Page 59 of Rewrites of the Heart

JJ slammed the door on her way out.

Alex burst into tears.

Blake put a hand to his head. “I never knew such a small room could spin so fast.”

Chapter 42

“Spending another weekend at Kenn’s?” Alex asked, when she saw JJ set her overnight bag on the kitchen café table next to her messenger bag. JJ was pouring her to-go cup of coffee for the commute to the university. As much as she loved working from home as a romance writer, the commute to work felt good. She found joy in teaching.

But more than that, she found joy with a man she thought she despised. Her initial horror of working side by side with him had soon dissolved. She found they made a good, if not perfect, teaching pair. Their styles complemented one another, and as improbable as it seemed when she first met him, Kenn actually respected her views.

She secured the lid on her cup and pivoted. “As a matter of fact, I am.” JJ couldn’t help but smile at the thought of another weekend alone with Kenn. Even a few weeks ago, that question from Alex would have elicited a harsh response from her.

“And I owe it all to you. And Blake. Without your encouragement and persistence, I would never have gotten to know Kenn. I would have totally blown him off.”

Alex beamed. JJ thought that must have been the ultimate compliment for a romance-novel character. She sighed. Alex had performed her assigned mission well. She couldn’t have foreseen any of this when she discovered them in her office. All the irritation the two had caused her in the last several weeks melted away. She had nothing but love for them.

Did she see a tear run down Alex’s cheek? Then it dawned on her. Alex and Blake were still stuck in her world.

“I know you’re ready to go home. I’m sure it will happen soon. I wish I could be more help to you with that.”

She strode over and hugged Alex. She, too, teared up and began to cry.

At that moment, Blake walked in, his backpack slung over his shoulder, his hair still wet from a shower. “Are you…” He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the two women embracing and crying.

She released Alex when she heard his voice. When she saw the stunned look on his face, she laughed. “I’ve never known you to be speechless before.”

Alex went to him and wrapped an arm around him. She explained her frustration. “That was the theory, right? That when JJ found the love of her life, we would be able to return home.”

Blake furrowed his brow. “What if…” he began to speak. “No, never mind.”

“What if what?” Alex pressed him.

“No, that’s not possible,” he said, clearly lost in his own thought processes.

“Just tell us.” She felt that any insight Blake had would be helpful. She couldn’t imagine why he was so cryptic.

“Well, what if Kenn isn’t JJ’s true love?”

She blinked her eyes, as if that would help her understand what Blake had just said. “That’s impossible. Of course, he’s my true love.”

It was first time she had ever admitted it to herself. And it felt liberating.

****

Kenn poured his first cup of coffee Friday morning and sat at the kitchen table, where he had placed the book he was reading the night before. He opened it and continued reading as he sipped his coffee.

“I didn’t see that coming,” he said out loud, as he quickly turned the page. Kenn was nearly halfway through JJ’s novel,Love’s Revenge. He didn’t dare tell her he was reading it—not after the way he went on about how all romance novels were trash. And he certainly couldn’t tell her he really loved it. At least, not yet.

He did owe her a better apology than the one he awkwardly and hastily proffered in her office the first day of class. As he had come to know the woman and scholar she was, he realized he had a lot of baggage he needed to deal with. Starting with his unequivocal stance on literature.

“No wonder she wanted nothing to do with me,” he mused. It was my own fault, he thought.If she only knew that as soon as we were forced to teach in the same small area, I bought her books and started reading them. She is one talented writer.He admitted there was more to romance literature than met the eye.

He glanced at the clock and realized it was time to put the book down—but I still have to see what happens to Elenore—and get dressed and go to campus. He reluctantly closed the book and stood. He carried it into his bedroom where he tucked it safely into the top drawer of his nightstand. He definitely didn’t want JJ to find it the next time she visited.

And that would be—today. It’s Friday.He smiled at the thought of another weekend with the wonderful woman. He stepped into the shower, his thoughts consumed with how much his life had changed in the past several months. From mourning the loss of his girlfriend Rain to celebrating his romance with JJ.

As he dried himself, he reluctantly admitted his mother had been right. Painfully right. He couldn’t even begin to compare the two women. Rain had been fun. And Rain was a smart woman. But JJ was all of that. And more. She had a depth he had never seen in a woman before.

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