The Exception Read online

  “Of course I am. Do you think I’m going to let this ruin anything? I’m done letting my parents ruin and run my life.”

  I reached over and softly stroked her cheek. “You are a brave woman, Jillian Bell.”

  “Thanks. I’m trying to be. Tonight was the last thing I needed with everything else going on.”

  “I know.” I pulled her into me and kissed her head.

  ****

  The next morning, I opened my eyes as Jillian stirred in my arms. Kissing her back, I softly spoke, “Good morning.”

  She turned and faced me, placing her hand and her head on my chest.

  “Good morning. What time is it?”

  “Eight o’clock.”

  She yawned.

  “You were restless last night,” I spoke.

  “I kept having bad dreams about my parents. Ugh. I don’t want to think or talk about them. What’s for breakfast?” she asked with a smile.

  “What do you want?” My arm tightened around her as my hand softly stroked her arm.

  “I don’t know. Let’s go see what we can whip up. Do you know how to cook?” She glanced up at me.

  “Yes.” I grinned.

  “Really? I’m surprised.”

  “Why?” I chuckled.

  “I don’t know. I just am.”

  “I used to help my mom cook all the time. Come on, let’s go make some coffee and get breakfast started.”

  “Can I just say one thing?”

  “What?” I smiled.

  “I’m happy you can cook because I can’t. I can’t even boil water.” She laughed. “If you said you couldn’t cook, we’d be screwed.”

  “Then I will teach you.” I winked as I kissed her soft lips. “And after breakfast, I promise you will be screwed.”

  As she lifted herself up from me, she grabbed the pillow and hit me with it.

  “You’re dirty.” She grinned.

  “You have no idea how dirty I can be, Miss Bell.”

  After breakfast and a long lovemaking session in the shower, I got dressed and ran to the office to grab some files I wanted to look over before Monday. When I entered the building, I saw Jillian’s father in the lobby.

  “Mr. Bell? What are you doing here?”

  “Please, call me Donald.” He held out his hand.

  “How did you know that I’d be here today?”

  “This is your company, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “People like us are always in the office on Saturdays. I need to talk to you for a moment.”

  “Sure. Come up to my office. We can talk there.”

  Taking the elevator up to the twelfth floor, we entered my office and I told him to take a seat.

  “What’s this about? I’m not really sure I should be talking to you.”

  “I understand, but you’re the only connection I have to Jillian right now. I need you to get her to see me. I need to talk to her alone.”

  “What about your wife?” I asked as I leaned back in my chair.

  “Screw her. She’s to blame for all of this and I won’t let her stand in the way of me and my daughters anymore. I need to apologize to Jillian and I need to meet Kristen.”

  “I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m pretty positive Jillian won’t see you.”

  “Then it’s up to you to make sure she does. Here’s my number. Please, Drew. I need your help.”

  “You don’t even know me. How could you trust me?”

  “I know enough. I know you’re in love with her. I saw it last night and I see it now. People deserve a second chance. Even when they’ve screwed up so badly, they deserve the chance to make it right. Please, Drew.”

  I sighed. “I’ll talk to her, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

  “I know. I just ask that you please try to convince her.”

  “We’re going to my parents’ house for dinner later, so I’ll talk to her after. Maybe the two of you can meet up tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Drew.” He stood up and held out his hand. “You’re a good man with a good heart. I can tell that much and Jillian is lucky to have you in her life.”

  After he walked out of my office, I grabbed the files I needed and headed back to the townhouse. Jillian was going to be upset when I told her that her father paid me a visit, but that conversation would have to wait until tonight.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Jillian

  Drew took hold of my hand as we walked up the driveway of his parents’ house. As we stepped through the door, he called out to them.

  “We’re in the kitchen, honey,” his mom spoke.

  When we walked into the kitchen, his mom was at the island patting together hamburger meat. When I looked at her and she saw me, we stared at each other for a brief moment.

  “Jillian?” She smiled.

  “Andrea?”

  Drew raised his brow as he looked at both of us.

  “You two know each other?” he asked.

  Andrea washed her hands, walked over to me, and gave me a hug.

  “I can’t believe this. How are you, honey?”

  “I’m good. Oh my God, I can’t believe this.”

  “Wait a minute. You never answered my question. How the hell do you two know each other?”

  “I met Jillian at the hospital when she was there with her sister. We had a nice little chat and a bagel and coffee together in the cafeteria.”

  “Wow. This is unbelievable,” Drew spoke.

  “Hi there, Jillian. I’m Lou, Drew’s dad.”

  “Hi, Lou. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” He grinned.

  “Lou, take Drew outside and start the grill. Jillian and I have some catching up to do.” Andrea winked.

  Drew let go of my hand and stared at me with a confused look on his face as he followed his dad outside.

  “Was my son the man you were talking about that day in the hospital?” She smiled.

  I looked down in embarrassment. “Yes.”

  “You two met in Hawaii?” she asked as she continued making the hamburger patties.

  “We actually met on the plane to Hawaii. His seat was next to mine and then we ended up at the same hotel.”

