Chapter Twenty-One
Now
Jasper
The excitement of the Coconut Grove Days never fails to amaze me.
Tourists flock in to experience the best of our small beachside town.
They can sample food and drinks from the best restaurants, listen to live music, and take home fresh produce.
For the kids, there are carnival rides and games.
The Chamber of Commerce puts on this event every year.
This is will be the new CEO, Chris’ first year, and I told him I’d offer my support.
As I walk down the long row of vendors, I mentally take inventory of who is fully set up and who still needs assistance.
“Beth, let me help you with that,” I say, coming up behind the older woman, bringing one of the signs to place outside her tent.
“Oh, Jasper, you’re the best,” she says, letting go so I can bear the weight. “Thank you.”
“No worries.” I nod in her direction.
“Which one do you think will be the favorite this year?” I dive the metal spokes on the bottom of the sign into the ground. All her flavors of jam are in our local cafés and restaurants.
“Although peach is a community favorite, I think this year blackberry is going to be the big winner.” Her eyes sparkle, looking toward me from a hunched-over position.
“Blackberry has always been my favorite.”
“I know,” she says. “I’ll make sure to save you a jar.”
I finish adjusting the two signs, then turn to Beth. “Can I help you with anything else?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you.”
“Of course,” I say, sliding down my sunglasses, expecting the sun to blaze into us now that it’s late afternoon.
The vendor rows are filling up fast. I wave at each owner as I pass. Then I spot Easton’s booth toward the end of the row.
I head right for my friend. “Hey, man.”
“What’s up?” he greets me as I approach.
“Just making my rounds. How’s set up?” I ask.
He’s standing behind the table with two other employees, unpacking paper coffee cups. “We open soon. Shouldn’t you change into something more mayor-ly.”
I glance down at my board shorts and flip-flops. “Nah.”
He laughs. “So, do you think Arizona will show up?”
“Maybe.” I shrug, trying not to show how much I want her to. “I invited her.”
Suddenly, I get a pat on the shoulder from behind. “Wassup, guys,” Bodhi hoots. “I heard your long-lost love is back in town.”
I cock a brow at him.
“We need to give Jasper some sympathy. It’s been a hard few days for him,” Easton spits at my expense, then places a finger in the air. “And she’s engaged to someone else.”
“You’re an asshole,” I say, jerking his hand off my shoulder.
Bodhi laughs. “I want to say hi to her. Where’s she staying?”
“At the Hannah beach house.”
“Damn, that’s like two houses down from yours.” Bodhi’s eyes widen. “Has it been tempting not to sneak over there?”
Annoyed with my friends, I roll my eyes. “No. It’s fine. Many years have passed. It’s all good.”
Bodhi asks the barista standing next to Easton for a latte, then turns back to me. “So, what’s she here for?”
Easton and I glance at each other. He smirks and then turns away, implying that I need to tell Bodhi why Avery was suddenly back in town. “She’s come back to ask for a divorce.”
Bodhi’s mouth drops. Speechless, he scratches his chin, like he realized that jokes aside, this was something very real and very legal. “Oh fuck.”
Rubbing my lips together, I nod in the shared gravity of the situation. “Yeah.”
“I thought you took care of that years ago?” he asks.
“He didn’t.” Easton tosses over her shoulder.
“Well, no shit …” Bodhi pauses mid-sentence, his focus captured by something in the distance. “Speak of the devil.”
My head whips around to see Avery walking up the narrow sidewalk next to City Hall—the same place we were married eight years ago this summer. Fuck me. Her brown hair is loose, and she’s wearing a tight black summer dress that makes my dick jump.
“There she is,” I mumble to myself.
“Are you going to stand here or say hi to her?” Easton pokes with amusement at my expense.
But I ignore him, keeping my eyes trained on her. “I’ll be right back.”
“I want to say hi, bring her to us!” Bodhi calls out.
I jog across a small patch of grass near the center of the town square, quickly eating the distance between us. “Hi.”
