The Exception(22)

“What’s that?” He leaned back in his chair.

“I met someone and I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“In Hawaii?”

“Actually, she sat next to me on the plane to Hawaii and we stayed at the same hotel. Jess invited her to dinner one night to try and prove to me that she changed.”

“And I can see that worked out really well.” He laughed. “So now you have me curious. Who is this mystery girl?”

“Her name is Jillian Bell and she’s the most beautiful, fun, kind-hearted, selfless, amazing woman I have ever met.”

“Hmm. I’ve never heard you describe a woman like that before.” He rubbed his chin. “Did you f*ck her?”

“Yes, but that’s not important. What’s important is that I don’t think I’ll ever see her again.”

“Why? Where does she live?”

“She lived in Seattle, but she won’t go back there. I don’t know where she went after she left Hawaii.”

“Okay, Drew. Seriously, I’m so confused right now, man.”

“She left her fiancé at the altar on her wedding day and hopped on a plane to Hawaii to start a journey of self-discovery.”

“Wow. She left her fiancé at the altar?” He raised his brows at me. “Right off the bat, the two of you have something in common.”

I sighed as I rolled my eyes.

“Did you at least get her phone number after you f*cked her?”

“No, and stop saying it like that.”

“Huh?” He looked at me in confusion. “Shit, Drew. What has this girl done to you?”

“I don’t know.” I turned my chair and looked out the window. “I put my number in her phone before I left. I told her if she ever needed anything to call me.”

“Drew. Drew. Drew. Why didn’t just tell her how much you liked her?”

“Because she’s focusing on her journey and has made it very clear that she’s living in a man-free zone.”

“So what? You never let things stop you from going after what you want. Damn. Who are you and what have you done with Drew Westbrook?”

“Just drop it, Lance. Let’s go. We have a meeting.” I sighed as I got up from my seat.





Chapter Fourteen


Jillian



“It’s so good to see you.” Kristen hugged me tight as I stepped inside her apartment.

“It’s good to see you too. How are you?” I broke our embrace.

“I’m okay. I just put on a fresh pot of coffee. You must be exhausted after that flight.”

“Not really. I slept well on the plane.”

My flight from Hawaii didn’t get in to New York until ten a.m. I really had no choice but to sleep, because if I didn’t, I would have spent the entire twelve hours thinking about Drew, and I was trying so hard to put him to rest. Following Kristen into the kitchen, I took a seat at the table while she poured us each a cup of coffee and set a plate of assorted donuts in the center of the table.

“My favorite.” I smiled as I took a vanilla frosted one. “Did Noah go to work?”

“Yeah. He left about an hour ago. He said to tell you hello and that he’ll see you later. So, tell me all about Hawaii.”

As I sat across from Kristen, my heart felt sad seeing her so frail. Her skin was pale, her eyes were sunken in, and the beautiful blonde hair she once had was replaced by a headscarf. Six months ago, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and had been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation to try and shrink it. Not only was she my best friend, she was also my half-sister. A sister I didn’t even know I had until she contacted me, via Facebook, two years ago and asked if my father was Donald Bell. Our father had an affair with her mother when they met at a business conference. It lasted about a year until she told him she was pregnant. He gave her silence money to quietly walk away and agree to never let anyone know who the father was. He made her sign a contract that his crooked lawyer drew up stating that she wouldn’t put him as the father on the birth certificate or ever disclose that he impregnated her. She saw what kind of man he was and took the money and ran as far away from him as she could. Before Kristen’s mother passed away a couple of years ago, she told her everything about our dad. Who he was, where he lived, and about me.

When she contacted me, I wasn’t surprised. I always suspected my father cheated on my mother. Kristen was my secret and I loved her; after all, we were sisters and only born one month apart. After she found me, we skyped almost every day and I came to New York a few times to visit her. Of course, I lied as to where I was going because if my parents ever found out that we found each other, it would open up a scandal that would rock the business world. It saddened me that my father could be so cold as to know he had another daughter and didn’t care about how she grew up. He was a soulless man who was married to a soulless woman.

“Hawaii was great.” I gave her a small smile.

“Did you by chance meet anyone there?” She grinned.

“You talked to Kellan. Didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” She took a sip from her cup.

“Drew is a great guy. He’s fun, sweet, caring, and really hot.”

“You slept with him, Jill. I can tell,” she spoke with excitement.