  “I take it you met Jess, then?”

  “Oh yeah. I met her and had dinner with them one night.”

  “She’s a real peach. Isn’t she?” She smirked.

  “She sure is. I ran into her while Kristen and I were having lunch the other day. She was shocked to see me here in New York.”

  “Oh, I’m sure she was. You said that you didn’t know where the man you met lived. How did you and Drew reconnect?”

  “We bumped into each other on the street. Like literally bumped into each other.”

  She gave me a wide grin. “Does Jess know the two of you are seeing each other?”

  Before I could answer, Drew and his dad walked in the kitchen and his dad took the plate of burgers out to the grill while Drew stayed behind.

  “Oh my gosh. I’m so rude. I hope you like burgers, Jillian. If you don’t, I can fix you something else.”

  “Trust me, Mom. She likes burgers.” He grinned.

  I narrowed my eye at him and gave his shoulder a nudge. After we finished dinner, Andrea told me and Drew to go sit outside while she and Lou cleaned up. I insisted on helping, but she shoved us out the patio door. Drew handed me a glass of wine and we took a seat on the benches in the gazebo that sat in the center of the yard.

  “I can’t believe you met my mom at the hospital.”

  “I can’t believe she’s your mom. How weird is that?”

  “Very weird. In fact, everything in relation to us is weird,” he spoke.

  “How do you mean?”

  “Well, my flight was cancelled and I was put on another flight in the seat next to you. Out of all the hotels in Hawaii, we ended up at the same one. We got to know each other better unexpectedly.” He winked. “Then you moved to New York, where I live, which you didn’
t know, you rented the apartment that I own, which you didn’t know, and of all the nurses at the hospital, you happen to have coffee and a bagel with the one who happens to be my mother. And, lastly, of the millions of people in New York City, we run into each other on the street. If you ask me, we were supposed to meet. If we didn’t meet on that plane, we would have somewhere else.”

  “You think?” I bit down on my bottom lip.

  “Yeah, and trust me, I’m not a believer in those types of things, but what happened with us made me think twice.” He smiled as he grabbed my hand.

  A feeling hit the pit of my stomach. It was a feeling of fear, uncertainty. He referred to this as “us.” Was I taking it in the wrong context? He was talking about the universe and the grand plan of Cupid. He wasn’t a believer and now he was. I feared he wanted a relationship where it was just the two of us. The kind of relationship where we went on dates, had sex, and spent every second we could together.

  Then it hit me. That was exactly what was happening with us. He was the first person I met from the escape of my old life. I attached myself to him because he was familiar, not thinking of the repercussions of my behavior. I needed someone because of everything I was going through. A shoulder to cry on. Sex to fill the void that was hiding in the shadows of my life. And now, he wanted more, or he believed it was more than what it really was. Maybe I was just overacting, being paranoid. But the smile on his face alluded to the fact that he considered me his girlfriend.

  I’d fallen for him. There was no doubt about that. But I took it too far, being readily available when he asked. My self-journey. What a joke. Did I use Drew to comfort myself when my pity party was in full force? I had never been truly alone. I went from my parents and Grant straight into the arms of Drew Westbrook. My plan was so off course that, once again, I felt lost and confused. I was to create a home base here, spend some time with Kristen, and then jet off to continue my self-journey. But now, I felt more lost than when I left Seattle.

  It was getting late, so we said goodbye to his parents and climbed into the Bentley.

  “There’s something I need to talk to you about, so can we go back to your place?” he spoke.

  Nerves flooded my body because I feared he was talking about our relationship.

  “Okay.”

  Walking into my apartment, I threw my keys on the counter and grabbed a bottle of opened wine from the refrigerator.

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” I nervously asked as my shaking hands poured some wine into two glasses.

  He took in a deep breath. This was it. The moment of truth when he would ask me about our relationship.

  “Your father paid me a visit today at the office.”

  I let out the deep breath I had been holding for what seemed like forever. “My father? Why?”

  “He wants to talk to you and he asked for my help.”

  “I have nothing to say to him or my mother,” I spoke as I brought the glass up to my lips.

  “It has nothing to do with her. It’s just him. I get the feeling he wants to apologize.”

  “Little too late for that.” I softly laughed.

  “Just meet with him, Jillian. Hear him out and then move on.”

  “You were there last night.” I raised my voice. “You heard him say how I embarrassed the family and cost him a million dollars and,” I shrugged, “I already heard him out and I have moved on.”

  “I know. But you didn’t see him at my office today. He was apologetic and he was begging me for my help. He said that your mother was to blame for all this and that she wasn’t going to stand in the way of him and his daughters anymore.”

  “He played his part. Trust me. He did nothing to stop her and he went along with everything she said and did.”

  “He screwed up, Jill. Even people who screw up so badly deserve a second chance.”

  I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you defending him?”

  “No. I’m just saying that you should let him apologize to you. What you do with that apology is up to you. But hear the man out.”

  “Who are you to tell me what to do? This is my family and it’s none of your business,” I shouted.

