One Month Later
Three little words. That was all they were. And he'd said them to her last night. James never realized how simple it was to respond "I love you, too" until last night when they'd been sitting by the pool, their feet hanging over the side in the water, and JC had looked at her, paused and whispered, "I love you."  Her response was automatic, but heartfelt. She really did love him. She had fallen fast and she knew it, but with her whole heart, she knew. She loved him, too. 
It had felt right for him to come back to her bedroom with her later. It had felt even more right as they both crawled beneath the sheets, gently tearing off clothes, and then, holding each other tightly as they made love. James couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like this. Yes, probably with Clay, but this was different. Much different. It felt perfect. And when she'd woken up that morning and JC was still in bed next to her, holding her against him, she knew it was different because Clay had left the first time they'd ever slept together. But JC stayed all night.

She snuggled against him, not wanting to move, thankful it was a Sunday and she didn't have to go. She lifted her head only slightly to look at the clock on the bedside table that told her it was nearing eight o'clock. Sutton would soon be awake and Chad had spent the night over at Lane's. So as much as she didn't want to move, James knew she needed to get downstairs to fix her daughter breakfast. JC slept soundly next to her and she tried to be as quiet as possible getting out of bed. Before she had swung her legs over the edge, she felt his hand on her arm, beckoning her back to him.

"Don't go," he mumbled, his eyes still closed, his hand gently on her arm. 

"I have to get Sutton breakfast," she leaned down and kissed his cheek. He suddenly found the energy to pull her on top of him and before she knew it, they were making love again. 

"I want to wake up like this every morning," JC kissed her ear and then her cheek as she rolled off of him. "Can we do that?"

James chuckled, "Yes, but first, can I please go feed my child breakfast?" JC nodded lazily and went to kiss her, but his phone vibrated against the dresser and he reluctantly pulled himself out of bed to answer it. 

JC's head was spinning as he moved to the dresser to answer his phone. He was dizzy and he knew this woman, this woman he'd known for just a month, had done more good than anyone else in his life ever had. And he loved her. He had known it for weeks but last night, with the sun setting behind the marsh, the faint call of a whipper will in the distance, and the fact that they were alone outside, he knew it was time to tell her.

His phone buzzed again before he could get to it and finally, he reached it and saw the text from Gail:

Call me ASAP. Possible gig for you.

"What is it?" James asked, as she threw a t-shirt over her head. 

"Um. Nothing. Just my manager. I'll call her back and be down in a minute," JC told her, as he dialed the familiar number that had not been so familiar in the last few weeks. 

James watched him with uncertainty. "Ok," she answered, and left her room. He pulled her to him and kissed her quickly before she left, just as he heard Gail's groggy voice answer.

"Oops, sorry, Gail. I forgot it's still the middle of the night," JC immediately apologized, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  "I'll call you back later-"

"No, I"m up. I have to meet my personal trainer at six, so I had to get up anyway,"  Gail cleared her throat. "Now, when are you getting back here? Because there's a pilot for a talent show being thrown at NBC for the Winter line-up next season called Triple Threat. They want you as a judge and mentor. The pilot shoots on Tuesday. I can get you on the red-eye tonight. You in?"

JC was stunned. He couldn't answer. He'd just told James he loved her and he already knew what it would mean if he suddenly packed up and left. But it was a pilot. It might not even be picked up. He was conflicted but he knew he didn't have time to answer. "I-no, Gail, I'm sorry. I think I'm gonna have to decline."

"Are you kidding me, Jace? What did you do? Go down south and fall in love?"

JC was quiet.

"Oh my God you fell in love. What's her name?"

"Her name is James,"

"A girl? Named James?"

"Yeah. She's thirty-two and the best friend of my cousin. We're pretty serious. I just don't know if I can leave right now-"

"If she loves you, she'll understand. Go talk to her and then call me back in ten so I can book the flight," Before JC could respond, Gail had hung up. 

"Shit," he muttered, and slowly stood. He was dreading going downstairs now. James would know. She'd see it on his face that something wasn't right and when he told her...well, he didn't want to think about that. He could not break her heart. He wouldn't do it. 

James was giving Sutton a plate of scrambled eggs when JC walked into the kitchen. She immediately saw the look on his face, but before she could say anything, Sutton had jumped off of the barstool she was sitting on and running to JC.

"Hi, Josh!" Sutton wrapped  her little arms around his legs and JC picked her up and threw her in the air. This immediately caused Sutton to let out a hearty laugh. "Mommy made scrambled eggs! Do you want some?"

"Sure," JC kissed the top of her head and then put her back on the ground. 

"What is it?" James asked him, as Sutton crawled back up to her barstool. 

JC cleared his throat and made a motion with his head that they needed to talk in the other room. James looked over at Sutton and saw she was busy digging into her breakfast.

"Be right back, baby girl," James said to Sutton, as she followed JC into the formal dining room. 

"My manager called," JC started and immediately James' face fell. "No, listen. She wants me to do some talent thing for a pilot that NBC might be picking up for their Winter season. I told her I wouldn't go but she wanted me to talk to you because she knew that something was up. So, I told her about you and how we were serious and that I didn't want to do it, but-"

James let out a shaky sigh. "I don't want to stop you, Josh. You should do it. It's just a pilot, right? How long will you be gone?"

"It's supposed to be filmed on Tuesday. I would take the red-eye out tonight-"

"That soon? Whoa..." James folded her arms in front of her and JC pulled her into him. 

"I won't go, baby. I am not going to leave you," he told her, firmly. 

"But it's just a pilot. What if it didn't get picked up?"

