29. Jamie
29
JAMIE
T his whole situation with Kyle has stirred up uncomfortable memories for all of us. Wesley’s been as anxious as a tiger in a cage and twice as dangerous. Phillip has been down in the dumps and ruminating over his ex-wife.
And me? I can’t take my mind off Julia.
I can’t stop reliving the day she died. I had been in shock so severe that I went completely numb inside.
I had been lost and drowning in grief with no clue what to do with my life. My right-hand man (also a fraternity brother of mine) took the reins in our company and gave me two months off to process.
If it weren’t for Wesley and Phillip, I never would have left my bed.
With the letters and now the flower arrangements piling up on the receptionist’s desk every day, I can’t help but worry about what would happen to Avery if I just keeled over and died.
How would it impact her? What if I die before this thing with Kyle resolves and my death makes her unable to deal with things?
What if it didn’t matter to her at all? What if she didn’t even care if I was gone?
Now that’s just utter nonsense. You’ve seen the way she looks at you. There is no way she wouldn’t care if you died.
It’s a horribly morbid thought, but it still cheers me up, anyway.
I glance over at her and Wesley at the other end of the academy kitchen. The sight of them so thoroughly enjoying each other’s company brings a smile to my face.
Avery catches me looking and matches my smile before going back to sculpting with fondant.
She and Wesley really are good for each other. When they cook together at home, it’s like they share a brain. It’s beyond impressive how well they work together. It’s nice to see that they do it here too.
It’s the same with Phillip—she puts him through the intellectual wringer every time they debate something. He’s always on his toes trying to anticipate her questions and answer them before she can even ask. Don’t even get me started on when they play chess together.
Avery really does bring out the best side of all three of us, and I know it’s selfish, but I'd like to think we do that for her too.
The knot of worry in my heart evaporates because even if I were to unexpectedly die, there would be two good men to take care of her when I couldn’t.
As soon as the fondant sculptures are done and atop the cake they made, we all move to Phillip’s office to start her next class.
I know it’s only the first Saturday we’ve tried the combined lessons, but it’s going well so far—no hiccups or miscommunications or poor time management. It’s smooth sailing all the way.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by that. We make an excellent team.
When Phillip locks the door to his office, Avery starts nervously jiggling her leg.
“What’s going on? Has something more happened with Kyle?” I ask.
“No, it’s not that.”
“Did you need a break, then? I know we’re jumping right from cooking to marketing psychology. It’s okay if you need a few minutes to adjust,” Phillip adds.
“It’s more of a personal matter. I know it’s not something we should be talking about here, but I feel like it’ll be easier for me to say in a more neutral location.”
“The door’s locked. No one will be able to come in unannounced or overhear anything. Say whatever you need to say.”
“I really appreciate you three making sure that at least one of you has been with Leo and me at night since the first batch of flowers came, but I know that can’t possibly be comfortable or convenient for you. You don’t have to keep doing it. You three have so much more going on than I do. I’m sure it would be better for you to be in your own beds. I don’t want your work to suffer because of all this.”
“Your safety is important. Don’t you understand that we care about what happens to you?” I say.
“But I’m not any safer with you there. I’m on the third floor, so even if he wanted to, he’s not going to be able to break in that way. You can’t even get access to the condo without having a key to the front door. Yes, someone else can buzz him in, but I always keep my door locked and Dad installed a second deadbolt on my door a few days ago.
“The only thing your sleeping there will do is give me peace of mind and make it a little easier for me to fall asleep. I can manage that by myself. I don’t need you sitting up with me like I’m a child who’s afraid of the dark. It’s not worth it.”
“When are you going to understand that you are worth it?”
Avery flinches at the tone of his voice.
“Wesley, maybe you should take a breath and calm down a little?” I suggest.
“No, I will not calm down. This bastard made her feel like she’s nothing and now he’s back because she’s what? Trying to make a better life for herself? This is bullshit. He needs to be stopped.”
“We’re trying to do that,” Phillip says in his therapist voice. “You know that the proper channels take time. We just have to trust the justice system.”
“The same justice system that gave me a harsher punishment than the man who assaulted Suzanne because they decided she was dressed provocatively? She was wearing her fucking work uniform. How about the justice system that let Amira’s ex-boyfriend out after a year for good behavior even though he almost beat her to death? Or do you mean the justice system that should have put Avery’s husband behind bars but gave him barely more than a slap on the wrist because his family had money? I’ve seen this happen too many times to my co-workers and then my employees, and now, our girlfriend. I’m not going to let this happen to her again.”
