Chapter 3
Avery Hunter’s Reporter Notebook: Research emotional baggage limits of this airline.
There was a little extra pep in my step as I walked up the path to Thorn and Joy’s cottage.
It was a modest home compared to what billionaire Joy owned in other parts of the world.
The weathered wood exterior was painted in soft shades of seafoam green with crisp white trim.
Floor-to-ceiling windows gave me a glimpse of the life inside the house: Maxine with her dirty martini and Joy with her hands thrown around Thorn’s waist as he fussed in the kitchen. My heart twinged at the sight.
I didn’t begrudge Thorn finding love. Quite the opposite. His last girlfriend set him up to be a major failure on national television because she was trying to earn a payday. Joy was kind, and even watching them banter, the light of love in her eyes made me envious.
What would that feel like?
I mounted the front steps of the wraparound porch and knocked.
I heard the security camera's movement above the door, so I looked into the lens and waved. Joy and Thorn may live in a charming cottage on Pleasure Point, but the place is locked and loaded with state-of-the-art security features like the cameras you can see and the ones you can’t.
Then, there were motion detectors, sensor lights, a smart lock system, and bulletproof windows.
Thorn told me there was a panic room somewhere, but I had yet to get a tour.
In the event of a breach, hurricane shutters would roll down and lock everything up until the cavalry arrived.
They also protected against potential bad weather.
Joy flung open the door. “Avery! I’m so glad you could make it to family dinner!” The woman hugged me tight, and we swayed back and forth like we hadn’t seen each other in weeks.
When she let me come up for air, I handed her the bottle of wine I brought. “A little hostess gift.”
“That’s a host gift,” Joy said, jerking her head toward the kitchen. “Thorn is making a feast for us tonight.”
I rolled my eyes and walked inside the cottage. “Smells spicy in here.”
“Chicken Tikka Masala,” Thorn called from the stove. “Joy’s favorite.”
“Smells good.” I turned to his mother, who perched on a barstool at the center island. “Maxine, it’s good to see you! Did you lose weight?” I kissed her cheek and hung my bag over the back of another stool.
Her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled at me. “Bah. Stop buttering me up. You know you’re my favorite child.”
“Hey!” Thorn shouted from the other side of the island.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Okay, I can see it,” Thorn acquiesced.
I grinned at him and sat on the empty stool. “Tell me. What gossip did I miss?”
“Oh, my, let me tell you. There was quite the scandal at the club recently,” Maxine began.
“Mom, can we please not?” Thorn complained as he stirred the spicy dish. “I’m sure Avery has other things she’d like to talk about.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s the whole reason I went into the news business. I’m incredibly nosy. I want to know all the tea,” I said. “Did the wife of the finance guy finally find out he’s been cheating with his ‘assistant’ who’s younger than their kids?”
“She did.” Maxine sipped her martini in a dramatic pause. “And not only that, but she took him to the cleaners. I hear her lawyer not only found out about all of the hidden assets, but he raked the philanderer over the coals in arbitration. She ended up taking half of everything. Plus alimony!”
“Good for her.” I accepted a glass of wine from Joy and took a sip. “And the lawyer sounds like a freaking shark.”
Maxine raised an eyebrow. “Oh, he is, dear.”
I was about to ask about her voice's cagey tone, but Joy drinking sparkling water instead of wine distracted me.
I paused and looked between Joy and Thorn. “What is going on?”
“What?” Joy batted her eyelashes.
“Nope. No way. I know something’s up. Joy likes her wine with dinner.” I paused and thought about it for a second. “Oh my god. You’re pregnant!”
Maxine clapped her hands and hooted. Thorn shook his head. Joy laughed.
“No, no, no,” Joy denied. “Not yet, anyway.” The shit-eating grin on her face when she took another sip of sparkling water sent everyone into a frenzy laughing.
“Oh! I’m going to be a grandma!” Maxine exclaimed. Then, she slumped into her stool and slugged back her martini. “I’m going to be a grandma.”
