Ava knows who Jimmy O'Brien is - her first love and soulmate. Forced to spend time apart, Ava and Jim deal with their trust issues and insecurities.
When the lovers finally reunite and resolve to fight for each other, their fragile happiness is put...
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Day one without Jim dragged. In the morning, I tidied the house to stop myself from missing him. I still missed him, but at least everything was squeaky clean. Not much changed in the afternoon. Jim was still in my thoughts when I entered the bookstore.
My colleague Liz was behind the counter. As soon as her eyes landed on me, she waved me over.
"What's up?" I asked.
A mischievous glint danced in her eyes. "A little bird told me you might get promoted soon. Don't say anything cause it's a secret for now, but your customer stopped by and asked to talk to William. He said your book knowledge impressed the woman."
"Wow."
"I'm with her — I loved everything you recommended. William could give you more responsibilities and pay you more, of course."
"Let's see if that's true." I laughed. "And I won't say a word, don't worry. We'll pretend it didn't happen."
Liz gave me a thumbs up and returned to her duties. An hour into my shift, it became clear I wouldn't have enough distractions to stop replaying each moment with Jim in my head. The store was empty — everyone must've been on the beach.
That was my plan, too. As soon as my workday was over, I dashed out of the bookstore and headed to my car. The girls and I agreed to meet at the marina to grab some drinks and gossip. Partly, Ivy and I wanted to distract Isla — the less time she spent at home where everything reminded her of Rose, the better.
As I got behind the wheel and looked in the rearview mirror, a Toyota parked a few feet away caught my eye. The driver looked vaguely familiar, but the baseball cap hid his face. Unwilling to dwell on that, I turned the key in the ignition and reversed out of the parking lot.
Shades of orange tinted the evening sky by the time I arrived at the bar. Deep in conversation, Isla and Ivy didn't notice me at first.
"Hey!" I said, pulling a chair out.
"Finally!" Ivy jumped to her feet and wrapped me in her arms. "I missed you. Well, we did."
"That's right," Isla said, pulling at the hem of my sundress so I'd lean down and kiss her cheek.
"How are you?" I asked.
The corners of her mouth twitched. "Getting there. It's been only a few days. I'm trying to take it one day at a time."
"That's my girl." Ivy high-fived her. "Listen, why don't we grab the drinks and sit on the sand? I have a towel in my trunk."
"Sounds like a plan." I took out my wallet. "What would you like? My treat."
"Lemonade," Isla said.
Ivy nodded. "Same. But we're getting wasted at Isla's later."
