California Sunsets

Co-authored with Nicky Arden

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SNEAK PEEK #2
© 2024 Bella Andre & Nicky Arden

Since Erin had walked to their morning coffee date, Mila drove her to Jay’s new house. She always felt at home in her sister’s SUV because it was the perfect encapsulation of Mila’s personality: smart enough that she could impress clients and take them to view houses, but with plenty of room for surfboards and wetsuits. Anywhere Mila could be herself, Erin felt more like herself, too.

What, she wondered, made her so interested in the idea of a home? For as long as she could remember, Erin had felt a deep curiosity about other people’s homes—how they were decorated, the objects chosen to fill the rooms—even what was in a stranger’s fridge. Partly it must have been down to her natural inquisitive nature as a journalist, but maybe it was more than that. Her parents, Howie and Betsy, had created a beautiful home for their six children. A true family home. Perhaps, deep down, Erin possessed an innate desire to do the same.

As the house came into view, Erin could hardly believe she was about to see inside. She didn’t know why she loved this house, of all the gorgeous houses on Scenic Drive. It wasn’t the flashiest, it wasn’t the biggest, but to her it was perfect. Made of Carmel stone that almost glowed when the sun shone, it had been built in the thirties and reflected the Art Deco craze that had swept the town, with its sensational Deco-style windows. As it was built on a corner lot, nearly every room would have ocean views. She couldn’t imagine anything more peaceful.

Mila parked and they headed up the path to the house. As Mila unlocked the door, excitement bubbled up in Erin. She stepped inside and sighed with satisfaction. It was as gorgeous inside as she’d imagined. As she’d suspected, the living room looked directly over the ocean. There was a beautiful stone fireplace, high ceilings, and since no one was living there yet, it was empty of furniture.

Her imagination began to run wild and she knew exactly how she would decorate this place if it were hers. It begged for comfy Mission-style furniture, maybe a Tiffany lamp or two. Soft, warm lighting and huge bookcases to line the walls. And over there was the perfect place for a cozy armchair, where she might unwind in the evenings with a good book and a glass of good red wine.

Mila gave her the spiel about square footage but Erin was too busy soaking in the atmosphere of the place to care about numbers. Down the hallway, she was delighted to find a room obviously built as a library, with floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves. Would Jay put his comic books in them? Or his model train collection?

There was a beautiful big gourmet kitchen, and across the hall was a room that looked out into a private garden filled with lush plants and silvery succulents.

Mila said, “This will be Jay’s office,” though it was pretty obvious it had been set up by the last people as an office too. There were still marks in the carpet where the desk had been, and enough power outlets in the wall to run the technology for a pretty big company.

“Do you know why the previous owners sold this place?” Erin asked. “I can’t imagine ever wanting to leave.”

Mila gave a shrug. “They wanted something bigger, if you can believe it.”

Erin shook her head. This place had more than enough space for everything she’d ever dreamed.

As they climbed the oak staircase to the next level, Mila said, “There are six ensuite bedrooms. I wasn’t sure Jay would want that many, but he seemed really pleased. He said he can invite friends and family and maybe some of his top clients to stay.”

Erin’s eyes grew wider as they walked into the master bedroom—probably the nicest room she’d ever seen in her life. Period. It was positioned to have the most glorious view of the ocean, with its shimmering, green-tinged waves and rocky alcoves, all framed by the green leaves of ancient trees. There was something incredibly romantic about the Deco arched windows framing the vista. It was as though she’d stepped inside an old novel full of martini glasses and swing dancing and late-night cigars. The crown jewel was the beautiful Deco fireplace in one wall, though it had been converted to gas at some point.

“Wow,” she breathed and then glanced at Mila. “I think this bedroom is bigger than my whole apartment.”

“I know, right?”

Mila didn’t live in as small a space as Erin did, but her two-bedroom fairytale cottage would fit inside Jay’s new house about four times.

She was about to ask to see the rest of the bedrooms when the front door banged shut.

She gazed at Mila in horror and grabbed her arm. “Who’s that?”

Mila looked worried. “The only other person who has a key is Jay. He must have come back early. I’m sure he won’t mind, Erin.”

Now she heard footsteps on the stairs, almost like a horror movie, except this wasn’t a scary monster—it was a brash Hollywood agent. She was shot through with mortification. Jay was about to discover her snooping around his new home.

She’d almost prefer the scary monster.

Sure enough, Jay’s tall, broad-shouldered frame filled the doorway. He’d yet to take off his Ray-Ban sunglasses, and he cut a striking figure in a pair of designer jeans and a polo shirt that showed off his powerful arms. He walked straight into the bedroom, finally lowering his sunglasses. He didn’t look annoyed or even surprised to see them. If anything, he looked pleased.

“Mila, Erin, good to see you. I saw your car out front.”

