The Exception (3 page)

Jillian

Once the plane took off, the flight attendant took our dinner order, which consisted of either a chicken enchilada or a salmon salad. Drew opted for the salmon salad and I declined both. Not only was I still full from that ginormous burger, I didn’t like enchiladas and there was no way I was eating salmon from an airplane.

“I thought plane food revolted you?” I smirked.

“It does, but that veggie burger didn’t seem to fill me up and the salmon salad doesn’t sound too bad.”

“You should have had the big thick greasy burger like me.”

“Yeah. Maybe I should have.” He winked.

“What do you do for work?” I asked with curiosity.

“I own and run a technology company.”

I knew he was in corporate just by the suit he was wearing. He had “corporate man” written all over him. One thing that caught me by surprise was the fact that he owned the company.

“Nice. How old are you?” I cocked my head.

He laughed. “I don’t think it’s polite to ask someone their age.”

“Wrong. It’s not polite to ask a woman her age, but for a man, it’s no holds barred.”

“So why is it wrong to ask a woman?” His brow raised.

“Because women are more sensitive to the age question than men. It’s in our genes.”

“Ah. I see. Well, to answer your question, I’m thirty. And now, you’ll answer my question, impolite or not. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-four.”

“Really?” He frowned. “You don’t look a day over eighteen.” His lips gave way to a small smile.

Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that why you’re being so nice to me, because you thought I was a naïve eighteen-year-old who just blossomed into a legal adult with no baggage that you could manipulate in the palm of your hand?” I smirked.

“First of all, eighteen year olds aren’t my thing. They are way too immature, legal adult or not, and second of all, I’m just a nice guy all the way around.” He winked.

“That you are, Mr. Westbrook.” My lips gave way to a small smile.

The flight attendant set Drew’s salmon salad down in front of him. I took one look at it and sighed.

“You’re really going to eat that?”

“Of course.” He stabbed his fork into the salad and took a bite. “It’s delicious.”

“It is not! I can tell by the look on your face and the way you’re trying to choke it down.”

He shrugged. “Okay. It’s not very appetizing.”

“Oh. Is that cheesecake?” I asked as I pointed to the small plate on his tray.

“It looks like it. Do you want it?”

“Don’t you?” I asked.

“I’m not a big cheesecake kind of person. So, please, be my guest. I’ll have to ask the attendant for another fork.”

“No need.” I smiled as I reached over, picked it up with my hands, and took a bite.

Drew’s face twisted as he watched me.

“What? It’s not a big piece. It’s bite size.” I finished it off with one more bite. “Thank you for once again making my shitty day a little less shitty.” I grinned.

“You’re welcome.” He nodded. “I’m surprised you’re still hungry after that large burger, a beer, your fries, and mine.”

Without even thinking, I spoke, “Well, after starving myself for the last six months to make sure I didn’t gain an ounce so I could fit into my wedding—” I paused and then turned my head towards the window.

Drew didn’t say a word, which was a good thing because I wasn’t about to get into something so personal about myself with a stranger.

“So, what do you do for a living?” he asked to change the subject.

“I’m a lawyer. Well, not technically yet. I still have to take the bar.” Which I had no plans to ever do.

“Impressive. Where did you attend law school?”

“Yale.”

“Wow. Now I’m really impressed.” He smiled. “Did you just graduate?”

“Yep. Two weeks ago and at the top of my class.”

“Your parents must be very proud of you. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

“They are.”
Not now they aren’t
, I thought to myself.

The flight attendant walked over and took Drew’s tray from him as I pulled out the headphones from my purse.

“I think I’ll watch a movie now,” I spoke.

“All right. I have some work to do.” He pulled out his iPad.

****

Drew

A lawyer. Wow, not only was she beautiful but extremely smart. I caught the part about her wedding dress, which piqued my curiosity, but I could tell after she slipped that she was upset, so I didn’t ask her any more about it. I got the impression that her fiancé broke it off with her and that was why she was so broken. As for Hawaii, she was probably trying to escape the pain. I found her refreshing and funny. She had a wit about her that captivated me. Who would ever break up with someone like her? If she were mine, I would have held on to her forever.

