“Every year I have the club decorated for the holidays. I usually just use the local florist and she does a passable job, but I thought if you wanted a project…”
“Say no more. I’d love to!” Nicole beamed.
“The old biddies at the club love to talk … so it could lead to something, you never know,” Avery added.
“It would be nice just to keep busy,” Nicole admitted, and Avery could see the wheels turning. “When do you want me to start?”
“Just come take a look at the place today if you want to get some ideas. Do you have someone to watch Ike?”
“Lauren says her sitter has a part-time opening.” Nicole sounded excited as she grabbed her purse.
“We can see what they have at the Foster’s on Sunday. I’m sure Aaron will have a great selection.” Avery noticed instantly that Nicole looked flustered. As she put two and two together, she felt ignorant.
“Oh, Nicole. I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think about it,” Avery sheepishly stammered. Ryan and Aaron had been best friends growing up. Talking about Aaron had to feel like ripping off a scab.
“It’s okay.” Nicole looked pale. “Until Lauren brought him up, I hadn’t heard his name in a long time. He and Ryan weren’t on speaking terms.”
“What? Why?”
Nicole shrugged, looking at the floor.
“What the hell? They practically had a ‘bromance’. He still asks about you guys … always has.” Avery couldn’t hide her astonishment. This was the first she’d heard of a falling-out between Ryan and Aaron, who’d practically been an honorary brother to her since forever.
“It’s a really long story for another time.” The cryptic response caused Avery to raise an eyebrow in surprised confusion.
“All right. But this sounds juicy. We’re talking about this later.” Avery stood and grabbed her purse. She wanted to press Nic for details, but she needed to get to the office.
“Okay.” Nicole seemed reluctant. Avery read her face and knew there was quite a tale to be told.
“See you in a few hours. Bring Ike if you can’t find a sitter.” She headed for the door.
As she drove to Stone Valley, Avery’s mind wandered to her brother and his childhood best friend, Aaron. They’d been an odd pair. At 5’10” tall, Ryan was relatively small and toned. Avery had always enjoyed telling him he had a Napoléon complex. Aaron was well over 6 feet, broad-shouldered and muscular. Her brother had always been a natural leader; he was class president all four years in high school. Aaron was his enforcer; he had zero tolerance for bullies and constantly defended the underdog.
Both brilliant students, Ryan and Aaron became friends in the Talented and Gifted program in elementary school. When they hit puberty, Aaron had sprouted up a foot and could be intimidating if you didn’t know him. Fortunately, he was a bit of a class clown and usually laughed off insults and joked his way out of fights.
Aaron’s parents were working class farmers and the Harpers were about as upper class as they came in Jefferson Point. They owned a considerable amount of property and real estate. Avery shook her head, remembering what an unbelievable snob her mother had often been to Aaron. He took it all in stride, but Ryan constantly chastised her for how condescending she was toward Aaron.
Aaron and Ryan were both hot commodities to the girls of Jefferson Point High. Aaron’s lively personality and talent in sports and music had girls throwing themselves at his feet. Ryan hadn’t been in the arts, but had been a killer academic. He was a shark on the debate team, the quarterback of the football team and pitched baseball. The two of them spent their free time working their way through the female student body. Like all male friendships, they were competitive with each other, but they’d both had opportunities to come out on top. Somehow they struck a balance between rivalry and friendship, in a uniquely Y-chromosome kind of way.
When Nicole moved to town, the guys of J.P. High flipped. Ryan was first in line. Though Nic wanted nothing to do with him at first, his tenacity eventually wore her down. Nicole had the look of a beauty queen with a solemn quality that always seemed to appeal to Ryan.
Avery thought back to the night she introduced Ryan to Nicole.
When Avery introduced herself to the new girl, it was a calculated move. Nicole was ridiculously good looking, though she wore a faded Misfits t-shirt, old-style eyeglasses, and a beanie cap. Avery wanted to keep the competition close. Nicole turned out to be surprisingly cool, so that weekend Avery had invited her to stay the night. Aaron and Ryan agreed to give them a ride out to the house. She should have known something was up; the guys usually did everything they could to avoid being seen with her and her friends. When they pulled up to Nicole’s tiny house, they saw her chasing a Chihuahua across the front lawn. She wore headphones and her usual faded jeans and concert t-shirt combo. From the backseat she watched the back of the guys’ heads as they followed Nicole’s every move like cats watching a canary.
