“You,” he answered calmly. “You’re all you, and I love all you.”
She stared at him for a moment, then realized something. “Oh. My. God. You’re crazy! I should have seen it. You’re actually crazy.” She paced as she babbled about signs and threw diagnoses at him.
Dylan shook his head. “I’m not crazy, Clare. Sorry to disappoint you. Listen to me. Can you stop and listen to me for one second?” He grasped her arms to steady her, forcing her to look into his eyes.
Clare wiggled out of his hands and crossed her arms over her chest.
“After the movie stuff, I’m moving to New York to be near Jenna and the baby. I want to be a good father, like my father was to me.”
“That’s great—”
“I’m. Not. Done,” he barked, poking her T-shirt over her chest.
His tone startled Clare into silence. She retained her defensive stance, even though his hair shined in the sunlight and his sparkly eyes locked on to hers.
“Alex is moving in with Jenna. They finally figured out they belong together. I’m going to take Alex’s apartment so I’ll be right upstairs for the baby. I’d like you to move with me.”
Clare raised her eyebrows and jutted out her hip, waiting for a punch line that didn’t come.
“Well?” he asked.
She smirked. “Oh, I’m allowed to talk now?”
Dylan took a deep breath. She knew she was trying his patience, but she didn’t care. “Please,” he said. “Talk.”
“All right, then. No. I will not move to New York with you.”
Dylan sighed. “Why not?”
“Why not? My God, you are crazy!”
“Clare,” Dylan said calmly, “tell me why you can’t be with me.”
Clare shook her head. Is this really happening? Is Dylan asking me to move to New York with him? She cleared her throat. “Because I live here in LA now. I took the GM job at the store, I like it here, and my life does not revolve around you and your baby mama and your weird little love triangle.” Clare lifted her chin, proud to stand up for herself no matter how empty her words sounded.
Dylan nodded. “I get that. I do. But here’s the thing, Clare.”
She started pacing again, and Dylan didn’t try to stop her.
“Alex, Jenna, and I have been talking a lot the last few days. We know our situation isn’t exactly a typical family, but we’re grateful we can all be part of the baby’s life. The only one missing is you.”
“I’m not a part of the baby’s life,” she said, stomping back and forth in front of him.
“But you’re a part of mine. The biggest part. You see, Jenna, Alex, and I don’t have a love triangle. We have a love square. You’re the empty corner, and we all want you with us. Especially me.”
Dylan reached into his back pocket and dug around. Clare caught a glimpse of something shiny. She didn’t figure out it was a ring until he held it out for her inspection.
A diamond. A gosh-darned diamond ring. Shaped like a square, the solitaire shimmered on a gold band, teasing her.
“Marrying me means that you’ll also marry Alex and Jenna. It means you’ll be a second mother to the baby. It’s never going to be just us, and I can’t promise it will be perfect. But Clare…I can’t imagine my life without you. I’m sorry I took a jagged path to get to you, but from here on out, it’s a straight road. A road with bumps along the way, but it’s you and me. Will you marry me, Nebraska?”
Clare shut her eyes tightly, then opened them to make sure what was happening was real. Then she said, “No.”
Chapter 34
Alex
Alex helped Jenna sort through her closet to make room for his stuff and thought he might be dreaming. “Are we really moving in together, Stecs?”
Jenna shook her head. “For the millionth time, yes. I don’t know why it’s such a big deal for you. You practically live here anyway. At least now I can squeeze you for rent.”
“Oh, baby,” Alex said, “you can squeeze me for anything, anytime you want.” He navigated through boxes and piles of clothes to wrap his arms around her. She leaned back into him, and he smelled her flowery shampoo. “Let’s skip this and go back to bed,” he said before kissing her neck.
Jenna lifted her chin to grant him access. “Dylan’s going to be here any minute.”
“I can work with a minute when I know I have forever,” Alex said, running his hands down her body.
“Pretty soon I’m going to be a fat, pregnant mess. Will you still want me?” Jenna asked. She teased, but he heard the hint of concern in her voice.
