Slow Burn (Boston Beauties #2)

by Dawn Edwards

  He kissed me a few times standing in line, nothing passionate, just simple pecks, but enough to tell me he loved me and to let everyone know I was his. It made me smile, he was claiming me.

  I always thought of PDA as a barbaric alpha dominance thing, until now. Having this sinfully hot man want to claim me, publicly, to tell all the men looking at me I was his and to send a message to the women checking him out that he was off the market, that he belonged to me; it made me giddy, to be honest.

  It was the perfect distraction from worrying over my father. The nurses kept reminding us that he was doing well, that his vitals were improving and blood pressure was getting back to normal, which was encouraging. I just wanted to see him awake and confirm that there was no brain damage.

  It was nearly dinner time when we got back to the room, my mother was asleep in the chair when we walked in, so we decided to sit in the family room.

  ‘I’m going to make your mom go home to shower and sleep after Deb gets here,’ Drew told me, continuing to take charge of a very stressful situation.

  I nodded, ‘That’s a good idea, and you should probably go with her.’

  He looked at me and shook his head. ‘No, I’m good.’

  ‘Drew,’ I took his hand. ‘You need to shower, change and get at least a few hours of sleep in a bed.’

  ‘You do too,’ he protested.

  ‘I slept last night and on the plane.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ he said in a low voice, looking at me with longing in his eyes.

  ‘I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here for a while, at least till my father’s well enough to manage.’

  ‘Really?’ Drew looked up at me, hopeful.

  ‘Of course,’ I said, leaning in and kissing him. ‘I need to discuss the new plan with Breton in a few days, but yeah, I can’t leave him and mom at a time like this. Remember health coaching is what I want to do, he’ll be my guinea pig,’ I laughed.

  ‘Lucky him,’ he teased.

  I hit him playfully in his hard chest before he pulled me into him. Knowing what was under there had me wanting him, even at a time like this. I needed some distance, this wasn’t good, and I felt guilty even thinking of it at a time like this. But it was hard to deny our chemistry or fight the pull between us.

  ‘Go to the townhouse, shower, sleep and bring back breakfast,’ I insisted.

  ‘I don’t think you should be left alone,’ he stated, sounding genuinely concerned.

  ‘Maybe Deb will stay the night,’ I countered. ‘Besides, there’s security here in the hospital and no one knows I’m here. People just can’t walk into my dad’s room, I’m fine. You look like shit.’

  ‘Aww, thanks cupcake.’ He smiled at me.

  ‘You know you’re gorgeous, but you'll feel better and be able to take care of us better if you're clean and rested. I know you want to manage everything, but you’ll crash if you don’t take care of yourself first.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘You know on the airplane when they do the safety demonstration with the masks that fall from the ceiling? They tell you to put your own mask on first before helping others.’ I looked at him knowing. ‘I...We need you to take care of yourself first.’

  He took a deep breath, ‘Fine, but I’m going to be back first thing.’

  CHAPTER 19

  JESSA

  The doctor told us that they had stopped the sedation and my father was expected to wake up around lunch time, however, everyone was different.

  True to their word and my father being the ever-punctual man that he was, his eyes started to flutter just before noon. My mother was right next to him, taking his hand.

  ‘Sweetheart,’ she cried, her voice cracking just a bit. ‘I’m here, you are fine.’

  He smiled at her and his eyes roamed the room, looking tired and as if it were a chore for him to do. Seeing Deb at the end of the bed, he had a smile for her and a silent nod with his eyes to Drew, who stood behind me. Then my father’s eyes fell on me. I reached out to squeeze his hand to let him know that he wasn’t still dreaming, that I was really here with him.

  ‘Hi, Daddy,’ I whispered, hearing my voice crack as tears rolled down my cheeks.

  ‘Jessa.’ The first word out of his mouth was my name, and he started to cry.

  His heartbeat increased rapidly. ‘You have to calm down,’ I reminded him. ‘I’m not going anywhere, but let’s not use my name right now.’ I leaned over to kiss his head.

