by Elena Aitken
Dec was quiet for a moment. “What’s wrong with the cabin? Please don’t tell me you’re fighting with our brother. Or…it’s not Chelsea, is it?”
“Oh, God no. Chelsea is great. And I hate to admit it, but you were right all these years. We should have gotten to know her sooner.”
“No,” Dec said. “It wasn’t time then. I don’t think it would be the same. But I’m glad it’s happening now.” Mitch was glad too. “So if it’s not Chelsea…what the hell happened?”
Mitch laughed. “It’s not Ian,” he said. “You don’t have to assume the worst, Dec. It’s nothing but happy sibling harmony over here. In fact, Cal just showed up.”
“Cal is there too?”
Mitch thought he could detect a bit of envy in his brother’s voice.
“He is. And that’s kind of the problem. I know the house seemed plenty big when we were kids. But as you can imagine, it gets a whole lot smaller now that we’re all grown up. And don’t forget that Ian has Gwen living in the house too. It’s cozy. To say the least.”
“Of course—that is a full house. So, if you’re looking to buy, you’re looking for a cabin?”
It was an option, of course. He did have a house in the city. Hell, his job was in the city. But when he thought about buying property in Cedar Springs, it wasn’t just a summer home he was after. It was a permanent place. He would figure the job thing out later. “No,” he said. “I’m ready to move. Who do you know in town who could help me out?”
That had been two hours ago, and already Mitch was headed to see his first property with Milena Hill, the name Declan had given him. Mitch had sent an email right away, not expecting a reply for a few hours at the very least. To his surprise, Milena responded right away. She was fairly newly licensed and eager to help out. And according to her response, she had the perfect place for Mitch.
“One of the best parts about this place is how close it is to your family home,” Milena said now. She smiled, and for the first time, Mitch noticed how pretty she was. She was soft, with a spattering of freckles across her nose. A very girl-next-door type. And from what Mitch could tell, she was a lovely lady. Maybe even a nice girl. A month ago—hell, a few weeks ago—he might have even asked her out. But now the only woman he could think about was Jade. And if he was honest, she’d been the only woman all along. The fact that he was now firmly in the friend zone was something he’d figure out shortly. But first, the house.
“That will be a bonus for sure,” he said. “And really, I do want to thank you for taking the time to help me out on such short notice today.”
“It’s no problem, really. I owe Declan for referring me. It was really nice of him, and when you’re new in the business like I am, you can use all the referrals you can get.”
“How do you know Declan?” On one hand, Mitch knew his brother had connections everywhere. The brothers all joked about it, because Dec really was the nicest guy they knew. Seemed as if he knew everyone, and not only did everyone know him, they loved him.
“It’s crazy, really,” she said. “We kind of knew each other when we were kids. But it’s not like we were friends or anything. And then one day I saw him and his organization on Facebook. I thought he looked familiar and commented on one of his posts. He replied right away, and he remembered me. After that, I guess, we just became Facebook friends.” She held the clipboard tightly to her ample chest and smiled. “I know you can say what you want to about social media, but it really does connect people.”
Mitch nodded. He couldn’t disagree with that. “Well, I’m sure glad you guys were able to reconnect, especially if it means you have the perfect house to sell me today.” They laughed and for the next few minutes fell into easy conversation, until Milena stopped walking and pointed up the drive at what was in fact, the perfect house.
Chapter Ten
“That went really well, don’t you think?” Gwen turned to Jade, who still stared at Cal across the table. He’d just finished reading lines as an informal audition to play his brother. Jade nodded absently in Gwen’s direction, but she couldn’t stop staring at Cal. He was perfect. Maybe it was because he was a great actor just waiting to be discovered. Maybe it was because he was so similar to his brother in so many ways that it was easy to embody the character. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter because for the first time in a few weeks, Jade felt really excited about the project. Not that she hadn’t been excited before but it had been easy to lose sight of the joy once she’d gotten bogged down with all the details. But now that Jade was confident they had the right actor to play Ian, it was once again starting to feel real.