Erin was absolutely tongue-tied and could feel herself blushing. To be found touring his house when he wasn’t even there seemed completely inappropriate. But Jay didn’t seem the least bit put out. His rugged face was tanned, his expression confident. He had an intense sexuality about him. He had started to go bald early and so kept his head shaved. Somehow it made him look more virile.

Mila shook Jay’s hand warmly. “I was just dropping off your extra set of keys and Erin was with me, so I gave her a tour.” She shot a quick look at Erin and added, “But I need to get going. Can you show Erin around? She hasn’t even seen the garden yet.”

Erin started to back away and was about to say she’d rather catch a ride to her editorial meeting with Mila, when Jay replied, “Sure. I’d be happy to.” He gave Erin a wide smile, showing off his straight, white teeth. “You’re the first person to see my new house. I can’t wait to hear what you think.”

His tone was so earnest and he was so obviously delighted that she didn’t have the heart to refuse.

* * *

Jay felt like pinching himself every time he walked into his new home. The light-years between where he’d come from and where he was now shocked even him. And of the few who would appreciate the house as much as he did, he suspected Erin was one. He bet she would appreciate the quality and the old-school charm the way he did.

When the front door closed behind Mila, he grinned at his unexpected guest. “This is my favorite room in the house. The best views are from this bedroom. And believe me, the sunsets are amazing. Incredible. I mean, I walked in here and all I could think of was hot sex.”

Erin’s mouth fell open and she took a step back. “Jay!”

“What? Am I oversharing? Surely we’ve known each other long enough for you to know I’m not a virgin.” He laughed, a little taken aback by Erin’s reaction. Sometimes he said things without realizing how they might be taken.

“Definitely oversharing,” Erin said in a prim and proper way.

He found himself grinning down at Archer’s kid sister. In truth, he’d always thought of her as someone a bit younger to tease. Although now, looking at her standing in the middle of his empty bedroom with a slight blush on her cheeks, he felt a flicker of something else, something he’d denied to himself over the years, shutting down the thought as soon as it appeared.

But with her petite frame silhouetted against the window, he realized Erin Davenport was beautiful. Really beautiful. How had he not seen this so clearly before? He frowned at himself. Surely he was not attracted to Archer’s kid sister. He liked Erin, he respected her intelligence and the way she saw things that other people didn’t notice, but no way could he ever have feelings for the sister of one of his top clients. Archer would actually kill him and bury his body in the Big Sur wilderness, and he wouldn’t blame his client and friend. They’d been through a lot together.

Archer probably knew more about his personal life than he was comfortable with. Jay knew that his string of women was longer than most, and even though he always tried to keep things casual, to be absolutely clear that he was married to his work and his clients would always come first, he’d left the odd broken heart in his wake.

He stood by the window for a moment, still a little stunned that this was really going to be his view every day, then turned to Erin and suggested they continue the tour. He walked out of the bedroom and she followed more slowly. He couldn’t stop himself from asking if Mila had told her there were six bedrooms. Erin nodded.

He knew he sounded as though he were bragging, but every time he was reminded of the house’s size, he flashed back to his childhood home—a roach-infested apartment with no dad around and a drug-addicted mother who was barely hanging on. They had mostly lived on the meals he’d learned to cook when he was about seven. Probably about the time he learned to hustle. He could usually get an extra-large portion of the school lunch by making nice to the lunch ladies. He soon learned which grocery stores threw out produce that was going bad or packaged goods that were stale. And, while he wasn’t proud that he’d had to steal money from his mom when she was passed out, he’d managed to keep them both alive.

Until he couldn’t.

He pushed the unhappy memories away, wondering why his mind would even go there when his life now was everything that frightened and unhappy boy had dreamed of. For a fleeting second, he wished his mom were still alive. He had so much money now he could have put her in rehab, got her the help she needed. Though, deep down, he knew it wouldn’t have succeeded.

He walked Erin down the hall and pointed out the bedrooms and the bathrooms, each of which had been painted in a different color. He was hoping she might share her ideas about the place. Erin had great taste. In fact, she was one of the classiest women he knew.

Instead, she just nodded again, then glanced at her watch. “I should really get going. I have an editorial meeting.”

His spirits drooped a little. “Come on, the Sea Shell can do without you for ten more minutes.” He didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to be alone in this big, echoing house that had no furniture in it yet. He liked having Erin here; the Davenports were as close to family as he’d ever had. It made him happy that the first two people who’d seen it with him were the two Davenport sisters.

When they got to the fifth ensuite bedroom she asked, “What do you want all these bedrooms for?”

He gave a stock answer. “Friends and family. Really special clients.” He didn’t share that secretly, he dreamed of filling these bedrooms with children. He didn’t know where or when he was going to find the kind of woman he actually wanted to settle down with, but he had this feeling that it was the next step for him. Jay had always liked to have the next step planned out.