  My mother gave him some water and a tissue for his tears, which we all ended up needing a few ourselves.

  ‘What…’ he asked no one in particular.

  ‘You’ve had a heart attack,’ my mother informed him. ‘You’ve had surgery and will need another one soon.’

  He looked surprised and his eyebrows furrowed as I heard his monitors increase. ‘What day is it?’

  ‘It’s Sunday, and before you even think about work and end up with another heart attack, know that my Dad stepped in and everything is under control,’ my mother warned him in a serious tone that I didn’t hear her use with him very often.

  He looked up to Drew who smiled and nodded.

  ‘If all it was going to take was a heart attack to get you to come home, I would have had one sooner,’ my father joked when the beeping got a bit more regular.

  ‘Steve, that’s not even funny,’ my mother scolded through her smile.

  ‘She’s in disguise,’ Deb informed him. ‘Don’t blow her cover with the nurses.’

  ‘I’ll go let the nurses know,’ Drew said, turning to leave the room.

  Now that Dad was finally awake and it was apparent that there hadn’t been any brain damage, the time went by quicker than it had over the past two days. The doctors and nurses had been in and out all day to monitor him and give us updates and next steps, including letting us know he was booked in for another surgery within the next few days, but in the meantime, the doctors wanted him to stay in the hospital until then for observation.

  The sun was setting, and I was still in the clothing I wore on the flight yesterday morning. I hadn’t showered, barely slept, nor hardly eaten anything where the nutritional value outweighed the simple carbs. I was spent and had very little left in me to give, but I wanted to be there with my dad and for my mom. It basically took my aunt forcing me out of my father’s room and into Drew’s awaiting car—my old Audi, as it were—to take me home to wash up, change, eat and sleep.

  On the drive back to my parents’ home we passed the neighborhood Zoe used to live in. I couldn’t help but think of her and long to pick up the phone to hear her voice.

  ‘Zoe lives just a few blocks up there,’ I pointed out the driver’s side window.

  ‘You want to go drive by?’ Drew asked putting on his blinker.

  ‘Better not, I’d want to jump out and seek her out.” I sighed.

  ‘She doesn’t live there anymore,’ he told me. ‘She moved in with John a while ago, but has been between here and LA, training for the summer and starting up the west-coast office for your dad.’

  I knew they had grown close since my disappearance and it warmed my heart, even on the days I felt it was frozen over for all the pain I had put everyone through.

  ‘When do you think you’ll tell her?’ I knew what he was asking, when was I going to let her know I was still alive and well.

  It was my turn to shrug. ‘Probably just before I’m about to resurface, I don't want to implicate her in anything or distract her; she has worlds coming up soon.’

  ‘How’s all that going?’ he asked me. I was surprised it had taken him this long. It had been a sensitive subject lately. He knew we had the final confession from Matt’s brother and felt that Breton and I were just dragging our heels with organizing the information and working on an exit plan for me. But it was more than that. Breton was super busy, and I was doing what I could to write up the narrative while working on finishing my course on health and wellness coaching, on top of recovering fro
m surgery and being sick.

  I was on my own timeline. I had fought hard to gain my independence and I didn’t relish giving any of it up. Drew might own my heart, but I was still in full control of me. One time a few weeks ago I blew up at him for the first time. It was our first real fight of sorts. I had felt bad afterwards, but at least he was aware that I was on my own schedule for the first time in my life, making decisions on my own and taking the steering wheel of my own life. Sure, I consulted him—after all, I am planning on sharing my new life with him—but I was no longer taking detours for the sake of someone else at my own expense.

  The next day when we spoke, he told me he understood, but that he missed me. While he was proud of everything that I had done to discover my passion and learn to live life by my own rules, he just wanted to share that life with me, without an ocean separating us.

  I got where he was coming from, and I wanted nothing more than to move home, into the house he was renovating for us to finally start our life together. I just wanted to do it right. I didn’t want to show up and get arrested without a plan. I was trying to make him see that we needed to be strategic in how we presented my case to the authorities, created my backstory with evidence that didn’t implicate me in breaking so many laws. Most of all, we needed to demonstrate that I had no alternative as to why I did it. Framing the evidence we uncovered of Matt and his siblings were going to be mine and Breton’s get-out-of-jail card.

