Chapter Twenty-Seven
Then
Jasper
“Still can’t believe you got her pregnant,” Bodhi comments, slapping the blanket and laying it flat on the sand. “Have I not taught you anything?”
I roll my eyes, tossing the rest of the pillows under the umbrella.
“I love her, Bodhi. I know you don’t know what that’s like, but when you love someone, you don’t worry about things like that,” I say, then suddenly I turn to see Easton, Riley, and Bodhi with smirks on their faces.
They don’t believe a word I’m saying. “Fuck off, guys. I do love Avery.”
Easton sets one of the tall lanterns on the side of the blanket. “Oh, we know you definitely love her—” he begins, but then I abruptly cut him off. My friend knows me better than this. They’re trying to get me to admit that I fucked up—which I did, but I don’t want to think of it that way.
“Fine, it was an accident,” I snap. “Happy?”
Riley rests a hand on my shoulder. “Again, did Bodhi not teach you anything?”
“I guess not.” I roll my shoulders, pushing it off. “Besides, I’d rather refer to the baby as an unexpected surprise.”
“Whatever you want to call it,” Bodhi busts once again. “I must say, at least it’s Arizona and not some tourist.”
“Or worse, a girl from Coconut Grove,” Riley chimes in.
I chuckle, fist-bumping both of them. “That’s true.”
Easton lightly scatters red rose petals on top of the blanket. “How’d Duke take it when you told him?”
When Avery and I spoke with Helen and my dad, he was surprisingly calm.
Helen was, too, but she was more concerned with how Avery felt about it.
Understandably, her whole life is about to change.
During the conversation, I kept reminding her this wasn’t something she would do alone.
There’s an entire network of people out here to support us.
“He and Helen both handled it well,” I say. “Later that day, my dad and I took a drive over to the beach house and gave me a heart-to-heart.”
“Good ol’ Duke,” Bodhi muses. “That man is a legend.”
Easton tosses the last handful of petals into the air. “So, your dad waited until you two were alone to tell you how he really felt, huh?”
I shake my finger in the air. “You’d think that, right? But our talk was mostly about me and how I need to step up for Arizona. He’s very supportive of her.”
“Huh, imagine that,” Riley mumbles more to himself than to us.
“Out of the four of us, we knew you’d get married and have kids first,” Bodhi comments.
Riley grimaces. “I actually thought it would be Bodhi who’d knock up a girl first.”
I huff in frustration. “I didn’t just knock her up. It’s deeper than that.”
Riley throws a handful of rose petals into my face. “Aww,” he pokes fun.
“Fuck off,” I spit, sweeping the petals back onto the blanket with my hand. “A baby just adds another layer to our relationship.”
“God, you’re making me sick.” Bodhi gags with exaggeration.
“I don’t know why I asked you guys to help me,” I snap.
Riley hooks an arm around me. “Because we’re your brothers and love that we’re now getting a sister.”
We all share a laugh.
As dusk hits, the four of us step back to look at the setup. Rose petals cover the ground of the small area, and an umbrella rests in the middle with two small, dim lanterns on either side.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Easton presses, his eyes trained on the romantic spot my friends helped me create.
“Absolutely,” I state, without a doubt in my mind.
I don’t see any negatives about this whole situation.
I live in the town I love, have a network of supportive people, and I’m taking over a family business I love.
My life is set. Avery and the baby were the missing pieces.
“Is your brother waiting for us at the courthouse?”
“He is,” Riley says. “If she says yes, he’s waiting on standby.”
I run a hand through my hair. “I’m so fucking excited.”
“What a hell of a summer this is for you, Jasper.” Easton takes his turn at wrapping a friendly arm around me.
“A life-changing summer,” I mutter. Just then, my phone vibrates at my side. I slid it out to see that it’s a text from Avery.
Arizona: I’m here. Where do you want me to meet you?
Me: Just stay in your car. I’ll come and get you.