“Ugh! She’s so hot.” Aaron groaned as if he were in agony.
“I saw her first, remember?” Ryan replied, his voice sounded fascinated. Understanding their sudden desire to be helpful, Avery wanted to jump from the car and tell Nic they were staying at her place instead.
“Tic tock, dude.” Aaron’s retort made Ryan laugh.
“Bro, she hurts me here, and here.” Ryan pointed to his chest and his crotch.
“You two pukes need to settle down.” Avery leaned past Ryan to honk the horn. Nic turned to the street and waved with a tiny smile. She carried the small dog up onto the porch.
“She’s like a sexy librarian with those glasses,” Aaron murmured. “I wonder what she looks like without them.”
“I wonder what she looks like without all those clothes,” Ryan added and the guys’ fist bumped.
“That’s it. I’m calling Dad for a ride.” Avery opened the back door.
“No! Come on, Aves!” Ryan begged.
“You need to promise not to embarrass me, Ryan. You too, Aaron.” Avery had the door open and her foot out.
“Okay, okay…” Aaron conceded and Ryan nodded.
After a ridiculous spectacle of would-be chivalry and a quick ride to the house, the girls finally managed to ditch the guys. After watching a movie and painting their toenails, Avery and Nicole went to the kitchen to make some appetizers.
“Are you cooking for us too, woman?” Aaron asked as the guys came back in the house from shooting hoops, sweaty and out of breath. Avery looked at Nicole and rolled her eyes.
“Don't make me hurt you.”
“Why ya gotta be so mean, Avery?”
“Why ya gotta be so obnoxious, Aaron?”
“Just gifted, I guess.” Aaron shot Nic a dimpled smirk. Avery saw Nic smile, but only with her eyes.
“Now, children...” Ryan winked at Nicole as he opened the fridge. Avery wanted to kick him in his smug ass.
“There's more than enough food here for four,” Nicole offered innocently.
“Nicole, don't let the boneheads fool you. They're smarter than they look and can operate an oven.”
“So, Nicole. Where'd you move from?” Ryan saddled up to her, cornering her by the breakfast bar.
“Madison.” She dragged out the word with a sidelong glance at Avery.
“Wisconsin? Say it ain't so.” Aaron groaned incredulously and Ryan high-fived him. Nicole raised her eyebrows at Avery in question.
“Vikings fans,” Avery explained and shrugged.
“A Cheesehead? No way.” Aaron assessed her and shook his head.
“Prettiest Cheesehead I've ever seen.” Ryan locked eyes with her. Nicole’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. “You’re not a Packers fan, are you?”
“I don't watch football.” The boys both groaned and booed at her as if she were an infidel.
“Well, being from Wisconsin, that's kind of understandable,” Aaron muttered with a cocky shrug and Ryan laughed.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” Ryan wiped his sweaty f
orehead on his shirt. Avery scoffed audibly and threw a dishtowel at him.
“What? It's just a question, Avery.” He turned back to Nic and his eyebrow twitched. Nicole pushed up her glasses and folded her arms across her chest.
“No.” She sounded mildly curt. Avery passed Aaron a soda and joined him at the breakfast bar as they watched, bemused.
“Do you want one? “ Ryan moved even closer to Nic, who scoffed, and didn’t back down.
“You’re not my type, sport.”
“Ooh. Ouch.” Aaron laughed.
“What is your type?” Ryan's lip curved in a smile as he narrowed his eyes, as if really seeing her for the first time. She leaned back on the counter casually.
“I like bass players.”
As Avery passed by, it was her turn to high-five Nicole. Aaron chuckled.
“You should really branch out.” Ryan reached out and plucked her glasses off her face. Nicole nervously pushed her hair behind her ear. Avery knew when she saw Nic without the glasses that the guys would be in their faces all night long. Thankfully, Mom appeared in the doorway.