“I understand, but if you go after this guy, I don’t think you’ll get off with just a misdemeanor and a fine again—not with the kind of reach his family has.”
“Wait, you have a criminal record? Why didn’t you tell me?”
The hurt in Avery’s voice stabs me in the gut. Going by the look on Wesley’s face, he feels the same way.
“You need to tell her,” Phillip says gently.
Wesley sighs and flops down next to Avery on the small couch in the corner of the room.
“I know you’re aware that I have a temper, but especially when I was younger, I’d punch first and ask questions later.”
She digs her nails into her palms. “Have you—have you ever put your hands on a woman?”
“Never have. Never will,” he says seriously.
“So, what happened that got you charged with a misdemeanor? I’m assuming it had to do with what happened to Suzanne and Amira.”
“It does. When I was saving to launch Fantasy Flavors, I worked at Cowboy’s Steakhouse. Their gimmick was a mechanical bull and waitresses dressed like sexy cowgirls.
“Too many customers took that as an invitation to put their hands on them. Even before what happened to Suzanne happened, I had tossed my fair share of creeps out. When I found Suzanne that day, I knew something more had happened than someone pinching her bum. I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. It took four people to pull me off him.
“Amira’s one of my staff as well, and her ex decided to crash a catering event and harass her the day he got out of prison. I’d been doing really well with my anger management techniques, and all I did was grab him by the arm and escort him off the property with one of my other staff. Then he made some nasty accusations about her and took a swing at me. I ended up breaking his arm. If there hadn’t been a few witnesses who told the police he’d swung first, I would have gotten far worse than a misdemeanor.”
A tear slips down Avery’s cheek.
“That’s what you were so worried about telling me? You were all dramatic with your ‘you don’t know what I’m capable of when I’m angry’ stuff, and this is what you were keeping from me?”
Then she shocks us all by laughing.
“Wesley, you should be getting a knighthood. From what you’re telling me, you’ve only ever harmed someone when they’ve mistreated a woman. I wish someone like you had been around when… well, you know.”
“That doesn’t bother you?” he asks, sitting up a little straighter.
“No. If anything, it makes me care for you even more.”
I’ve been trying to get him to understand this for years. It warms my heart to see someone finally getting through to him.
Maybe we really can make this into something that lasts.
“I know I should have told you sooner, but I was scared to, and the longer we’ve been seeing each other, the harder it got. I’d understand if you didn’t want to see me anymore because I kept it from you. It’s okay if that’s the case.”
“Why would I want to give up on someone as wonderful as you? I don’t think you did anything wrong, but if you do, we’re here to work through it with you. I’m not going anywhere. I want this to turn into something permanent,” she says, taking his hand.
I move to sit on the other side of her.
“If you feel all that for us,” I say, “then why can’t you see that we feel the same way about you?”
“I—it’s different,” she protests.
“How? You’re intelligent, ambitious, and a damn good mother. Every time you walk into the room, it gets a little brighter. That’s not even addressing how beautiful you are. If your face doesn’t hit the golden ratio, it’s damn close. If I had any talent beyond just admiring art, I would have painted you ten times over already. There’s no one else for me.”
“I feel the same way about you,” Wesley says, turning her to face him.
Not wanting to lose contact with her, I scoot forward and press my chest into her back.
“You have accepted what I thought was the worst part of me,” he continues. “You see the best in everyone except for yourself. I promise that I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you see how wonderful you are if you’ll let me. You will always be worth it.”
“You really feel that way?” she asks.
Phillip crosses the room and drops to his knees in front of her. “Of course we all feel that way. How could we not? You have such a big heart. The way you love your son inspires me every day. And you’re so talented. With the way you bake, you should have a pastry empire instead of being at that venue with such an absolute bastard for a head chef. There’s only thing more spectacular than your creations—your sparkling sapphire eyes. I don’t ever want to let you go. Please let us take care of you just as much as you take care of us.”
“I’ll try,” she says softly.
I know this is the last place we should ever be physically affectionate with her, but I can’t seem to help myself.
I press a kiss to the soft skin of her neck.
Her soft little sigh is enough to set us all in motion.
With a presence of mind I’m far from capable of right now, Phillip jumps up and starts yanking all the blinds closed.
My hands grip her hips as she presses her ass hard against my dick.
“You sure you want to do this?” I ask.
“Yes, I want to,” she sighs.