I tap out the quick response, then put my phone away.
A few minutes later, I'm walking with Avery down to the shore.
“You’re not going to throw me into the ocean, are you?” Avery asks, a thick blindfold tightly around her eyes.
My hands are on her shoulders while I lead her through the sand. “I would never.”
“Yes, you would.” She giggles sweetly.
“That’s true, I probably would.” I laugh. “But then I’d come in after you.”
“You’ve been blindfolding me a lot lately.” Her voice is airy and light.
“I have, haven’t I?” I flirt. Glancing over at my three friends, each one with shit-eating grins on their faces. They’re continuing to make me regret including them.
As we approach the blanket covered in rose petals, my heart pounds against the back of my ribcage. I am ready to marry Avery. I love her. “Okay, Arizona.”
Her fingers come over mine, and we both pull the blindfold off her head. She gasps. “Jasper.”
“Avery.”
She looks stunned and confused when she turns toward me with her palms covering her mouth. “What is all this?”
A calmness cloaks me—one I’ve never known except from the sea.
I smile and bring my hands to her cheeks.
“Avery Thomas,” I begin. She sucks in a sharp breath.
“My dad met my mother when he was fourteen years old. He knew he would marry her from the moment he saw her.” Avery’s almond-shaped green eyes bore into mine.
“I might not be fourteen, but I am nineteen. And I knew from the moment I hit you with that volleyball you were like no other girl I’ve ever met. ”
“When you hit me with the volleyball you knew?” she whispers, slight humor in her voice.
I chuckle. “Yes.”
She smiles, letting me continue.
“Others like to say that people our age don’t know what love is or is about, but I do know. It’s how my body feels when I’m connected to you. It’s how I can see into your thoughts and how we can simply lay in silence for hours without feeling the need to fill it with empty words.”
“Love can be quiet,” she whispers. A single tear escapes from under her eyelid and rolls down her face.
“Yes.” As my body warms, I lean into her, bringing my forehead to hers. “Now, I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to know I’m more than sure I want to do this.” Then I pull away, lowering to one knee in front of her.
“Fuck yeah, dude!” Bodhi calls out from a few yards away. I crack a smile, pushing his wails away. And when Avery does the same thing, I am even more sure of my decision.
“Avery.” I swallow hard, barely able to catch my breath, as the nerves finally hit me. “Will you marry me?”
Everything around us blurs. I stare at her from the position at my knee and watch in slow motion as a quick rise in her chest results in what I can only describe as a low-pitched shriek. “Oh my god.”
“I love you, Avery Thomas.”
She sucks in a breath. “I don’t want you to think, just because we’re having—”
My index finger reaches her lips, hushing her words. “Stop. That’s not why I want to marry you. It might be happening sooner than I thought.” I chuckle. “But I knew I always would.”
“Oh, Jasper. Yes! Of course, I will marry you,” she shouts in a high-pitched tone.
I anticipated this answer, but hearing it with my ears is an entirely different emotion. “Yeah?”
“Yes.” She bends, bringing her lips to mine. “I love you so much!”
Overcome by pure euphoria, I quickly rise, gripping her by the hips and lifting her into the air.
“The ring!” Easton yelled in a reminder of a crucial piece I had forgotten.
“Oh yes!” I laugh, lowering Avery into the sand.
I shove my hand into the front pocket of my shorts and remove a small black velvet box.
Silence surrounds us, the moment drowning out the wave rolling through the shore.
Avery and I lock our gaze onto the box as the lid pops open.
I’ve seen this ring many times, but now I see it through a new lens. “It was my mother’s.”
Avery’s hands fly to her chest, clutching tightly. “Oh wow.”
I take the two-carat oval-cut diamond ring from the box and reach for Avery’s shaky hand. “It’s yours now.”
Raising her hand to get a closer look, she gazes in amazement. “I can’t believe how beautiful it is.”
“Can we come over now?” Bodhi bellows with annoyance.
