Page 26 of Mr. Aster
“I’m not,” she offered me a cute grin. “Men can be such babies sometimes, especially the entitled, immature ones.”
“True,” I answered as the poolside waiter brought us cucumber water and stepped away. “By the temper tantrums this man has thrown about the winery, I can bet his immaturity will take over, and he’ll be barking complaints once he learns I was behind all of this.”
“Do you think he’ll find out?” Avery asked, sitting back and allowing the warm breeze from the harbor to wash over her as we soaked up our last couple of hours on the yacht.
“Well, Jim was concerned about going through with the idea because he was afraid it might make my life with Sebastian more hellish, but I told him I could handle the man.”
She pulled her sunglasses down and looked over at me. “It really is a great idea,” she said with a laugh. “Jim and I were talking about how we’d heard of benefits like this, but Jim never imagined hosting one for any of his investments.”
“Well, it’s obvious this is Jim’s first time investing with an Aster. Maybe it’s just me, but he doesn’t seem thrilled about it.”
She reclined back again, closing her eyes behind her sunglasses. “The Asters are no different from any other investor Jim has worked with. I’ve met the parents a couple of times. The mom’s a bitch, but she pretends to be nice.” She smirked over at me, “Notmytype of person. The dad is just as stiff as you say Sebastian is. They’re just a typical, ultra-wealthy family that thinks they’re better than the next stupidly rich family.”
“So strange. I’ve interviewed a lot of elites, and I agree with you. They are all laser-focused on their money and status. But being out here with all of you guys hasn’t felt like I’ve been hanging around one-percenters.” I glanced around at the luxurious pool area on the top floor of this yacht and laughed, “Well, maybe Jake and Ashley’sfamilyyacht makes it feel a little that way.”
Avery laughed. “Make no mistake, honey,” she said with a hint of sassiness, “we all might be doing well, but everyone here puts their pants on one leg at a time, you know?”
“Does it ever get to you?” I questioned. Avery’s story was exceptional because she wasn’t born into the level of wealth that she has now. She was a nearly homeless single mother when she met and fell in love with Jim, and you could see from a mile away that they were deeply in love. It was a Cinderella story if I’d ever heard one.
“Does what get to me, having more money than Jim and I will be able to spend in a million lifetimes?” she chuckled, then sighed. “I suppose the answer is yes. Sometimes it’soverwhelming, but Jim does an amazing job keeping me grounded if I get overwhelmed.”
“How so?” I asked.
“More often than not, it’s the lifestyle that can be uncomfortable, like being expected to interact with certain types of people I have nothing in common with. I didn’t go to prep school, and I didn’t get a Porsche for my sixteenth birthday, so a lot of the people we are forced to rub elbows with at certain functions make my anxiety go through the roof. Like, no, Helen, I don’t know the celebrity dog groomer you’re talking about.”
“Oh, my God,” I laughed loudly. “I can’t imagine those conversations.”
“They take some weird twists and turns, let me tell you,” Avery laughed. “I’ve learned how to deal with those weirdos, though. It took some time, but I’ve gotten good at suffering the foolishness, if you know what I mean. The things that still get to me are simple, though. Sometimes, I will walk through our beautiful home, and when I look around at everything, it seems surreal that it’s mine. I’m so grateful for it, but it can be intimidating if I stop and think about it.”
“Do you feel like you don’t deserve it?” I asked after hearing a hint of sadness in her tone.
“Yeah, sort of. You interviewed Jim and learned about how he and I fell hard for each other. It was never about his money or mylackof money; we truly couldn’t live without each other. Still, I have my moments. Finding the love of your life, someone who loves you as intensely as you do them, is beautiful, and having all these luxuries to go with it sometimes makes me think it’s not normal to have itall.I get afraid that I’ll wake up one day and realize it was all a dream.”
“You have a hard time accepting that you deserve love and happiness?”
She pulled her sunglasses down and looked over at me. “You know, I guess I do. My ex, Addy’s dad,” she said, referring to her daughter, whom Jim wasted no time in adopting and making his own after they were first married, “he love-bombed me like hell, and I thought he was the perfect man. That mask and dream faded when I got pregnant with Addy, and then the nightmare of who he was began. I dealt with that bastard for far too long, and because of his bullshit, we lost everything. I finally left because I didn’t want my daughter to grow up and think life should be that way.”
“It takes a strong woman to do what you did.”
“Yeah, well, I’m still healing from a lot of that shit because if I weren’t, I wouldn’t have these little insecurities hit me now and then. And like I said, Jim keeps me grounded, reminding me of his love and my worth through that.”
“A beautiful happily ever after,” I smiled.
“Well, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows,” she chuckled. “Jim knows how to love me but also how to get under my skin.”
“Doesn’t every husband?”
She glanced at me. “Of course, yet—forget it. You’ll hate me for it. It’s stupid,” she trailed off, and I grew instantly curious about what was going through her head.
“No, you can’t do that. Why would I hate you for anything? What were you going to say?”
She did this adorable cringe expression, then pinched her lips tightly in humor.
“Okay,” she sat up and crossed her legs where she sat, “Jim knows I hate over-spending with a passion. In fact, I still won’t buy name brands because I think it’s ridiculous to buy overpriced shit because of a label.”
“I’m the same way,” I laughed. “If you visited the winery, you’d see I get that from my parents.”
She offered me a knowing grin. “So, you understand when I say that when Jim broughtthe same twelve-thousand-dollarespresso maker that Sebastian bought into our kitchen a while ago, it infuriated me.”