I laughed. “Maxine, you know you wanted this for Thorn. Even if it hasn’t happened yet, they will be parents! This is great news. Well, trying is great news, right?”
“We got the all-clear from Vi today.” Joy returned to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Thorn’s waist from behind. He patted her hand and leaned back to kiss her forehead.
My heart fluttered a bit, and I took a hasty sip of wine, which made me cough. “That’s great news. I’m happy for you.”
I don’t know why I felt like crying. It wasn’t like I had designs on my longtime friend. He and I were too much alike and would probably kill each other if we ever got into a relationship. Plus, Joy was perfect for him.
So why was I sad? What the hell was wrong with me?
“Your turn is coming!” Maxine patted my hand. “I have the perfect man to fix you up with.”
“She has a boyfriend, Mom,” Thorn said.
“Actually—”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and leaned in.
I sighed. There it was. As much as I liked getting the scoop on everyone else, I hated giving away information about myself.
Was it so much to ask to remain private?
Even with your best friend, his wife, and the incredible mother figure who never shied away from a stiff martini because it’s five o’clock somewhere.
“He wasn’t a boyfriend,” I sighed. “And I ended it because he’s a freaking tool.”
“Your father set you up.” Maxine said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah. Micah is a lawyer in Dad’s firm. But Dad forgot to check that he was single before fixing me up.”
“That bastard!” Joy shouted.
“Which one?” I laughed. “Ha! That was a trick question. They both are. I agreed to go out with Micah before I knew he was married. I did my best not to kick in my investigative skills before the date. But when he spent much of our first date telling me what went wrong with the other women he dated, all those red flags clashed with my outfit. Every single one of the women he dated in the past said he was a narcissist who was too much, love bombing, gaslighting. You get the picture.” I shook my head, remembering how easily Micah shared that information over an overpriced dinner in Tampa, where he insisted on ordering for me.
“You didn’t want to give him a chance?” Maxine asked. “After a certain age, everyone shows up to relationships with emotional baggage.”
“Emotional baggage is understandable. Dating over 40 is like looking through the bargain bin at the bookstore. The titles are old. Some are a little banged up, but there might be a good story inside if you look beyond the cover,” I admitted.
“But this was next-level weird. And I firmly believe that when people tell you who they are, believe them. I also followed it up with a little internet sleuthing.”
“Trust but verify.” Thorn nodded in approval. “How did your Dad take the breakup?” His shrewd news judgment was always working, like mine. He was all too familiar with my dad’s work.
“Can it be a breakup if there was only one date?” I asked. “But not well. Dad called me yesterday to read me the riot act for refusing another date.”
“Good riddance,” Joy said. “That guy sounds like an ass.”
“Again - applies to both of them. Now, if I could just get Micah to stop calling me,” I moaned. “It’s like a challenge to him. I don’t want him, so he wants me more.”
Thorn bristled. Maxine sat up straighter in her chair. Joy’s face flushed red.
Joy and Thorn dealt with something similar last year when Joy’s ex-situationship refused to go quietly into that good night. What followed became a worldwide woman hunt backed by an alpha male podcaster living in his mom’s basement.
“We’ll take care of him,” Joy dropped her voice.
My eyes widened. “Take care of him? Or take care of him?” I pulled a finger across my throat.
Joy laughed. “What do you think I am? An assassin? Geez. I’ll get Saber Security to tell this Micah Asshole to back the hell off.”
“They’re very persuasive,” Thorn added. “Have you met Kendra’s brother?”
“He’s very efficient,” Maxine added.
Oh yeah. The stealthy one. That man could give secrecy lessons to the Pentagon.
My stomach rumbled. “How about we eat and talk about something nicer than assassins? Like, have you given any thought to baby names?”
My belly would probably explode like that scene from Alien. Instead of an alien life form incubating in my body, this stuffed feeling was from overeating at dinner. Thorn didn’t know the meaning of the words portion control. But I didn’t hate it. I was hungry, and the food was delicious.