“Hi, Jasper.” She smiles, leaving about ten feet between us.
I bite back a grin. “You came.”
“I did.”
Then, as if fate was reminding me of what reality is for us, my eyes darted down to the massive diamond on her finger. She put it back on. Avery catches me staring and swings her arms around back, clasping them together.
I blink a few times before rising to meet hers. “I’m glad. You’ll have fun.”
“I’m sure.” She blushes. Falling into step with me, we walk toward the booths.
“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” I ask, shoving my hands in my front pockets. “We have just about anything you could want here tonight.”
“Yeah, I’d love to try it all.” Her energy is lighter today.
“I was just about to check on the beer garden. Do you want to come?”
She smiles. “Yeah, but I don’t want to take you away from your mayor duties.”
“The Chamber pretty much runs this whole thing. I’m here to greet people, mingle, and then make a quick speech later.”
“Sounds like a pretty relaxed night for you,” she says. “Do you still have a booth here for your dad’s shop?”
I warm at her memory of it.
“We don’t. My dad stopped a few years after you left. He really didn’t need to do it anymore. Instead, he gave the employees the night off to enjoy the event with their families,” I tell her.
Avery’s lips twist and her eyes lower pensively. “Your dad was a good guy.”
I sigh. “He was.”
There’s a brief silence between us before we approach Easton’s booth.
“Arizona!” Bodhi yells, then grabs her by the waist and swings her around.
“A little overkill, don’t you think?” I quip. Hearing her laugh around my friends is surreal—like no time has passed. What a mind fuck this is.
“I hear Jasper won’t give you a divorce?” Bodhi blurts out, lacking the filter he should have been born with.
Avery straightens her dress when she’s set back on the grass. “He won’t.”
“We’ll talk to him,” Easton adds. “Nice seeing you again.”
She leans over the table and wraps one arm around him for a half hug. “Breakfast was so good. I had no idea you could cook like that.”
“I can’t take all the credit,” he plays. “We do have a phenomenal chef.”
A light wind wears through her hair, and the scent of her coconut shampoo hits my nostrils—what I would give to bury my face in it.
“I need to check on Lyle and Janet at the beer garden. Avery and I are going to head over there,” I say, resting a hand on her lower back out of habit, but then immediately jerk it away.
“Cool. See you in a bit,” Easton says, while Bodhi waves with a mouth full of a strawberry scone from Easton’s café.
Avery and I walk side by side through the grass. “Still drink old-fashioneds?”
“I do.” She bites her lips, dipping her head down bashfully. “I shouldn’t have been drinking them back then, you know?”
Rubbing my chin, I fondly remember the first time Avery had an old-fashioned. She didn’t drink wine coolers or fruity drinks with the other girls. She also refused to drink beer like the guys. “None of us should have, but we did.”
She laughs. It’s still the best sound, and the moment those sweet giggles hit the air, my brain is already figuring out how I could do it again.
“Mayor Collins,” Lyle greets me as Avery and I enter the small space sectioned off by artificial bushes.
“Lyle, you can call me Jasper,” I correct, shaking his hand.
“I know, I know. But we’re new here, and Janet and I want to make a good impression,” he politely explains.
“I understand.” I turn to the beautiful brunette at my side. “This is my friend, Avery. She’s visiting from Arizona.”
Lyle’s wife, Janet, pops up from one of the tree stump stools and rushes over. “You’re beautiful, honey. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Great to meet you both.” Avery smiles warmly.
“So, you’re friends with our beloved young mayor?” Her voice is a tad higher this time.
Avery chews on the corner of her cheek. “I am.”
Sensing the uncomfortable tension between the four of us, more specifically between my long-lost wife, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Anyone want a drink?”
Lyle’s hand comes out in front of us. “Let me get it. Avery, what can I grab for you?”
“It’s a beer garden, but Tommy is back in the bar, and he can make you anything you want.” Janet blows a corkscrew piece of hair away from her face before twisting it behind her.