“Ryan. Stop sniffing around the young lady like a dog in heat and go shower. Make it a cold one.”
Arriving at the club, Avery scanned her parking space for nails before pulling in. It was now almost nine and there were already a considerable amount of cars in the parking lot. The fine weather had the avid golfers getting in late-season rounds. The prospect of an extra-long season and the money that it was sure to bring in had Avery smiling. Heading through the pro shop and waving to several employees, she walked past her office and down the hall to her father’s. John Harper sat at his desk. Not a salt and pepper hair out of place, he was impeccably dressed, as always. Hearing her knock, he looked up from his paperwork.
“Avery, sweetheart. I heard you were looking for me yesterday.” He took off his reading glasses and pushed back his chair to give her his full attention. He had always been vigorously healthy and looked younger than he was. However, since his son’s death, he seemed to have aged ten years. He’s height and build were the same as Ryan’s had been. An avid sports enthusiast, even in his advancing years, he stayed fit and trim.
“I just wanted to check in and let you know I am back and ready for business.” Avery took a seat across from him, crossing her long legs. “Any new issues I should know about?”
“You should check in with Onyx, but it isn’t pressing. Are Nicole and Isaac all settled in?” His eyes twinkled as he mentioned them. He had always been fond of Nicole, and Ike was the apple of his eye.
“Yes. I’m having Nic come out today to see about getting the place ready for the holidays. I figured we’d take advantage of having a talented interior designer in the family.” Avery brushed a piece of lint off her expensive pinstriped jacket.
“Great idea.” He nodded. “Will you be out to the house on Friday?”
“Of course…” She forced a neutral expression; she didn’t like to trouble her father about her tense relationship with her mother.
“The Gates family is not invited. I had to wrestle the invitation out of your mother’s hand. You know the election has her on edge,” he added. Avery’s heart sank a bit. She didn’t like causing any tension between her parents and Jason’s. In addition to their dads’ business relationship, her parents and the Gates’ were close friends. Her breakup with Jason was a huge point of contention between Avery and her mother, who was running for mayor of Jefferson Point.
“Much appreciated.” Avery uttered a sigh of relief. Jason’s parents owned the largest and most expensive home on the course. Avery had worked hard to maneuver around the social pitfalls of breaking off the engagement to their son. Still, her mother was continuously inventing ways to try to get them back together and Avery’s patience was worn thin.
“Anytime…” Her father turned back to his paperwork.
Avery went about her day, catching up on all the tasks that had piled up while she was off. She met with the pro shop manager, the restaurant manager of Onyx, and Louise in the bar. She spoke with two brides who’d booked receptions for October. She fielded calls about wedding and baby showers in November and a bachelor party in a week; men always waited until the last minute to plan things. Luckily, no one had booked the smaller banquet room for that night and she was able to accommodate the bachelor party. It was a relief when Nicole appeared at her office door at 3:45 P.M.
“Better late than never…” Nicole seemed embarrassed, but she looked fantastic. Avery realized that she had not seen Nicole dressed in anything but sweats or jeans in months. She wore her wavy hair down and the few extra pounds that she’d gained with Ike seemed to be in all the right places. Her aqua top matched her striking eyes, which looked well rested and sparkled with excitement.
“Are you kidding? I just dropped this on you. Glad you could come. Looks like Shaina had a spot for Ike.”
“She offered him fruit snacks and he didn’t even look back at me when I left.” Nicole laughed.
Relieved to be getting out of her office and away from the phone, Avery proceeded to give Nic a tour of the clubhouse. They discussed what had been done in the past to decorate for the seasons and concluded that Nicole should decorate for Christmas as well. Extra time was spent in each area, while Nicole took measurements, photographs, and asked questions. Soon Avery handed her off to Louise, who was familiar with their banquet supplies so that Nicole could see what they had on hand to use and what would need to be purchased. Feeling quite pleased with her productive day, Avery went back to her office to grab her purse and head home. She picked up her cell phone and saw a missed text from Jason. Rolling her eyes to the heavens, she deleted it without reading it.
