by LuAnn McLane
“Watch a master reheater in action.” Jesse wiggled his fingers and then removed the plastic wrap from the glass pan.
“This kitchen is . . . wow . . .”
“Da bomb?” Jesse asked, and she laughed.
“Yeah, like, totally rad, dude,” she said in a spot-on Valley girl accent.
“Sorry, I still use nineties slang. It’s my other favorite era, for obvious reasons.”
“Dude, I love your crib,” Ava said in a deadpan voice, and it was Jesse’s turn to laugh.
“It’s amazeballs, right?”
“Like, totally.” She giggled, but then looked up at the ceiling. “Okay, this has to stop.”
“Word.”
“No, for real.”
“I don’t think I can,” Jesse said. “My nineties vault has been opened wide, home skillet.”
Ava tipped her head back and laughed. “OMG. But then again, has your nineties vault ever been closed? Honestly, Heartbeat was part of the nineties culture, like ’NSync and Backstreet Boys. In my opinion, there haven’t been boy bands since that even begin to compare.”
“Wow, I never thought of that. Compare in a good way, you mean?”
“Of course, and in a fun way. I’m sure every generation pines for its youth, but life seemed to be less complicated back then. I mean, we’re, I guess, the last generation before the whole internet boom and smartphones. Kids today don’t even know what 4-1-1 means.”
“Kids today?” Jesse shot her a grin.
“OMG, are we getting old?” She put her hand to her forehead. “Please say no!”
“ ’Fraid so, and I think that’s partly why there’s a recent nostalgia for the nineties. We were pretty floored at how many people attended the Heartbeat reunion concert.” Jesse popped dinner into the oven and then turned back to Ava. “But I don’t think I could do the frosted tips to my hair ever again.”
Ava chuckled. “Good call.”
“Okay, ready for another?”
“Mmmm . . .” Ava arched an eyebrow at her empty glass. “Just a half,” she said hesitantly.
“You got it,” Jesse said. He was anxious to show her his surprise, but the martini seemed to be working its magic, and so he motioned for her to follow him out the back door. “And then I have something to show you.”
“Your yard is super sweet,” Ava said. “I’m guessing you designed all this too?”
“You guessed right.” Jesse reached for her empty glass. “After we lost my mother to lupus, I needed to throw myself into a project, and this fit the bill.”
“I’m sorry, Jesse. I’m fortunate to still have both my parents. I can’t even imagine.”
The sympathy in her eyes caused a pang of sadness to land in the pit of his stomach. “Thank you,” he said simply. “My brothers and I grieved in our own collective and then separate ways.” Unexpected emotion gripped his heart and squeezed. “Luckily, we had a strong foundation from our childhood, or the loss could have led us down a path of destruction.” He walked behind the bar and started making the refills, not sure he wanted Ava to see him this vulnerable. In truth, he’d had time to call her when the photo shoot was canceled, but he’d wanted her to come over. He enjoyed their bantering, the attraction that she tried to deny, but this sudden, deeper connection scared him a little. He preferred hiding his feelings behind humor, but he couldn’t think of one damned funny thing to say.
“Are you okay, Jesse?” Ava asked in a soft voice.
Jesse busied himself for longer than needed, but he finally looked up from stabbing fat olives with the little sword. “Sure,” he said, not sounding sure even to his own ears. He handed Ava her drink.
“That’s not half.”
“Half of a drink is just silly,” Jesse said, forcing a grin.
“True,” Ava agreed with a little chuckle. “I mean, why do anything half-assed?” She raised her glass and took a sip.
Jesse grinned. “I’ll drink to that.” He knew she’d made the comment to get him to smile, and once again he felt as if the tables were being turned. Or was he getting a glimpse of the real Ava, perhaps the part of herself she kept locked away from the public? Or the girl she’d been before she got her heart broken? He touched his glass to hers. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.” She took another sip. “Now, what were you going to show me?” Ava asked.