  “You made it my business!” He pointed his finger to the floor.

  Anger tore up inside me. How dare he.

  “Well, I’m making it your un-business. I spent my entire life listening to what other people told me I had to do and I won’t stand here and listen to it from some guy that I’ve only known a few weeks.”

  “Is that all I am to you? Some guy you’ve only known a few weeks?”

  Shit.

  “You’re my friend, Drew, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but this is my life and what goes is what I say. Not what anyone else says.”

  “I’m your friend, eh?” His voice lowered as he placed his hands in his pants pockets.

  “Of course. What else would you be?”

  “Nothing. I’m going to go. Do what you think is best for you in regard to your father. I’ll see you around, Jillian,” he spoke as he walked towards the door.

  “Drew, I’m sorry. I need you to understand. My life is seriously complicated right now.”

  Placing his hand on the doorknob, he lowered his head.

  “I do understand.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Drew

  In an instant, my heart was broken. She obviously didn’t feel the same way as I felt about her. I saw the look on her face at my parents’ house when I said the word “us.” There was fear in her eyes. Did I truly understand? Sort of. As much as I tried to respect her decision about her self-journey, I had hoped that she would change her mind and that I made her life a little less complicated. I was wrong. Maybe I moved too fast. But that couldn’t be helped. She had me the minute she stepped onto the plane and sat down next to me. I’d broken up with many women in my life and I’d never felt this kind of pain before. We were perfect together and for each other. She filled a void in my life that I never knew existed. How the fuck was I going to get over her?

  The next morning as I was in the kitchen sipping on some coffee and wallowing in self-pity, Jane walked through the door.

  “Good morning, Drew.” She brightly smiled.

  “Hey, Jane.” I glanced up at her. “Why are you here? It’s your day off.”

  “I needed to check on some things in the pantry. I’m heading to the grocery store today, so I want to make sure I don’t forget anything. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You can’t fool me, Drew. I know when something is wrong.” She walked over to the coffee pot and poured a cup of coffee.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Does this have something to do with Jillian?” she asked as she took a seat next to me.

  “I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing each other anymore.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Her life is complicated right now, as she says. The day I met her on the plane was her wedding day and she had just left her fiancé at the altar. It’s a long story.”

  “I see. So she’s not ready to jump into another relationship yet. That’s understandable. Just give her some time, she’ll come around. You are a very hard man to resist.”

  “She’s on a self-discovery journey and I’ve known that. She made it very clear when we first met on the plane. I was trying to be careful and respect that, but I moved too fast. I lost her, Jane.”

  “Give her some space. Let her discover herself and then she’ll come back to you. I know she will. Patience is a virtue, Drew.”

  “Patience is something I don’t have when it comes to her. I feel destroyed inside.”

  “That’s because you love her. Love hurts. You’ve never truly been in love, so this is new to you. If you love her that much, then you’ll let her go. Let her do what she needs to do. Isn’t her happiness all you want?”

  Taking the last sip of coffee from my cup, I sighed as I looke
d over at Jane.

  “Yes. I just want her to be happy and live the life she wants and deserves.”

  “Then there you have it.” She patted my back. “Sometimes letting go of the things we love is the hardest part of life. But if she was meant to be yours and you were meant to be hers, you’ll find your way back to each other. Don’t lose yourself in the process, Drew. Stay strong and hold on to that little bit of hope.”

  “Thanks, Jane.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m off to the grocery store. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  ****

  Jillian

  I was a horrible person. I knew what I said would hurt him. The look of sadness in his eyes stabbed me straight through the heart. A wound that was so deep, I hated myself. I lay in bed, exhausted from all the tears that fell last night. Had I not said what I did, I would be wrapped up in the comfort and safety of Drew’s arms. Instead, I was alone. Which was what I wanted, right? Fuck if I knew what I wanted anymore. This wasn’t how things were supposed to happen. I was in no position to fall for a man and Kristen wasn’t supposed to be dying. My life had changed in the blink of an eye, and now, I found it was too much to handle.

  Climbing out of bed, I showered, got myself dressed, and looked at my phone, debating whether or not to call my father. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Drew said about everyone deserving a second chance. Was I really that much of a cold-hearted bitch that I couldn’t at least let my father apologize to me? My mind went back to the conversation I had with Ano, the one where he told me that I needed to be fearless to continue my journey. Was I scared to let my father apologize to me? The deeper I searched into my soul for answers, the more confused I became. Dialing his number, I took in a deep long breath.

  “Hello,” he answered.

  “Dad, it’s Jillian. I was told you wanted to talk.”

  “Jillian, thank you for calling. I had hoped you would.”

  “If you want to talk, meet me at The Lake in Central Park at three o’clock.”

  “I’ll be there. Thank you, Jillian.”

  “See you soon.” I hung up before he had a chance to say anything else.

  I had two hours before I had to meet my father in Central Park, so I headed to Kristen’s and Noah’s apartment. I needed to talk to her and warn her of our father’s intentions.