Page 45 of Guys Can't Write Romance
The movie continued as Emma arrived in Pine Ridge, reunited with childhood friends, and discovered the inn was in danger of foreclosure. When the male lead appeared — Jake, the handsome but gruff local contractor hired to help repair the place — Chad’s commentary resumed.
“Flannel shirt, two days’ stubble, probably has a tragic backstory involving either the military or a broken engagement,” Chad said.
“Broken engagement,” Daisy confirmed. “She left him at the altar.”
Chad nodded. “Yup. Classic.”
Despite his best efforts to maintain his ‘too cool for this’ facade, Chad found himself getting invested as the story progressed. When Jake helped Emma fix up the old inn, he sat forward, unconsciously mirroring the male lead’s posture. When they almost kissed under the mistletoe only to be interrupted by the rival developer (who, indeed, wanted to turn the inn into luxury condos), he actually groaned out loud.
“Oh, come on!” he exclaimed, gesturing at the screen with the last bite of cookie in his hand. “They were right there!”
Daisy bit back a smile, watching Chad’s reaction more than the movie she’d already seen three times. “Something wrong?”
“Nope,” Chad said quickly, slouching back onto the couch and attempting to look disinterested. “Just making note of story structure. You know, the, uh, rising action or whatever.”
“Uh-huh. And I suppose you’re taking notes on how the rival developer just happens to be the hero’s ex?”
“It’s a cheap plot device,” Chad muttered, his eyes never leaving the screen. “But I guess it kind of works.”
For the next hour, Chad’s commentary gradually diminished as he became more wrapped up in the story. He didn’t comment when Emma discovered Jake was secretly helping the town’s children build a new playground. He didn’t make a snarky remark when Jake revealed his late grandmother had been best friends with Emma’s grandmother. And when Mrs. Butterworth’s cat got lost in the snowstorm, prompting a town-wide search, Chad actually clutched a throw pillow to his chest,his knuckles visibly whitening when the feline was found nearly frozen beside the old covered bridge.
“It’s a cat,” Daisy whispered, nudging him. “It’s fine.”
“I know that,” Chad said gruffly, loosening his grip on the pillow.
The climax of the film arrived, a Christmas Eve gala to save the inn, complete with twinkling lights, a restored ballroom, and locals in their holiday finest. Emma, wearing a stunning red dress, finally confessed her feelings to Jake, who revealed he’d never stopped loving her. As they leaned in for the final kiss, with snow gently falling outside the decorated windows, the music swelled to a triumphant crescendo.
Chad was completely silent, his expression softer than Daisy had ever seen it.
When the credits rolled, he stretched, trying to look casual. Daisy watched him for a moment, studying his reaction.
“Any thoughts?”
Chad shrugged nonchalantly, though there was the faintest hint of redness rimming his eyes. “Predictable. You know, Developer Guy acts tough, but he’s a sap in the end. Can spot it a mile away. But I guess I can see how girls might like it.”
“But not you, of course.”
“Nope. Too formulaic. I’ll give it five out of ten snowball fights.”
“Want to watch another?”
Chad paused for a fraction of a second too long, his eyes darting to the stack of DVDs beside the TV. Finally, he shrugged with an unconvincing show of indifference. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. You know, double-check the writing patterns for research.”
“Research purposes?” Daisy couldn’t resist a grin, feeling a strange sense of victory at having broken through Chad’s defenses, even slightly.
“Yeah. Make sure I understand the tropes and stuff.”
“Tropes and stuff?”
“Stop repeating everything I say with that look on your face.”
“What look?” Daisy asked, doing a horrible job of feigning innocence.
“That ‘I know you secretly liked it’ look. I was just studying it for the contest. You know, to learn the craft.”
She grinned a wicked, knowing look. “Of course. The craft. That would explain the little sigh you let out when they finally kissed.”
“That was not a sigh. I was clearing my throat.”