“Ah, follow me.” Jesse came out from behind the bar. Once again, he wanted to grab her hand, but he gave her a sideways glance, unsure. She smiled, but he could sense she too was trying to adjust to this new direction in their . . . what? Friendship? She fell into step beside him, and in that moment Jesse knew he wanted to get closer to her, move to a level beyond dance partners. But he also knew he had to go slowly for both their sakes. There was just one little problem . . .
She was wearing that sexy, lacy dress. Her feet were bare in the cool green grass. The knot at the nape of her neck was coming loose, and Jesse longed to ask her to shake her glossy dark hair loose to caress her shoulders. She moved with a fluid grace that captivated him.
Swallowing a groan, Jesse took a sip of his bourbon and kept on walking.
“Where are we going?”
“Here,” Jesse said, and stopped in front of a large storage shed at the other end of the property. He lifted the door and motioned for her to enter.
“Wow . . .” Ava said, looking around at the additional collection of memorabilia. “I am truly amazed.”
“I switch things up in the house when I get bored. But I have a hard time getting rid of anything, so I built this shed. Oliver likes to call me a pack rat.”
“I don’t see it that way. Everything is neat and tidy.”
“Catalogued and entered in my computer.” Jesse grinned. “One of the few things I’m meticulous about. I’m a bit odd, I admit. I love old things but I’m also into new technology. I know the history and value of everything in here.”
“To sell it?”
“Did I mention the fact that I can’t part with anything?” he asked with a wink. “No, for insurance purposes and for my own entertainment. I do give things away occasionally, but it just doesn’t feel right to sell any of this.”
Ava shot him a sideways glance. “Ah, so you’re multifaceted.”
Jesse looked at her with a bit of surprise.
“What? I meant it as a compliment.”
Jesse shoved his hands in his pockets, hesitating before answering. “I don’t get taken all that seriously most of the time. My own fault, really, since I’m not usually serious.” Jesse smiled, but in truth, sometimes being the funny guy all the time was a chore.
“I think there’s more to you than you let people know.” Ava’s eyebrows arched upward. “And this? A serious undertaking, if you ask me.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Jesse admitted. “I just like to preserve old treasures. If I can’t use something in its original form, I like to repurpose it. It can be fun taking something old and giving it new life. I know it’s a cool thing to do now, but I’ve been doing it for a long time. But anyway, this is what I wanted to show you.” He pointed to a red bicycle built for two. “Your ride home, milady. And don’t ask me why I felt the need to put on an English accent.”
“Oh, wow!” Ava let out a little shout of joy and rushed over to the bicycle. “It’s got a basket! And a headlight! It’s so cute!”
Jesse chuckled at her obvious delight. Her face exuded happiness and transformed her from gorgeous to a new level of beauty that he couldn’t put into words. She was unguarded for the moment, and he loved it. “There’s a wide bike path that leads all the way up into town. And thankfully, like nearly all of Florida, no hills.”
“Fun! I’ve always wanted to take a ride on a tandem. Do I get to be in front?”
“The thing weighs a ton, so you might want to rethink that request.”
“Okay.” Ava nodded, still smiling, and Jesse was suddenly glad the photo shoot had been canceled.
“Hungry?”
&nb
sp; “Famished.”
“The lasagna should be piping hot by now.”
“Perfect.”
“Let’s eat!”
Ava put her fork down in obvious surrender. “I’m stuffed.”
“Me too,” Jesse agreed.
“I must admit that your reheating skills are extraordinary.”
“Thanks, I get that a lot.”
“Did you take a class?”
“Nope, it’s a superpower of mine.”
Ava chuckled. “Well, tell Arabella that her lasagna would meet the standards of my grandpa Gigi.” She kissed her fingers in salute. “And I don’t give that compliment out lightly.”
“I will pass your compliment along.”
“Thanks.”
“Or you might see her at the center.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Ava dabbed her napkin at the corners of her mouth.
Jesse tipped his head to the side. After a heartbeat of hesitation, he said, “You know, you two would likely get along. You should do lunch or hang out.”
