No Ordinary Love (A Modern Vintage Romance #5)

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Amara

I t had been four months since Lucas and I broke up, and I was still living at Basil's. Although I often felt like a burden, he kept insisting he'd rather I take my time finding the right home than rush into something. We'd been friends for a long time and were comfortable with each other, so living together had been pretty seamless, and we both liked it. Plus, as he put it, he appreciated having someone to look after the house while he was away at UCLA for a project that would keep him there for the entire fall semester.

Gemma, Basil's friend-with-benefits , my friend and colleague, and I organized a going-away party for him in the garden, which was now alive with laughter and the soft glow of string lights draped lazily between the trees.

Basil's backyard had been transformed into a cozy party space. We'd set up a long table covered in crisp white linens. On the table sat Mason jars full of wildflowers and candles shimmering gently in the warm summer breeze. The night was perfect—clear skies, the scent of jasmine in the air, and the soft hum of conversation blended with the distant chirping of crickets.

I had just told Gemma about the first time I met Lucas after we broke up, which was at the Magnolia Ball.

"Do you remember the Sex and The City episode where Carrie meets Mr. Big for the first time after they break up?" Gemma mused, her voice carrying just enough for me to catch it over the music playing softly in the background.

I laughed softly, recognizing the scene she was referring to. Carrie's awkward, stilted run-in with Big after their explosive breakup had always felt painfully honest, even if it was wrapped in the glamorous packaging of Manhattan life.

"You mean when she showed up with the newest Yankee on her arm?" Naina, a professor of economics who was sitting next to me, chuckled.

"Exactly." Gemma waved her wine glass. "And here is our own Carrie Bradshaw, showing up with the PGA champion on her arm when she first sees her ex with his new lady love."

Almost everyone in Basil's garden was a colleague or friend from the university, and conversations mostly revolved around the latest research projects, department and personal gossip, and the endless politics of academia. I was deeply entrenched in this world, which often felt like a bubble, isolated from the rest of life's chaos.

Basil caught my eye as he approached us, his easy smile making me feel at home, as always. He was the kind of friend everyone wished they had—solid, thoughtful, and with a dry sense of humor that I loved.

"Basil," I called out, holding up my glass in a mock toast. "Gemma's dissecting Sex and The City again. I need backup."

Basil rolled his eyes playfully as he stepped closer.

Gemma grinned, tipping her glass in my direction. "I believe that Amara had her own solid Carrie moment."

The parallels were obvious—my unexpected run-in with Lucas at the ball and the way Jax had swooped in like a breath of fresh air in a story that had grown too heavy with drama and tension.

"Maybe I am," I conceded with a wry smile, taking a sip of my wine. "But you know what? I'm okay with that. It's better to be Carrie than Flaubert's Madame Bovary ."

Gemma raised her glass in agreement, her eyes sparkling with approval. "Cheers to that."

Basil slid his arm around me, walking me away in the guise of something that needed to be taken care of in the kitchen. He nudged me gently, a knowing look in his eyes. "All okay? You look extra tired today."

I smiled wanly at him. Tired was code for sad . And I didn't want to be sad about Lucas anymore. I really, really didn't.

My misery didn't come from Lucas— not exactly . It stemmed more from trying to be more than friends with Jax, only to have it fall flat. Jax and I had become close over the past four weeks since we first met at the Magnolia Ball. I enjoyed his company, and he enjoyed mine, but we both had to admit there was zero sexual chemistry—just a whole lot of intellectual and emotional connection.

The truth was, and Jax pointed it out as well, I wasn't over Lucas. I dreamed about him every night. When I thought about sex, I thought about him . When I used my vibrator to get off, it was to his voice in my head, his hands on my body.

The thought that he was making love with Kath while I was pining for him filled me with shame.

"Stop worrying about me and just go have fun with our friends." I slapped Basil's shoulder teasingly.

"You're my best friend; I'll always worry about you."

I smiled at him, the warmth of his words a healing thing.

The night air was filled with the sounds of laughter, glasses clinking, and the soft strumming of a guitar someone had picked up in the corner of the garden.

"I know, but not tonight, 'cause Jim brought his guitar. Let's go have fun." I dragged him with me as we joined those who were signing Que Sera, Sera almost tunelessly, but no one cared.

As the song went, " the future will be what it needs to be ." It was very apropos. I didn't know what was to come—but I did know that this was my life and not an episode of Sex and The City . My story was my own, and whatever came next, I needed to be ready to face it…without Mr. Big.

But it was easier said than done because I kept bumping into my Mr. Big almost as often as Carrie did in Manhattan, which was considerably larger than Charleston.

My adopted city's charm was its intimacy, but that also meant there was no escaping the past.

A few days after we sent Basil off, my history came crashing into my present in the most awkward way possible, again .

Jax and I had just walked into The Blind Tiger Pub, which was snuggled in a quiet corner of Broad Street, close to my old townhouse and Basil's home. The bar was a perfect blend of old Charleston charm and modern vibrancy, with exposed brick walls, wooden beams, and a lively atmosphere.

I was looking forward to a relaxed evening with my new friend who I'd just gone house hunting with. We'd found nothing Jax liked, but we'd had a whole hell of a lot of laughs.

I made friends with ease, but the relationships were never deep, except with a select few. Jax had wormed his way into my life in a few weeks. Even Basil liked him, and he didn't like anyone outside of academia because he was an intellectual snob. Jax won him over by discussing how he disliked Kant (who Basil revered), and he liked him for it. Go figure! With Basil away in Los Angeles and Jax off the tour, we were spending a lot of time together.

