Rules of Love (6 page)

Chapter Twelve

“There they are,” Jason heard someone shout the moment they stepped inside the airport.

“Amber, I think we're about to be in a media storm. So smile and hold on to my arm. I got this, okay, baby?”

“I don't know if I'm ready for this. My brother's the one who's always in the news, not me.”

“You are. Just smile and keep looking forward. Do you have any sunglasses?”

“Yes.” Amber fumbled through her purse. She replaced her glasses with her sunglasses.

“Remember, smile. Don't let go of my arm.”

Jason was right in his assessment. The cameramen who were lined up were waiting on them.

“Amber, how does your dad feel about your unexpected wedding?” one of the reporters asked.

“Amber, are you pregnant? Is that why you rushed to get married?”

“Jason, how does it feel to make the news?”

Jason could feel Amber slowing down, so he slowed down too. “Just keep walking and smiling,” Jason whispered to Amber.

“I'm trying not to hit one of these reporters,” she said between clenched teeth.

“I know what you mean,” Jason responded.

The reporters followed them until airport security intervened.

“It's about time. You guys need to do a better job of stopping the vultures,” Amber complained.

“Ma'am, we're sorry,” one of the guards responded.

“Come on, babe.” Jason held Amber's hand as they each pulled their individual suitcases.

When they arrived at the parking garage, Jason hit a button on his keys, and the sound of an alarm chirped. He hit another button for the trunk. The back of a black sports car opened up.

“This is nice,” Amber said. “I like this.”

“Really? I sort of took you for the sedan type.”

“Please, you haven't seen my ride.”

Jason placed their bags in the trunk. He held Amber's door open and she got inside.

Once behind the driver's wheel, Jason realized that he didn't know where to go.

He started the car but didn't move. He scratched his head. “Now that we are married, whose house will we be living at?”

“I hadn't thought about that.” Amber threw her hand up. “Just drop me off at my house and you can stay at your house. We don't actually have to live in the same place, do we?”

“It would look good if we did.”

“Nobody cares about that. Drop me off, and we'll get together sometime this week before the wedding reception.”

Jason tried not to sound disappointed about Amber's nonchalant way of dealing with the situation, but he was. He didn't want to just drop her off. He didn't want to be away from her. He needed her. He wanted her. He needed her to want him too.

“Keep driving,” Amber stated when she saw some reporters camped out at her house.

“You can always stay at my place,” Jason said.

“It's either there or a hotel. I want to avoid the hotels, so I guess, Mr. Lewis, you have a house guest.”

Amber slid down in the seat as they drove right past the reporters.

“It's clear,” Jason said.

Amber scooted up in her seat. She looked behind her. “They are going to be disappointed when they realize I'm not at home.”

“I just bought this house, so hardly anyone knows about it.”

“What does a bachelor need with a house?”

“I work hard, and being in a relationship shouldn't be a requirement for me to buy a house. You weren't in a relationship when you bought your beach house,” Jason noted.

“But it's small. It's not some gigantic mansion.”

“Who said mine was gigantic?” Jason asked as he continued to drive.

“How many bedrooms?”

“There are only five bedrooms.”

“Five. What does a single man need with five bedrooms?”

Jason held his hand out and twisted it in her direction. “I'm no longer single.”

“For real. Why not just buy a condo or a town house?”

“Because one day I did hope to have a wife and three kids.”

Amber laughed. “I can picture you with a wife. But kids? No, not Mr. Jason Lewis. Mr. Suit-and-Tie Guy.”

“I can dress down when I need to.”

Amber looked at him with an “I don't believe you” look.

She leaned back in her seat and smiled at the thought of Jason and her with kids of their own.

Chapter Thirteen

“See, we're practically neighbors,” Jason said as he pulled up into his subdivision in Malibu, not that far from the beach where Amber lived.

“I see. I like the houses in this area,” she commented.

Jason drove around the circular driveway and parked in front. He removed their bags from the trunk and opened the front door. “Welcome home, Amber.”

And Jason meant just what he said. He wanted Amber to feel like this place was her home too.

“It's beautiful. You have good taste,” Amber said.

“I sure do.” He looked at her when he responded.

Amber cleared her throat. “Where will I be sleeping?”

“With me, of course. Well, unless you have a problem with that?”

“You'll get no objections from me.”

Amber left Jason standing at the foot of the stairway as she went to explore.

“I'll be back after I put our luggage in our room.”

“I'll be down here being nosy,” Amber responded.

Since being in his new place, no other woman besides family or close friends had stepped inside of it. Amber was the first woman he'd been intimate with enough to be there.

He had hired an interior designer referred by Charlotte to help him decorate. It was well worth the money. He didn't have the time to take care of the nuisances because he was too busy taking care of his clients' nuisances.

He had just realized that since being with Amber, he had hardly looked at his cell phone. Before, he practically lived with the cell phone in his hand.

