“Trust me, Mom. She likes burgers.” He grinned.
I narrowed my eye at him and gave his shoulder a nudge. After we finished dinner, Andrea told me and Drew to go sit outside while she and Lou cleaned up. I insisted on helping, but she shoved us out the patio door. Drew handed me a glass of wine and we took a seat on the benches in the gazebo that sat in the center of the yard.
“I can’t believe you met my mom at the hospital.”
“I can’t believe she’s your mom. How weird is that?”
“Very weird. In fact, everything in relation to us is weird,” he spoke.
“How do you mean?”
“Well, my flight was cancelled and I was put on another flight in the seat next to you. Out of all the hotels in Hawaii, we ended up at the same one. We got to know each other better unexpectedly.” He winked. “Then you moved to New York, where I live, which you didn’t know, you rented the apartment that I own, which you didn’t know, and of all the nurses at the hospital, you happen to have coffee and a bagel with the one who happens to be my mother. And, lastly, of the millions of people in New York City, we run into each other on the street. If you ask me, we were supposed to meet. If we didn’t meet on that plane, we would have somewhere else.”
“You think?” I bit down on my bottom lip.
“Yeah, and trust me, I’m not a believer in those types of things, but what happened with us made me think twice.” He smiled as he grabbed my hand.
A feeling hit the pit of my stomach. It was a feeling of fear, uncertainty. He referred to this as “us.” Was I taking it in the wrong context? He was talking about the universe and the grand plan of Cupid. He wasn’t a believer and now he was. I feared he wanted a relationship where it was just the two of us. The kind of relationship where we went on dates, had sex, and spent every second we could together.
Then it hit me. That was exactly what was happening with us. He was the first person I met from the escape of my old life. I attached myself to him because he was familiar, not thinking of the repercussions of my behavior. I needed someone because of everything I was going through. A shoulder to cry on. Sex to fill the void that was hiding in the shadows of my life. And now, he wanted more, or he believed it was more than what it really was. Maybe I was just overacting, being paranoid. But the smile on his face alluded to the fact that he considered me his girlfriend.
I’d fallen for him. There was no doubt about that. But I took it too far, being readily available when he asked. My self-journey. What a joke. Did I use Drew to comfort myself when my pity party was in full force? I had never been truly alone. I went from my parents and Grant straight into the arms of Drew Westbrook. My plan was so off course that, once again, I felt lost and confused. I was to create a home base here, spend some time with Kristen, and then jet off to continue my self-journey. But now, I felt more lost than when I left Seattle.
It was getting late, so we said goodbye to his parents and climbed into the Bentley.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about, so can we go back to your place?” he spoke.
Nerves flooded my body because I feared he was talking about our relationship.
“Okay.”
Walking into my apartment, I threw my keys on the counter and grabbed a bottle of opened wine from the refrigerator.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” I nervously asked as my shaking hands poured some wine into two glasses.
He took in a deep breath. This was it. The moment of truth when he would ask me about our relationship.
“Your father paid me a visit today at the office.”
I let out the deep breath I had been holding for what seemed like forever. “My father? Why?”
“He wants to talk to you and he asked for my help.”
“I have nothing to say to him or my mother,” I spoke as I brought the glass up to my lips.
“It has nothing to do with her. It’s just him. I get the feeling he wants to apologize.”
“Little too late for that.” I softly laughed.
“Just meet with him, Jillian. Hear him out and then move on.”
“You were there last night.” I raised my voice. “You heard him say how I embarrassed the family and cost him a million dollars and,” I shrugged, “I already heard him out and I have moved on.”
“I know. But you didn’t see him at my office today. He was apologetic and he was begging me for my help. He said that your mother was to blame for all this and that she wasn’t going to stand in the way of him and his daughters anymore.”
“He played his part. Trust me. He did nothing to stop her and he went along with everything she said and did.”
“He screwed up, Jill. Even people who screw up so badly deserve a second chance.”
I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you defending him?”
“No. I’m just saying that you should let him apologize to you. What you do with that apology is up to you. But hear the man out.”