“It’s a good thing I walked over,” I moaned, patting my belly. “It’ll allow me to walk off some of these calories.”
“I’ll give you a ride back to the apartment.” Thorn began to disentangle himself from Joy, where they cuddled on the couch.
“Nonsense. She can ride with me back in The Bolt,” Maxine offered. “I’ll meet my driver at the public parking lot.”
“Mom. You should stay tonight,” Thorn said.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You want your mother in the next room while the two of you are trying to make a baby? I think not.”
Joy poked Thorn’s side. “She’s got a point, Hottie Newsman.”
I swallowed and reached for water.
“Now that you’re single again,” Maxine started.
I held up my hand to stop her. “Nope. No way. I don’t want to be set up. I told you this.”
“Even if I have the perfect man?”
“What makes him perfect?” I challenged.
You could hear a pin drop.
“That’s what I thought. There is no such thing as a perfect man,” I said.
“Hey!” Thorn groused.
I leveled a glare at him.
“No. You’re right. No perfect men.” He leaned back on the couch.
Joy squeezed his leg. “Men aren’t perfect, thank goodness, but some men are perfect for you. I wasn’t looking for a relationship when I met Thorn, and look at us now.”
“You’re the exception to the rule.” I sighed.
“What about Darby and Drake? Vi and Spencer? Kendra and Rowan?” Joy asked.
I shrugged. “What about them?”
Thorn leaned forward on the couch, his knees on his elbows as he regarded me. “Avery, none of those couples was looking for love, but love knocked them on their asses anyway.”
“You’re really selling it, friend. Sounds amazing. Awesome. Let me jump right on that.”
“Think about it,” Thorn continued. “You keep meeting these men in the same ways, right? It’s time to try something different. Why not let Mom set you up?”
I rolled my eyes. “Y’all. I don’t need a fixup.” I could feel the app calling me from the other side of the room, and I bit my lip. “Besides. I have a date on Sunday.”
“What?” Thorn’s jaw dropped.
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Joy wiggled in her seat.
“Good for you, dear.” Maxine toasted me with her martini glass. “Maybe you’ll get a little something something to put a smile on your face.”
“Mother!” Thorn covered his eyes with his hands. “Joy, tell me when the scary lady is gone.”
Joy pulled his hands off his face and snort-laughed. “This is great news. Where did you meet him?”
I sucked in a breath. “Well, I signed up for the Ship Yes app a few months ago, and recently, I got a match.”
“Oh my god! This is wonderful news!” Joy hopped off the couch and headed for the wine fridge. “This calls for champagne!”
“Stop! For the love of cheeses, stop,” I laughed. “I haven’t even been on a date with him yet. I don’t even know what he looks like.”
Everyone paused and stared at me like I was nuts. Maybe I was. “You said to try something different. This is different. For sure.”
“When is the date?” Thorn pulled out his phone.
“What are you going to do? Tag along?” I nodded to his device.
My oldest friend glared at me. “No, but I will get the information so we know where you are in case of emergency. Details, please.”
I rolled my shoulders and looked toward the ceiling for divine intervention. As annoying as Thorn was, he had a good point. I was planning a pretty remote date, so perhaps I truly had lost my mind.
“We’re going skydiving at Bonnair Flights on Sunday,” I said. “He’s meeting me there.”
“Skydiving? Wow! That’s great news. You need someone adventurous.” Joy nodded. “I love this for you.”
I shook my head. “Seriously. Stop. It’s not like I’m getting married. I’m simply jumping out of a running plane with a stranger. No big whoop.”
Everyone laughed at that one, and I relaxed a little bit.
Maxine raised her glass. “Here’s to Avery and her mystery man. Just think, this time next week, your life could be completely different!”
They clinked their glasses together, and my stomach dropped.
This time next week, my life could be completely different.
Shit.