“What do you think?” He pulled her back into his front, knowing she’d feel exactly how much he wanted her. “I can’t keep my hands off you. You’re like a magnet.”
Jenna spun around, her brown eyes popping playfully. “A magnet? I’ve never been called a piece of iron before.”
Alex stuttered. “Well, uh, you’re a beautiful, incredibly sexy, irresistible-type magnet, that I want to make out with all the time.” He flashed his best smile.
“I didn’t know,” Jenna said timidly.
“That you were a magnet or that I wanted to make out with you all the time?” Alex asked.
“No, I knew that. Not the magnet thing.”
“Now I’m confused.” He ran his hands down her long hair, pulling at her tangles.
“Huh?”
“You said that you ‘didn’t know,’ and I thought you meant you didn’t know you were a magnet—”
“Oh.” She shook her head. “I was going to say I didn’t know that you could be so sappy.”
Alex squinted. “Sappy? The magnet stuff was sappy? Why is my head starting to hurt? Life with you is going to be a constant headache, isn’t it?” he teased.
“Probably. You up for it?”
Alex smiled and sighed. “Absolutely.”
“Good,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Alex pulled her to his chest and then flipped her into a dip a few inches from the floor. “How’s this for ‘sappy’—”
“Ah! What are you doing? You’re going to drop me!” she said through giggles.
“I love you, Jenna,” he said in a horrible fake French accent. “My beautiful magnet. Let’s love each other. Make sweet love to me.”
Jenna smacked him playfully, and he lifted her back to standing position. “We have to work on your sap. And your French, apparently. But my answer is yes, definitely. Yes to magnets, yes to sweet lovemaking, yes to everything.”
She kissed him, and the world settled around him. Her hands moved under his shirt, and she made a sweet noise that crushed his insides. Just as he was about to pull her shirt over her head, they heard the knock on the door.
“You two decent?” Dylan called through the door.
Jenna scooted away from Alex.
“Fucking Barnes,” Alex murmured, readjusting his clothes.
Jenna laughed and straightened her shirt. “Yeah,” she called. “Come in.”
They met Dylan in the living room. “You’re an absolute mess,” Alex said, examining him. “Why haven’t you called?”
Dylan reached for Jenna’s tummy. “How’s the little guy? Are you feeling okay?”
She smiled. “I guess he’s good. I don’t feel anything, I’m eating, and I’m over the sleepiness too. Where’s Clare? Did you find her?”
Dylan rubbed the stubble on his chin. “She said no.”
Jenna jerked back. “What?”
“She said no.”
Alex grimaced. “That doesn’t make sense. She loves you.”
Dylan shrugged. “She said she doesn’t belong with us, she wants to stay in LA, be independent. I don’t know. All I can figure out right now is that I’m mentally and physically exhausted and need a bed. Can I go up?”
Alex nodded. “It’s officially your place now, D-Barnes. You don’t have to ask me.”
Dylan dragged himself out of the apartment and shut the door behind him. Jenna picked up her
phone, tapped the screen, and then held it to her ear. Alex could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
“What are you doing, Jen?” he warned. “Don’t interfere.”
“She’s not picking up, the little witch.” Jenna tapped out a message.
Alex tried to take her phone, but she wiggled out of his grasp. “This isn’t your business. Let Dylan handle it,” he said.
“You saw how Dylan handled it. Horribly. I have to try, Alex. Please understand. I feel responsible for Dylan and his happiness.”
“Dylan’s happiness isn’t your responsibility. None of this is your fault.”
“It is, though,” she said. “If it weren’t for the pregnancy, he’d be with Clare by now. This whole arrangement with the baby isn’t going to work without Clare. Don’t you see? We need her to complete our square.” She kissed him softly on the lips. “Let me try.”
When Jenna went into tornado mode, Alex knew there was not stopping her. “Okay, sweetheart. You try. Just don’t be disappointed if they don’t get their happy ending.”