Avery’s nose scrunches. “Can he make an old-fashioned?”
Lyle’s pupils dilate. “Yes, ma’am. I love a good whiskey drinker.”
Janet turns to me. “Anything for you?”
I shake my head. “No, thank you. Maybe later.”
“No old-fashioned?”
My hand finds her lower back once again, but this time, I don’t pull it away. “I’m not comfortable drinking at events I’m supposed to be representing the town. I may have a glass of wine or two at some, but I typically try to refrain from it.”
“I respect that.”
A minute later, Lyle returns with Avery’s old-fashioned. We say a quick goodbye, then head over to check out the stage again before the event officially starts.
She holds the cup to her lips and takes a drink. “Feels so good.”
“What does?”
“The warmth, sliding down the back of my throat.” She closes her eyes, savoring the taste. Fuck. I’m a dirty bastard. I’d like to believe I have control over where my mind goes next, but I don’t.
“I have something warm and smooth for your throat,” I say. I know Avery, and even years later, I’m sure it will make her blush.
“Oh my god, Jasper!” she bellows, playfully hitting my shoulder. I laugh but make a mental note of how red her cheeks turned.
“You opened yourself up for that one,” I retort.
“I guess I did.”
Avery joins me as I check in with the remaining portions of the event.
I spend the next hour leading her through every vendor to try the foods and beverages.
She insisted on sampling everything. The little giggles she lets out when she tries something she likes and the adorable wrinkle of her nose, squeezes my chest. Avery is still my same girl in so many ways, but also very different.
All the qualities about her that I loved so much became brighter.
Watching her move, I’m completely captivated.
About ten minutes before opening, I drop her off at Easton’s booth and then make my way over to the entrance, where the Chamber of Commerce board members gather to greet people as they arrive.
I hang around for a short time before I get anxious to see Avery again.
But she’s not going anywhere, especially because I left her with Easton and he’s probably talking her ear off.
“Hi, Jasper.”
I’m saying hello to one of the staff members’ sons when I’m startled to hear Melanie’s voice.
Before standing, I crane my neck behind me to see her standing there.
I’ve been so caught up in Avery the last couple of days, I forgot that Melanie would be here tonight.
She and I are just a casual thing, I’m sure it won’t be awkward.
Why would it? Avery is engaged, although she has yet to tell me formally.
I extend my arm for a friendly side hug. “Hi, Melanie. How are you?”
A puzzled look on her face tells me she can pick up that I’m more withdrawn than usual. She told me once she thought I’d be like my dad, growing old alone and never settling down with a woman. The truth is, there was ever only one I wanted to be with, but at the time, she wasn’t in my life anymore.
But Avery is here now.
“I’m good.” She searches my eyes. “Will I see you tonight?”
Nervously, I lick my bottom lip, then scan the people around us, thinking about how to answer her question. “I don’t think tonight.”
She shrugs it off, acting unbothered. “It’s cool. See you around.”
I spend an unclear amount of time mingling with families, members of the town, and tourists before I finally get back to Avery.
“Long time no see, Mayor Collins.” She hiccups.
“How many of those have you had?” I playfully gesture toward her empty cup.
Easton laughs.
Her eyebrows snap together, bringing a finger up to her chin. “Um, I think two.”
“How about two and a half,” Easton corrects.
I smile, leaning in close to her. “Still a lightweight, I see.”
Her eyes are glazed over, but she’s not drunk—maybe slightly buzzed.
Bodhi appears by our side. “So, Jasper, are you going to give Arizona a divorce or what?”
Avery looks over at me, running her tongue along her teeth. She’s searching for a smart-ass comment but struggles to think of one.
“Maybe,” I say, grabbing Bodhi’s beer and taking a swig while keeping my eyes locked on my wife.
Avery’s light pink lips purse together in a pout, and all I can think of is shoving my dick between them.