“Is that your polite way of suggesting I need to find friends?”
“I dunno, it was just a thought, since you have dancing in common. Jimmy’s fiancé, Maggie, is a cool chick too. Neither of them are from Sea Breeze originally, so they know what it’s like to be new in town.”
Ava nibbled on the inside of her lip.
“Hey, how about I throw a pool party this weekend and have them over?” Jesse asked. He watched the play of emotion on her face and waited for her answer. He was going to add that she could also meet his brothers, but he didn’t want her to think he was gunning for a relationship with her, even though the thought held some appeal. While Jesse didn’t think he had a certain type of girl he went for, Ava was different from anyone else he’d ever been interested in. “So, what do you say?”
“That’s sweet of you, Jesse.”
“Is that a yes?”
Ava pressed her lips together. “Let me think about it.”
Jesse felt a little pang of disappointment at her hesitation but decided not to press her further. “Fair enough.”
Ava nodded and then drank her last sip of red wine. She set the glass down and gave him a small smile. “Okay. Since you reheated so beautifully, I’ll load the dishwasher.”
“Are you serious?”
“Almost always,” Ava replied, but Jesse had a feeling that wasn’t always the case. He’d seen glimpses of her sense of humor that must have been robbed from her by her asshat ex, and he wanted to see more of her personality break through the surface. “I don’t mind.”
“No way.” Jesse quickly scooted his chair back and stood up. “You’re my guest.” He picked up his plate and stacked hers on top. “I’ll just put the dishes in the sink and do them later.”
“Yuck.”
“What?”
Ava wrinkled her nose and Jesse thought it was cute as hell. “They’ll get all crusty. How about if we clean up together?”
Jesse couldn’t turn down her offer, so he nodded. “Deal.”
“Good, I need to move around anyway; otherwise I’ll go into a food coma.”
Jesse laughed. “Are you up for an evening swim?”
Ava groaned. “I might sink to the bottom.”
“I have floats,” he said, trying not to sound as eager for her to linger as he felt.
Ava glanced over at the clock on the wall. “Actually, I should get going soon. I’ll have to make my way back here in the morning to get my car.”
Jesse accepted a salad bowl from her. “If you leave your keys, I’ll drive your car to rehearsal tomorrow morning.”
“But then how will you get home?”
“I can walk to the music store and grab a ride from Jimmy later. He won’t mind.”
Ava licked her bottom lip as if weighing her options. She was making it clear that she didn’t want to get any more involved with him than needed . . . and yet, she’d laughed, smiled, and, for a while, seemed to relax and enjoy herself.
“I’m an excellent driver. I promise to take care of your little Beetle, Ava.”
“It’s not that.” She handed him another bowl and he felt a reaction to the brief contact of their fingers.
“Then what?”
Ava avoided his gaze. “People might talk . . . gossip, if they spot you driving my car.”
“Oh . . .”
“I’ve gotten tired of people talking about me,” she explained, and her sad expression caused a little twist in his stomach. “I mean, I know I shouldn’t care.”
Jesse put the bowls that Ava handed to him in the dishwasher and turned to her. “Ava, believe me, I understand. My brothers and I have had lots of lies about us splashed in the tabloids. And I guess you’re thinking that if people see us together, they’ll speculate.”
“Yes.” Ava nodded. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so thin-skinned.” She frowned and appeared so troubled that Jesse longed to pull her into his arms and give her a reassuring hug.
“Well, just to let you know, the paparazzi were here for the reunion concert, and sometimes they’ll pop up in town every now and then, but we don’t get hounded like we used to back in the day.”
“ ‘Back in the day’? I haven’t heard that one in a long time. You’re right, we’re getting old.”
Jesse shrugged. “I used to think thirty was old.”
“But that was back in the day?”
