Chapter 26
I f I remember correctly, Asher Abadie’s dad was in the military, and was stationed near Beachwood for a couple of years.
I don’t think I spoke to Asher once while we were in school together.
He seemed nice, but he was shy, and mostly kept to himself.
I always wondered if he had a crush on Sunny, though.
He sat behind her in science class, and his gaze never drifted far from her, even though all he could see from that vantage point was her pretty hair.
“I’m Jenna Andersen,” I remind him.
“I know,” he says, exchanging a smile with Vanessa.
“On our trip, Asher mentioned he lived in Beachwood briefly, and we realized that you were in school together,” she tells me. “That’s why I invited him over tonight. I thought it would be a fun surprise.”
“Small world,” Charlie says to no one in particular.
“Tell me about it,” Asher replies, and the two men chuckle. “Good to see you again, Jenna,” he continues, reaching for my hand first, then my boyfriend’s. “And you must be Charlie?”
“Formerly known as Nico, yes,” he says with a sheepish grin. “Is it too soon to laugh about this?”
“I think you need a symbol. Like Prince,” Vanessa teases. Asher chuckles again.
“Guess it’s not too soon,” I answer Charlie.
“Why don’t we sit in the living room?” Vanessa goes on to suggest. “I’ll open another bottle of red.”
Charlie looks to me for guidance. “Sure,” I reply. “Sounds good.”
He takes my hand and leads me to the living room, then sits at the very end of Vanessa’s couch.
When I’m seated next to him, he puts his arm around my shoulder, and I can’t help but melt into him.
My mind may be full of doubt, but my body knows what it wants.
I guess that’s not the worst thing. This double date is strange enough as it is without me advertising my inner turmoil.
I lean into Charlie and delight in the warmth of his body against mine—for now, at least.
“So, Asher, what have you been up to since middle school?” I ask when he and Vanessa are settled at the other end of the couch, and the four of us are sipping merlot.
He chuckles. “Well, I made a few more moves around the country with my family, until I graduated high school. Then I studied psychology at Northwestern, and got my master’s in social work at The University of Chicago.
I’ve lived here ever since. I run an agency that offers mental health services to military families. ”
“That’s incredible,” Charlie says. “Sounds like a rewarding career. ”
Asher nods. “I’m very lucky to be doing work I’m passionate about.”
My pulse picks up speed, triggered by the mention of job satisfaction, and I wonder if Charlie feels the same way.
But his heartrate remains steady where I’m leaning on him.
At the same time, his arm travels from my shoulders to my waist, and he pulls me even closer—like he can sense my apprehension and wants to comfort me.
“You remember Sunny, right?” I ask Asher, changing the subject for the sake of my nerves. “She went to Northwestern, too.”
He turns to Vanessa, who’s wearing an amused grin. “Yeah,” he says. “Sunny and I dated for a while in college.”
My jaw drops. “No way! I had no idea. Sunny and I didn’t keep in touch back then. We became closer recently.”
Vanessa looks up at her boyfriend. “Ash told me all about Sunny over a pitcher of sangria in Barcelona. She did a number on him. Broke his heart.”
Asher laughs. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“He was going to propose,” Vanessa mock-whispers to me.
“Seriously?” I ask Asher, who’s smiling wide, and doesn’t seem at all rattled by the topic of conversation.
“I wasn’t going to propose. Well…not imminently, anyway.”
“You bought her a ring,” Vanessa teases.
“A promise ring,” he clarifies, laughing. “I was going to give it to her after graduation, but she broke up with me about a month beforehand. On our one-year anniversary.”
“He cried for weeks afterward,” Vanessa says with an exaggerated pout .
Asher shakes his head. “It was a week—tops,” he tells me and Charlie.
I wince. “Ouch. I’m sorry. But don’t take it personally. She just never stopped loving Dex.”
Asher chuckles. “Yeah, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I heard about their wedding in the news.
I remember her crushing on him so hard during middle school.
I’m happy for them, though. It all worked out for the best, right?
” He turns to meet Vanessa’s gaze, and I can practically see the sparks fly between them.
“Looks like it,” I say, grinning at my friend and her new beau.
The four of us spend the next hour sipping wine and chatting. Laughing. It’s more fun than you’d ever imagine hanging out with a pair of exes—and their new significant others—could be.
Asher and Charlie take an instant liking to each other.
Turns out they’re both really into baseball.
I find myself wishing that I were as knowledgeable about the sport as Christy, because once the men start talking about stats, they may as well be speaking a foreign language.