She gazed around. “It’s architecturally brilliant, but strangely, at the same time it feels more like a family home.”

Jay smiled a small smile. Once again, Erin had seen through him. He shrugged. “Maybe. But the minute Mila showed me this house I knew it was The One.”

She looked slightly puzzled. “Really? I wouldn’t have chosen this house for you.”

He felt a little taken aback, almost offended. “Why not?”

She seemed to choose her words carefully. “It’s not flashy enough.”

His eyebrows shot up. “I’m not always flashy. That’s so not fair.”

Humor lit up her hazel eyes, which were fringed with thick, fluttery lashes. “Yes, you are.” She began to tap the fingers of her left hand with the index finger of her right. “You drive the most expensive car I’ve ever seen—all your clothes are custom made—you never buy a T-shirt off the rack—you fly to Milan once a year for suits and shoes.”

He laughed. “Come on, short stuff. You know that’s just for my image. As I told Arch when he first asked me to be his agent—when I had zero experience and he didn’t have much more as an actor—in Hollywood, and frankly in life, image is everything.”

They walked down the stairs and Jay lingered by the library archway. “Apart from the master bedroom, this is my favorite room in the whole place.”

Erin’s face said it all.

“What? You think I don’t read?” Again, Jay found himself offended just by her expression.

Erin looked a little flushed. “Come on, you’re a movie guy.”

She wasn’t to know, but Erin had hit a real sore spot. Jay was self-educated, and in fact had taught himself to read using cereal boxes and his mom’s gossip magazines.

“Do you know how many scripts I read in a week?” Jay shot back. Then he softened. It wasn’t the first time someone had believed him to be all talk and a fat wallet. “But that’s not all. I have enough books to fill this room twice over. In fact, I’ll have to have more bookshelves built in the living room.”

Erin still looked a little incredulous, so he explained how he’d started reading scripts at an early age, then progressed to devouring every screenwriting book before discovering the literary greats of the twentieth century. “It wasn’t long before I was going even further back and enjoying Plato and Socrates. Now I read a lot of modern philosophers.”

He could see Erin absorbing this information and he stiffened, waiting for another jibe. Instead, she said, “I can’t wait to see your library. I guess some of the philosophers were also great negotiators, and so are you.”

He stared at her for a moment, searching her expression for a sign that she was teasing him. But her eyes were wide and earnest. It was the nicest thing she’d ever said to him, aligning his work and his outlook with those of the great philosophers. Heck, it was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him.

He smiled at her and tried to push down that flash of attraction that was growing now. He studied Erin again, the strawberry blonde hair tied up in a messy ponytail, no makeup, casual clothes. She was nothing like the models he was used to dating, who shapeshifted according to the latest fashion, surprising him by turning up to dinner with a blunt bob and bleached eyebrows or transforming from a curly redhead to a siren with straight jet-black hair. For the longest time, he’d found it seductive to be kept on his toes this way, but looking now at Erin—the familiarity of her, how comfortable she was in her own skin—he realized it was sexy as hell.

He had always respected her smarts and the way she could read people. It had made him extra careful about keeping up his tough front when she was around. He didn’t want her sussing out his more than humble beginnings.

He took a deep breath and told himself to snap out of it. This was Arch’s little sister. About as close to a NO GO area as it got. Besides, if Erin was starting to see that he was more than her big brother’s Hollywood agent, he didn’t want to say anything clumsy that might change her mind.

The way she was looking at him now felt too good to jeopardize…

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CALIFORNIA SUNSETSThe DavenportsMeet the Davenport family! Six brothers and sisters who call picturesque Carmel-by-the-Sea home. Successful, brilliant, and passionate, the only thing they all still need is the perfect partner in love and life.  

Erin Davenport always imagined she’d end up with a quiet man. Someone like her.

Then she met Jay Malone.

He’s the loudest, pushiest, most sales-oriented man she’s ever met. A top Hollywood agent, Jay’s bought a waterfront house in Carmel, and everywhere Erin turns, he seems to be there, Big, gorgeous and pulsing with life. He seems to go through women like candy, but Erin has no intention of being his latest treat.

Jay can sell anything to anyone. He turned a hot young surfer into an A list movie star, so why is it so hard to sell himself to Archer Davenport’s sister? Erin isn’t like anyone he’s ever known. He’s been in Hollywood so long, he’s accustomed to being surrounded by some of the most beautiful, talented women in the world. But Erin attracts him in a way no other woman ever has. She’s gorgeous and rarely bothers with makeup or fancy clothes. She’s a brilliant writer, but happy to work for the local newspaper, The Sea Shell.

He thinks she’s the woman he’s been looking for all his life. But can he convince the emotionally risk-averse writer to take a chance on their love story?

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California Sunsets Second Excerpt

California Sunsets

SNEAK PEEK #2
© 2024 Bella Andre & Nicky Arden

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