The Exception (21 page)

Drew

After grabbing some dinner, we headed to my townhouse. As I was helping Jillian from the car, Liam and Oliver had just stepped out his front door.

“Hello there, neighbor!” Liam shouted as he waved.

Here we go.

“Hey, Liam. Oliver.” I waved back.

“Hello, Jillian.” Liam smiled.

“Hi, Liam.” She waved.

They walked over to us and Liam introduced Jillian to Oliver.

“This is my brother, Oliver Wyatt.”

“Nice to meet you, Oliver.” She smiled as they shook hands.

“Nice to meet you as well, Jillian.”

“Why don’t you go in the house and put these leftovers in the refrigerator. I’ll be in shortly,” I spoke.

Jillian went into the house and I prepared myself for Liam.

Placing his hands in his pocket, he spoke, “So, what’s going on?”

“Okay. Okay.” I put up my hand. “It seems your little plan worked. We are officially a couple now.” I grinned.

“Congratulations.” Oliver placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Thanks.”

“Yep. Told you it would work. I think I may start my own business,” Liam spoke.

“And what business would that be?” Oliver asked as he rolled his eyes.

“A company that helps a man or a woman get the person of their dreams.”

“You’re an idiot.” Oliver smacked him upside the head.

“Why? Something like, uh, what’s it called, a wingman service. I could be the wingman and help people out in the love department.” He grinned brightly.

I laughed and Oliver stood there shaking his head. “Like I said, you’re an idiot.”

“You say that now, but you won’t be when I start raking in the millions, dear brother.”

Oliver sighed. “You already rake in the millions. Come on, we’re going to be late. Congrats, Drew. I’m happy for you, man.”

“Yeah. Congratulations, bro. The six of us need to do dinner. Call me!” He pointed at me as they headed to the car.

“I will, and thanks again.”

Liam held his arms out. “That’s what a wingman does, bro.”

Chuckling, I walked into the house and found Jillian in the kitchen, pouring us a glass of wine.

“I’ve been thinking,” she spoke. “I’m going to take the bar exam.”

“Really? I thought you didn’t want to be a lawyer?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

“I worked my ass off in college and law school and it would be waste at least not to take the exam.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I’ll tell you what, you can come work for me as my company lawyer if you want to. I’d hire you on the spot.”

“Don’t you have a lawyer already?”

I shrugged. “A firm. But they can easily be replaced by someone as sexy as you.” I smiled as I kissed her lips.

“We’d have to work together every day. We’d see each other all the time. Don’t you think we’d get sick of each other?”

“I could never get sick of having you by my side all day long.”

A smile graced her beautiful face. “Good, because I could never get sick of you either. There’s something else I need to do.”

“What’s that, baby?”

“I need to go see Grant and my mom. It’s part of my journey. For closure purposes.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Yes. If you wouldn’t mind.”

“I would be happy to go with you.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“And I love you. Now about that dessert you promised me.” I grinned as my hand traveled up her short skirt.

“Where would you like to eat it, Mr. Westbrook?” The corners of her mouth curved upwards.

“I was thinking right here in the kitchen.” I lifted her up on the counter.

“The kitchen is the perfect place for dessert.” Our lips met with passion.

****

Jillian

As Drew and I stepped off the plane, I thought I’d feel nervous, but I wasn’t. Which was weird. When I turned on my phone, a message from Kellan came through.

“Douchebag is at Bar Louie and he’s here with some chick. I’m sitting at the bar trying not to gag.”

“Thanks. Did he see you?”

“Yeah. When he was on his way to the bathroom. He just gave me a dirty look. Idiot.”

“We’re on our way.”

“You sure you want to do this, Bean?”

“I’m sure. See you soon.”

“He’s at Bar Louie with some girl,” I spoke as I held Drew’s hand.

“Don’t you think you should wait and talk to him at his house?”

“And risk seeing his parents? Um. No thanks. A public place is better.”

When we reached Bar Louie, I took in a deep breath as I walked through the door and saw Kellan sitting at the bar. Walking over, I gave him a big hug.

“So where is he?” I asked.

“Well, he’s walking over to us as we speak. Shit. Are you sure about this?”

“Look who decided to pop back into town,” Grant spoke as he approached me.

I swallowed hard. “Hello, Grant.”

Drew took a seat on the stool and ordered a scotch.

“‘Hello, Grant’? Is that all you have to say?”

“No. I have a lot to say. So how about we go over to that table and talk?”

“Nah. I have nothing to say to you, Jillian. Do you even realize the embarrassment you caused me and my family?” He grabbed hold of my arm.

“I suggest you let go of her right now,” Drew spoke in anger.

“And you are?” Grant cocked his head.

“The person who’s going to scar up that pretty little face of yours if you don’t remove your hand from her.”

“I’d like to see you try it, big man.”

Drew stood up from his stool and I stepped in between him and Grant.