Like my boyfriend, Asher played Little League growing up.
Now, he’s coaching a T-ball team for his agency’s youngest clients.
It’s the sweetest thing, seeing his eyes light up when he talks about it.
“Asher’s amazing,” I tell Vanessa when we’re in the kitchen later, putting together a charcuterie board. “And you guys seem so happy together.”
Vanessa shakes her head, a dreamy smile on her face.
“You don’t know the half of it. I’ve never felt this way before.
We have so much in common, from music, to food—to our profession, obviously.
We never run out of things to talk about.
And he can’t wait to start a family, just like me. To be honest with you…”
“Yeah?”
“I could always tell that Charlie wasn’t eager to have kids. So, if that’s something you’re worried about—don’t be,” she says.
I nod, feeling relieved. “He did tell me that he’s never dreamed of being a father. But it’s good to hear it from you, too.”
Especially since it’s so hard to tell what Charlie wants, when he’s so busy pleasing others. And, as happy as Vanessa seems with Asher, now that I’m alone with her, I want to be sure she isn’t upset with me.
“So you’re really okay with me dating The Artist Formerly Known As Nico?” I ask. “It isn’t weird for you?”
She laughs. “The way I see it, we can choose to let it be awkward, or we can choose not to. He and I were friends, more than anything else. It’s a lot like the relationship you had with Dex. And you and Sunny are totally cool, now, right?”
“Yeah,” I say without hesitation. “I was never in love with Dex, and everything worked out the way it was meant to.”
Vanessa smiles. “Exactly. And honestly? I can see you and Charlie being really happy together.”
“You can?” I ask, my heart fluttering.
“He’s such a great guy,” Vanessa tells me. “Kind. Thoughtful. Creative. Whip-smart. We just didn’t have the right chemistry. If you two have it?—”
My cheeks warm.
“I don’t see what could go wrong,” she continues.
I want to ask her opinion about Charlie’s people-pleasing, and his tendency to settle for everything, but I hear footsteps coming our way. Dammit.
“Need any help?” Charlie asks, with Asher entering the kitchen right behind him.
“You can grab the charcuterie board,” Vanessa tells Charlie. “Want to get us some plates, Ash?”
“My pleasure,” he says, winking at her.
The four of us head back to the living room, where we stay until close to eleven, polishing off our second bottle of wine and devouring every last piece of charcuterie. Before we call it a night, we promise to get together again soon.
When we’re alone in front of Vanessa’s building, Charlie turns to me. “How’d you get here?”
“Cab,” I say. “I figured I’d be drinking a fair amount of wine tonight. I was so nervous to tell Vanessa about us.”
“That’s why I talked to her first,” he says, looking down at his shoes. “I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to unburden you of some of your stress. Plus, I don’t have the richest history of being proactive, and…I want to fix that.”
A hopeful smile forms on my lips. Maybe he can change. “I don’t mind at all,” I say. “I appreciate it.”
He nods. “I’m parked up the street. I can drive us home—I didn’t drink much.”
“Thanks,” I reply, tempted to abandon my reservations and go all in with Charlie Sutton.
I mean, here’s this wonderful man who wholeheartedly believes we’re a fairytale: two artists who were destined to be together.
Who had given up on love, then found each other in an unexpected twist of fate.
It’s so beautiful, and romantic—and instead of embracing the man I’ve always wanted, I’m asking him for space.
Suddenly he’s not the one I’m doubting. It’s me .
Am I sabotaging this relationship?
Am I expecting too much from him?
Against all odds, Vanessa’s happy that Charlie and I are dating. But I’m hardly able to appreciate it, because I’m so stuck in my head.
“What’s wrong?” Charlie asks when we’re in his Range Rover. He was about to back out of the spot, but puts the car back in park when he sees the look on my face.
“I’m afraid I’m going to lose you,” I say, my eyes welling with tears.
He takes my hand. “Lose me? Jenna, all I want is to be with you. I’d be kissing the hell out of you right now if you hadn’t asked me for space.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. I feel like I’m giving you an ultimatum: leave your job at Sutton’s, or we can’t be together. But Sutton’s isn’t just a job—it’s your family. Not to mention, it’s financial security. And I’m asking you to give it up to be a starving artist with me?”
“You’re not asking me to do anything I don’t already want to do,” he says. “Trust me. And I don’t think we’ll be starving. We both have plenty of marketable skills to fall back on, if need be.”