"Then it wouldn't matter. I'd be back on Wednesday either way,"

James wondered if she'd regret what she was about to tell him. She didn't want to be the girlfriend that stifled her boyfriend from doing things. And she knew JC was sick and tired of life in L.A., but maybe he really needed to see it again to make sure he was really sick of it. 

"Go," she looked up at him. "I think it might be good for you to tape it and just see what happens."

"But, baby, what if-" he started to say, but she silenced him with a soft kiss.

"We'll cross the 'what-ifs' when they get here. You said you were sick of life in L.A. and you've been gone a month. You have a routine here, right? You have me and Sutton and Chad. But you also had a life in L.A. before us and maybe it's just a good thing if you go back and see if you miss it. If you do, well, we can talk about that when you get back."

"James, are you sure?" JC ran his fingers gently through her hair. "I just wouldn't want you to think I was abandoning you. Like Clay-"

"You are nothing like him, Josh," James assured him. "And I know you're not abandoning me. You'll be gone 48 hours and then I get you back on Wednesday." she rested her head against his chest and teasingly whispered. "All to myself. In my bed."

JC chuckled softly. "Ok. That is incentive enough for me to book a flight home on Tuesday after the show wraps. I'll go call Gail back." He kissed her for a long time before he left the room and up the stairs.

"Are you crazy?" Chad asked James later that afternoon when he'd returned from what had apparently been a very sleepless night at Lane's. His eyes were bloodshot but he was giddy, so James hadn't needed to ask what had happened there. "The man tells you he loves you last night, you finally sleep together, and you've just told him to go back to Los Angeles? James, honey, what goes on inside that pretty little head of yours?"

James rolled her eyes and went to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of iced tea. "I told you, Chad. He needs to find out whether or not he really does miss it out there. He's been here a month and he's experienced a whole other world that's nothing like California. If this is gonna work out, I want to make sure he's not going to regret it. I can't risk that and neither can he."

"James, what if he does miss it? What if he realizes that he wants to be back out there? What will you do?" Chad took her hand in his and looked at her with concern. "If you and Sutton left, I'd be devastated and so would your parents. And then there's the question of Brewster's-"

"I've thought about all of that," James said. "And I don't know what I'd do. All of this is so new. That's why I want him to go and do this because of how new all of this is. If he wants his old life back, then I guess I'd have my answer."

"I think you're crazy, but I understand. Are you taking him to the airport?" Chad asked.

"We're leaving in an hour," James replied. "So can you get Sutton dinner and in bed?"

"Yeah. No problem there," Chad pulled her to him and hugged her. "I'm here for you, doll. You know that, right?"

"Always," James had started crying and was soaking Chad's Polo shirt with her tears. 

"Cry it out, honey," Chad held her tighter and James wept quietly.

"But why do you have to go, Josh? Don't you love me and my mommy?" Sutton was sitting on JC's bed as he packed a duffel bag. He was taking enough clothes for two nights and made sure one set was appropriate enough for a shoot, though he knew the stylists would change that if it wasn't. 

"I just have to go for a few nights. I'll be back on Wednesday. I promise. And I do love you and your mommy," JC was already feeling a sense of pride for this little girl who watched his every move. He'd contemplated if things kept progressing like they were, perhaps adopting Sutton as his own. He hadn't mentioned it to James yet, he felt it was too soon to voice, but he was quite sure that he would love to be Sutton's father. 

"Can we go with you?" Sutton asked him, her voice quavering and JC looked to see a tear spill over and down her cheek.

JC stopped what he was doing and went over to the bed, picking her up and sitting down with her on his lap. "Sutton, I wish I could take you both with me, but this is such a quick trip that I'll be back before you know it. I'll sleep on the plane tonight, then tomorrow night at my house, and on Tuesday night I'll be back on a plane that will land on Wednesday morning." He kissed her cheek where her tear had fallen. "So you have to be a big girl and give Mommy lots of hugs while I'm gone, okay?"

Sutton sniffed, "Yeah, ok. I will, Josh." 

James walked into JC's room to see her daughter sitting on JC's lap and her breath was taken away. It was perfect. It was so perfect that she'd almost wished she wasn't so practical and had told him to screw the taping of the pilot and stay here with them. "Hey," she interrupted JC and Sutton, "I'm ready when you are."

JC placed Sutton back on the bed and resumed his packing once more. "I'm almost done. Hey, Sutton, wanna come with Mommy when she picks me up on Wednesday?"

Sutton gasped and gleefully nodded, "Yeah! Mommy can I?"

James smiled and nodded her approval. "Of course you can. But Uncle Chad's downstairs and he needs help on picking out what you want for dinner. He said something about pizza,"

Sutton jumped off the bed and ran out of the room calling, "Yeah, pizza!" 

James walked over to JC and they immediately embraced. "You are the best girlfriend ever," he told her between kisses. "When I get back, I don't want to leave this room for 48 hours."

"Okay," James kissed him back. "I'd like that."

Before long, they had gone downstairs and JC said his goodbyes to Chad and Sutton. The ride to the airport was quiet until they got closer to Savannah. James' grip on JC's hand tightened when they pulled into the airport parking lot. They quietly walked inside, JC checked in at the Delta gate, and then they were at the entrance to security.

"I'll see you on Wednesday at nine," JC held her tightly against him. "I'll call you as soon as I land, okay?"

James had been crying and could barely muster, "Okay."

He tilted her chin up to him and kissed her long and hard on the mouth. "I love you, James. And I'm going to come back. I promise."

James only nodded. He might come back, she thought, but would he be back to stay?