  ‘It’s coming along,’ I told him, which was true. Breton was finalizing things.

  ‘So what happens with you?

  ‘Same plan as before. When the time comes, I turn myself in.’ I sighed. It had been weighing on my mind for over a year now.

  ‘But what about the fact you’re here now, does that change anything?’

  ‘Honestly, I have no idea.’ I looked out the window. ‘I need to speak with Brett and see when we bring Abby in.’

  ‘Are you guys going to be in a lot of trouble?’

  I shrugged again, ‘I sort of have an idea, but I think she’ll be the one who could really tell me just how much shit I’ve gotten myself into.’

  ‘Do you think you’ll serve prison time?’

  ‘If we play our cards right, I hope not,’ I told him. ‘I intend to pay all legal fees associated with my “disappearance.” I’ve put a bunch of money aside if it comes to that.’

  ‘What about using fake ID’s? Surely Homeland Security will have an issue with that,’ he asked. ‘You have a plan for that?’

  ‘Yes, well, Brett does, he has a plan for everything.’ I looked back to him with a reassuring smile, reaching out and placing my hand on his arm.

  ‘You’ve been a busy girl,’ Drew commented.

  ‘Told you. Finally, you’re listening,’ I said resting my head on the seat, closing my eyes, the weight of the past few days finally catching up with me. ‘Thanks for everything you’ve done for my family,’ I told him heartfully.

  ‘No need to thank me,’ he said kissing my hand as he drove. ‘They’re like my family too.’

  He’d been such a help to us all. He’d been doing coffee runs, fetching my father clothing, chauffeuring my mother and myself, and getting food for my aunt earlier today after she stayed with me overnight.

  ‘How are you doing?’ he asked. ‘Holding up all right?’

  ‘I think so, just happy that my father will be okay. I want to be there to help him get healthy again. It’s what I’ve been studying for the past few months and I just love it. It’s what I want to continue to do. I was just relieved the doctors seem to think after his surgery he will fully recover with some diet modifications and an exercise regime.’

  ‘You have a plan for that too?’

  ‘Working on one,’ I smirked.

  ‘Figured.’

  ‘I’d like to know what your plan will be to get him to work less,’ he laughed. I nodded at his comment; even I couldn't plan that.

  As I walked into the house, I noticed the small changes that were made. Taking my time, going through room by room. Drew brought my carry-on bag in, then left me alone to walk through the house, which I appreciated. How many times I wished I could have just come home, but knowing what Breton and I were doing mattered kept me grounded.

  ‘I’m going to shower,’ I announced when I walked back into the kitchen to collect my bags.

  ‘Oh,’ he said surprised, taking a dish out of the microwave.

  ‘But I can eat first,’ I smiled and walked towards the island in the middle of the kitchen, taking a seat.

  ‘I think your housekeeper made it earlier, it’s what I took to the hospital for your mom, this is just leftovers.’

  I looked at it, vegetables with pasta. It looked healthy and smelled good. I was so thankful for real food that I didn't really care how it tasted. ‘Thanks, looks great.’

  I ran myself a bath, turning on my iPad to listen to music as I soaked. The intensity of the past three days finally caught up with me. My body ached from holding in stress, being anxious and sitting in a hospital chair for two days, including overnight. I let the Epsom salt pull away the toxins from my muscles while the warm jets massaged my body. I soaked there for a while, listening to one of Miley’s playlists in the background.

  There was a knock on the door. ‘You ok in there?’ Drew asked.

  I smiled, half expecting him to come in, surprised when he didn’t. ‘Yeah, almost a raisin,’ I said looking to my fingers.

  I could hear him chuckle from the other side of the door. ‘Ok, just making sure you didn’t fall asleep.’

  ‘Thanks, nearly, but no. Water’s getting cool, going to get out soon,’ I announced and rinsed the conditioner out of my hair.

