Sweet Dreams (Sunset Dreams Series Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter Seventeen

“We’ll be friends forever, won’t we Pooh?” asked Piglet. “Even longer.” Pooh answered. A.A. Milne

Mid-August

I
t’s been a couple of weeks since Jerry and I had dinner and I decided to give a relationship with him a try. I realize it has also been a couple of weeks since that strange text from Jake and I haven’t heard from him since. We’re supposed to be friends, so as a concerned friend I send him a text, to make sure he’s okay.

Hey stranger, r u alive???-Me

Thirty seconds later I get an answer.

Yes, sorry, just super busy, how r u?-J

Good, how r u?-Me

Good, the project I was working on is almost done-J

Congratulations, what’s next?-Me

Not sure, been reading a lot-J

I decide to call. “Hey got time to talk?”

“Yeah, it’s really good to hear your voice Jen.” I can hear the smile in his voice and it makes me smile as well.

It’s so good to hear his voice too.

“I tripped on a curb today. Totally made me think of you,” he says teasing.

“Hey! I’m not clumsy, things just get in my way.”

“Uh huh.”

“So what have you been reading? Anything I would like?”

“Actually, I’m reading two scripts right now. One is sort of ex-spy saves the world which has a really cool twist to the plot and potential for some great action. The other is a love story.”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re great at the spy thing, but maybe since you just finished filming the last installment of your franchise you should branch out and do something different.”

“I’m not good at romance.”

I doubt that.

“What’s the story?” I’m intrigued and want to hear more.

Jake takes a breath and starts to explain. “Well, it’s about two people who knew each other as little kids. They move apart and then meet again in their thirties.”

“Sounds sweet, is the writing good?”

“Yeah it is, not a blockbuster, but a good story.” He sounds so unsure of himself.

“Jake, you don’t always have to make a blockbuster to be a success. I’m sure it’s a good idea to round out your career. Plus I bet your female fans would love to see you in a romantic roll,” I say teasingly.

“So, you think I should do it?”

“I think you should do what makes you happy, but why not consider doing something different for a change?”

“Change can be good.” He sounds like he’s seriously considering it. “What about you, any changes in your future?”

“Maybe, but not yet.”

I hear a woman’s voice in the background call his name.

“
Jake? There you are sweetie. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Sounds like you have to go.”

Why are we always getting interrupted?

“Yeah, talk to you soon?”

“Talk to you soon. Bye, Jake.” I feel better now that I’ve talked to him; more relaxed.

That night I dream of Jake dressed in Regency Era attire bowing to me at a ball. I wake up flushed and frustrated.

Oh yeah, I can definitely see Mr. Walker in a romance.

After another week of work, another date with Jer and a few flashbacks to my Mr. Walker dream, I get a text from Jake on Monday.

I think I’m gonna do it!-J

Do what?-Me

The movie, the love story-J

Great!-Me

Everyone here thinks I’m crazy-J

Do what u want, who cares what everyone thinks-Me

What do u think?-J

I think u should do what makes u happy-Me

Chapter Eighteen

There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature. Jane Austen

September

O
n Thursday a package arrives at the café addressed to me. Inside I find a script with the header “Untitled.” An hour later Jake sends me a text.

Did u get it?-J

To save time I call. “Did you send this to me? Why?”

“I wanted you to read it and give me your opinion,” he says like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Jake, don’t you have agents and managers for that sort of thing?” I panic. I don’t know anything about this kind of stuff.

“Yes, but you know me and I trust you.” My knees go a little weak when he says this.

“But… What if I tell you the wrong thing? What if you do this and it’s a flop?”

Oh God, I should have never have told him to try something different. It will be my fault if it fails.

“Then I’m not a very good actor.” His confidence is back and I like it. I smile to myself imagining a sexy smirk on his face.

“Come on, you know what I mean. I don’t want to be responsible. This is way too important.”

“Just read it.” Jake huffs.

Ooh, he sounds bossy.

“Okay.” I’m nervous, but thrilled that he wants my opinion on something like this. As soon as I hang up, I put the script in my bag for safe keeping and decide I will read it later at home.

Friday and Saturday I spend all my free time reading the script. It’s good and I end up crying at the end. It isn’t one of those horrible odes to Tennyson “Tis better to have loved and lost” pieces of hooey. It actually has a happy ending. Some of us want a happy ending. Some of us
need
a happy ending. I can see Jake as the male lead. I let my mind wander, picturing him in the romantic scenes.

On Sunday afternoon, I finish folding my laundry while I listen to the Pixies “Wave of Mutilation.” There’s a knock at my door and I figure it must be Jerry stopping by to see what I’m up to.