“Jade?”
She snapped out of her private thoughts and looked to both Gwen and Cal, who watched her, waiting for her response. She focused on Gwen for a moment. The woman looked as if she was about to bounce out of her seat. Clearly she felt the reading had gone just as well as Jade did. She shifted her glance to Cal, who actually looked nervous. She hadn’t expected that. After all, he was a professional.
She kept her face a careful mask of neutrality for another moment longer.
“Jade!”
She couldn’t keep it up. Jade let herself smile. “I think we’ve found our Ian McCormick.”
Cal let out a whoop and his face split into a smile. It was clear to see how he so successfully made his living. The man was gorgeous.
“Seriously?” Gwen grabbed her arm. “You think so, too?”
“Of course.” Jade nodded. “He was great. So natural and, you were the perfect mix of sexy and humble. It was perfect. I think you’re just the Ian McCormick we’re looking for.”
Cal laughed. “I can’t tell you how strange that sounds.”
“Tell me about it,” Gwen said. “That’s my fiancé you’re talking about.” She shook her head. “But it’s crazy how similar you guys are. I think you’re going to be perfect.” Gwen jumped up and hugged her soon-to-be brother-in-law before running around the table and giving Jade a spontaneous hug as well. “This is all coming together.”
Was it? Jade wasn’t quite as confident as Gwen. The script Cal had just read from wasn’t really a script at all, but some rough scribblings Gwen had pulled together the night before and not only was that concerning, it was borderline panic-inducing. Jade had promised Peter she’d have a script in hand and it would be perfect, but that had yet to materialize.
“It’s starting to,” Jade said cautiously. “We still have a few more details to work out, of course.”
“Of course.” Cal leaned in, his arms on the table. “Who’s going to play Gwen? Do you have an actress picked out or will you be holding auditions?”
“I’d like Blake Lively, of course.”
Jade stared at Gwen. “Blake Lively? As in Gossip Girl, Blake Lively?”
She nodded, completely serious. “I don’t think that will happen.” Blake Lively was an A-list working actress. There was no way she was going to drop her Hollywood lifestyle to come to Cedar Springs and work on a completely unknown show. She told Gwen as much. “No offense, Cal,” she added. “I mean, you’re definitely an up-and-comer, but this is still a completely new show with a risky concept and we’re being given a lot of free rein here, but I don’t—”
“So no Blake Lively?”
Gwen shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Any ideas then?” Cal asked again.
Jade had received a call from Peter that he had some ideas for who should play the lead, including an actress who was flying into LA for the audition, but she hadn’t found a chance yet to reply so she simply said, “We have a few leads, but nothing for sure. Can I have the office forward your agent a contract then? Is this official?” She shifted the subject.
Cal clapped his hands. “Absolutely.”
“Excellent. We should celebrate,” Gwen declared. “I know it’s not even noon, but we should have a toast to celebrate. We should go to the Paw for some champagne. I’ll call Ian and he can meet us there.”
; “Why not?” Jade was caught up in the moment, but she still needed to have a chat with Gwen about the script, or it would be her ass on the line. “Cal, would you mind going ahead? I need to talk a few things over with Gwen before we join you.”
“Nothing serious, I hope?”
“Not at all.” She smiled and kept it light until he left them alone. Then she turned to her friend. “What’s going on, Gwen? You told me you’d have a script and—”
“I know. I know. It’s just that it’s…well, it’s different than writing a blog.”
“Of course it is. But you wrote those lines that Cal just read and they were great.”
“You think so?”
“Um, yes.” Was Gwen really having self-confidence issues? She was one of the most self-confident women Jade had ever met. The woman had completely transformed her life and singlehandedly created a social media empire that was the entire reason they were sitting there at that moment. Was she having performance anxiety? “Gwen, it was fantastic.” She reached for her friend’s hand. “Are you really questioning your own capability on this project? You have no reason to be nervous, Gwen. You’re writing about your life.”
