Page 87 of California Dreaming

“Can’t you ask Jay to tell them that I’m your rehab nurse?”

“Nope.” He didn’t so much as pause before saying it. “Because no one will believe it. You know as well as I do that we look like a couple.” He was silent for a beat. “We are a couple.”

There was a pause while she remained speechless, and his heart began to pound. He was about to take the biggest gamble of his life. Archer Davenport, who’d always been so confident with women, was so nervous that his palms were sweating.

He was about to say words he’d never said before. But it was time. And it was his ultimate truth. The one thing he knew with more certainty than anything else.

“Tessa, I’m in love with you.”

That was all he had. The bare truth. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but in the silence, he was suddenly frightened out of his wits.

What if she doesn’t feel the same way?

What if she doesn’t love me back?

She looked stunned and just stared at him with those gorgeous eyes of hers.

He took her hand. “I want to call Jay back and tell him you’re the love of my life. I want to shout from the rooftops that you’re mine.”

This was the most vulnerable he’d ever been. She opened her mouth, and he waited for what she had to say… but it was like she couldn’t find the right words. He was praying she’d say I love you too, but the longer he waited, the more awful the silence became.

Finally, she took a breath. “Why does your agent have to tell them anything? What you and I are building right now is just between us.” She squeezed his hand. “I’ve never felt like this with anyone, Arch.” Another pause. “But I’m scared.”

He knew exactly what was holding her back. Not just the circus that came with his fame, but the emotional scars left by her husband. A man she’d clearly never felt true love with, given what she’d just said.

How could he let her know he was nothing like that cold, controlling man? He might be dead, but there was no doubt in Arch’s mind that he was still messing with her, even from the grave.

“I’ve never felt like this either, Tessa. Only with you. And I’ve never told any other woman that I love her. Only you.” Though she hadn’t said the three little words back to him, he slid his fingers through hers. He understood that she wasn’t where he was. Not yet. But hopefully she would be soon. “You don’t have to say it back. I just feel that what we are sharing together is too special to be one-sided. At least I hope so.”

She stared down at their joined hands. “I swore I wouldn’t get emotionally involved… but I can’t lie to you and say I haven’t.”

Thrilled that she might actually feel the same way, he couldn’t help pushing a little. “Are you telling me you’re getting closer to the idea that you could one day love me back?” It wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic I love you, but if there was hope that she’d love him one day, he’d pull out all the stops to show her that he was the man for her. And that he would love her forever, into eternity.

When she answered his question with a nod, it was one of the best moments of his life. He could wait for I love you as long as he knew there was a chance it would come.

Just one nod and then a kiss that made him feel better than he ever had before. That was always how he felt with Tessa. As though colors were brighter, and roses smelled better, and the entire world was their oyster. As though everything he truly wanted in life was right here beside him.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Tessa laughed at herself when she got ready later that day to pick up a few things for dinner. She did not look at all like the glamorous woman in the clips and photos online. Today, she had her hair in a ponytail, an old baseball cap jammed on top, and sunglasses hiding her eyes. Not a scrap of makeup, and no one would call her jeans and T-shirt designer.

Arch had said I love you, not to the glamorous woman last night, but to the one she was looking at now in the mirror. Ordinary, everyday Tessa. He’d said those magic words over and over as they’d made love. And had she thrown herself into his arms and said them back? Like any normal woman who felt the way she did would have?

No. She hadn’t.

Couldn’t.

She’d been wrong before, thinking she was in love with a man who’d turned out to be cold and controlling. And though Arch was the opposite, there was a part of her—a deep, sensitive, frightened part—that couldn’t accept the love of a good man. A part of her that thought she wasn’t good enough for him. That there surely must be someone better for him. Someone from his glittering world.

She didn’t want to say I love you until she could do it with her heart open and unafraid. After she got the groceries, she’d get out her paints. Hopefully, a few hours at the beach would calm her and bring clarity.

Maybe she’d make something extra special for dinner, something romantic, and if she found the words, she’d tell Arch tonight.

Because she did love him.

She’d known it for weeks. And for weeks she’d let fear be stronger than love. At the beach with her paints, would she finally find her way to taking such a massive risk as telling Archer Davenport that she loved him?

Waiting in line with fresh milk, a couple of avocados, and a lemon, she noticed that one of the gossipy papers in the rack in the checkout line featured a photo of Archer and her at the awards ceremony.

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