Opening the door, I freeze at the sight before me. Jake stands there, in all his glory, more sexy and handsome than ever. He smiles at the shocked look on my face and I close my mouth so I don’t start to drool by accident.

Whoa!

I forgot how his eyes sparkle when he smiles. So pretty.

Emerald green? Close.

“Hey,” he says with a relaxed smile, like his stopping by is a regular thing.

I haven’t seen him in months and he says hey!

I stammer out, “What…what are you doing here?” He looks down as if disappointed and I realize I don’t seem happy to see him. I give him my biggest smile in reassurance.

Seeing my smile, his shoulders relax in relief. As if he didn’t know I would be happy to see him. “Can I come in?”

“Of course, come in, come in.” He walks past me into the cottage and I get a huge lungful of his clean scent.

Mmm, exactly as I remembered it.

I close the door watching him take in his surroundings. “So what are you doing here?” My inner voice says,
maybe he came all this way to see you.

Maybe he missed you?

“I’m here for two days on a reshoot. The director needs us to redo one scene, so I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by, is that all right?”

I deflate a little knowing he’s here for work and not to see me. “Yes, it’s okay. I was doing some laundry. Can I get you something to drink? I was going to make myself a cup of Earl Grey?”

“That would be great, thanks.”

Jake makes himself at home. He takes his jacket off, laying it over the back of the sofa, showing off his incredible body in a black T-shirt that hugs him in all the right places. I leave him to go hide in the kitchen behind the cabinet and try to get a grip.

It’s so surreal that Jake is here standing in my living room.

What am I doing? What am I doing?

Tea, right.

My heart races, trying to leap out of my chest. I wish I was dressed better, not sweats and an old T-shirt.

How embarrassing.

Well, nothing to do about it now.

Relax. Take a deep breath and relax.

I take the two cups of tea I prepare back out to the living room and find Jake looking at the books on my bookshelf. “Here’s your tea.”

“Thanks. You have a lot of books here.”

God his shoulders are so broad.

“I guess so.” I smile as he inspects the titles.

“I knew you liked to read, but this is impressive.”

“What can I say, I’m a fast reader.” I shrug my shoulders and Jake smiles down at me.

Whoa.

His smile hits me full force.

I’m so not used to him anymore.

I think I’m going to pass out.

Casually, I turn and go sit on the sofa to give him and myself some space.

He goes back to scanning the shelf and sips his tea while I watch from the sofa. “You have a lot of the classics.”

“Yes. My mom was a big reader and an English teacher. When I was a kid she was always trying to get me to read. I wasn’t interested. Not until I finally read
Pride and Prejudice
for the first time. After that I was hooked. I read all of Austen,
Gone with the Wind
, Bronte, Alexander Dumas, you know. The classics.”

Jake holds one of my copies of
Pride and Prejudice
in his hand and in a perfect British accent he recites, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

He has become my fantasy version of Mr. Darcy forever now.

Goodbye Colin Firth, it was great while it lasted.

He looks up at me from under his lashes and I must have the most ridiculous look on my face. I don’t say anything and he looks back down at the book.

Calm down, calm down.

“I had to study a lot of this stuff at acting school,” he mumbles as he thumbs through the pages.

I try to find my voice.

Don’t squeak, don’t squeak.

“That was impressive.”

“Thanks.” He puts the book back on the shelf and continues to look around.

I clear my throat and go back to the subject of books. “I mix it up more now. I’ve read some great suspense, Dan Brown of course. I love the way his stories are so detailed. All his books kept me turning the pages as fast as possible to see what was going to happen next. Also the
Dragon Tattoo
books, those were super detailed and very good.”

He points to different books on my paranormal shelf and inquires, “Vampires, witches, Greek gods, magic?”

“After I read the
Harry Potter
series, I wanted to read more supernatural stuff. Who doesn’t love vampires and magic? In addition, I discovered I really like reading about places or times that are different than what I know. Marquez and Allende; their stories are so full of whimsy; mystical, ya know? I recently read this book called
Night Circus
which was wonderful. Reading about far off places as well and being taken to Greece, India, China, or Japan in a story; that is amazing. I also love the whole post-apocalyptic dystopian society novels. It’s interesting to think how we would function without the things and freedoms we take for granted every day. Pretty much everything I read is fiction. I don’t really read non-fiction.”

Jake has been standing there listening this whole time while I go on and on. He picks up my copy of
Fifty Shades of Grey
off my romance shelf and looks at me from the corner of his eye while he reads the back, causing me to blush big time.