“That’s the hard part.” Her friend dropped her head between her hands and leaned on the table. “It’s so strange to think that people are going to be watching my life play out on TV. Don’t you think that’s weird?”
Jade hadn’t really stopped to think about it but she could see how it might be a little bit strange for sure. But she wasn’t going to tell Gwen that. “It’s going to be awesome,” she said. “You’re going to be awesome. But you really do need to start writing it. Peter wants to see something, but he’s given me the authority to approve it. Does that help? At least a little?”
Gwen nodded. “It actually does. Will you read what I have?”
Jade forced herself not to clap. She’d assumed Gwen didn’t have anything written at all. The fact that she had something, anything at all, was not only the best thing she’d heard all day, but possibly all week. “Of course.” She forced herself to be calm. “In fact, if you could send it over later today I’ll get started right away. I’m sure it’s amazing. And now that you have one of the main actors, doesn’t that help?”
Gwen nodded again. “It really does. Do we really have a lead actress who’s interested as well?”
“I think so.” Jade shrugged. “The LA office is handling most of the casting but Peter wanted me to be involved in the main roles. Did you want to know more?”
“Oh, God no.” Gwen shook her head so violently Jade almost laughed. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I do like having some say in it, but I’m happy to let you and the rest of the professionals handle the heavy lifting.”
“I’d hardly call myself a television professional. But it is kind of fun being involved,” Jade agreed. “What do you say we get going and go celebrate? And then you can—” Jade’s stomach twisted so violently, she clasped a hand over her mouth, afraid she was going to be sick.
“Jade.” Gwen was out of her chair and next to her in an instant. “Are you okay? You look green.”
With her hand still clasped over her mouth, Jade nodded slightly. She inhaled deeply through her nose and let the breath out slowly. A moment later, the nausea passed and she straightened her shoulders before tentatively dropping her hand. “I think I’m okay now.”
Gwen eyed her strangely. “Are you sure?”
She took another breath. This one a little deeper. “I…I think so. Yes. I’m not sure what just happened.” But she knew. It had happened before and was happening more and more frequently, mostly at inconvenient times. Not at all in the morning the way she’d assumed it would.
Judging by the look that had just come over Gwen’s face, she, too, knew what was going on. Her smile grew wide and she started to flap her hand as if she would burst.
“No,” Jade said, quickly shutting her down. “Don’t even think that.”
“Think what?” Gwen fluttered her hands to her chest and mimed a horrified expression. “I mean, if I didn’t know better, I would think that you might be—”
“Don’t say it!”
Gwen must have seen something in her eyes, because the smile faded, although not disappearing altogether, and she resumed her seat next to her. “Say what?” Her eyes danced mischievously. “That you’re—”
“I told you not to say it.”
“But…are you?”
She really wanted to just tell Gwen the truth, but she couldn’t. Not yet. Jade shook her head. “No. Of course not. And I don’t need there to be any rumors or anything getting back to Mitch.”
“Mitch?” Gwen all but yelled the name out in the bakery.
Jade jumped up and grabbed her hand before she sat down again. Hard. “I told you. I don’t want any rumors started.” Her eyes drilled into her friend’s, forcing her to understand. A look of hurt crossed Gwen’s face, and Jade tried not to feel guilty. “Besides, there’s nothing to tell him.”
Tell him. Of course. There was so much to tell him. And she’d do that. Soon.
The nausea returned, this time for an entirely different reason.
“Well, I think we should celebrate, don’t you?”
“Absolutely.” Mitch was more than ready to celebrate the purchase of his new home. He couldn’t even believe it happened so quickly. Anytime any kind of deal like that went smoothly, it was definitely reason to celebrate. Although, the celebrating he’d like to do involved a certain feisty brunette. But that would have to wait.
