That afternoon, Jackson stood in front of Seaside Bed & Breakfast, impressed despite himself. It was a large inn, with a little ivy crawling along the exterior, and a sprawling front porch adorned with both a porch swing and rocking chairs. In front of the porch lay an immaculately maintained garden. While there had been obvious renovations, the property as a whole seemed to thoroughly reject the modernity that so characterized Avery Hotels. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the view alone would increase the premium for any of the rooms with an ocean view. In his mind, Jackson began to calculate how much they could charge for a seaside room with a balcony…

As Jackson walked through the red front door, a bell jingled cheerily, and he noted once again the personal touches here and there. Jackson begins to catalogue the foyer- high, vaulted ceiling, hardwood floors, a rather impressive fireplace… yet it it was still cozy… nice. That seemed to be the most appropriate word. It wasn't gaudy or grandiose; it wasn't sleek and stylish. It was nice. And Jackson realizes, startled, how long it'd been since there'd been something nice and warm in his life. A woman with short hair pointed in every direction drummed her fingers along a check-in desk, chewing pink bubblegum.

"Welcome to Seaside Bed & Breakfast, how can I help you?" she asked through the mouthful of gum.

Jackson steps forward, eyeing the young woman doubtfully. "I'm Jackson Avery. I have a meeting scheduled with Arizona Robbins, and I have a reservation here as well." While Jackson didn't usually stay at a place the Averys were planning to take over, Cedar Creek, Washington didn't have many options- in fact, as of right now, Seaside was the only place that was still operating. And since he had to meet with the owner anyway, it just seemed logical. He wasn't going to stay in Seattle and drive out here everyday.

"Hmm.." the woman said, now tapping her chin. "That doesn't sound too implausible. I'll check it out." she starts typing away at the Mac desktop on the desk. This girl was weird, but at least whoever runs the inn had at least had the sense to appreciate some modern upgrades.

With a few more clicks on the keyboard and a few more bubbles popped, the girl smiled up at him. "Ok, so you're all checked in." She slaps an actual key down on the counter, rather than a keycard, which just added to the whole old-fashioned aura of Seaside. "And I can go get Ms. Robbins for you, if you'll just wait here." She leaves, and Jackson decides to take a look around the foyer as he waits. The decorations don't match perfectly, they don't look like they were just ordered out of a catalog but rather were chosen with care. The fireplace mantel has various pictures of the Washington outdoors, but Jackson smiles as he notices here and there are a few photos of babies that either must be related to the owners, or close friends.

A door across the foyer opens and over his shoulder Jackson can hear a woman's heavy sigh. He looks away from the mantel, but stops at the sight of April, her hair now up in a perky ponytail, tight jeans accentuating subtle curves.

"Heather, how many times do I have to tell you, stay at the podium-" she murmurs under her breath, before stopping in her tracks upon seeing Jackson. "Oh, hi." She's pleasantly surprised to see him again, and she tries to tamp down the flutter of warmth spreading through her chest Where earlier he'd been wearing jeans and hoodie, he's now in a suit and tie, an expensive watch on his wrist. It was sort of amazing and simultaneously annoying that he could look so good in both casual wear and business attire.

"Hi." A slow smile grew on his face, creasing his cheeks. He walks closer to her, half-consciously, and he's only aware that he's just a foot away from her when the smell of raspberries, and apples, which must come from her shampoo or something, infiltrate his senses. "Fancy seeing you here."

She smiled in return, brushing her hands nervously on her jeans, as she hopes she's not looking too frazzled. "Do I need to file a restraining order?" April joked. "Because we just happen to keep bumping into each other…"

"So I should be worried if I receive a call from the police station?" Jackson asks, hands in his pockets.

"Well, the chief of police is basically my older brother, so, yeah, a little fear would probably be good." April laughed.

"Well, me stalking you is one option, I guess. Or maybe you're the one stalking me." He said with a gleam in his eyes. "Or, crazy thought- maybe neither of us is stalking the other; it could just be fate, you know."

