Page 7 of California Waves

After getting up long enough to lightly punch his brother on the shoulder, Arch said, “I don’t know. Seems like an interesting project. A new direction for my career, maybe.”

Mila found that she was shaking her head. She couldn’t keep quiet for another second. She couldn’t believe Jay was still pushing his own agenda when she’d told him in no uncertain terms that Herschel Greenfield was obviously not interested. In fact, he had clearly been mortified by the idea. “Jay was out of line to have even asked you about that. It’s like he heard zero of what I said.” She couldn’t help herself—she was irritated, and it came out in her tone.

Suddenly, she realized everyone was staring at her. Arch in particular looked confused, even a bit upset. “Wait, what happened? When did you talk to Jay?”

She stood under the pretext of getting more coffee, but really, she couldn’t sit a minute longer. She’d never been great at sitting still anyway. She had too much energy, and that just intensified when she was annoyed. She moved around, avoiding the gazes of her family. “Herschel was just standing there, minding his own business and admiring Tessa’s artwork.” She left out the part where he’d been staring at the painting of Mila in the surf and how he hadn’t been admiring the picture so much as reliving his terror of the ocean. “And then Jay stormed over, guns blazing, and launched straight into his pitch. I mean, I get that Jay is successful because he’s so pushy, but not everybody wants their life splashed on the big screen. Herschel Greenfield did not look like he wanted anyone to make a movie about his life. He looked like he wanted to move on from a truly terrifying experience.”

Mila paused to take a breath.

Arch was still looking puzzled. “But Herschel Greenfield is a hero. He saved the rest of the crew at the risk of his own life. We need more stories like that—of courage and devotion. People love to read about the person who risks everything to save other people. It’s in our DNA. Those are the stories we all love to read and watch on screen. He should be proud of what he did.”

It was hard to explain to her family that when you’d been through a traumatic experience, you didn’t want to relive it over and over. She still had nightmares about her own surfing accident that had wrecked her career all those years ago. The broken back had healed, but the bad memories would never completely fade.

Despite what people might have thought, it hadn’t been the fear of losing her career that had been so life-altering. It had been that awful, shattering moment when she’d thought she might not make it out of the ocean alive. Only a few had been through such an experience, and she and Hersch were two of those people. If it made her a little protective of the guy, she was okay with that.

She decided not to defend her position any further. They could think what they wanted.

Arch settled back in his seat and reflexively reached for Tessa’s hand. Mila doubted he even realized he had done it. He shrugged, obviously still confused, but willing to let the matter go. “Okay. Well, Jay thinks it’s a good idea. From the way he was talking, it was already a done deal, and Herschel Greenfield was on board with a biopic.”

Mila couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She made a sound of derision. “I’m positive Hersch hated the idea. I couldn’t have been clearer with Jay about dropping it already. But he’s like a dog with a bone.”

Archer shook his head at her like she should know better. “Julius Malone never gives up on anything he wants to do until he’s explored every possible avenue. I’m going to take a leap and say that Herschel hasn’t heard the last from my agent.”

It wasn’t Arch’s fault that his agent was so cutthroat. Jay was only doing his job by trying to push a project that would be an amazing opportunity for his client. But it didn’t stop her blood from boiling.

Erin, who was pretty much famous for being the peacemaker in the family, sensed Mila’s feelings and deftly changed the subject as she asked, “So, are we allowed to bring dates to this wedding?”

The distraction worked. Arch turned to his younger sister and said, “Sure. I mean, it’s friends and family.” Then his expression turned first curious and then mischievous. “Why? Is there something we don’t know? Who’s the plus-one you want to bring? Have I met him?”

Erin shook her head as if to say she had no one special in mind and then turned to Mila. “Are you going to bring a date?”

For some reason, the image of Hersch appeared in her head. Probably because they’d just been talking about him. How crazy that it had popped into her head so quickly, the idea of her and Herschel on an actual date, let alone in front of her family. But no one needed to know her private fantasies, so she simply replied, “Maybe. Or I might just go solo.”

Erin nodded. “I probably will too.” She lowered her eyes for a brief moment.

Something in her tone and demeanor suggested she would rather not be alone. It was pretty clear Arch had picked up on that wistful tone, too, because he said, “Hey, Jay will be coming, and he’s single. I’m sure he’d be your date.”

Mila couldn’t believe her brother. Really? Did he not know Erin at all?

“I don’t need a pity date, thank you,” Erin said. “Anyway, Jay is never single. He’s always with some lingerie model.”

“I thought you liked him,” Arch said.

“I do like him. But I’ve always thought he’s too much in people’s faces. I know that’s his job, but it sounds like he was pushy with Herschel.” She paused. “I know, I’m a journalist, and I’m supposed to be pushy too. But there’s a reason I work for the Sea Shell and write articles about local dogs and whales and who’s having their golden anniversary. I never wanted to be the kind of journalist who pushes hurting people to reveal secrets they’d rather keep to themselves.”

Mila smiled and felt vindicated. She loved how, in her own way, Erin had just eviscerated Jay and yet somehow still managed to be nice. She’d never be as diplomatic as her sister—her nature was too fiery—but it was a quality she deeply admired.

Betsy spoke up then. “I’m glad you brought up the idea of people bringing dates, Erin. We should really get an idea of numbers as soon as possible. Arch and Tessa, I’d like you two to sit down and really think about who you want at our friends-and-family gathering. Your father and I will do the same and keep the list as small as we can without offending anybody. That’s the hardest part of organizing a wedding, I think.”

Howie looked a bit concerned. “But my brothers and all their families are invited, right?”

They had seemingly endless uncles and cousins on their father’s side. It was partly why he had such a loving and friendly nature—he was used to being surrounded by people, sharing what he had as well as a joke or two.

His wife said, “We’ll talk about that, Howie.” Erin definitely got her diplomacy from their mom. It seemed to Mila that if Tessa was not going to invite her own sister and niece to their close family wedding, maybe Howie’s brothers and their families could manage with a fancy Scottish wedding in a castle as well. It was hardly the rotten end of the deal. But she knew how close her dad was to his brothers, so maybe they’d figure something out. Betsy and Howie had an amazing ability to make their family home welcoming for as many people as needed to be there.

Damien reminded them that Crystal Lopez could be a real asset. “You know she’s completely trustworthy. She could have sold me out a hundred times to the paparazzi and never has, even when she desperately could have used the cash. Why don’t you get her on board? She knows her stuff. It would sure take the stress out of organizing everything yourself.”

Tessa said, “I’m sure she’s excellent at her job, Damien, but I really want to plan my own wedding. At least, just this one for me and Arch and the family. Do you think Crystal would be on board to plan the big, showy wedding in Scotland?”

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