  ‘Ok, see you downstairs then. Want some tea?’

  ‘Please,’ I answered him, standing up to turn on the shower, rinsing off.

  I changed into some clothing I found in my drawers, happy to see that my parents still hadn’t gotten rid of it. I slipped on a nightdress that was now very large on me.

  After hooking my phone up to charge, I started to brush my hair out, dreading having to dry it, but knowing it would look a mess in the morning if I didn't. I was so tired, lying on my back, trying to muster some energy. I just needed a few minutes to catch my second wind.

  CHAPTER 20

  DREW

  I woke up in Breton’s bed in the Cahills’ Boston townhouse, fully dressed in the clothes from yesterday. I was covered and my phone was on the coffee table next to me. I had been so tired that I hardly remembered even getting into bed last night.

  When Jessa didn’t come downstairs last night, I checked on her a second time. I walked in to find her sound asleep on her bed; holding her hairbrush, her feet on the floor, her body lying across her bed wearing an oversized Mickey Mouse nightdress. I moved her up to her pillows and covered her with her blanket, without so much as waking her. I fought everything in me to not crawl into bed next to her, even if it was to just hold her in my arms as we slept.

  She had been through so much over the past few days with her father being in the hospital, being reunited with her family, dealing with being back in Boston, being so close to her friends but not being able to seek them out. I knew from our conversations over the past few months that she was missing Zoe, Amber, and Abby terribly.

  There was also the fact that I knew she was exhausted; she didn’t even wake when I picked her up to move her on the bed. Added to that, I knew her parents’ stance on co-ed sleepovers. I didn’t want to be disrespectful to them at a time like this, we’d have our time later. It didn’t escape my memory that the first time I slept with her in my arms was in this bed, shortly before she went away. I wondered if she and Breton had her disappearance planned at the time.

  She wasn’t the only one who was burnt out. I’d had very little sleep over the past few days. I rolled over, looking at my phone to see that it was nearly nine in the morning, which for me, was sleeping in. I got up, used the bathroom and washed up. I walked across
the hall to Jessa’s room, to find her bed was empty and her carry-on suitcase open on her bed. When I reached the bottom of the stairs I heard Jessa and her mother speaking in the kitchen.

  Colleen was sitting at the island, while Jessa was preparing eggs at the stove. ‘Good morning,’ I announced, walking in to take a seat next to Colleen.

  Jessa looked over her shoulder. Her hair was up in a messy bun, wearing an oversized Harvard t-shirt, that may have been hers before she left, and a pair of her yoga pants that I loved so much as they showed her ass perfectly. Unfortunately for me, this morning her mother was here and her shirt was covering that ass, which, even after losing all her weight, still remained sexy as hell. ‘Hey, sorry, I kind of fell asleep,’ she smiled at me.

  ‘No worries, I was only a few minutes behind you I think.’ Seeing as Colleen was here, I was thankful that I forced myself to sleep in Breton’s old room last night.

  ‘You were both asleep when I came home around midnight,’ Colleen told me. ‘Deb is planning on leaving to go home today and wanted me to have a good sleep.’

  I smirked and looked up to Jessa, wondering if she came home to try and ‘catch’ us.

  ‘Do you want eggs?’ Jessa asked me.

  ‘If you cover them in cheese,’ I replied.

  Jessa rolled her eyes and walked to the fridge to get me my cheese.

  Colleen looked at me, then to Jessa and back to me again. ‘She cooks, never thought I’d see the day.’

  ‘Brett says she’s pretty good too.’

  ‘I’m right here,’ she muttered, scrambling more eggs.

  After breakfast, I took a shower then drove Colleen and Jessa back to the hospital.

  Steve had been moved from the ICU to a step-down unit in the cardiac wing. Deb had already left and Steve was sleeping but woke up in a good mood soon after we arrived. He was due to have his stent put in tomorrow and then would be released a day or two after that if everything went according to plan.

  ‘Nasty storm on its way,’ the nurse said as she entered the room to check Steve’s vitals and give him some medications.