April bit her lip, trying to suppress a giggle. "Really?"

Jackson tilts his head, and winces slightly as he considered his words. "Dammit. I did it again, huh?"

She starts laughing, and then so does he.

"You're new to Cedar Creek, right? Are you just visiting?" April asked, and Jackson makes a face. Looking down at his carefully pressed suit, with nary a wrinkle in sight, he sighs.

"It's that obvious, huh? Do I look like a tourist? Or just a fish out of water?"

"No, it's just- well, we get a lot of returnees to Seaside. Families, couples, they come once and then they keep coming back, so new faces are notable. Plus, Cedar Creek is a really small town, and with a small town comes all the small town gossip." April rolled her eyes, as if she herself knew all about how quickly gossip can spread. "I'm sure everyone on Main Street has already started spreading the news about the new attractive guy wandering about." April rambles absentmindedly, her eyes widening in horror when she realizes exactly what she just said.

His eyes seem just a bit brighter and his smile grows impossibly bigger. "You think I'm attractive?"

"I- I- well, objectively, you're not hideous. Obviously. I mean-" April finally says, before sighing and shaking her head. She can feel the blush rising on her cheeks, and if she could disappear from this foyer forever, that'd be great. "I'm just going to stop talking now."

Jackson smiles softly down at her. He hadn't meant to embarrass her. He shrugs casually and stretches his arm across to rest on the podium, his body moving a little closer to hers. "I should get that on a plaque. 'Objectively not hideous.' Hang it in my living room."

April looks up, her smile forming once again on her face, and dimples re-appearing, and Jackson feels a lot better. "I hope I- we- haven't scared you off too much."

"Actually I like it here." He responds and looks around the inn as if he can see beyond the walls, as if he can "From what I've seen so far, Cedar Creek is different than anywhere I've ever been. I'm from Boston, but I've traveled a lot, and I have to say, Cedar Creek is entirely unique."

"I know what you mean," she said, eyes warm in remembrance of some long-ago memory. "When I first came here, I felt like I could breathe, for the first time. Seattle's close, and it's nice to be able to visit the city when you want, but there's something in the air out here."

Jackson nods, and silence hangs between them for a moment, but it's not uncomfortable or awkward; it's quiet and peaceful.

"Sorry, you came here for a reason." April shakes her head fervently, and they both seem to come out of a stupor. "Are you here to check in?" she asked, moving to stand behind the check-in desk. He hesitates, eyes flickering over her.

"I am, well, I did already… you, you work here?" Scratching the back of his head, Jackson shifts awkwardly from foot to foot.

April chuckles. "Oh- yeah, sorry I do- I'm April Kepner, and I'm the innkeeper." Jackson's face freezes for a slight moment, before he quickly arranges his face in a more neutral expression.

"I thought I heard from somewhere that Arizona Robbins runs this place…"

"Well, she owns it, but I took over running it about 8 months ago." April explained, looking around the inn with a proud look on her face.

Jackson's not sure how to reply to this, but he's literally saved by the bell when it rings noisily once again. Jo bursts through the door, looking down at the phone in her hand. "Ok, you have to call Colin back about that contract, he is not taking no for an answer." She says before looking up at Jackson and April. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Are you guys checking in together?" April asked brightly as she glanced between the pair. She hopes her tone masks any possible disappointment she might feel, because of course someone like Jackson would already have a girlfriend, and she'd be a very pretty, slim brunette, and they'd have a beautiful wedding someday and beautiful babies and everything would be beautiful. Of course.

"No, no-This isn't my girlfriend," Jackson quickly says, gesturing to Jo. "She's my... Coworker. We have two rooms booked."

Jo rolled her eyes, absentmindedly brushing her hair out of her face, before looking curiously between the two of them. "You didn't need to respond that quickly, you know. Do you guys know each other or something?"