“Stop it. I didn’t come here to argue. I came to talk to you. To put closure on us.”

Grant let out a loud laugh. “Us? There never was any us, Jill. I was marrying you out of obligation. Do you know how many women I fucked behind your back over the years?”

I didn’t think he could hurt me, but he did, and I needed to get over it real quick.

“Did you honestly believe I loved you? The only thing you were good for was a social status.”

An anger ripped through me and my breathing became rapid. I couldn’t control myself as I balled my hand into a fist and punched him, sending him down to the ground. I kneeled down and grabbed hold of his fucking polo shirt I hated so much.

“Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to do that, you little fuckwad?”

“Oh my God!” The girl he was with came running over.

“Get out of here or you’re next!” I yelled at her. Looking back at Grant, who was lying there holding his jaw, I spoke, “Now I’ve embarrassed you twice. I came here to have a civil conversation to put closure on what happened, but no, you had to go run your smart mouth like you always do. The best thing I ever did was leave your dumb ass at the altar, and now I’ve said my peace. Have a nice life, Grant.” I let go of his shirt and stood up. “Come on, Drew. Come on, Kellan. Let’s get out of here.” I turned on my heels and walked out the door.

“Shit, Jill. I didn’t know you had that in you,” Kellan spoke as he caught up with me.

“Are you okay?” Drew asked with concern.

“I’ve never felt better.” I smiled.

Jillian

One Year Later

I could hear the soft music play as the guests started to gather inside and took their seats in the luxurious chairs that were beautifully decorated with white satin bows and white roses. As I stared at myself in the full-length mirror, I recognized the girl staring back at me. Her name was Jillian Bell, soon to be Mrs. Jillian Westbrook. This was my wedding day and I couldn’t have been happier.

So much had happened in the past year. Kellan moved to New York and got a job on Wall Street making twice as much as he was back in Seattle. I took my bar exam and passed with flying colors, landing me a job at Westbrook Technology. Kristen passed away six months ago. It was a difficult time for all of us, but she made us promise that we would only grieve for a short time and move on with our lives and live life to the fullest. She made Noah promise that he’d find someone to love as much as he loved her. As heartbroken as I was not to have my sister standing by my side at my wedding, I knew she was watching over me. My dad visited New York frequently and him and Kristen became close as a father and daughter should be. I tried to reconnect with my mother, but there was only so much effort I could put in. We talked occasionally and she refused to come to my wedding, but that was her problem, not mine. I forgave her, though, because I wasn’t going to let her cast a shadow over my life anymore.

A nervousness rose up inside me as a thought crossed my mind. Running to the door of the suite I was in, I opened it.

“Jill, where are you going?” Kellan asked.

“I’ll be right back,” I said as I flew out into the hallway.

I stopped when I saw Drew standing there, staring at me. I bit down on my bottom lip as a smile crossed my face.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I was coming to make sure you weren’t going to bail on me,” he spoke with a smile. “What are you doing?”

“I was just coming to make sure you weren’t going to bail on me.”

He walked over to where I was standing and grabbed my hands, holding them tight.

“My God, you are so beautiful.”

“So are you.”

“I’ll see you at the end of the aisle.” He brought my hand up to his lips.

“I’ll see you there.”

Drew and I were married under an opulent canopy in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel, following a beautiful reception that consisted of over four hundred guests. It was time to take our first dance as husband and wife to Ed Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud.” Placing my hand in his, we walked out onto the dance floor.

“Do you know how happy you’ve made me?” Drew asked.

“I hope as happy as you’ve made me.”

My heart melted as he leaned his lips close to my ear and began singing to me.

“And, darling, I will be loving you till we’re seventy. And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty-three.”

“You’re making me cry.” I looked up at him with a tear in my eye.

“Oh, baby, we found love right where we are.” He smiled.

After the reception was coming close to an end, Drew and I headed to the yacht he rented for us for a two-week honeymoon. A honeymoon that consisted of the open water and just the two of us.

“I can’t wait to get you out of this dress and make love to you all night long, Mrs. Westbrook,” he spoke as he carried me onto the yacht.

“This will be the first time we have sex as a married couple. Do you think you can handle it? I may get a little rough.” I smirked.

“I can handle it just fine. The question is will you be able to handle it?” he spoke as he laid me down on the bed.

“I guess we’ll find out. Your performance has to top all the others over the past year. Are you up to the challenge?” I smiled.

“Oh, I can promise you that my performance will outdo anything you’ve ever experienced.” He growled as his mouth smashed into mine. “I love you, Jillian.”

“And I love you, Drew.”

Sandi Lynn is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who spends all of her days writing. She published her first novel, Forever Black, in February 2013 and hasn’t stopped writing since. Her addictions are shopping, going to the gym, romance novels, coffee, chocolate, margaritas, and giving readers an escape to another world.

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