said, holding out her hand. “I’m Renee. Wynn mentioned you were in town for a few weeks. It’s so great to meet you. Natalie is so grateful for all the snowmen you’re making. Without you, she would be in deep trouble.”
“You know about that?” Joylyn asked, sitting across from Renee.
“I’m a wedding planner, so I’m the one handling the wedding.” She passed over a drink menu. “Everything with an asterisk can be made without alcohol. They do a very nice virgin piña colada. It’s not too sweet. About a billion calories, but worth it.”
Joylyn looked surprised by the information. “Thank you. Most people don’t know about virgin cocktails.”
“I have a lot of pregnant friends, or friends who recently had babies. Our little town is in a breeding frenzy right now.”
Joylyn glanced at Renee’s midsection. Renee held up her beer. “Not me. Not yet.”
Jasper put his arm around her. “We’re thinking in a few more months we’ll get serious about getting pregnant.” He kissed the top of her head.
They shared a look that even Garrick understood spoke of love and intimacy and connection.
Joylyn turned away. “It’s good to wait. Chandler and I didn’t want to get pregnant so soon, but it happened and now we’re having to deal.”
Garrick hadn’t known that and felt the pain of her regret. He wanted to reach out and offer comfort, but had a feeling he would be rebuffed.
A server walked by and took their drink orders. Joylyn chose the virgin piña colada. He got a beer.
Joylyn glanced at Jasper. “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a writer.”
Joylyn looked confused. “Books?”
“Thrillers.”
“He’s a bestselling author,” Garrick added. “Very famous, but we like him anyway.”
“Oh. I don’t, um, read much.”
Renee shivered. “Don’t apologize. I can’t read his books at all. They’re too terrifying. Serial killers and dismemberment.”
“I don’t always dismember people,” Jasper said with a smile.
“No. Sometimes you shoot them or set them on fire. Your mind can be a dark place.”
“How do you come up with ideas like that?” Joylyn asked.
Jasper shrugged. “I wrote a detective series for several years. Those ideas grew out of what my hero did for a living. Now I’m writing about a former soldier turned investigator. He has a different perspective.”
“Were you in the military?”
“I was, for nearly ten years. Military police. When I got out, I was really messed up. I started writing as a way to clear my head, and it turned into a career.”
“So you use your military experience to help you write your books?”
“Some. I do a lot of research.”
“Especially when it comes to fight scenes and weapons,” Renee added. “I’m forever coming home to the sound of grunting and throwing.”
“I like the fighting sticks,” Garrick added, then flexed his hand. “When you mess up with those, you know it.”
Joylyn spun to stare at him. “You use fighting sticks?”
“Not in real life. We practice with them.”
“I have a few friends who help me out,” Jasper added. “They spar with me so I can get fighting scenes right. Your dad is my resource if I need information on how the police would do something. I know a few private investigators I can call on.” He chuckled. “Sometimes it really does take a village.”
“How did you two meet?” Joylyn asked.
Jasper raised his eyebrows. “I picked her up right here in this bar.”
“You did not,” Renee protested. “I picked you up.”
“You wanted to, but you were scared.”
Joylyn stared at them. “You really met here?”
“We’d known each other for a while, but yup, this is where the magic started.”
“Being picked up in a bar does not sound romantic,” Renee said with a sigh. “We need a better story.”
“Who cares how it started? Look at what we have now. We’ve got the happy love. What else matters?”
She laughed. “You’re right. The happy love is the best.”
Garrick saw longing in his daughter’s eyes and knew she was missing her husband. He was doing a little missing of his own, he thought regretfully, wishing Wynn was with him. Not that he wasn’t having a better than expected time with Joylyn, but it wasn’t anywhere near the same. With Wynn everything was easy. Plus he enjoyed looking at her. She was sexy and gorgeous and a great kisser. Yes, having her around was always a good time.
“When is the snowman wedding?” Joylyn asked.
“December 12,” Renee told her. “It’s our second to the last wedding of the year. I’m practically giddy. We never get the holidays off, but this year Pallas, my business partner, and I