Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
But ultimately Jay had been right. He had good instincts. And that made Erin feel a lot better about the fact that she was falling in love with him.
While Mila and Erin set the table, Arch was frying bacon and Hersch had been tasked with making toast.
Mila said, “Can you believe those two are BFFs now? They all played poker last night at Archer’s house, you know.”
“Really?” Erin tried to sound surprised, even though she’d overheard Arch inviting Jay. Presumably, he’d had to cancel, since he was still in LA. She missed Jay. Were they just going to be friends with benefits? Or could there be something more? The one thing she knew for sure was that the air didn’t spark as much for her when he wasn’t around. Nothing did.
Her mom had the radio playing softly in the background, and then the love song Damien had written for Arch and Tessa came on. Betsy raced across the kitchen to turn it up. No one was prouder of her children than she. Whether her rock-star son had created another top-selling hit, or Erin had written a particularly poignant article in the local newspaper, she was just as proud.
Damien looked a little sheepish as the song played. He was always modest about his success and favored privacy over fame. Erin had often thought that if Damien could find a way to play his guitar and write songs with no one ever knowing his name or recognizing his face, he would.
Finn suddenly said, “Listen—Did you guys know that this love song is one of Damien’s top-selling songs ever?”
Everyone burst out laughing, because Damien was famous for not ever writing a love song.
Dad said, “Are you going to write some more love songs, son? You clearly have a talent for it.”
Damien just shrugged and carried on slicing melon. Erin took in her brother, his head bent, intent on his task. “Maybe you have to be in love before you can,” she said.
Now Damien turned around for the first time. He looked over at her and nodded. “I think you might be right, little sis. When I watched Arch and Tessa, I felt their love, but I don’t think I’ve ever had that pleasure myself.” When Finn made a gagging motion, Damien backtracked. “Okay, lots of pleasure, obviously, but I don’t believe I’ve ever been in love.”
“You’ll know it when it happens,” Arch said, reaching out to touch Tessa. “And it’s the best feeling in the world.”
“Sure is,” Mila agreed. And then she put down her handful of butter knives and walked over to hug Herschel.
Finn said, “I don’t feel so good, Mom. I think I’m going to be sick.”
Erin smiled, but behind it, she wondered if, while Arch and Mila had both been lucky in love, she might be destined to fall for the guy who was totally wrong for her. She picked up the butter knives and resumed setting the table, but then she heard a familiar voice.
“Hope it’s okay that I dropped in,” Jay boomed as he entered the room.
Erin looked up, aghast, and the last knife landed on a plate with a crash. For a second, each family member turned from Jay to Erin. It wasn’t like her to drop things.
Nick said, “Okay there, butter fingers?”
A flush bloomed in Erin’s cheeks, but she fought hard to retain her composure. No way was she going to let everyone know how wildly bothered she was by Jay’s unexpected entrance, his crisp white shirt and jeans, his freshly shaved head and sexy stubble. He hadn’t left her mind in two days and she could still feel the imprint of his touch all over her body.
Mom calmly finished plating the scrambled eggs and then went straight over to Jay to hug him hello. “No invitation needed,” she assured him. “You’re always welcome for breakfast.”
He said a general good morning to everyone and then glanced at Erin. Nelson was with him and bounded straight over for a cuddle and a scratch. She laughed and bent to oblige him. She’d missed Nelson too.
She looked back up at Jay and casually, he said, “Morning, short stuff.”
“Morning, big shot.”
Something teasing and sexy flickered in his eyes and then it was gone. All chummy now, he turned to Arch, clapped him on the back and said, “Sorry I had to miss poker last night.”
Arch smiled. “Aw, I’ll fleece you next time.”
Speaking of poker, as they all settled down for breakfast, Erin wondered how she was going to keep a lid on her feelings. She had the most useless poker face ever. To make matters worse, Jay made sure he got the seat next to her. As everyone began passing plates and discussing their days ahead, Jay helped himself to eggs and said in a low voice, under the babble of all the rest of her siblings, “You missed me, didn’t you?”