He tried to stay away from her. He could barely breathe every time he looked at her in a bikini. She talked to the guy for the bar for a long time. Whoever he was Peter and Megan knew him too. An old school friend? They were very familiar with each other.

Later while Sophie was burying him with help from her friends and father, he casually asked Peter, "Who's that guy with Dan?"

"That's my brother-in-law, he came in for the weekend from Los Angeles. You remember we went to his wedding after Christmas."

"Where's his wife?"

"Home, the quick cross-country trip would be too much for her in her condition." He smiled.

"Oh." So the mystery man was like Jen's brother.

After he rinsed in the freezing water, she watched him walk up the beach. When he joined the football game, she joined Avery and was talking with Kate. When Jen held his nephew, he thought he might get hit in the head with the football.

He tried to stay away from her, but never very far. Eventually, the party moved back to the house for food and drinks. The day turned to evening, and Kate and Matt left. Finally, his sister admitted that she liked his friends and definitely liked Avery.

He heard Jen offer to go across the street to get some brownies for Kristi, so he followed her.

He wanted a moment alone with her before she left. She turned when she heard him, but didn't say anything. She stepped away from him as if giving them distance. He walked up behind her and stood so he was barely touching her. "I want you to be divorced, so I can touch you and taste you."

She breathed out a sigh and whispered, "I will be in three to six months. Why do you need to wait? I've told you I'm not going back to him." With those words, she leaned into him. He felt her warmth, and he wanted to put his arms around her and pull her tightly against him.

"Why are you so sure that he won't fight for you? That you won't change your mind?"

"Because he won't. He can't offer what I want." Her voice trailed off.

"Why?" Je raised his voice above a whisper. "Tell me why you're so sure. Help me understand."

She took a step away from him and turned to face him. "You will never stop persisting. I told you I didn't want to talk about it. But you keep insisting. I will never take him back because that night I found him in our bed, he was with my assistant, Trevor!"

She pushed past him and grabbed the brownies and ran out the door. He stood dumbfounded. He never imagined. God damn, Kate! She saw his picture with Avery and knew.

When he went back, she was saying her goodbyes. She repeated, "Early flight." She didn't look at him.

Why did she feel so ashamed? She chose wrong, hadn't he chosen wrong more than once? She left without saying a word to him. He felt like a part of him walked out the door with her and all she left behind was the feeling of her body against his.

Avery

Both Alex and Jen were acting weirder as the weekend wore on. By Sunday they avoided each other in every way, but their eyes. She watched as Jen talked with Megan's brother, and Alex looked jealous. She wondered if Jen and Alex had done anything other than talk like two adolescents.

Jen told her she bumped into Megan's brother the night before. "Avery I was just leaving and there he was. He scooped me up, and I was thinking you used to tease me. We talked for a few minutes on the beach then I walked home."

At the end of the evening, Alex had shut down and wasn't talking. It had to be because he saw the scene with Jen being scooped up. He retreated to his spare room the minute they got back.

Alone Tom said, "He couldn't stop looking at her in that dress. My brother's got it bad."

"Her life will be complicated with Sterling for a while and he's here and she won't be." Avery reminded him.

When Tom took her in his arms, she wasn't thinking about Alex or Jen anymore. Well, not true she was thinking about being very quiet so that Alex didn't hear them. Even that didn't last long, because she heard Alex go downstairs and flip on the TV.

In the morning, Alex suggested breakfast and took them to a small place in town. The brothers joked, and she laughed. She told some stories about her times with Jen, but it was hard to not include Sterling.

At the party, Jen was right, she loved Megan. Jen had learned to navigate social settings, but she was never entirely comfortable. Sterling always gave her security, because he was an extrovert. She watched as Jen and Alex watched each other all day.

Kate was one of a kind. Growing up between her handsome brothers she had to be witty to survive. She had Avery in stitches telling about their antics. Megan and Kristi joined in and Avery could tell they loved Alex.

When Kate started discussing his dating woes, Megan said, "We've seen him with girls. Some lucky girl will catch him. We don't have any single ones around here though."

Kristi said, "Jen's going to be single."

Avery felt the need to protect her friend. "Jen lives in New York and she's not single yet."

Kate asked about Jen, and Avery explained that she was her best friend from New York. Later Jen came over and Avery thrust little Joshua in her arms. Jen held him and although she had no experience with babies, she wasn't uncomfortable. Avery knew Jen wanted a baby and was disappointed when Sterling didn't. It was a good thing because their divorce would be a mess with a child.

Something happened across the street, but Avery couldn't tell what. She watched Alex follow Jen, but she didn't think anyone else noticed except Tom. They weren't gone for long, but Jen came back upset. Avery could tell she was holding it together long enough to say goodbye.

Alex didn't look much better. He looked sad, and Jen didn't say goodbye to Alex or to her and Tom. She just waved avoiding her too. She was confident she would find out what happened at home.

If Alex was quiet the night before going home he was silent after his whatever with Jen. Once alone, she and Tom discussed what may have happened, but it was all speculation on their part.

"Would you be willing to meet my mother? Because I'm not sure Alex will be very entertaining tomorrow."

"Do you want me to meet your mother?"

He took her in his arms. "I think it's inevitable."

Avery knew he was right because she loved Tom and didn't care who knew it.