“Jason, this really is a nice place,” Amber said from behind him.

“How long have you been standing there?” Jason asked.

“Not long. I decided to come check out where I'll be laying my head.”

“As you can see, there's plenty of room in here.”

A black-and-white comforter, along with several pillows, covered the chestnut king-size bed with high wooden bedposts.

In the far right corner was a long chaise near the floor-length window. A small bookshelf was built into the wall and was filled with books by some of Jason's favorite authors.

Amber removed a book from the bookshelf. “So, you weren't lying about reading all of those books?”

“Right. I love to read. I don't get a chance to read as much as I used to, but I do still take time to read.”

“I like. I really do.”

“Glad you approve.” Jason smiled. “Let me show you something.”

Amber placed the book back on the shelf. Jason opened a door next to the chaise, revealing a balcony. He held his hand out. Amber took it as he led her out onto the balcony.

An ocean view greeted them.

“It's beautiful. I could sit out here and write all day.” Amber walked to the edge of the balcony.

Jason placed his hand in the middle of her back. “The water is so pretty and blue. I love the sounds from the waves. I sit out here to meditate, and before I know it, I'm waking up from a nap I hadn't intended to take.”

“I thought I had a nice view. This is better.”

“I'm not on the beach but close enough that I can walk if I like, or drive.” Jason smiled.

“Not sure how long I will be here, but I feel that I'm going to like it here.”

“Good. I have a maid service come in and clean up once a week. I'm so busy that although I can cook, I don't always have time to cook, so I use this service that brings in my food for the week as well.”

“Yes, please keep the maid service because I hate cleaning up. But the food service? You can call and cancel them. As long as I'm here, you will be getting some home-cooked meals.”

“There are some benefits to being married. Maybe I should have tried this a long time ago.”

“You weren't marriage material then.”

“So you agree I am now.” Jason pulled Amber into his arms.

“The verdict is still out.”

“Maybe this will convince you.” Jason kissed Amber, lifting her off her feet.

“Now
that
was a kiss,” Amber said as soon as her feet hit the floor and Jason released her from his embrace.

Jason grabbed her hand. “Come on. I want to show you the rest of the house.”

Amber followed Jason from room to room. Each room seemed to have its own theme. Besides the master bedroom, she'd already decided the kitchen was her second-favorite place in the house.

“This kitchen is perfect,” Amber said as she admired the spacious layout. The counters were marble, and the stove and refrigerator were stainless steel. There was an island in the middle with bar stools placed under it. In one corner was a kitchen table with four chairs around it. The color scheme reminded Amber of a sunflower. It was bright and yellow and made the kitchen very inviting.

“This is my favorite part of the kitchen.” Jason pointed to a twenty-inch television with a connected stereo system adjacent to the counter.

Amber opened the refrigerator. Inside were packages of prepared food, bottles of water, and juice. There were no condiments, no fruit, no vegetables; the refrigerator was empty as far as she was concerned.

“First order of business is grocery shopping. How can you live like this? There's hardly any food here.” Amber shut the refrigerator door and looked at Jason.

“I told you, usually by the time I get home, it's late, and I get my food prepackaged.”

“I see.” Amber opened the doors to the cabinets. She was pleased to see there were nice dishes inside. She opened the pantry. “Um. I see now.”

The pantry was filled with junk food. Potato chips and other snacks filled the shelves.

“I know. I'm a junkie.”

Amber placed her hand on his chest. “With all of this junk food, I'm surprised you're so fit.”

“I work out almost every day.”

“I can tell.” Amber winked and continued to inspect the kitchen.

Once they were through in the kitchen, Jason led her to the backyard. The lawn looked freshly cut, and the beautiful, colorful flowers were neat and trimmed.

“I pay a gardener to come by once a week to keep the yard up,” Jason noted.

“I might be spending a lot of time back here. I'm surprised you don't have a pool.”

“Beyond those walls.” Jason pointed at the wooden fence. “There's a natural pool. God's beautiful ocean. When I want to take a swim, I just follow the path through the fence there and go to the ocean.”

Jason grabbed her hand and led her through the gate and down the path to the beach. They spent the next hour walking hand in hand along the sand, enjoying the cool ocean breeze. This part of the beach wasn't busy with tourists. In fact, no one else was on the beach but them.

“You're so beautiful,” Jason stopped and said.

Amber chuckled. “Have you been drinking again?”

Jason removed the clip from her hair, and it fell to her shoulders. “Look at you. You're gorgeous. I'm a lucky man.”

No man she'd been with had ever described her as gorgeous. Jason had a way of making her feel confident. “Compliments will get you everywhere,” she responded with a smile on her face.

“It's the truth,” Jason said right before kissing her.

Amber wasn't sure how long they kissed, but she knew she never wanted his lips to leave hers. Being in his arms at this moment in time made her feel at peace. She didn't want the feeling to end.

