The Exception(43)

“Me too.” She bit down on her bottom lip.

Fuck. She was adorable and her beautiful face would forever be etched into my mind. I needed to leave or else I’d be picking her up and taking her back to my bed. This craving I had for her was unreal and I found it difficult to control myself around her.

“On that note, I need to leave.” I winked. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Stepping out the door, I climbed inside the Bentley and sighed. For the first time in my entire life, I envisioned my future. It was a future that included Jillian and a life where we grow old together. It scared me to think that she wouldn’t see the same future as I did and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.

****

Jillian

Just as I entered Kristen’s apartment building, Noah was on his way down.

“Morning, Jillian,” he spoke as he kissed my cheek.

“Good morning. How is she today?”

“She’s tired, but other than that, she says she’s fine.”

“Do you believe her?”

“No.” He smiled. “I’m glad you’re spending the day with her. Listen, I’m running late. I’ll see you later.”

“Oh wait!” I exclaimed as he walked away. Drew called the Harmonie Club and they have next Saturday open for the wedding. What do you think?”

“Isn’t that a private club for the elite?”

“Yeah, and Drew is elite.” I winked.

“Sounds good to me. I’m sure Kristen will be thrilled.”

Lightly knocking on the door, I heard Kristen yell, “Come in.”

“Hey, sis.” I smiled as I walked to the kitchen. “How are you feeling today?”

She narrowed her eye at me and handed me a cup of coffee.

“I’m fine. Just a little tired.”

“Are you sure you want to go look at dresses today? We can do it tomorrow.”

“Nope. Today is the day. I’m not going to let a little bit of tiredness stop me from living the rest of my life. So tell me,” she smiled as she leaned across the counter, “how was your night with Drew?”

“Amazing as always.” I shyly grinned. “Listen, I have something to discuss with you.”

“What’s up?”

“Drew called a friend of his last night at the Harmonie Club and they have a room available for your wedding next Saturday. He said that if you’re interested, he’ll take us over there this afternoon so you can look at it.”

“Really?” Her smile grew wide. “That was so nice of him to do that. Of course I’m interested. I can’t wait to meet Mr. Drew Westbrook.”

“I will let him know right now.” I smiled as I pulled my phone from my purse and sent him a text message.

“Hi. Kristen would like to go look at the room.”

“Excellent. I know she’ll love it. I’ll pick the two of you up around five o’clock. I’ll call and let them know we’re coming. Where do you want me to pick you up?”

“Great. I’m not quite sure where we’ll be.”

“Doesn’t matter. Just call or text me the location and I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Drew. This means a lot.”

“You’re welcome, Jillian. I’ll see you later.”

Taking a sip of my coffee, I looked at Kristen. “Drew will pick us up at five. He said just to text him the location of where we’re at.”

“He seems like a wonderful man.”

“He is.” I looked down at my cup and slowly traced the rim with my finger. “Too wonderful. You know what he did on the plane?”

“What?”

“He offered me his protein bar because I had mentioned that I was hungry. A total stranger. Grant never would have done that. He would have just eaten it in front of me.”

“And that is why Grant is a f*ckwad.” She grinned.

“He is. Isn’t he? Oh, by the way, Drew invited me and Kellan to attend a charity event on Friday night, so I’m going to need a new dress.”

“Fun. You can help me pick out a wedding dress and I’ll help you pick out a formal dress for the event.”

“Are you sure you’re up to it today?” I asked.

“Stop asking me. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t go. Now come on; we have dresses to shop for.”





Chapter Twenty-Seven


Jillian



The minute Kristen stepped out of the dressing room at Kleinfeld’s, tears instantly filled my eyes. She looked so beautiful.

“No tears, Jill. Come on; we talked about this.”

Wiping my eye, I spoke, “I’m sorry but you look so beautiful.”

“I don’t want to look beautiful. I want to look sexy as f*ck.” She smiled as she checked herself out in the mirror.

“You do.”

“Nah. This dress isn’t for me. Let me try on the others.”

As she began to walk back into the dressing room, she stopped and turned to me.

“Why don’t you try one on?”

“Who me?” I pointed to myself.

“Yes, you. Come on. Don’t make me do this alone.”

“No. I don’t want to try on wedding dresses. I wore one for a couple of hours not too long ago. Remember?”