10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Jessica

Marlon stays hidden behind the door, his Glock held firmly in his hands, his fingers poised over the trigger. His heartbeat is as loud as a drum, and he's aware that there'll be a death tonight—either him or Farloe. One of them must die. He—

A knock sounds at the door, breaking my word flow. Groaning, I slump against the table, slightly banging my forehead on the wood. "Ow!" After battling with writer's block for months, I finally started writing last night, and it's been such a breeze. I got up around two a.m. and continued till five, after which I went back to sleep only to wake up again at seven to write some more. It's nine now, and I'm on my fourth chapter.

I hear the knock again and glare at the door, wondering who it could be. No one comes here except my family or Evelyn, and they always call before stopping by. I slip down the stool and march toward the door, struggling to maintain my composure and not snap at whoever I find at the other end.

Just as I reach the door, the knock comes again, and I grab the knob and yank it open.

"Oh, for goodness sake, relax. Who the—" I pause, finding Sean on my doorstep. He looks cute in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, holding two cups of coffee.

"Good morning to you, too, precious."

"Precious?" I gag. "What are you doing here? I don't have time for this, Sean."

Sean ignores me and pushes into my house, stopping a stone's throw from the door. "Thanks for letting me in."

"I didn't!" I slam the door shut and fold my arms. Fortunately, I've showered, and my hair looks nice, but I still feel a little self conscious about Sean seeing me in my space where I always feel vulnerable.

"How are you?" He asks warmly. "I came to see if you were over last night. I'm sorry if you feel weird about what happened."

"What happened?" I ask.

"About your mom telling everyone your—"

"That's enough." I raise my hand to stop him because I don't want to be reminded of how my mother embarrassed me by spilling details about my love life in public. "It's fine. I'm over it."

"Wonderful." He takes a sip from one of the coffee cups and stretches the other out to me. "This is for you."

I want to take it but I'll feel better refusing Sean and booting him out of my house. When I don't immediately accept the cup, he narrows his eyes at me.

"It's rude to reject gifts from a visitor. I'm sure you know that."

Squinting my eyes at him, I walk toward him and take the cup. It's still warm and I take a sip. Sean smiles.

"Do you like it?"

I savor the taste of the coffee before swallowing. "It's good," I say, taking another sip. "Thank you."

Sean nods and looks around my space. "Your house is much bigger than I thought," he says.

"Why were you thinking about my house?"

He shrugs and ignores my question. "You could have done a lot better with the curtains." He narrows his eyes at my silver-hemmed frill curtains. "They hardly fit the aesthetics of your space."

I gape at him. "You're unbelievable, Sean. First, you barge into my home. Second, you're judging my curtains?"

"Are we even friends if I can't judge your curtains?" He arches his brows, and I almost laugh at his childishness.

"Get out, Sean." I take another sip from the coffee. He sighs heavily and walks toward the island, where my laptop is sitting. He starts to read the open page, and I dash toward him, snapping the lid shut. Our gazes meet, and I suck in a breath. He's so close, and his eyes are the bluest of blues, it'll take nothing for me to lean in and…

"That was rude," he says, snapping me back to reality. For heaven's sake, this is Sean O'Connell. How could I be attracted to him? I see why my mother doesn't trust me to pick a serious partner. I'm not sure I trust myself either. Not with me being insanely attracted to the one person I find most annoying in the entire world.

"It's rude to read a writer's first draft," I snipe. "You'll just have to wait till it's out."

"Okay. Okay." Sean knocks back the remaining liquid in his cup before sitting on the nearest stool. "So… " he starts hesitantly, "After I got in last night I started thinking…"

I fold my arms and narrow my eyes. This can't be good. I don't like the hesitation in Sean's voice at all. "Thinking about what, Sean?"

"You know – " He shrugs. "Just the entire conversation we had on the drive home. You said you really wanted a man, but you can't find one yourself. I—"

"What?" I shriek. "I never said that."

"Don't interrupt me, Jessica," he snaps. "So I thought long and hard about how to help you and came to a solution."

He pauses, and we stare at each other for a moment. "Want to ask me what this solution is, Jess?"

Sighing, I ask, "What is this solution?"

"I'll be your dating coach," he responds with excitement, catching me off-guard. I stare at him, my mouth agape. Sean smiles indulgently. "I believe the words you're looking for are, Thank you, Sean. You're a lifesaver. Right?"

