Page 77 of The Road to Finding Us

He also sports a fucking man bun, as if those are still in.

Selma quickly stands up, crossing the room to stand next to him. “Sorry, I got ambushed as soon as we walked in and lost you,” she whispers to him, before looking up at me and Veronica. “Guys, meet my new friend, Jasper.”

“Congratulations you two,” Jasper says, looking between me and V.

Because the three of them all stand on the opposite side of the room, I decide I better join them.

Veronica laughs, clutching her stomach for a moment. “Oh, over my dead body would I be marrying Aspen.” She throws a look over her shoulder. “But thank you. And how do you two know each other? Any juicy details perhaps?” Veronica looks at Selma and winks, causing color to rush to Selma’s cheeks.

“Oh, you know…” Selma begins, as Jasper says, “We actually met today.”

Veronica and I both pause, curiously looking at each other before looking back at Selma and the stranger she brought—something that is not typical for Selm.

Veronica pops a hip, her white nails tapping against her wine glass, giving Selma an amused look. “You’re going to have to explain this later.”

Jasper puts his arm around Selma as if he’s known her forever, and I don’t miss the way she slips her hand around his narrow waist.

“Selma and I met at the airport when we struck up a bit of bond.” His accent makes an aw sound in bond.

“Selma, Selma, Selma,” Veronica starts, not hiding her scrutiny of Selma’s new friend. “We’re going to have to talk more on this later, but I should probably return to my engagement party.”

“Yeah, we should probably get to the party, too,” Selma says. “I didn’t get the chance to introduce Jasper to anyone before I was swept away.”

Australian Surfer Dude says goodbye to Veronica, then goes as far as referring to me as mate when he tells me goodbye.

Selma quickly turns around, dragging Jasper out of the room with her.

“Holy shit,” Veronica says next to me, watching them retreat. “Selma went and found herself a hot Australian stranger. That’s something I’d count as a juicy detail. That little minx lied to me! I’ll have to hunt her down later.”

I laugh next to her, following her out the door a few moments later. Although, in truth, I’m just as shocked as Veronica is.

38

Lily

Present

Two days later, we’ve reached the day of the grand opening for Connor’s Ocean. Maverick, Veronica, Aspen and I have kept busy since the engagement party, getting last minute details ready for the event. It’s kept all of us busy, meaning Aspen and I haven’t had much time to talk about what happened between us at the engagement party. We’ve both been cordial, but luckily, we haven’t had a spare moment to be anything but. Between us preparing for the opening and him spending time at his house, there hasn’t been time for any possible nonsense.

But now, Veronica and Maverick are both at the event space making sure everything is perfect. Veronica was adamant that they didn’t need any last minute help today, flying out of the house before I could offer to go help however I could.

So now, I’m left alone in an empty house, with time to dwell on the conversation Aspen and I had the other night. He’s been at his house for the better part of the morning, and as I sit at the kitchen counter snacking on potato chips, I’m shocked to find a missed text from him.

Aspen: Come to my house? There’s something I want to show you. Please.

My heart catapults inside my chest. Before I can second guess what I’m doing, my legs are taking me across the lawn, on the way to him.

When I stop in front of his house, I’m taken aback by the beauty. It’s absolutely breathtaking. The home is the same white as my brother’s, but where they had a white porch and white columns, the wood of this porch is black, the shutters and columns the same color. On the left side of the front door hangs a brand new porch swing. It slowly moves with a gust of wind.

It reminds me of the porch swing at Ed and Helen’s. The one I loved so much.

The molding around the door is black as well, and it surrounds a large teal front door. I’m still stopped on the sidewalk when Aspen strolls out the front door, wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a faded T-shirt. I about die when I see the ball cap perched on top of his head, reminding me of the day I first met him.

I’m still staring at him when he quickly steps down the front steps, stopping directly in front of me.

“You came,” he says.

I nod, scanning his face.

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