to work out some frustration.”

Finn raised his hands, spreading his fingers dramatically. “But you’re a musician. Aren’t those fingers the moneymakers?”

Damien just stared at his brother. “You want to see what else my moneymakers can do?” He shook a fist, playfully, though his irritation was real. He could be as down-to-earth as his builder brother.

“Whoa, back off,” Finn said with a laugh.

Howie walked over, clapping Damien on the back. “We can definitely use your help, son. Thanks for dropping by. Here’s what I need you to do.”

As his dad talked, Damien realized it wasn’t exactly the most important job on the site, but it was better than nothing.

Howie measured and cut pieces for the screening boards, then Damien numbered and positioned them correctly around the floor.

It wasn’t the hammering and banging he’d wanted, but he found some peace in the simple process.

It felt good just to be with his brother and his dad, doing something mindless.

It also kept him away from his phone, preventing him from accidentally crossing over from overzealous friend to stalker…

At the end of the workday, Damien followed his dad and brother back to the Davenport home.

Only when they arrived and he was safely parked did Damien allow himself to look at his phone.

Nothing. He followed Finn and his dad into the backyard, and as Howie popped open a beer, he offered Damien one of the ginger sodas everyone knew he loved.

But Damien shook his head. “No, give me a beer.”

His dad looked surprised. “I thought your body was a temple. If you don’t want a soda, I’m sure we’ve got some spring water somewhere.”

Damien shook his head again. His dad immediately got it; he popped open another beer and handed it over.

Damien gave his dad a nod of thanks and tipped his head back, gulping down the cold beer.

It felt good. Seriously good. Maybe he should allow himself a few more pleasures.

And then of course his mind went straight to Crystal, to the pleasure that she could give him.

He shook his head as if to banish those sexy thoughts.

Finn studied him curiously. “Is this about a woman?”

Inwardly, Damien groaned—was he really that transparent?—but he kept his face neutral. “I’m just drinking a beer. Why would it be about a woman?”

Finn nodded knowingly. “It’s definitely a woman.”

Damien let out a sigh. They might not be as sympathetic or understanding as Erin, but at least his dad and Finn were men. He decided to take a chance on them. “I’ve never gone after a girl and been rejected. I don’t know my next move.”

Finn cradled his beer thoughtfully. “And here I was thinking I was the best-looking one in the family.”

Damien chuckled. “You are,” he said good-naturedly.

“Even when you get terrible haircuts. Or refuse to ever wear anything that’s not splattered with paint.

” He looked pointedly at Finn, flecked with sawdust, with a smattering of green paint across the knees of his work pants.

Still, there was no way Finn had ever been rejected by a woman.

Every single girl at their high school had admired Finn’s brooding dark eyes, curly dark hair, and sculpted bone structure.

But Finn had always shied away from the attention, trying to downplay his exceptional good looks.

Unlike their brother Archer, who had made a fortune from his.

Damien took another long gulp of his beer.

Casually, Finn said, “Crystal, right?”

Damien was genuinely shocked. He swallowed the mouthful before he choked on it. “What makes you say that?”

It was like Damien had asked him the color of the sky.

“Dude,” he said, “you guys have been friends for years. You should see yourselves when you’re hanging out here—it’s like you’re in a little bubble.

You dance like you’ve already spent the night together.

And, in case you haven’t noticed, she’s super hot. Who else would it be?”

Damien exhaled. Nothing went unnoticed in this house. But in a way, he was glad Finn had guessed. It made him feel a little less crazy that he might be falling for Crystal. “She might be super hot, but I don’t think she wants a relationship with me.”

Even as Damien spoke the words, he questioned himself. Did he want a relationship with Crystal? Did he even know what he wanted right now? He looked over at his dad, who had remained quiet while Finn was talking.

Howie leaned back. “I think the world of Crystal. She hasn’t had an easy time, and she’s made an incredible success of her life. But if she’s being cautious, you need to cut her some slack. I’m sure you recall that her father walked out on the family right when she was about to go to college.”

Damien remembered those days clearly, but it wasn’t until they’d been hiking on Saturday that he’d understood how much she’d given up for her family. And while she hadn’t said the words, he felt how deeply her father’s leaving had hurt her.

Finn said, “I remember when she used to come over to hang out with Erin. They used to do their homework together and Erin never had to ask Mom for help—she could always just ask Crystal. Erin’s smart, but Crystal’s next-level smart.”

Howie nodded. “You know how your mom feels about college. She was just as excited about that scholarship as Crys was. Do you remember how much Crystal wanted to be a doctor? She did the right thing, but I can still remember Betsy crying for that girl’s lost dreams.”

Maybe Damien hadn’t fully realized how significant that had been for her.

By the time the girls were set to go to college, his career had kicked off and he was away on long tours.

He could see Crystal as a doctor, with her kindness, empathy, intelligence, and strong work ethic.

She’d have been terrific in medicine. It was why he’d tried to get her to commit to exploring all that again.

Wasn’t that what good friends did? Pushed each other to be true to themselves even when it was really difficult?

His dad added, “If you did want a real relationship with her, you’d have to do everything possible to prove history isn’t going to repeat itself. She needs to know you’re the kind of man who sticks.”

It had been a long time since Damien had felt this deeply offended. He was nothing like Crystal’s jerk of a father! “What do you mean, history not repeating itself ? Do you think I’m the kind of guy who would have a few kids and then abandon them?”

Howie shook his head. “No, son, that’s not what I mean. Look at your life—you don’t stay around long enough to have kids. A baby takes nine months to grow. When’s the last time you stayed anywhere for nine months?”

Damien exhaled. That hurt. He’d been away working hard at his passion and trying to make music that told the truth.

Countless people had told him his music had helped them through the ups and downs of their lives.

But now he tried to see his career from Crystal’s perspective.

“You mean she thinks I’m only capable of having a fling? ”

Finn glanced at him. “Aren’t you?”

The idea infuriated Damien. “No!” But it made him think. Crystal was relationship material. Of course she was. But she’d been his friend for so long that it was hard to mentally make the transition.

From the moment she’d suddenly emerged as this sexy, confident woman he wanted to throw onto the nearest available bed… well, going back to just being friends didn’t seem like a viable option.

The thought thrilled him and terrified him in equal measure.