Page 11 of The Sandover Beach Billionaire

Chapter Four

“Isit weird that your love interest used to be my babysitter?” Beau grinned at Jackson.

Jimmy started laughing so hard that the other patrons in the diner glanced over at their table. They usually attracted a lot of attention anyway: two firemen and a cop in uniform. And everyone knew Jackson. As much as he’d prefer to slide under the radar, he couldn’t do that when he owned half the island and kept the favorite local grocery store in business. He had just finished telling the guys about his disastrous run-in with Jenna. They already knew about her as the one Jackson let get away.

Jackson pointed his fork at Beau, who was still smiling. Even Cash, normally the most serious and reserved of the group, was chuckling. “It would only be weird if she had been my babysitter. But now I feel very aware of my age, so thanks for that. My age and my maturity, I should say. Does this make me your babysitter?”

“You couldn’t handle us.” Jimmy wiped tears from his eyes with a napkin.

“Clearly.” Jackson took another bite of eggs as the waitress came back to refill their coffee.

“Everything okay over here, boys?” Eileen winked at Cash as she brushed back her graying brown hair. He sat up straighter and looked down at the table as his neck grew red. He tugged on the neck of his uniform. Out of the four guys at the table, it was hilarious that Eileen chose the least friendly one to flirt with.

“Speaking of older women …” Jimmy said, wiggling his eyebrows as Eileen walked back to the counter. Cash glared and Jimmy held up his hands. “For real, though. My first love was older. She was my big sister’s best friend. Talk about torture. For years she practically lived at my house. But she always saw me like a little brother. That’s actually why I’m here. I moved away from Richmond because I couldn’t stand to see her all the time.”

“First love? That implies there has been a second. Does that mean you love Amber?” Beau asked.

Jimmy made a face. “Dude. It’s been a few weeks. She’s a great girl but we’re just dating.”

“And you’re still in love with Emily.” Jackson nudged his shoulder further into Jimmy’s. “I recognize the signs.”

Jimmy swivelled as much as he could in the seat to look at Jackson. The four of them hardly fit into this booth. None of them were small guys. “I’m not saying I’m still in love with her. But I will say that if she walked through that door right now and said she was interested, I’d jump. Never going to happen, though. She made it very clear how she felt the last time I saw her. If we’re all going to talk about our feelings, when are you finally going to get up the nerve to ask Mercer out?”

Beau shrugged. “The time isn’t right.”

“You’ve been saying that for months,” Jackson said. “I’m pretty sure all the girl does is work at my store and go home. When will the time be right?”

Cash took a sip of coffee and looked between Jimmy and Jackson. “Isn’t this Bible and Breakfast? This is starting to sound like a middle school girls’ sleepover. Enough about your pathetic love lives.”

Jackson rolled his eyes, ready to snap back, but Beau spoke up first, in a much nicer tone of voice than he would have used. “Fellowship is part of these breakfasts. That includes sharing what’s going on with us. Right now, Jackson’s dealing with a woman he has feelings for, but also the feelings associated with his past. If we can’t talk about that here, when can we?”

Cash nodded as he pulled out his wallet and threw down a ten-dollar bill. “You’re right. Sorry. I’ve got to get going anyway.”

Beau stood from the booth to let Cash out. Without another word, Cash strode across the diner. Eileen called out a goodbye, but he simply raised a hand as he pushed through the doors.

“Is he ever going to get less prickly? I mean, come on.” Jimmy shook his head as Beau settled back in the booth.

“Give him a break,” Beau said. “The three of us have been friends for a few years now. He’s new to us and still holding a lot of things close to the vest. I hope he’ll open up, but even if he does, he’s just a more serious guy.”

“With constant PMS.” Jimmy kept going even though Beau opened his mouth, probably to defend Cash again. “Anyway, back to you, Jax. What can we do to help facilitate project Win-Jenna-Over?”

“Keep your voice down, first of all. I know you didn’t grow up here, but you know how much of a small town this is. Bunch of gossips. And they all know her. That said, I don’t think it’s a project. More like a dead end.”

“You had one bad run-in with her.”

“Two. She practically sprinted away when I waved to her the other night from my house.”

“Maybe she didn’t recognize you,” Beau said. “I mean, it was dark, right?”

“Maybe. Either way, she’s not thrilled to see me. I’m not going to go out of my way to seek her out. She may not even be here long. I think that avoidance is my best option.”

“You wanted to apologize to her, though, right? About her sister?” Beau had a way of poking right into his business in a way that didn’t feel intrusive. He didn’t let things go, but had a way of pushing gently. More than once, Jackson had the thought that Beau could be a pastor as well as he could be a firefighter.

“I don’t know that she would believe or accept an apology.”

“Maybe not, but that’s on her. Her sister did. That should give you hope. Anyway, we’ve got to get to the station too. Don’t give up. You don’t know if she’s here to stay or if she’ll forgive you. But you’ll always regret it if you don’t try.”

Jackson stood to let Jimmy out. The three of them dropped cash on the table. They always overpaid, and Jackson usually left an extra ten-dollar tip on top of that.

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