Chapter Fourteen

Thirty minutes later, they were seated in the den, with Jason's laptop turned on and in front of them.

“You can order whatever you feel we need for the kitchen, and someone will deliver it,” Jason said.

He positioned the laptop so Amber could have a clear view.

“Since I'm not sure how long I'll have to be camped out here, we are going to need a lot.”

Jason handed Amber his credit card. “I'm going to leave that part up to you. While you're taking care of that, I'll be making a few business calls.”

“On a Sunday?” Amber asked.

“Truthfully, in this line of business, the days run together.”

“It's like that when I'm trying to complete a screenplay. I usually try to write Monday through Friday, but when the story is talking to me, I get in that zone and don't want to stop.”

“Beauty and brains is her name.” Jason gave her a quick peck and left the room.

He went to his home office and took a seat in the leather swivel chair behind his desk.

He logged on to the computer and checked and responded to emails.

While online, Charlotte instant messaged him.
Call me
.

Jason dialed Charlotte's number.

“Welcome back. The phone's been ringing off the hook,” Charlotte said.

“I can imagine,” Jason responded, while still scrolling through his emails.

“You have to remember Amber is not only Max's daughter, but a child star. People like to keep up with celebrities.”

“She's been out of the spotlight for so long, I think she's forgotten she was once a star,” Jason added while typing a response to one of his employees. “I see, other than my little drama, nothing else has gotten out of hand.”

“We've got everything under control. I talked to Max and he wants to meet with us on Wednesday.”

“With everything going on, I hadn't even thought about asking Amber to renew her contract.”

“You've had more important things on your mind. Love will make you lose your train of thought,” Charlotte said.

“Who said I was in love?” Jason smiled as he asked the question.

“I've seen how you look at her when you think no one is watching. And that's all I'm going to say,” Charlotte responded.

“Enough about me. What's going on with you?” he asked. Jason stopped typing and gave Charlotte his undivided attention.

Charlotte burst out crying. It caught Jason off guard.

“Charlotte, do I need to come over there? What's wrong?” Jason asked question after question.

“It's Sean. I think he's having an affair. I'm about to have his baby, and I don't have the strength to confront him.”

Jason laughed.

“Jason, this is not funny. I'm serious,” Charlotte shouted from the other end of the line.

“Stop crying.”

“What am I supposed to do? I'm always fixing other people's lives, but who's going to fix mine?”

Jason scrolled through his contacts and sent Sean a quick text message:
We need to talk
.

He said to Charlotte over the phone, “You and I both know Sean is not sleeping with anyone else. That man adores you.”

“I thought so too, but lately he's been acting strange. He won't even touch me. My Sean would never not touch me. But this new Sean? He acts as if I have the plague or something. And this is his baby I'm carrying, so why is he acting like this with me?”

Jason didn't know, but he didn't like hearing that his business partner and best friend was hurting. If Sean was messing around on Charlotte, he would have hell to pay.

His phone beeped, alerting him to an incoming text.

“Charlotte, calm down. It's not good for the baby and it's not good for you. Try to get some rest. I'm sure nothing's going on.”

“I'll try, Jason. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Seconds after hanging up with Charlotte, Jason dialed Sean's number.

“If it's not the newlywed,” Sean teased.

Jason interrupted him. “Forget that. I need to know who you're screwing and why?”

“Excuse me?” Sean responded.

“You heard me. How long have you been having an affair?”

“Jason, where is this coming from? Affair? I'm not having an affair. I'm a happily married man. My wife's about to have a baby. But you know that.”

“I just got off the phone with your wife, and she thinks you're having an affair.”

“Jason, I swear to you, I am not cheating. I love Charlotte. She's my world. I would never do her like that.”

“You need to explain yourself. Why are you treating her as if she has the plague? Her words, not mine.”

Sean sighed aloud. “Man, I've been trying to deal with her being pregnant the best way I know how. I want to touch her, but I don't want to hurt the baby. I keep my distance because being around her keeps me in a constant state of arousal, especially knowing she's carrying my child inside of her.”

Jason felt relieved. He wouldn't have to hurt Sean after all. “I think you two need to talk. She thinks you're acting funny with her because you're sleeping with another woman. You don't want to touch her because you're afraid to hurt her. All of this drama because of some miscommunication.” Jason laughed.

“I didn't know she felt that way. I definitely need to clear this up and fast. I'll talk to you later.”

“Sean, you should be glad we're also friends, because if we weren't, I would have kicked your behind and asked questions later. You know Charlotte is my best friend, and nobody hurts my best friend.”

“Charlotte's lucky to have a guy like you in her corner.”

“Please remind her of that, because lately, with my drama, she needs that reminder.”

“Got to go, man. Got to clean up this mess.”

Jason was glad to find out Sean and Charlotte's situation could be cleared up with a simple phone call. Too bad his situation wasn't that easy to fix.