Page 69 of California Dreaming

“We wanted to tell you ourselves, before news gets out.” Smith’s eyes were bright with joy. “Valentina and I are expecting a baby.”

Arch let out a whoop of excitement. Then he said, “That’s fantastic news. I couldn’t be happier. You’re a lucky man.”

“Don’t I know it,” Smith said, giving Valentina a kiss.

“Congratulations,” Tessa said.

“You guessed, didn’t you?” Valentina said, turning to Tessa.

“Between the herbal tea and the way you’ve been resting your hand on your belly, I was beginning to wonder.”

“We should celebrate,” Arch said. “And with more than herbal tea.”

“I think there’s some sparkling apple juice in the pantry,” Tessa said.

And so they toasted Valentina and Smith’s baby with sparkling apple juice, and the four of them were soon chatting like old friends. He felt as though Tessa had always been part of his life.

He glanced from one beautiful woman, who was glowing with new life, to another beautiful woman and tried to picture Tessa and him one day announcing their pregnancy to Smith and Valentina. The thought made Arch’s heart skip a beat. Because Smith had been right.

Oh yes. Arch was head over heels in love with Tessa.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

As soon as Tessa left the house that afternoon to paint, Arch texted Mila.

The coast is clear.

There in five;)

Mila wasn’t going to be able to resist teasing him all afternoon. But it was worth it. Along with her great sense of fashion, Mila would know the right outfit to suit Tessa’s taste and shape, but not make her feel like she was playing a part.

He wasn’t blind to Tessa’s total reluctance to be his date for Moonrise. It was in her eyes every time he mentioned it and had only become more apparent after Smith and Valentina’s visit.

Mila came to collect him in a white Porsche SUV, suitable for driving her clients around, yet with plenty of room for surfboards during her leisure time.

He maneuvered himself into the passenger seat, swinging his booted leg in.

“Did you have a good rest of the morning?” she asked brightly.

As his sister drove them into town, he told her how Smith and Valentina had dropped by and how they’d prepped for the awards ceremony. He didn’t share their news, knowing that Smith wanted to keep the pregnancy private for as long as possible.

“Now, there’s a couple deeply in love,” Mila said, sighing a little.

Arch couldn’t tell whether his sister was hinting at something going on between him and Tessa, or whether she was thinking about herself. So far, his sister hadn’t been very lucky in love.

If only he could tell her that it just took one person, one magical person, to come into your life when you least expected it. But this would break his promise to Tessa. Because unlike Smith, Mila was not discreet.

Arch murmured his agreement and then swiftly changed the subject. “Where are we headed first?”

Mila turned left. “Dominique’s, my absolute favorite boutique in Carmel. They have exquisite gowns I’ve always admired, but have absolutely no place to wear. Movie stars don’t invite me to fancy events.”

“You have been invited to every premiere of every movie I’ve ever made,” he reminded her.

“I know. But presenting at Moonrise is taking things up a notch. So this is like a dream shopping experience for me.” She sounded so excited about choosing a dress that he stopped arguing. If the dress could make Tessa even half as happy as Mila was right now, he’d have done a good job.

She parked as close to Dominique’s as she could, and they walked the short distance to the fashionable boutique. She stopped at the window display before going inside.

“See?” she said, turning around triumphantly. “There’s a gorgeous dress right there in the window. They must have gotten new stock in, because it wasn’t there yesterday.”

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