As I was doing some work on my iPad, the plane hit some bad turbulence. Jillian reached over and grabbed my arm.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Sorry. Turbulence just freaks me the fuck out.” She inhaled deeply and laid her head back.

“Don’t apologize. My arm is here for you whenever you need it.” I smiled.

The plane leveled out and it seemed we were in the clear. Letting go of my arm, Jillian continued to watch her movie and I went back to work.

****

Jillian

Just as I started to relax again, the plane abruptly dropped and the pilot announced that we were heading into some severe storms and turbulence was going to a problem for a short while. The seatbelt light went on and all the flight attendants were commanded to sit in their seats until we got through it. I wasn’t sure if
I
could get through it. As I felt the plane going up and down, I grabbed on to Drew’s arm again. For now, he was my safety and there was no way I was letting go. Anxiety had started to kick in and I found it difficult to breathe.

“Hey. Relax. It’s going to okay,” Drew said as he placed his hand on mine. “Let’s talk. Tell me something. Anything.”

He was trying to distract me and I appreciated him for it. He could see I was struggling to calm the fuck down.

“Breathe, Jillian.” His eyes burnt into mine.

My heart was pounding out of my chest and I was sweating.

“Talk to me,” he spoke with seriousness.

“I left my fiancé at the altar today. I didn’t even tell him that I couldn’t marry him. I just up and left without anyone noticing a couple of minutes before I was to walk down the aisle. I couldn’t marry him. I don’t love him. I never did. It was too much. Between my parents and him, I just couldn’t take it anymore,” I blurted out. “And now, this is my punishment. We’re going to crash and I’m going to die and go to Hell for it.”

Drew stared at me with a shocked expression on his face. He didn’t know what to say because I was sure his whole perception of me had just changed in that moment.

“We aren’t going to crash, you’re not going to die, and you certainly aren’t going to Hell because you left your fiancé.”

After he spoke those words, the plane leveled out and once again became steady. The pilot came on the overhead and said we were in the clear and thanked us for our cooperation. Letting out a sigh of relief, I began to calm down and regain my breath.

“See. It was just a little turbulence. It’s over now.” He smiled.

“I’m sorry for just blurting that out.”

“It’s okay. You thought you were going to die, so you had to tell someone. Do you want to talk about it?” he asked in a soothing voice.

“That’s basically it. Today was my wedding day and I ran.”

“If you never loved him, why did you accept his proposal?”

“Because I had no choice. He was my fiancé since I was a child. Planned by my parents and his. He was the one I had to marry.”

“Wait a minute.” He shook his head. “Was this an arranged marriage?”

I laughed. “If you really stop to think about it, I guess it was. His parents and my parents have been best friends since they were teenagers. He is the heir to his father’s law firm and I am the daughter of the prestigious Donald Bell of DB Simpson & Co.”

“You mean one of the largest global financial firms, DB Simpson & Co?”

“Yep. That’s the one.”

“Wow. Oh boy. Wow.”

“See. You’re speechless.”

“Not really. I mean, why would you marry someone you’re not in love with? I just don’t understand why you didn’t say something before the wedding.”

“Because I never had any control over my own life. From the day I was born, my life had already been planned out. Where I would go to school, who my friends would be, who I could and could not socialize with, and my career. Shit. I don’t even want to be a lawyer.”

“I take it you’re an only child?”

“Yeah. Well, sort of. That’s another story.” I shook my head.

Drew looked at his watch. “We have a couple of hours left.”

“Thanks, but I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s just that I never was allowed to make my own decisions. My mom and Grant’s mom planned the entire wedding. I didn’t have a say in anything, not even my wedding dress. The one I wanted wasn’t expensive enough and my mother said it made me look fat. So she picked the dress she liked and I just agreed to it. I didn’t care and I didn’t have any fight in me. Going against my parents was a losing battle.”

“And now?” he asked.

“I guess you could say I snapped.” I gave a small smile. “I don’t know who I am, Drew. Every time I look in a mirror, I see a total stranger staring back at me.”

“So you’re going to Hawaii. Why?” He cocked his head.

“I needed to escape and what better place than Hawaii. I’m starting my life over and, little by little, I’m going to find out who Jillian Bell really is.”