“Still in my nineties groove, home skillet,” Jesse said, and he felt a surge of relief when she chuckled. She still had hesitation in the depths of her eyes, but her shoulders looked more relaxed. He put the rest of the plates in the dishwasher and dried his hands on a towel. “So, why don’t you just walk to the center in the morning and then—”
“I’m making this too complicated when you’re simply trying to help me out. Please just bring my car to work to make it easier,” she cut him off, seeming irritated with herself.
While Jesse understood how horribly intrusive the paparazzi could be, he suddenly wondered if she still had feelings for her ex and was worried he might see photos of them together, and the thought of her being upset by that bothered him. “Are you still in love with him?” Jesse asked abruptly, and she looked at him in what appeared to be complete surprise. “Hey, whoa, I’m sorry. That question came out of left field.” Okay, so maybe it hadn’t come out of left field—he wanted to know. But he shouldn’t have asked. “I didn’t mean to get so personal,” he added, but he still hoped she’d answer his question.
“Well . . . here’s the thing,” Ava began, but then frowned and stopped talking.
Jesse was surprised at how fast his pulse pounded while he waited for her answer.
CHAPTER SIX
BECAUSE OF YOU
“I’d answer but”—Ava picked up her empty wineglass—“I’m fresh out of truth serum.” Jesse’s question took her by surprise, but she’d asked herself the same thing over and over again, searching deeply for answers that never came.
“I can remedy that,” Jesse offered, reaching for her glass.
Ava swallowed hard, nearly handing him her glass to refill, but she knew that would put her on the highway to the danger zone. “Um, I think I’d better just get going.”
“It’s okay to avoid the question, Ava. I shouldn’t have asked it in the first place. It just popped into my head and out of my mouth. Sometimes I have no filter.” He drew an air circle around his lips.
“Sometimes?”
“Most of the time,” Jesse admitted, and appeared so contrite that she felt an urge to give him a hug.
“It’s okay,” Ava said, and he gave her a little crooked smile that she found utterly charming. She touched him lightly on the arm, a bit shocked at the slight tingle from the brief contact. Had Anthony ever made her . . . tingle? Ava longed to touch Jesse again just to see if her reaction would be the same.
“What are you thinking?” Jesse asked.
“Why?”
“You’re frowning as i
f you’ve got the weight of the whole damned world on your shoulders,” he said with a frown of his own.
Ava relaxed her facial muscles but couldn’t quite muster up a smile. “Better?”
“Yeah. A little.”
Jesse Heart was turning out to be different from what she’d first expected. But because she was starting to like him, she needed to tread even more carefully. While she’d known she was going to have to have her guard up and fully in place, he seemed to find ways to make her smile.
“Thanks for not giving me the shove that I deserved this time around.” Jesse ran his fingers through his hair. “Sometimes I have trouble minding my own business.”
“Look, I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors that Anthony cheated on me.”
Jesse nodded but didn’t press her for an answer.
“Well, it’s true. He did,” she said flatly.
“I’m sorry, Ava,” Jesse said softly. “Did you suspect?”
Ava shook her head and then blew out a sigh. “I was absolutely blindsided. I felt so stupid.”
“So you trusted him. Ava, that’s a good thing. Trusting people don’t expect someone they care about to betray them. No wonder you didn’t know.”
Ava felt a surge of emotion at his compliment. For reasons she couldn’t begin to explain, what he thought of her mattered. She lifted one shoulder. “Everyone seemed to know but me. But I think I was too focused on my dancing career and not on the relationship. Maybe if—”
“Whoa . . .” Jesse raised both hands. “Don’t tell me you’re somehow blaming yourself? I’m sorry, but cheating is just wrong, period,” he said hotly. “There’s no justification for it, ever. If you’re in a relationship you don’t want to be in, then don’t keep it going while you try out other options. Get out! It’s plain and simple in my book.”
“Well, I think Anthony worried about our dance career too, so he didn’t want to . . . end us. For professional reasons.”
“You mean he was worried about keeping up appearances for his career. It doesn’t sound as if he was worried about you at all. Is that why he took up not just with another woman but with another dancer? So he’d still have a dance partner for life once he ended things with you?”
