“I tried.” Had she done enough?
“Hey.” Jack’s arms were warm around her. “You saved that kid.”
She pressed closer, grateful for his reassurance. “Ben saved him. And now he’s saved himself.”
“Because you bought him time to grow up.”
“Joel did all the work.” She tilted her face to smile at him. “You know how many therapists it takes to change a lightbulb?”
Jack arched an eyebrow.
“Only one,” she said, straight-faced. “But the lightbulb has to want to change.”
His lips twitched.
Satisfied, she settled against him, letting herself sink into the solid rightness of the moment. To the west, the sky flamed and the water blazed and the clouds sank down to purple haze. “I heard from my agent today.”
His arms tightened around her, but his voice was as calm as ever. “How’d that go?”
“Good.” She smiled over his arm at the setting sun. “Really good. She likes the chapters.”
“That’s terrific.” He kissed the top of her head. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I need a blockbuster ending, though. A happy one.”
“Well, that’s easy,” Jack said.
She twisted to look at him again.
“Joel,” Jack said. “The story starts with him, right? With him wanting to do the bank job with his uncle.”
She nodded. “And Ben taking his place.” The idea sparked.Okay, yeah, that could work. She sat up, wiggling around to face Jack. “And Ben and I bonded because we were both trying to take care of our brothers.”
Jack was watching her, his dark eyes alert. “There you go. So if his brother’s taking care of himself now...”
“Then the story comes full circle.” She beamed at him, feeling that dizzy lightness return. “You’re brilliant.”
Another half smile. “I’m not the one writing a book.”
“I’m not writing tonight, either. I’m taking the night off.” She spread her arms wide. “To celebrate.”
“There’s an idea.”
“I have many ideas,” she said grandly.
“Do they involve you getting naked? Because those are the kind of ideas you should share with me.”
She grinned. “You share first.”
“Okay. I think about you naked all the time.”
“No, I meant...” She expelled her breath, caught between laughter and lust. “We should talk about you. How was your day?”
“It was a day.”
She waited, giving him space to talk, her heart beating as if she had something at stake here, something more than conversation, something more than sex. Good communication was important for developing intimacy in a relationship. And they were in a relationship, even if she didn’t change her Facebook status anytime soon.
I’m in this thing with you, whether it fits your theories ornot.