"We bumped into each other earlier in town," Jackson explained.

"Uh-huh." Grinning at Jackson, the woman walks forward with a confident stride, hand outstretched to shake April's. "I'm Jo Wilson, Mr.-"

"As I said, she's my coworker." Jackson interrupts, exchanging a furtive glance with Jo. He doesn't know why he's delaying the inevitable; obviously, April's going to find out at some point who he is and what he's doing here. But he has a feeling her hazel eyes are going to fill with disappointment, and she won't smile at him that way anymore, and there'd be no dimples appearing… and he quite liked the dimples.

One of the doors towards the back of the inn opens and Jackson closes his eyes. Heather, apparently, in addition to bubblegum and some number of hair products, also liked returning at inconvenient times with what had to be the owner.

"Ms. Robbins, this is Jackson Avery here to meet with you." Heather extends her hand towards Jackson. "So there we go." She returns behind the podium, still popping her bubble gum, and Jackson clenches his jaw before turning to see April's reaction.

April's glancing quickly from Arizona to Jackson, her eyes lingering on him. She examines Jackson from head-to-toe, and suddenly feels like he's back in high school, getting in trouble for something. "Avery? Of the Avery Hotel Group?"

Oh, crap.

"Yeah, that's my name. Don't wear it out." Jackson joked feebly, but no one laughed.

Looking down at the ground, April started walking out of the room. "I'm going to go check and make sure Alex is all set for dinner tonight."

Arizona looks after April for a moment before she turns to Jackson with a brittle smile on her face. "Mr. Avery? If you would please follow me to my office." Robbins says, looking as if could eat him alive.

As Jackson begins to follow the blonde woman, Jo gives him a quick little smile. "I guess it is a small world after all."

"Oh yeah, it's small. Miniscule," Jackson mumbled under his breath as he continues walking through the inn.


"So, we're staying here? Isn't that a bit awkward, even for you?" " Jo asked. He had just left his initial meeting with Robbins, and had met Jo at his room. He and Arizona (he couldn't get over what an odd name the woman had) had mostly exchanged pleasantries and set up further meeting times, including a tour of the inn and a tour of town. While the woman was nice enough, there'd been a discernable chill in the air that didn't come from the late summer day.

Jackson sighed and loosened his tie, glad to be done with meetings for the moment. "Yes, it's a bit awkward, but we're just going to have to deal with it."

Jo looked up from her own paperwork she had brought along. "You're not off to a great start. 'That's my name, don't wear it out'? My secondhand embarrassment was so strong. What happened to Mr. Suave?" Jo winked obnoxiously. "You like that April woman, don't you?"

Jackson stiffened before he gave an awkward laugh. Shaking his head, Jackson replies, "No, that's ridiculous," but his ears feel like they're burning.

"Oh my god, you do have a crush." Delighted, Jo punched him lightly on his shoulder. "I was just guessing at first! This is adorable."

"You know, other assistants treat their bosses with respect. But I guess that's a foreign concept for you, isn't it?" Jackson asked sarcastically.

Jo laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "See, but you need an assistant who'll put you in your place. I'm doing a public service."

Jackson sighs. He knew other members of his family would be appalled that he let his assistant talk back to him this way, but he'd known Jo for a while now. Ever since he had been one of Jo's interviewers for her initial internship with Avery Hotels, he'd become something of a mentor to her. Now she works part time as his assistant while working towards her Master's, and Jackson considered her a close friend.

"She's cute, right?" He said finally, a small smile gracing his lips. He's never felt quite this way before- this kind of instantaneous connection.

Jo nodded her head in agreement, but then her face grew concerned. "Yeah, she's pretty, but I'm not sure how charmed she'll be that you plan to take over her inn. She might hate you."

Jackson shrugged. "It's not personal, it's just business." Jackson starts to say, but even he realizes how ridiculous that sounds. "Trust me, once I make everyone here see the benefit of selling the place, everything will settle down. And April will not hate me."