Our plan was to get a couple of drinks and maybe something light to eat before heading to our respective abodes—his, a hotel suite at Restoration Charleston, and mine, still Basil's guestroom.

But life, it seemed, had other plans.

As soon as we entered the dimly lit bar, the unmistakable sound of Shelby Covington-Bellamy's laugh cut through the noise. My stomach twisted in that familiar, uncomfortable way, and I found Lucas, Kath, Shelby, and Flynn, all seated at a high table right in front of us.

Lucas's eyes met mine first. There was a brief flash of something—surprise…or maybe annoyance—before he quickly masked it. Kath was the next to notice me, her expression neutral, though I didn't miss the slight tightening of her jaw. And then there was Shelby, always ready to turn a casual encounter into an Olympic event of passive aggression.

"Jaxon Caldwell, darlin', where have you been," Shelby called out, her voice dripping with that signature blend of condescension and false warmth that I'd come to expect. She rose and gave him a hug.

Jax grimaced. "Shelby."

He shook hands with Lucas and Flynn; and hugged Kath. He nodded at everyone and then turned to me, "I guess you know everyone here, Amara."

"I do." And I'm hugging none of them and getting their bad juju onto me.

Over the weeks, I'd told Jax all about my relationship with Lucas and the sordid way it ended.

"Amara, what a surprise! I didn't realize you already snagged yourself a new beau. And that too, Jax, no less. Aren't you two quite the pair?" Shelby's eyes were full of malicious curiosity.

I forced a smile, trying to keep my composure. Jax gave a relaxed grin as he slid an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I could feel the muscles in his arm, strong and reassuring, and for a moment, I was grateful for the show of support—even if it was just that, a show .

"Amara and I spent the day house hunting." He kissed the side of my head, and I wanted to roll my eyes. He was laying it on thick.

"House hunting? Together?" Shelby all but screeched, her eyes bugging out.

"I'm helping him," I interjected before everyone decided Jax and I were dating.

"You certainly are, darlin', in more ways than one." Jax's voice was warm and full of flirtatious Southern charm. "Figured we'd grab a drink, get something to eat before we continue our night . We didn't expect to run into such good company, though."

Lucas's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of Jax's arm around me, a trace of something dark passing through his expression. He wasn't the only one who noticed. Jax gave me a subtle squeeze as if to say, " Let's have some fun with the son of a bitch ."

Kath offered a polite smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Charleston is small." Her tone was cool. "These things are bound to happen."

Shelby was far from cool. She leaned forward, her eyes glinting with curiosity and judgment. "Jax, I didn't know you and Amara were so… close . This is new, isn't it?"

Jax didn't miss a beat. "New? I don't know. It's been a minute, hasn't it, darlin'?" He winked at me, his tone smooth as silk. "We met at the Magnolia Ball."

I felt my cheeks flush, both from his implication and the attention that came with it. It wasn't like Shelby to miss an opportunity to make me squirm, and she was already gearing up for another jab when her husband, Flynn, decided to join the fray.

"Well, well," Flynn drawled, his eyes lingering a little too long on me. He was the kind of man who didn't think twice about crossing lines, especially after a few drinks. "I say, Jax, looks like you're still goin' after Lucas's exes."

"Flynn," Lucas clipped.

I was too shocked to say anything, too humiliated to even formulate a response. Had Jax dated someone Lucas used to?

"Oh, come on I'm just kiddin'," Flynn slurred. "Remember when Jax dated—"

"We were in middle school then." Jax glanced at me, a smirk on his face. "Give it a rest, will ya, Flynn?"

"All I meant was that Amara is," he paused for an infinitesimal minute and I stiffened, waiting for him to say something ugly, "a beautiful woman," he finished smug as only an asshole could be.

The compliment, if you could call it one, made my skin crawl.

I tried to sidestep it with a polite laugh, but the tension in the air was suffocating. Lucas's jaw clenched, his eyes darting to his brother-in-law with disgust, and I could tell he was holding back from saying something that would escalate the situation.

Jax, sensing the shift in my mood, leaned in closer, pressing his lips to my temple in a gesture that felt far too intimate for where we actually were in our friendship. But I understood why he did it, and for that, I was grateful.

"It was nice seeing, y'all. It's been a long day, so we're going to head to the bar." Jax kept his voice calm and measured.

But Lucas's eyes remained locked on me, a storm brewing behind them that I couldn't (didn't want to?) decipher. He was the one who'd let me go, the one who'd decided to walk away, and yet in this crowded bar, he was staring at me like he had the right.

Kath, sensing Lucas's distraction, shifted in her seat, trying to draw his attention back to her. But it was too late. The undercurrents in the room were strong, pulling us all into a whirlpool of unresolved feelings and uncomfortable dynamics.

"Why don't you join us?" Shelby suggested, her tone too bright to be sincere. "I'm sure we have plenty to catch up on."

Jax glanced at me, raising an eyebrow as if to ask, " We'll do whatever you want."

"You don't mind, do you, Amara?" Shelby continued. "I mean, you and Lucas have been over forever so need to be all awkward about it."

Well, fuck this bitch! I wasn't about to give Shelby the satisfaction of thinking she could intimidate me.

"Of course," I replied, a knot tightening in my stomach.

As we sat at their table, I found myself wondering how I'd ended up here—once again, caught in a web of past mistakes and unresolved glances. Charleston felt far too small for all this history, and with Lucas's eyes on me, watching my every move, it was clear that some things were far from over.