She lowered her head and gently banged her forehead on the desk in frustration. In the immortal words of Rose Castorini, her life was going down the toilet.
She’d had sex with her best friend, cheated on her perfect boyfriend, then fallen in love with said best friend; her novel was destined for the Great Recycle Bin in the Sky; and Dr. Perfect had lost his luster.
When Blake came home, she’d been so certain the planets would realign and life would get back to normal—if having a fictional character who comes to life as your boyfriend was considered normal. But that was before her emotional epiphany. Now, she felt restless and cross.
Blake handled her mood swings with the same aplomb with which he handled reattaching severed limbs, which only frustrated her more. She wanted him to react, to show anger or confusion or something besides superb composure.
Josh would have given her a metaphorical slap on the back of the head by now and told her to get over herself.
“Darcy, I’ve got those edits you requested,” Millie said as she entered the room, a pen stuck behind her ear, carrying pages of Darcy’s dreadful manuscript. “Great sex scene. Who doesn’t love Suspended Congress?”
Darcy’s brows winged up in surprise at Millie’s reference to the Kama Sutra.
“I’ve corrected some of your word usages,” Millie said, then she released a gusty sigh. “But the problems with it go much deeper than just words. You’ve got real issues with your character development, especially your hero. He’s either bipolar or has multiple personality disorder—or maybe he has a secret twin.”
“I know, I know.” She rose to pace the room. “I’m blocked. For the first time in my career I’m completely and totally blocked. Look at that thing.” She jabbed her finger at the blank computer screen as if she were pointing to a freak of nature. “It just sits there, taunting me.”
“The best way to tackle a problem is to divide it up into manageable pieces and take them one piece at a time. Once you’ve corrected the problems, the rest will follow.”
Millie handed Darcy the manuscript. “With that in mind, I made a list of the inconsistencies and color-coded them on the manuscript. I suggest you take them one at a time and either make your hero an alpha or a beta.”
Darcy reluctantly took the marked-up pages from Millie. “Writing is not a checklist to be ticked off one item at a time,” she said, indignant. “It’s a creative process born in the imagination, crafted with love and artistry.”
“And how’s that working for you this time around? I’ll bring up a pot of tea. You’re going to need it.”
Groaning, Darcy sat back down at her desk, fingers poised over the keys and waited. And waited. Nothing. She stuck her tongue out at the screen in contempt before propping her chin in her hand. So much for love and artistry.
Outside her window, the dove’s nest sat empty, their offspring having long since fledged the nest. Yet, she was no closer to happily-ever-after now than she’d been before—in either her manuscript or her life.
Chapter 36
Elated, Josh’s feet barely touched the ground as he strode down the sidewalk to Kelly’s house, whistling a cheerful tune. This kind of news required face-to-face interaction. He bet on her being home since Daniel’s school day was over. The Friday before a holiday weekend, what better day to give good news?
He knocked on the front door, tapping his foot to a lively internal beat, waiting for Kelly to open it.
“Josh.
Without saying a word, he grabbed her up and swung her around in a circle.
“Josh! What are you doing? Have you lost your—” Her eyes opened wide. “You did it didn’t you? You closed the deal on the house!”
“Signed, sealed, and delivered.” He released her before handing her a packet of papers. “You no longer have the foreclosure ax hanging over your head. You have payments you can afford, at a reasonable interest rate. Your closing date is in two weeks.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She kissed him on each cheek and then the mouth, laughing and crying at the same time. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough, even if I live to be a hundred years old!”
Josh’s spirit soared at the heartfelt gratitude. “It was my pleasure. Just seeing you so happy and relieved is thanks enough.”
“Oh my goodness! I have to tell Daniel!” She turned to enter the house, then grabbed Josh’s wrist and pulled him along. “Come on!”
Once inside the house, she shouted up the stairs, “Daniel! Come here.”
Daniel poked his head around the corner. “What’d I do?”
“Nothing,” she laughed, bouncing up and down like an excited child.
Daniel plodded down the stairs. “‘Sup, Josh?”
Josh just rocked back on his heels and smiled.
Daniel looked between his mom and Josh. “Have you been sneaking into the liquor cabinet like Grandpa Rudy?”
Kelly grasped Daniel’s hands, her eyes bright with tears and excitement. “We’re home, Daniel!”
Perplexed, Daniel threw up his hands. “Of course we’re home. Where else would we be?”
Kelly giggled. “No, we don’t have to worry about losing our house anymore. Josh fixed everything!”
Understanding dawned on Daniel’s face as he glanced at Josh. “No kidding? You did it?”
Josh nodded.
“That’s epic, dude!” Daniel raised his hand for a high five.
Instead of returning the high-five, Josh grabbed Daniel into a bear hug, slapping him on the back. Daniel hesitated a moment before hugging him back, but when he did, Josh saw the look on Kelly’s face as she raised her hand to her mouth and smiled.