The corners of his mouth curved upwards. “Good for you.”

“Thanks. It’s really liberating.”

“So what about your parents and Grant?”

“Who knows and who cares? I don’t think he even loved me anyway. He was a cheater and a liar. Hell, his bachelor party was last weekend in Vegas and he slept with two strippers at the same time.” I looked down.

“Ouch. What a dick. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m not. I’m feeling really tired from that whole turbulence experience. I’m going to try and get some sleep. So, would you wake me if I’m still sleeping when the plane lands?” I bit down on my bottom lip.

“Of course I will, and if you need my shoulder to lie on, it’s available.”

“Thanks, but the window is fine.”

I propped the pillow against the window and laid my head down against it.

Drew

Wow, her story really hit a spot in my heart and I felt sorry for her. I could feel her pain as she talked about leaving her fiancé at the altar, and her parents, shit, I couldn’t imagine growing up like that. Just as we were about to land, Jillian opened her eyes and looked around.

“We’ll be landing in a couple of minutes. I can’t believe I’m landing in Hawaii in the dark.” I smirked.

“You had to have known when you booked the flight,” she spoke.

“This wasn’t my original flight. My other flight was delayed due to mechanical issues and then it got cancelled. This is the flight they put me on. I was supposed to arrive around three thirty pm, not nine fifty pm.”

“This was the only flight that had first class available when I booked it.”

“And when did you book this flight?” I asked.

“Two weeks ago. It was a backup, just in case. And as you can see, the just in case happened.”

When the plane arrived at the gate, I took Jillian’s carry-on bag from the overhead and handed it to her. After grabbing mine, I took a step back and let her out first.

“I’m going to use the bathroom before I head to baggage claim.”

“Oh. Okay. I can wait for you,” she spoke.

“You go ahead.”

I didn’t know how to say it. This shouldn’t have been so hard and I didn’t understand why it was. Maybe because we shared a connection on the plane. Who the hell knew.

“Actually, my girlfriend is meeting me. She flew in this morning.”

****

Jillian

Awkward moment. Was I surprised? No. I didn’t expect a man like him to be single and I never asked him why he was flying to Hawaii alone. I didn’t know what to say.

“That’s great.” My lips gave way to the smile that I had perfected. “Well, I guess this is goodbye. Thank you, Drew, for making my shitty day a little less shitty. It was nice to meet you.”

His lips formed a small smile as he held out his hand to me.

“It was nice to meet you too, Jillian. I hope everything works out for you and you find yourself.”

“Thank you.” I lightly shook his hand.

As I walked away, Drew called my name.

“Jillian?”

I turned around and took one last look at him.

“Do me a favor. Please be careful while you’re here. No matter where you go, there are always some crazy people around.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” I gave him a small wave and headed to baggage claim.

There was a part of me that was sad about saying goodbye to Drew Westbrook. He was the first nice person I’d met on my self-discovery journey. Talking to him for most of the day made me feel good. For the first time in my life, I felt happy inside. When I arrived at the baggage claim area, I saw a nice-looking gentleman holding up a sign with my name on it.

“That’s me.” I smiled.

“Ah, welcome to Hawaii, Miss Bell. I’m Kaleo, and it’s my pleasure to drive you to your hotel.”

“Nice to meet you, Kaleo.”

“Your luggage will be coming out right over here.”

As we were waiting for the luggage to be unloaded, I happened to glance over and saw Drew hugging a tall, blonde-haired woman. A lump formed in the back of my throat and I quickly looked away. I just wanted to get the hell out of here and to the hotel so I could climb into bed and sleep my troubles away. Finally, I saw my luggage come around and Kaleo picked it up and led me to the sedan that was parked right outside the doors. I had no choice but to pass by Drew and his girlfriend, so I kept my eyes looking straight ahead and pretended not to see them.

When Kaleo pulled up to the Kahala Hotel & Resort, he removed my bags from the trunk and the bellhop in front of the hotel grabbed them.

“Welcome to the Kahala Hotel & Resort.” He smiled.

I checked myself in, and when I turned around, I saw Drew and his girlfriend heading to the same elevators I was.
Shit. Fuck. Shit
. Why did he have to be staying at the same hotel?

