“Well, from the looks of her beachfront property, shebenefitted from her commission. Does anyone in town know you’re the one who’s behind it all?”
Aiden snorts. “Have you ever known me to be one who wants the public notoriety of something like this?”
I laugh. “No, that’s for sure. You are a fan of your privacy, which I’m grateful for because people here only know me as Max Luca and not Max Bauer.”
“Are you trying to be like your best friend, Aiden?” he says with a grin.
“That wasn’t my intention, but if it helps you feel better, then great.”
We both chuckle, and he says, “I heard from your father again.”
The words suck all the air out of my lungs, and all I can do is turn to look at him with remorse. “I’m sorry I put you in the middle. What did he say?”
“I told him you needed some more time to decide on his offer. I got to hear a lot about honor and family duty, which I probably should’ve recorded so I could make you suffer like I did.”
Laughing, I say, “Don’t you worry. I’ve had that lecture at least twelve times in the last year.”
“Then I should be telling youI’msorry. Because that would get annoying.”
“Thank you for running interference with him for now. It means a lot, especially after everything I’ve gone through in the last few days.”
“What are you going to tell him when you come out of hiding?” Aiden asks with a twitch of his lips.
For being one of the shyer guys in our group, he has a mischievous side to him.
“That I don’t want to marry Victoria. Especially after experiencing this place. I don’t know if I can ever really go back tobeing the same person. I’ve put up with a lot over the years. It was the way to keep the peace, but I can’t do that anymore.”
“Well, at least I know I don’t have to talk you down off the ledge,” Aiden says with a laugh.
“I might need more backup when I do talk to my dad though.” Nothing like being terrified of one man while being well respected by thousands of employees across the globe.
“Just channel your inner Jackson,” he says.
Jackson Walker is one of our frat brothers who is originally from Australia. He moved to California after starting one of his sports shops here and marrying the daughter of his old college football coach.
“We probably need to see them when we’re here,” Aiden continues.
Jackson had grown up in the foster system, and all he’d ever wanted was a family. It wasn’t until college, with his frat brothers and Coach Montgomery, that he got part of that dream. And ever since he married his wife and they had their three kids, all still under the age of six, it’s like he’s perpetually happy.
I want that, but not with Victoria. She’d send our kids to boarding school while still in diapers, if she was ever willing to have kids at all.
“How about you show me your building?” Aiden says.
We stand up and leave the beach, walking over to the coffee shop. For some reason, this feels like showing my best friend my most prized possession. I have so many more things, items of much greater value, and yet I’ve put a lot of effort—physical effort—into this.
It’s crazy how things can change in such a short amount of time.
26
AVERY
Ifeel like the past three days have been a whirlwind.
The benefit, though, has been that Lila has spent a lot of time with Ashley, which means I’ve had more time to work on the cafe. We now have so many pieces of décor, which I found at the local thrift shop and online, and Sarah came up with an absolutely amazing logo for our new name.
As I look up at the new title of the place that I’ve put a lot of time into, I can’t help but feel grateful for so many things in my life. There have been lots of twists and turns, which is why Second Tide Coffee is so significant to me. It’s like I’ve been given a second chance at life, and I’m going to hold on to it with all I’ve got.
The sun is barely peeking over the horizon, and I take in a deep breath, grateful for this opportunity once again.