"What?" I burst into laughter. "You've got to be kidding me. You're finally out of your mind."

"I'm not," he deadpans. "I'm serious."

I stare at him for another moment, half-expecting him to jump from the stool and do a circus dance because I'm certain this is some kind of joke. "You can't be serious."

"So I got out of bed early, grabbed you a coffee and then came over just to tell you a joke?" We stare silently at each other, and finally, I see the seriousness in his eyes.

"Sean–" I shake my head. "I don't know what to say."

"Say ‘thank you'."

"No." I shake my head again, firmly this time. "That's not what I meant, what I meant is that this is crazy. Completely absurd."

"How so?" He looks genuinely confused as to why I think it's absurd, and if this wasn't happening directly to me, I'd be rolling on the floor with laughter by now.

"Sean – " I take a step toward him. "I remember everything I told you last night. In no way did I insinuate that I am desperate enough to need a dating coach." I laugh. "The very thought of it is ridiculous. I'm very fine with my life right now, thank you very much."

"Jessica." Sean smooths a hand down my hair, and I freeze, feeling the simple touch all the way down to my toes. He looks unaffected and continues like it's nothing. "As your friend, I should tell you that when you speak, I read between the lines. When we talked last night, I could hear how much you want to be with someone; how much you wish you had your person."

I'm frozen again, but this time, it's by the truth in his words. Did he really read between the lines and detect that I want to be in a relationship way more than I'm letting on? I am lonely, and although being alone has served me well in the past, lately, it's been like a noose around my neck. I hate leaving home because it means I'll come back to an empty house, and even more, I've started to hate being at home because it's a reminder that I am currently alone.

"Jessica let me help you," Sean says softly. "Let me help you find that person who will be yours and you his. And trust me, I'll do everything to find one who would never hurt you. I cross my heart."

When I realize I'm falling under Sean's spell, I pull away from him and take several steps back. "Thank you, Sean, but my answer remains no." I shake my head. "What makes you think you can help me? You don't even know the kind of man I like? You have no clue what I'm looking for and you know nothing about me." I smirk at him. "Last I heard, you're an actor, not a dating coach."

"You see, that's where you're wrong." He slides down the stool and walks toward me. "Three years ago, I hosted a reality dating show. Twenty contestants were looking for love, and I helped fourteen people get together. Six of these couples are still together as we speak."

He's right, unfortunately. I remember the dating show, and he did spectacularly well there. "How do I know the show isn't fake? After all, it is TV."

Sean sighs. "I can't help you if you keep making excuses, Jess."

"I don't need your help," I tell him stubbornly. "I refuse."

"I knew you were going to say no," he says with a simple head shake. "Because you're too stubborn to realize when someone is trying to help you. I see nothing wrong here, but you're just scared."

"Scared of what?" I ask.

"Of opening up."

Sean and I stare at each other for a brief moment. "I'm not scared, Sean. Just uninterested."

"Hmph!" He snorts. "If that's what makes you sleep at night."

I glance at my laptop and wish Sean would leave so I can continue writing. He's crowding my space, filling everywhere with his presence, his scent. He's putting crazy thoughts in my head. I want him to leave so I can breathe and get back to the way my life was before he walked in my door.

Sean is about to say something, but I raise my finger. "You know what? You might be right."

"What do you mean?" He narrows his eyes.

"This idea might be a good one; I shouldn't completely dismiss it just yet."

"Really?"

"Yes." I grab his arm and walk him toward the door. "Why don't you give me time to think about it and I'll get back to you."

"You're lying," he says. "You're kicking me out."

"No. Of course not." I stop by the door and hold it open. "I just need some time to think." I wear a thoughtful expression and look into his eyes. "Give me some time and I'll get back to you. Okay?"

He's silent for a moment before nodding. "Okay." He steps out the door. "I'll stop by later."

"Sounds good. Bye."

Before he can respond, I shut the door and let out a deep breath. Whew! A few more minutes with Sean, and I'd have thrown myself at him. How does one person have the right to look that good? With another groan, I stalk toward the island and open my laptop, ready to get back to work. I just told Sean I'd consider his offer to get him off my back. There's nothing to think about. My answer is no, and there's no changing it. I don't need a dating coach. What I do need, though, is more people in my life to mind their darn business.