“What do you say about going out to celebrate?” Josh asked as Daniel recovered his teenage composure. “Dinner and ice cream on me!”
“Sweet!” Daniel said, already headed out the door.
You said it, kid.
Kelly placed a hand on Josh’s arm. “Daniel has really come out of his shell. Helping you with the little league baseball team, making good grades in school, even trying out for his school’s basketball team.”
“And his chess skills are coming along too. Won’t be long before he beats me.” Josh rocked back on his heels.
“It’s all your doing. I owe you so much.”
Josh looked down at his feet a moment, before gazing into Kelly’s watery eyes. “I get far more than I give.”
Summer ended on a quiet rainy note with a simple Butler family dinner sans Anne’s husband, Matt. The two were still separated, leaving Darcy to wonder if they would ever patch up their differences.
Darcy set the table as Josh bounced a fussy Olivia on his hip, trying in vain to get a smile out of her. He was so good with the kids, never losing his patience, even when the toddler displayed a trait she’d inherited from her mother—contrariness.
Speaking of contrariness, Anne and her mother argued in the kitchen over whether to make balsamic or mustard vinaigrette dressing for the salad, until Josh suggested they make both.
Her father stood out in the summer kitchen firing up the grill for fish as the rain fell in a light mist beyond the cover of the porch. Brandon and David supervised Will and Sam as they played Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii.
Most people wished for sun on Labor Day, but Darcy was content with the rain. It lent a cozy feel to the gathering and encouraged closer familial interaction. She and Josh had finally reached some sort of unspoken accord with one another. Neither of them brought up the incident, and they went about their business as friends, both to Darcy’s relief and dismay. Josh hadn’t given any sign that he might have feelings for her beyond those of a friend.
Yankee games were still a regular outing for them, as was the batting cage, but they were both careful not to touch one another. She
missed the easy affection between them, but she supposed it was for the best.
Even if Blake weren’t in the picture—and currently he wasn’t, since he’d left for Tasmania several days ago—the whole friends with benefits arrangement rarely worked out, and she didn’t think she could handle having sex with Josh knowing she loved him and he didn’t reciprocate those feelings.
She had just put the finishing touches on the table setting when she heard the front door slam.
“Where is she?” Matt asked, his coal-black hair glistening with raindrops.
Darcy stood mute, then pointed toward the kitchen before following her brother-in-law in the same direction. Josh, Brandon, and David fell into line behind them.
Matt planted his feet in front of Anne. “I want to come home.”
Anne faced off, hands on her hips, and fire in her eyes. “And I want a body like Heidi Klum, but we can’t always have what we want.” She went back to her salad dressing, whisking it with a vengeance.
Her father drifted in from the porch, apparently having heard the commotion.
“You never want to have sex anymore,” Matt blurted out.
Her father groaned and exited stage left, while Brandon snickered.
“All right. Time to go.” Darcy turned to the rest of her family, trying to herd them out of the kitchen. Like her father, she sure didn’t want to hear a discussion of Anne and Matt’s sex life, or lack thereof. “Josh, you coming?”
“Because I’m exhausted all the time,” Anne replied. “Maybe if you helped around the house more I wouldn’t be so tired.”
“I’m working seventy to eighty hours a week trying to grow my construction business!” Matt replied.
“Yeah? Well, I have a business to grow, too. Then I come home and work some more.”
“Okay, maybe we can find some common ground here,” Josh interjected.
“Butt out, Perry Mason,” Matt said.
“Hey, Bob the Builder!” Darcy poked Matt in the arm. “Who are you calling Perry Mason?”
“Darcy, it’s okay,” Josh cajoled.
“No. No, it’s not okay. Nobody calls you a name and gets away with it,” she said, indignant.
“I don’t mind being called Perry Mason. It’s kind of flattering, actually.”
He grinned as Darcy rolled her eyes.
Matt ignored the exchange.
“You take me for granted,” Anne said.
“What? I— What’s that supposed to mean?” Matt spluttered.
“Exactly what I said. I buy the groceries, I cook the meals, I do the laundry, take the girls to their doctor’s appointments, dance lessons, piano lessons, and I don’t get one word of gratitude. It’s as if it’s expected!”
“I don’t expect all that!”
“Well, I don’t see you offering to do any of it! If I didn’t do it, it wouldn’t get done.”
“Look, guys, I think there’s a solution to this. Don’t throw away ten years of marriage over something that can be easily fixed.”
Anne and Matt glared at Josh.
“It sounds like the two of you need to clear the air, then take a step back and analyze the issues. That’s what you both do at work, right? You analyze problems and solve them.”
“Yeah,” Matt muttered.
“Okay,” Anne said.
“Great. So, Anne, you feel like you’re underappreciated. Am I right?”
“Unappreciated,” Anne corrected. “The applicable prefix is ‘un’.”
“Okay. And Matt, you feel like you’re, um, lonely.”
“Damn, right.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Let’s sit down and work this through.”
Darcy watched in stunned silence as her often intractable sister followed Josh and Matt into the living room.
