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“Love you too, Kel. Talk to you later.”
* * *
Moving into my new apartment was the easiest job ever. The deliverymen set up all my furniture, and it didn’t take me long to unpack the only two suitcases I brought with me. Looking around my space made me smile. This was mine: my very own apartment and a symbol of a new start in life for me. I felt independent, and I felt strong. Two things that I had never felt before.
Three years ago, on my twenty-first birthday, I received a call from my grandmother’s lawyer, asking me to come to his office. I found it strange since my grandmother had passed away two years before. When I arrived at his office, he informed me that my grandmother had set up an account for me with the sum of four million dollars to be given to me on my twenty-first birthday with a letter she had written to me.
My Dearest Jillian,
Happy birthday, my darling granddaughter. Now that you are entering adulthood, I am giving you something special for those rainy days. This is between you and me, and your parents are never to know what I have given you. Use the money to do what you want in life. It’s yours and yours only. Travel. See the world, and whatever you do, do not marry Grant. I don’t like him, darling. I never have. Most importantly, do not trust him. He doesn’t make you happy, and you deserve to be happy. I know you’ll make the right decision one day, and this money will be there to help you. Take care, my love. I’ll love you forever.
Grandma
My grandmother and I were very close, and I told her everything. She was never very fond of my mother and would tell my father every chance she got. She hadn’t spoken to my parents for a few years before she passed. I still didn’t know what the argument was about, but I suspected it had something to do with Kristen. I’d never forget after she passed away and we were all gathered at the table for the reading of the will. When it came to my father and mother, they were given nothing. My grandmother left her whole estate to my Uncle Leon with the strict instructions that all of her clothes and jewelry would be donated to a women’s shelter, and my mother would not be given anything. My parents were outraged, and my mom didn’t stop yelling for months over it. As for me, she had left me ten thousand dollars and a beautiful silver necklace with a diamond cross that I’d always admired.
After Kristen and Noah left, I grabbed the open bottle of wine from the counter and took it outside on the balcony, where I sat my ass down in my new plush and comfortable lounge chair. Rick was right. Sitting out here at night and looking at the brightly lit city was amazing.
I hadn’t thought about Drew all day until now. Holding my phone in my hand, I pulled up his number and stared at it. A part of me wanted to get in touch with him to say hi. But the other part of me didn’t want to because I knew if I did, I would never stop thinking about him or that night we spent together. I just wanted to hear his voice. Maybe if I just heard it one last time, thoughts of him would leave my head. This was crazy. This wasn’t me. I didn’t think like this and didn’t just call up people to hear their voices. What the fuck was going on? Why, for the love of God, couldn’t I get him out of my head? I set my number to private and hit the call button under his number. My heart started pounding out of my chest. It was Saturday night, so he probably wouldn’t answer. I would bet he was out with someone for the night. The hand that held the phone to my ear started to sweat.
“Drew Westbrook,” he answered.
SHIT!
“Hello?”
If I didn’t say something, he’d probably suspect it was me, so I cleared my throat and disguised my voice.
“I’m sorry. I have the wrong number.”
“No problem,” he spoke.
I quickly ended the call. Wow, what did I just do? Who does that? A small smile crossed my lips as I set my phone down. Hearing his voice again was exactly what I needed. I could hear a lot of noise in the background, almost like he was at a restaurant. The thought of him with another woman literally knifed my heart. Fuck! I didn’t need this. This wasn’t how my life journey was supposed to go. I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about a man. I certainly had no problem forgetting about one in particular. Damn, Drew Westbrook. I finished off the bottle of wine and climbed into my new comfy bed.
Chapter Seventeen
Drew
“Who was that?” Liam asked as he raised his brow at me.
“Just a wrong number.” I frowned as I looked at my phone and set it on the table. “It’s weird because it came up as a private number.”
Liam shrugged. “People do that all the time. No big deal.”
“Yeah, I guess.” I took a drink of my scotch.
“I’m sorry your Hawaii trip sucked.”
“It only sucked when Jess was around.” I cut into my steak.
“Yeah, well, she was a sucky person.” He smiled. “Now you’re back on the market. Any prospects yet?”
“Actually, I met a woman in Hawaii.”
“Damn, you work fast.” He winked.
“She sat next to me on the plane from Seattle to LAX, we had dinner at the airport together, and then I switched seats so I could sit next to her to Hawaii. Coincidentally, she ended up staying at the same hotel.”
Liam narrowed his eye at me. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”