“Hello.” He nodded.

“Hey.” I smiled. “Nice to see you again.”

The tall blonde narrowed her eye at me and I could see her claws emerge.

“Jess, this is Jillian. Her seat was next to mine on the plane.”

“Oh. Hello.” She extended her well-manicured hand with an unsure smile and daggering eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Jess.”

We stepped inside the elevator and the bellhop pushed the button for the Presidential Suite. No one spoke a word. This was awkward and there was no reason that it should have been. But then, why did I feel like I had done something wrong? As soon as the elevator doors opened, I stepped out and spoke to them, “Enjoy your vacation.”

“You too,” Drew replied while Jess gave me a slight nod.

Opening the door to my suite, the bellhop set my bags down in the bedroom. I reached in my pocket and pulled out some cash.

“Thank you for bringing my bags up.”

“Thank you, Miss Bell. Enjoy your stay with us. If you need anything at all, please let us know.”

I grabbed my phone from my purse and looked at the time. It was almost eleven. I promised my best friend, Kellan, that I would call him as soon as I got settled. It was two a.m. in Seattle, and I took my chances that he was still up.

“Hello,” he answered.

“Hey. It’s so good to hear a familiar voice.”

“I’ve been waiting for your call. How are you? I’ve been worried sick.”

“I’m okay. So what happened?”

“Oh, Jillian. I don’t even know where to start. Your mom and dad are pissed as hell, and Grant, I just think that little douchebag was more embarrassed than anything. Your mom came to me and asked me if I knew about the little stunt you pulled.”

“Were those her exact words?”

“Yes. I’d never seen her so angry. Her face was so red that I was sure she was going to drop dead of a heart attack right there in the church. Grant made an announcement and told all the guests that this was just a misunderstanding and he’d get it sorted out. I’ll be honest with you, Jill, I don’t think you’ll ever be able to come back here.”

“I don’t ever plan on it. You know that and I know that. Listen, I’m exhausted and I just want to go to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay, baby girl. Sweet dreams and I’m proud of you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Kellan, and thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

After ending the call, I unzipped my suitcase and pulled out my nightgown. Once I changed, I pulled back the covers, climbed into the luxurious king-sized bed, and pulled the sheets up over me, holding the edges with a tight grip. A million different emotions were going through my head and I just needed to turn my brain off. Easier said than done as I tossed and turned all night.

****

Drew

She’s very pretty,” Jess spoke as the elevator doors shut.

“I didn’t notice,” I lied.

“Oh, come on, Drew. Who the hell wouldn’t notice a girl like her?”

Jess was raring to start a fight. I could tell and I was in no mood. I was tired and I didn’t plan to be up all night arguing with her.

“Jess, I’m warning you. We aren’t going to go through this again. For fuck sakes,” I spoke as I opened the door to the Imperial Suite, “I couldn’t help that her seat was next to mine.”

“Did you talk to her?” she asked as she headed towards the bathroom.

“Of course I did. We were on a six-hour flight.” I didn’t dare tell her that we also sat next to each other on the plane from Seattle.

“Did she come here alone?” she asked as she stood in front of the mirror and took off her makeup.

“Yes. She was supposed to get married today but couldn’t go through with it.”

“Wow. It seems like you got her life story.”

Slowly closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath.

“Not really.”

“Why would she tell you that? A total stranger? Who does that shit?”

“Apparently, a woman who needed to talk to someone.”

“Did she hit on you?” she asked as she turned the light off and climbed into bed.

“No. She didn’t hit on me and you’re being ridiculous right now. Listen, you need to stop being so jealous of every woman who looks my way. Have I ever given you a reason to mistrust me?”

“No.”

“Exactly.” I reached down and kissed her lips. “Now get some sleep. I’m exhausted and had a really long day. I didn’t plan to get in this late.”

“But I’ve been looking forward to having sex with you all day.” Her hand reached down and rubbed my cock.

“Not tonight, Jess. I’m way too tired.”

“What a great start to this vacation.” She huffed.

“Can you please for once in your life think about somebody besides yourself?”

She turned the other way and I didn’t care. I sighed as I placed my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling. The only woman on my mind at the moment was Jillian.