Would she be excited to find out he was moving to Cedar Springs? It was hard to tell with Jade. She had definitely implied she was looking for change herself, and with the show, she was going to be sticking around for a while. Maybe he’d be able to convince her to stick around for a whole lot longer.
“The best place I can think of to do that is the Grizzly Paw,” Milena said. “Are you up for it?”
It was barely past noon, but Mitch was definitely up for it. It only took them a few minutes to walk from Milena’s real estate office on Main Street to the Paw. Mitch held the door open for her and together they walked in to the bar.
Just as he’d expected, the place was already starting to fill up the way it always did on a summer day. It brought a smile to Mitch’s face to see how well local businesses were doing in Cedar Springs. Although, it did provide more of a challenge for the locals to find a table, but they were up to the task. And as it turned out, they didn’t even have to look long because the moment she spotted them, Gwen stood up and waved them over. Mitch’s heart leapt and something low in his gut tightened when he saw who she was sitting with.
Jade.
Had it really only been a day since he’d seen her? Not even—only a few hours really. But still his pulse quickened at the sight of her.
“What do you think?” he asked Milena. “Are you up for joining them?” He glanced at the woman next to him, and even in the dim light Mitch could see the blush on her cheeks. When he followed her gaze, he could see it landed squarely on his little brother, who was walking back to their table from the bar.
No way. Not that it surprised him, really. Ladies always seem to have a bit of a crush on Cal, especially those who knew who he was. Something about being a famous model had women lining up for him.
“Have you met my brother?” he asked her when she hadn’t answered his first question.
She shook her head in response. “Not really,” she said. “I mean, when we were kids I knew who he was and…”
“Well then, this seems like the perfect opportunity for a proper introduction.”
Mitch greeted Gwen with a quick hug and his brother with a slap on the back, but he hesitated when he greeted Jade. What he wanted to do was grab her and give her a kiss on the lips. The kind of kiss that was definitely not suitable for a public place. The kind of kiss that was absolutely not appropriate considering they were just friends. The kind of kiss that would let her know exactly what he wanted.
>
He settled for a quick hug and snuck in a chaste kiss on the cheek at the last minute. “It’s nice to see you again.” It was a stupid thing to say, but it was the only thing he could think of that was halfway appropriate. Especially considering she had no clue how drastically his feelings had changed. Or more accurately, how he’d finally accepted his true feelings.
“Cal, have you met Milena Hill? She’s just been helping me out this morning with something very important.” Mitch didn’t miss the little look Jade gave Milena out of the side of her eye. Was she jealous? Or maybe she knew what Milena did for a living and had already guessed what they had been up to? Oh, he was going to enjoy telling her.
With all of his usual charisma, Cal took Milena’s hand, gave her a deadly smile and kissed the top of it slowly. “Did we know each other when we were kids? That seems like a million years ago,” he said. “It is very nice to meet you, Milena.”
“Milena,” Gwen said, distracting her from Cal’s gaze. “I’m so glad to see you again.” She glanced to Jade and said as way of explanation, “I met Milena at the summer solstice festival. She actually kind of helped me make the decision to stay in town, and…in a way…Milena is kind of responsible for Ian and me.”
Milena shook her head hard. “Oh no,” she said. “I had nothing to do with it. I can’t take any credit at all, Gwen. In fact, you’re responsible for me. I mean…” She blushed hard and shook her head before she tried again. “What I mean is, you’re responsible for helping me get my life back. You’re an inspiration.” Milena looked to Jade and Mitch, her eyes only skimming over Cal, before she said, “Gwen’s blog changed my life. I read everything she wrote, and she absolutely was the inspiration for me to get healthy and leave a very bad relationship. In fact, if it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have had the self-confidence to go after my real estate license. So really, it’s you I have to thank for everything.”
The two women hugged and Mitch was afraid they would start crying. He glanced over their shoulders at Jade, who looked just as bewildered as he was. But there was something else in her eyes too. The look she gave him was intensely serious, as if she was trying to tell him something. He’d get to the bottom of that later.