Nicole drove her Jeep back into town about an hour later, her mind humming with ideas. She thrived when she had a project and it had been a temporary distraction from the pending dinner with her mother-in-law, who had never liked her. No one would have ever been good enough for her baby boy, but certainly not a “piece of ass from the wrong side of the tracks.”
Also, on her mind was the prospect of seeing Aaron again. She hadn’t realized he would be back in Jefferson Point. The thought of seeing him both frightened and excited her.
Looking back, it seemed odd that she’d ended up with Ryan, not Aaron. Moving to J.P. had been a huge culture shock for her. Nicole had come from a much larger city and she felt like she was under a microscope at J.P. High. For a reason that still eluded her, Avery had decided to befriend her in her second week at the school. Avery Harper was already a legend as a sophomore; a gorgeous all-American girl with bronzed skin, long dark hair, and a rock star figure. Captain of the dance team, the golf team, and a track star, she’d been wildly popular. Having her as an ally was an unintentional social coup for Nic, who had never given a rat’s ass about high school politics.
Nicole first met the guys when Avery invited her to sleep over. Ryan and Aaron were their ride. She recognized them immediately; they were the most popular seniors in town. Nicole remembered her first impression of the guys—they were both loud egomaniacs.
Ryan had been charismatic and intense from their first encounter. He had a way of making a girl feel like she was the only woman in the world. Nicole hated to admit it, but his attention was intoxicating.
“Climb on in the front, Beautiful. You’re our guest, after all.” He’d flashed a pearly smile, popping his purple bubble gum. He patted the front seat of his sporty little black car. It was obvious he thought he was hot shit. Nic shot Avery a sideways glance as Aaron tossed her bag in the trunk. Avery pantomimed sticking a finger down her throat.
“Now, hold on. I’m a guest too. Maybe I should drive and she should ride shotgun,” Aaron shamelessly argued.
“Or maybe you should drive and she can sit on my lap,” Ryan retorted.
Ryan and Aaron’s theatrics went on for about five minutes, and Nicole yawned and climbed in the backseat with Avery. Ryan pulled over to get gas, and when Aaron and Avery we
nt inside for drinks, Ryan insisted she ride in front. Nicole felt nervous under his blue-eyed gaze and relented in hopes he’d stop looking at her in that teasing, frustrating manner.
Avery said nothing when she returned to the car—she just handed Nicole a drink. As Aaron approached the car, he made a scolding motion with his fingers when he saw her in the front seat. Ryan chuckled next to her.
Aaron climbed in the back and handed Ryan a bottle of pop. “One for me … and one for my homie.”
“Thanks, dude.” Ryan put his arm on the back of her headrest as he backed out, and then left it there. Though she acted bored, Nicole found his passes charming.
Avery’s dry sarcasm and Aaron’s wicked sense of humor entertained them all the way to what Aaron sardonically called Harper Manor.
As they approached the Harper homestead, Nicole could see Aaron wasn’t joking. The estate was ostentatious and impressive. Nicole was overwhelmed with insecurity as she glanced down at her faded Ramones t-shirt and knock-off shoes. Aaron seemed to pick up on this and whispered in her ear as she let him out of the backseat.
“Don’t let all this freak you out.” His green eyes were welcoming and sincere as he nodded in the direction of the two Harper siblings. “They’re not snobs, but their mom … you have to watch out for her.”
He’d been dead on about Sandra Harper and a great many other things. Nicole and Aaron quickly formed a friendship. Both of them were into the arts; Aaron was a talented performer and Nicole took every art class the school offered. They had a certain chemistry of their own and had shared many private jokes, secret even from Ryan and Avery. Plus, they both understood financial instability, coming from normal, working-class homes. Aaron got her on a level that Ryan never had. Through the years, Ryan often seemed annoyed by Aaron and Nicole’s connection. He despised it when Aaron called her Nicki, which seemed to inspire Aaron to do so every chance he got. Still, Ryan and Aaron were tight and remained best friends, even rooming together as undergrads.
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