Jenna waved a hand at him and went back to her phone. “Oh, they’ll have their happy ending. Come hell or high water.”
***
Jenna
After an hour, Jenna almost gave up on her plan of calling Clare incessantly until she annoyed her enough to pick up. Even though Alex had bailed after the first ten minutes, Jenna sat on the couch tapping Redial for another hour. Finally, after about fifty calls and twenty texts, Clare answered.
“Is somebody dead? I’m working here.”
Jenna heard the annoyance and fought off guilty feelings. She was on a mission. “Then you should have picked up an hour ago.”
“Before I scream at you, is everything okay with the baby?”
“Everything’s fine. I need you to listen to me for thirty seconds.”
“Fine. If it’s so darn important to you.”
Jenna thought she had the words ready, but they all slipped from her mind. She decided to go with what was in her heart.
“Dylan’s the father of my baby and I’ll always love him for that, but he loves you. I want you to be clear on the fact that Alex and I are together now, and I have no interest in being anything with Dylan besides friends who co-parent.”
“That’s great,” Clare snipped. “I’m happy for you. Can I get back to work now?”
Jenna’s blood boiled. “Listen, you spoiled little brat”—Clare gasped on the other end, but Jenna continued—“all Dylan’s told me since I met him is how great you are. ‘Clare this’ and ‘Clare that’ and ‘Clare’s the best person I ever met’ and blah, blah, blah, Clare, Clare, Clare. He made it sound like you two were a little team of awesomeness that could take on Hollywood, Nebraska, and the damn world.”
Clare was silent, so Jenna kept talking. “If you love him like I think you do, like he thinks you do, you can’t abandon him now. This isn’t going to be easy, but even if I weren’t having a baby, it wouldn’t be easy. Something always pops into the mix. You don’t realize because your life in Nebraska was all shits and giggles. Well, welcome to real life, honey. It isn’t like that.”
“You know nothing about my life. And for the record, I’m not abandoning Dylan,” Clare said. “He abandoned me when he went to New York and slept with you.”
“You are abandoning him, and us sleeping together is ancient history.”
“Your baby is not ancient history. How can you expect me to insert myself into your little incestuous group?”
Jenna sighed. “You know what? It’s valid that you would feel a bit…awkward, I guess. Alex and Dylan have a history together, so he doesn’t have the same challenges you may face.”
“See! That’s what—”
“However,” Jenna said, “if you love Dylan and want to have a life with him, you’re going to have to deal with a bit of awkwardness and readjust. Alex keeps calling us a ‘team,’ but Dylan needs more. He needs you. He loves you and he’s…” Jenna searched for the right words and remembered her time with Dylan. “He’s fucking amazing. Isn’t he worth a little awkwardness and readjustment, Clare?”
Jenna waited for Clare to yell, but she didn’t.
“That’s it,” Jenna said. “I’ve said my piece. I hope you reconsider and realize how lucky you are and that the man who loves you is a goddamn dream. He’s worth your efforts.”
And with that, Jenna ended the call.
Chapter 35
Dylan
Gretchen: Where’s Clare?
Gretchen’s text woke Dylan from his nap. The New York premiere of Gladiator Revolution was slated for Friday night, and Gretchen wanted to style Dylan with a date.
He texted back.
Not available.
He didn’t feel like getting into details with Gretchen. Sooner or later, she would figure out Jenna was pregnant and do the math, but for now that could wait. To appease her, he promised to ask one of his sisters to accompany him.
Gretchen: Perfect. The paparazzi will love that.
He stretched and rubbed his beard.
Me: As soon as the movie’s out, I’m shaving my face and my head. Consider this your warning.
Gretchen: Fair enough. I can work with that.
The best thing about the weekend of the premiere was that he could sleep in his own bed in New York. Jenna and Alex had taken care of the move while he did the promo tour. He had his California apartment packed up and dragged across the country to Brooklyn. Now that things were winding down with the film, Dylan could enjoy his new home. Having his stuff set up made Alex’s apartment feel like his own, except for the one thing he was missing.
