Page 20 of The Sandover Beach Billionaire

She rolled her eyes. “What are we, still sixteen? As far as I remember, the feeling was mutual. I never knew why, though.”

She remembered the time Steve came to school sporting a black eye that supposedly came from Jackson. It was senior year, so she and Steve weren’t together, and soon after the rumors about Rachel. She never got the full story, but always wondered what brought them to blows. They had always seemed to hate each other from a distance.

“No one particular reason. That guy was—and is—a jerk. You should stay away from him. Far away.”

“I just ran into him at Bohn’s. Not a big deal.”

Also, not your business who I hang out with. For whatever reason, Jenna had no problem speaking her mind to Jackson, but here with Steve, she kept holding back. Why was that? Not for the first time, guilt for all the rude things she’d said to Jackson washed over her.

“Then why is he writing you notes and giving you back your shoes? You should shop at Harris Teeter. I do. Just to avoid running into his pompous, lying face.”

“Wow. Seriously, what happened with the two of you? Was it because you got in a fight that one time? Are you still holding onto stuff that happened in high school?”

“Are you?” His question felt pointed and invasive and like it was about something wholly different than their current conversation. He stared at her with hooded eyes, an intense expression on her face.

“No. I’ve moved on.”

Steve took another long drink of wine. When he set down the cup, his expression had changed. The edge was gone and the familiar smile was back. “Are you going to sell the house?”

“Probably. I can keep it if I want, but I don’t know if I could live here.”

“Will you stay On Island?”

“Another question I can’t answer. Yet. I thought I’d get through packing things up first and see how I feel. I’m kind of … between things right now. What I mean is that I can stay or I can go. I’m not really tied to a place.”

Because my husband was a cheater and my marriage is over and I have nowhere to live and no job.Steve had once known her so well. Could he still read the things in her face that she left unspoken? She hoped not.

“You know, our initials are still out on the tree out there. If you sell the house, the new owners will get that as a little bonus.” He grinned.

Jenna took a sip of coffee. “I’ll put that in the listing as a selling point.”

“You should. It really brings up the value of the place. The neighbors aren’t so bad either. Maybe you should hold onto it. Good memories.” He watched her over the lip of the cup as he took another drink.

“Some were. Some … not so much.’

Steve set down his cup. His smile disappeared, and his eyes burned. “Jenna, there’s something I need to say to you. I should have said it a long time ago.”

Not another confession about the past. Or an apology. Jenna felt suddenly like she had been thrust into A Christmas Carol. Except there was only the Ghost of Christmas past, haunting her present and keeping her from the future.

Jenna’s phone began to ring on the counter, startling them both as it buzzed against a cutting board. It was Rachel. “I’ve got to take this.”

She didn’t actually, but needed Steve out of her house before he said whatever he was going to say. Jackson’s apology was all she could take for the moment. And despite her mixed feelings towards Jackson, Steve didn’t give her mixed feelings. They were all sour, getting more so by the minute. She wanted him to leave. He may have been her oldest friend and her first love, but their history needed to stay firmly in the past.

“I’ll show myself out.” Steve brushed her shoulder with his hand as he walked back by, then leaned in, his whisper sending a shiver down her back. At one time, it would have been pleasant. Tonight, though, it felt like some kind of warning. She clutched the still-ringing phone in her hand. “Keep the wine. I’ll be back. Probably when you least expect it. Good to see you, Jenns.”

Again with her nickname. Jenna held the phone up to her ear, though she had no intention of answering it and Steve had already gone, the sound of the front door closing behind him giving her a sense of relief. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.

Jenna realized that she had crumpled Jackson’s note in her shaking hand. She crossed the room and smoothed it out on the counter next to the Brie and the other things Steve had pulled out of the bag.

Dear Jenna,

I wanted to say again how sorry I am about Rachel. I was a jerk in high school and for a long time after. It’s hard for me to think about the guy I used to be. If you gave me a chance now, I think you’d see that I’m someone quite different. I’m trying. Here are a few things I thought you might enjoy.

-Jax

PS- I don’t think I said it before, but I’m so sorry about your mom. She was an amazing woman and she reminded me so much of you.

Jenna read the note. Then she read it again. One more time, with fat tears obscuring her vision.

She didn’t know what part to focus on. If she gave him a chance to … what? Be a friend? Something more? He was trying … to do what? Be a better man? A different man? Jenna’s mother was an amazing woman … and Jenna reminded him of her? That one brought on the tears. And then he had signed it Jax. A nickname. Not one she’d ever heard anyone use for him in high school. He had always been Jackson. Or Jackson Wells—the kind of guy where people almost always used both of his names.

She was thankful that she had pulled the note away from Steve before he read the whole thing. This wasn’t a casual note from a guy she happened to run into. She didn’t know exactly what this was, but it felt more like an invitation or an open door.

Her stomach growling reminded her that she still hadn’t eaten. Jenna opened the package of Brie and spread it over a slice of the crusty bread. Delicious and perfect. Thank you, Jackson. If she’d had his number, she would have been tempted to text him.

She had expected that it would be difficult to come back, both in terms of packing up the house and running into old acquaintances. But Jenna had been completely unprepared for the emotional upheaval that Jackson Wells was causing. Add Steve’s visit to the mix and her life had become something of an afternoon soap opera. Or maybe it had just reverted to high school drama.

Which was exactly the reason why she needed to get everything done in the house: so that she could put it on the market and get Off Island as soon as humanly possible. She didn’t want to live stuck in a loop of the past. It was time to move on. But when she woke up, still clutching Jackson’s note in her hand, Jenna realized that this might be even harder than she had thought.

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