Her father reappeared. “What’s going on?”
“Josh is playing marriage counselor.”
“Better that than sex therapist,” her father mumbled as he returned to the grill.
Josh wiped his hands on the dishtowel after loading the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. The satisfaction he’d felt over resolving Kelly’s mortgage problem settled over him again when he thought about Anne and Matt.
The Butler’s dinner had waited over an hour while Anne and Matt hashed out their issues. After tears and angry outbursts, accusations and pent-up frustrations, it had all boiled down to complacency. They’d both become so busy with their daily lives—work, kids, chores, errands—that they’d forgotten to take time for themselves.
After divvying up the chores to take some of the burden off Anne, Josh had suggested they do one nice thing a day for each other—and schedule a date night each week. And Matt promised to take care of the kids one night each week so Anne could have some downtime.
And Vanessa and Jeff had been more than willing to keep their granddaughters one night a week to give Anne and Matt some alone time.
Josh had quietly suggested to Vanessa that she take the girls that night since Matt and Anne could barely keep their hands off each other during dinner. They left shortly after dinner, skipping out on dessert.
At least someone’s love life had hope.
Chapter 37
Josh nervously adjusted his black tie, scanning the room for anything that might be amiss, as the hotel staff put the finishing touches on the table settings for the Silver Linings Ball to benefit the Women’s Legal Fund of Harlem. The Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria sparkled like the grand dames of old who once frequented its luxurious accommodations.
He glanced at his watch. The guests wouldn’t begin arriving for another half hour or so, leaving plenty of time to correct any problems that arose. He’d never taken on an endeavor of this magnitude. As the event’s working chair, he’d put together a committee of dedicated volunteers who, like him, had put their heart and soul into this event, and it showed.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find the Legal Fund’s Executive Director, Sherry Stevens, and the Mayor’s wife and Honorary Event Chair, Meredith Stokes. Both wore broad smiles to complement their elegant evening gowns.
“Josh, what a job you’ve done!” Sherry said, assessing the room’s silver and white décor. “It’s more than I ever could have imagined. We hope to raise a good deal of money for the Fund tonight—more than we’ve ever raised.”
“I can’t take credit,” Josh replied. “I have the event committee and Mrs. Stokes to thank for their hard work and constant support.” The Mayor’s wife had been instrumental in recruiting New York’s well-connected movers and shakers. Laura had also been crucial to the event’s great attendance because of her many business connections.
This was the first year the gala had such a high-profile honorary chair. Being introduced to her by one of the firm’s senior partners at the opera in April had been the first step to getting her on board.
He glanced up to see Laura gliding toward them in a silver lamé gown reminiscent of something out of the classic Hollywood movies his mother loved to watch. The dress swirled around her like liquid silver, hugging her long legs and voluptuous body. The Veronica Lake hairstyle she wore added to the Hollywood effect.
Every head turned to observe her entrance. Of course he’d noticed her beauty before. What man wouldn’t? But tonight she looked stunning. It was her personality that rubbed him the wrong way.
“And here’s who we have to thank for the elegant venue,” he said, indicating Laura as she approached.
He introduced Laura to Mrs. Stokes and Sherry. “Laura served as the chair of the marketing and PR committee. Her advertising agency recently wrapped up a PR campaign for the Waldorf, and Laura convinced them that holding a fundraiser at their hotel for such a worthy cause would be good PR.”
“That’s ma
rvelous, Laura!” Sherry said. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Laura said with a smile.
“Ah, there’s Senator Briggs.” Mrs. Stokes turned to Sherry. “Let me introduce you.”
Josh watched as Sherry and Mrs. Stokes approached a portly man with a comb-over.
Laura leaned in and whispered, “Ass kisser.”
Not tonight, Josh thought. He wasn’t going to spar with her tonight. “Goddess.”
Laura recoiled as if she’d been slapped. “What?”
He gazed into her blue eyes. “You look like a movie star from Hollywood’s glamour days.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Josh Ryan?”
He laughed. “I’m too excited to fight with you tonight. In fact, I don’t think I’ve told you what a terrific job you did heading up the PR committee. I really appreciate it.”
“Thanks.” She waved her hand, dismissing the compliment. “It’s what I do. But don’t think for a minute that when this is all over I’m not going to go back to loathing you.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He offered her his arm. “And why do you loathe me, exactly?”
“Because you’re just too nice a guy,” she said, as if it should be obvious.
Josh had just completed a final circuit of the ballroom when he saw Darcy and Blake approach. Darcy was the glam to Laura’s glitz. Draped in a dress the color of dark plums, her graceful petite body left him longing to pull her into his arms. She’d piled her golden brown hair on top of her head, leaving some curls to float around her face, and her green eyes sparkled with excitement and wonder.
He’d meant it when he told Laura she looked like a movie star, but Darcy looked like royalty. Blake, on the other hand, gave a good impression of 007 in his white dinner jacket. Always got to one-up everyone.
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