But he had to admit, when his friend was right, he was right. Deacon had nothing to feel sorry for himself about. He did love Jenna. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jenna. He was definitely a card-carrying member of the she’s-the-one club.
29
Fake it tillyou make it. That was Jenna’s new motto. She was online doing last-minute Christmas shopping for Blake. She was good with all the major gifts, but she just had her stocking stuffers to finish, and Ulta was perfect for those.
Her daughter was upstairs blasting Chappell Roan, and Asher was coming to pick her up for the weekend. The Christmas parade was tomorrow night, and the cheer team had worked hard on the float. Jenna was hoping the event would give her a serotonin boost. Seeing her daughter have the adolescent experience she hoped for as a teen might just do the trick.
Hello, living vicariously.
Maybe she’d even run into Yaya, and the woman could knock some sense into her. She’d thought about stopping by, just to see if she’d take a few minutes to have coffee with her, she’d wanted to so badly. But Yaya was a newlywed. She and Mr. Santino were settling into the cottage they’d just moved in together, and that was the difference between someone beinglike familyand beingfamily. Jenna wasn’t family. She didn’t have the right to stop by. So, she was stuck trying to claw her way out of her doom spiral all alone.
A familiar three-rap knock sounded on her front door. Did all cops learn that in the academy?
“Blake, your dad!” Jenna called out from the kitchen island. When there was no response or lowering of the music, she tried once more. “Blake!”
After her second fruitless attempt, she hopped off the stool and shuffled to the door in her slippers, oversized NYPD sweats, and Northwestern hoodie.
She opened the door to her ex waiting on the porch, pushed out the screen door, and turned around towards the steps. “She’s upstairs, I’ll go grab her.”
“Actually, do you have a minute?”
Jenna looked over her shoulder and saw that her ex’s expression was serious. That wasn’t good. The last serious conversation they’d had was when she’d shown up on Asher’s porch from Boston telling him she was moving to Hope Falls a year and a half ago. They didn’t really doserious talks.
“Sure.”
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him. They silently made their way to the kitchen, and she poured him a cup of coffee and set it in front of him before settling on the breakfast bar bench across from him and pulling her knees up to her chest.
“What’s up?” she asked.
He stared down at the cup, and when his eyes met hers, she nearly teared up. She could see the genuine concern in them, and feel the love and care shining through them. Asher was notin lovewith her, but he’d always love her. She knew that. For a good part of his life, she was ‘the woman’ in it. She was his first love, his firstwife, and the mother of his first child. He was madly in love with Ava, she was his soul mate, his world, his everything, but Jenna knew she’d always have a place in Asher’s heart. Always.
“What’s going on with you?” he asked sincerely.
“Nothing, I’m fine,” she lied.
Even during their divorce, they’d remained good friends, best friends at times, she knew he could see right through her. But he wasn’t her best friend now. He had a wife, and they were a family.
“It’s three in the afternoon, and you haven’t washed your hair, you’re wearing my old sweats, and I’ll bet you’ve watched at least four episodes of Dawson’s Creek today.”
“No, I haven’t.”
Asher just stared at her.
“Two, I’ve watched two episodes.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but Deacon seems like a good guy.”
“How do you…who said…why do you think?” Jenna did not like the idea of her ex knowing her business.
Blake. She must have told him.
“It’s Hope Falls.”
“Right.” How had Jenna been so delusional that she thought Asher wouldn’t hear rumors when he worked for HFPD and his wife was a Wells sister? They owned Brewed Awakenings, which was gossip central. Ava was a therapist, so she wasn’t there for the day-to-day operations, but she still got filled in by Viv, who also didn’t work there but somehow had her finger on the pulse kept everyone up-to-date.
“You’re scared,” Asher stated.
“Areyoua therapist now, too? Did you get your degree through osmosis from being married to Ava?” Jenna heardherself being snarky and defensive, but she didn’t appreciate being called out like that.