“My brother is waiting!” Riley adds. Instead, the three don’t wait for a response and jog directly over to us.
I ignore the guys, turning back to my fiancé. “I want to be with you every single step of the way. I want you to experience nothing with this pregnancy without me.”
“I’m so glad we’re doing this together,” she answers distantly, still staring at the diamond on her finger.
Taking two fingers, I pinch her chin, forcing eye contact. “Riley’s brother is at the courthouse waiting for us.”
Her eyes grow wide. “Wait. Now?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Um. Wow. Okay. What about Helen and your dad?” she asks, biting her bottom lip—valid questions, but I don’t want them trying to talk us out of it. Even though my dad insinuated this, it might make him rethink his stance if he finds out I’m actually going through with it.
“You’re my family now.” I bring my palm to her belly. “This baby. Us.”
Avery nervously pulls her bottom lip between her teeth while her eyes bounce between mine.
She cycles through all the reasons why we should wait or whether we should do this.
“I love you so much, Jasper. I didn’t grow up knowing what love looked or felt like.
But you’ve shown me what it’s about.” She pauses, gazing upward, filling her lungs with salty sea air. “Let’s get married.”
“Fuck yes!” Easton chuckles, pulling Avery into a hug.
“We’re all coming,” Bodhi states, his arms folded at his chest.I slap his friendly shoulder. “I knew you would.”
“Is that why you wanted me to wear one of my black sundresses?” she asks, blowing a few strands of hair away from her face.
“Yes. I knew you’d want to get married in black,” I reply, pulling her back from Easton. She tucks into my arm.
Avery pinches her eyebrows together wearily, looking at me playfully. “Wearing a black wedding dress isn’t bad luck, is it?”
“I guess we’ll find out,” Bodhi quips, shrugging his shoulders.
I laugh. “I doubt it.”
“Texting my brother.” Riley holds his phone in front of him. “I’ll tell him we’re on our way.”
“Is the courthouse even open right now?” Avery looks puzzled.
Easton cocks his head to the side. “Look, Arizona, when you’ve lived in a small town your whole life, you gain connections at all levels.”
She cocks a hip in his direction. “I should have learned that by now.”
“Easton is very proud of his small-town upbringing,” I retort at my friend’s expense.
Bodhi flashes her a toothy smile. “You’ll have plenty of time to learn because now you’ll be here forever.”
I glance in Avery’s direction, and I can’t miss the brief change in her expression. Is it one of panic or contentment? Her eyes flicker to mine, catching me staring, but she lovingly smiles as if I didn’t see her subtle apprehension. I try to brush it off, chalking it up to my nerves.
“I guess so,” Avery says.
“What are we waiting for?” Riley barks at the group. “Let’s go get you two married.”
My eyes fly back to Avery’s one more time to make sure she wants to do this. I’d be heartbroken if she changed her mind, but I’d respect it. “Are you sure?”
She presses her lips together, forming a tight smile. Her cheeks redden before she replies. “Yes. Let’s do this.”
“Fuck yeah!” I say, planting a rough kiss on her head.
Avery and I follow the guys out to the parking lot.
“My car is here, but I want to ride with you.” She frowns.
Scratching my nose, I regret not thinking this all the way through. Of course, she and I should ride together. “I guess I didn’t think that far ahead.”
“I rode with Riley, so I’ll take your car back to Helen’s, Arizona,” Bodhi offers, extending his arms and cupping his hands for Avery’s keys.
She glances at me with an unsure look. “I’d be nervous to give Bodhi my keys as well,” I say, shooting Bodhi a side-eye. “But he’ll take care of it, I promise.”
“Fuck you.” Bodhi punches me in my side. “I’ll take it to the courthouse, and then Riley and I will drop it off.”
Avery pauses with apprehension before tossing Bodhi her keys. The five of us pile into our cars and make a beeline for the courthouse.
I’m getting fucking married tonight.