The Exception(24)

“God, it’s so beautiful here,” I spoke.

“It’s one of my and Noah’s favorite spots.”

It was a beautiful June day. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn’t a trace of wind anywhere. Despite all the people that were around, I found comfort and peace here.

“Tell me you have pictures of Hawaii.” Kristin smiled.

“Of course I do,” I spoke as I pulled my phone from my pocket.

Opening up my pictures, I began to show her the serenity and beautiful world of Hawaii.

“These are the dolphins I swam with.” I smiled.

“Wow. They are adorable. I’d love to do that.”

“You will. As soon as you get better, I’m taking you there and we’ll swim with them.”

She gave me a small, unconvincing smile. I knew exactly what that smile meant and it scared the hell out of me.

“Is this him?” she asked as she stopped on the picture of me and Drew.

My heart started to ache at the sight of him.

“Yes. That’s Drew. I took that picture of us on our last night there.”

“He’s hot.” She grinned.

The corners of my mouth curved slightly upwards. “Yeah. In more ways than one.”

“Why did you take this picture?” she asked. “I mean, you knew you were never going to see him again and you have no plans of ever contacting him.”

“I guess for a memory,” I spoke in a mere whisper as I looked down at my hands.

“It’s okay to like him, Jillian. You’re human just like everyone else.”

“If only I had met him a little later in life.” I stared straight at the lake.

She reached over and took hold of my hand. “Sometimes life is too short to worry about the small stuff.”

“You’re going to be okay, Kristen. I truly believe that.”

“Maybe or maybe not. And if not, I’m okay with that. I’ve come to terms that the chemo and radiation may not be helping.”

I didn’t like hearing her say that. It killed me inside to think that I might lose her. She had only been in my life for a short while and I wanted many more years with her. She was my sister and I needed her.





Chapter Fifteen


Drew



I had just returned from a meeting when I heard my office door open.

“You can’t—” I heard Lia’s voice.

“Oh please. And really? Those shoes?”

I turned around and clenched my jaw when I saw Jess.

“We need to talk, Drew.” She stood there with her hand on her hip.

I sighed and took a seat behind my desk.

“Jess, what are you doing here? I told you that I didn’t want to see you.”

“I know, but I needed to see you. Please just hear me out.”

“There’s nothing to hear. It’s over.”

“Stop saying that. I’m sorry for everything. Please give me another chance. I can’t bear to be without you.” Tears started to stream down her face.

“No, Jess. It’s over. You deserve someone who can give you everything you need.” I got up from my chair, walked over to her, and clasped her shoulders. “I can’t do that. And you know why I can’t?”

She slowly shook her head.

“Because I’m not in love with you. I don’t mean to hurt you, but it’s how I feel and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

Her bottom lip started to tremble. “But I need you. Don’t you understand that?” Streaks of mascara ran down her face.

“You don’t need me, Jess. You need a man who can love you back and I’m not that man.”

“God, I hate you!” She began to pound her fists into my chest. “I spent a year with you. I gave you my everything. I gave you my heart and my love and this is how you repay me?”

I grabbed her wrists and held them tight so she’d stop pounding into me.

“Darling, the only thing you ever gave me was a headache. Now please leave before I call security.”

Letting go of her wrists, I turned around and headed towards my desk.

“You’ll regret this, Drew. You’re going to wake up one day and realize what a mistake it was letting me go and then you’ll be the one crawling back, begging me to take you back!” she shouted.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “Goodbye, Jess.”

“Fuck you, Westbrook!” She stormed out of my office, slamming the door behind her.

After a few moments, when I knew she was out of sight, I opened the door, looked at Lia, and shrugged.

“She’s crazy. What can I say?”

“You did the right thing, Drew. I didn’t like her.”

“Nobody did.” I winked.

Lia, my secretary, was an excellent employee. She was a forty-year-old single mom of two girls. She came to work for me as a temp while my other secretary, Joy, was on maternity leave. When Joy decided to become a stay-at-home mom, I hired Lia right on the spot. She excelled at her work and needed the stability of a full-time permanent job so she could provide for her children since her deadbeat ex barely paid his child support.

“I need you to do me a favor,” I spoke as I walked over to Lia’s desk.