Clare.
Over the past few weeks, he’d called and texted, but she never responded. As he did every morning, he rolled over and picked up the picture on his nightstand that he’d taken of Clare on her first visit to the beach. He’d brought it on the tour with him so she could be the first person he saw in the morning. Her eyes were wide with wonder, and her smile brighter than the sun. He leaned it against his lamp and opened the drawer, then took out the engagement ring he’d picked for her. He slipped it onto the tip of his pinky and waved his hand, watching it sparkle. It would have looked amazing on her.
He knew he should do something with the ring, but he wasn’t ready to give it up. Not yet.
***
On Friday afternoon, Gretchen arrived at the apartment with Dylan’s tux in one hand and rolling her big suitcase of crap to make him look good in the other.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She lifted her chin and walked past him, her heels clicking along his hardwood. None of Dylan’s sisters could accompany him to the premiere for various reasons, none of which Gretchen cared to discuss. She made it known she wasn’t thrilled. She set up shop on Dylan’s kitchen table, pouting and huffing, while Dylan showered and trimmed his beard in an effort to make her feel better. He dressed in his tux and joined her.
She sighed at the sight of him. “You look perfect. How were you not able to find a date tonight? It makes no sense.”
“Oh, you’re speaking to me now?” he asked as he sat at the kitchen table.
“I am. Mostly to give you red carpet tips.” She smirked and shook her head as she fired up her iPad and swiped through the pictures of Jenna and him at the premiere in July. “Do you know how many pictures of you will be taken tonight? If you had a fab woman on your arm, there’d be even more interest, but whatever. I won’t go there.”
Just then, the door opened and Jenna appeared, dressed to the nines in a long purple gown with a floor-to-hip slit up the side. “Did someone mention a fab woman?”
“Wow,” Gretchen said, standing and inspecting her. “You look beautiful.”
Jenna thanked her and turned to Dylan. “Can I be your date tonight?”
Gretchen clapped, but Dylan shook his head. “You’re gorgeous, but your boyfriend will kick my ass.” He touched her still-flat belly through her gown, wondering what the kid wa
s doing inside.
“It was Alex’s idea,” she said. “He made some comment about ‘pimping me out’ to his friends.”
She twirled in the gown, and Gretchen squealed. “Sit,” she ordered. “I’ll do your makeup.”
“Jen, thank you, but you don’t have to do this. I’m perfectly happy going on my own.” Dylan ignored Gretchen’s grunt of disapproval as Jenna sat next to him.
“I want to, I mean, if you don’t mind. Why wouldn’t I want to go to a movie premiere, Dylan? I get to dress up, Gretchen does my makeup. It’s fun. Pretty soon I’ll be fat and ugly and won’t want to leave the house.”
“You’ll be beautiful no matter what,” Dylan said.
“Well, thank you,” Jenna answered, reaching across the table for his hand. “So it’s a date?”
Dylan thought he imagined it when he looked past Jenna to his doorway and saw Clare, dropping a suitcase onto the floor of his apartment.
“Hold up there, legs,” Clare said.
When Jenna’s eyes popped at the sound of Clare’s voice, Dylan knew she was real. He stood to look past Jenna.
Gretchen waved a hairbrush. “Do you always have beautiful women appearing in your doorway, boss?”
Dylan didn’t answer. He didn’t see anyone in his apartment except for Clare, smiling and biting her lip.
“Clare?” he asked, afraid she’d vanish.
She wiggled her fingers and softly said, “Hi.”
Dylan chuckled at her sweet voice. “Uh, hi?”
They stood in silence, eyes locked.
“Well!” Jenna yelled, grabbing Gretchen’s arm. “I think that’s our cue. See you guys later.” She shuffled Gretchen toward the door, hushing her when she whined about leaving her suitcase. Dylan caught Jenna’s wink at Clare before they disappeared.
As soon as the door shut, Dylan closed the space between them. He wanted to touch her but held himself back. “What’s up, Nebraska?”
The Love Square Page 28
