Chapter 23
Jess
When I was sure Brian wasn’t looking, I pinched myself.
This could not be happening. The girls had been screaming and crying nonstop since he’d delivered the news.
He’d scored us tickets to see Lake Paige in concert.
When he’d casually mentioned that we’d get to meet her? Kit had burst into tears, and Greta had run laps around the apartment, yelling at the top of her lungs.
“Is this a dream?” Kit asked, looking out at the helicopter that was waiting for us.
“I’m not sure,” I replied honestly.
Greta hadn’t let go of my hand since we’d arrived, holding it so tight she was cutting off blood flow.
Brian was across the room, ensuring all our bags were accounted for.
He’d insisted on carrying them all himself, but he probably regretted the offer once the driver had pulled them all from the car.
Greta had been beside herself when she realized she didn’t have months to recreate one of Lake’s iconic music video looks, so we may have overpacked a bit.
But hopefully we’d have enough glitter, pink, and fringe to have a good time.
The girls let out a fresh round of happy squeals and twirls. “Lake Paige,” Kit trilled. “Her new album is everything. It’s like she’s more musically complex after she took time off to have a baby.”
Greta peered back at Brian. “You have a helicopter?”
He shook his head, looking slightly uncomfortable. “No. A friend lent it to me.”
She released me and darted across the room. Arms flung out, she launched herself at him and hugged him tight. “You’re the best.”
Kit joined in, though she was a little more successful at playing it cool.
Brian, who still had a bag slung over each shoulder, wobbled a little on his feet.
“Girls, I think we need to get inside and listen to the pilot.” I dropped my focus to the floor in front of me, hoping Brian couldn’t see the color staining my cheeks. Their excitement and their affection for Brian tugged at my heartstrings.
He’d been so sweetly sheepish when he’d delivered the news. The girls had screamed and jumped around wildly, waking Tia from her nap.
Now, as he carried our bags out onto the helipad, I truly had no idea how I would ever thank him.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t completely true. My dirty mind had a few ideas…
And said mind had been on overdrive these past few weeks. Because while Brian, ever the gentleman, always professional, could control his lustful urges, I could not.
I was a woman starved. Every time I saw him at the end of the workday, with the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, I swooned a little.
When I stepped into the apartment and found him building Legos with Greta or helping Kit multiply fractions, my attraction grew.
Because not only was Brian objectively handsome, he was also objectively good. I’d known it back in college and I knew it now. He was serious, and sure, he could be a grump, but he took care of his clients, his colleagues, and the little family that had formed in the old building in Jersey.
He’d even grown to love that monster cat, no matter how annoying he swore it was.
The girls were animated, squealing often as we flew to Boston. Every few minutes, Brian would look back from his seat in front with the pilot and smile at me.
The girls were busy watching the scenery and taking helicopter selfies with my phone, so I sat back and tried to focus on enjoying the views.
The whole way, my stomach jumped with anticipation.
My friendship with Brian was changing and evolving every day, and for as good as it felt, it was also confusing and overwhelming.
It certainly didn’t help that my kids were so attached to him and our new friends.
Nights spent with them in that strange building had become precious to me.
The whole crowd had enthusiastically embraced Wednesday dance parties, and we’d taken to stopping by even on my day off, when the girls didn’t need to be watched, just to visit.
I’d worked so hard to insulate and support my little family that I hadn’t even considered how much fun it would be to welcome others into the fold.
As we landed on the roof of the Greenbriar Hotel in Boston, the harbor stretching out in front of us, Kit pointed wildly out the window. “We can see Lang Field from here.”
Sure enough, the outside of the stadium was adorned with Lake’s signature pink bows, marking her arrival. Seaport Boulevard had been temporarily renamed by the mayor of Boston to Lake Paige Boulevard in honor of her.
Once we’d disembarked and were inside, away from the wind the chopper’s blades created, Brian grimaced down at his phone.
“I was hoping to get out of this part, but my sister is here, and she’s threatening to call the Boston Police Department to detain me if I don’t bring you guys to meet her right now.”
“Dylan?” I frowned in confusion.
Brian had always talked about how laid-back she was. Yet she was making threats?
“Yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck. “It may actually be her friend Delia, but I can’t tell. They’re here with their daughters, doing hair and makeup for the concert.”
“Hair and makeup?” Kit’s eyes bulged. “Mom only let me pack sparkle eyeshadow.”
That was how we found ourselves headed up to the hotel penthouse.
It occupied the entire top floor of the hotel and was easily bigger than both my apartment and Brian’s apartment combined.
There were kids everywhere, and I hadn’t made it through the door before I was being hugged by a beaming redhead.
She pulled back, and as she cupped my cheeks, she said, “Jess,” like my name was a sacred prayer.
Too stunned to respond, I stood frozen to the spot, letting her study me.
“Just as I suspected. Totally purple. And totally perfect for my brother.” With a pat to my cheek, she stepped back and greeted my kids.
“Hello, girls. I’m so excited to meet you.
Kit, Brian sent me a video of your piano performance.
You are so talented. And Greta, my husband really wants to meet you so he can convince you to be a Revs fan. ”
The girls were truly charmed by her sweet, friendly face and were eagerly peering around at the bright space. Light streamed through the massive windows as Boston’s skyline spread out in front of us.
Dylan gestured widely. “Come on in. The gang’s all here.”
Everywhere I looked, children were running and playing, and Lake Paige music was blaring through the speakers.
As Dylan led us deeper into the room, two young boys darted in front of us with rushed sorrys as they blew by. We met Liv and Delia, whose tween daughters immediately guided my girls to the hairstylist who’d been hired for the occasion.
“Mom,” Greta yelled, holding up a champagne flute full of sparkling cider that a server had brought out on a tray. “Can I get hair tinsel?”
“Sure.” I gave her a thumbs-up as another server approached me with champagne.
Dylan, I learned, owned a chain of daycare centers. Liv ran the Boston Revs, and Delia was a prosecutor and philanthropist. Between them, they had something like ten kids. They clearly led busy lives, but the love and affection they shared was palpable instantly.
Dylan plied me with champagne and charcuterie, asking question after question about me and the kids. Every so often, she’d look at her brother pointedly, as if trying to tell me something.
Brian was across the room with a handful of men, talking about what I could only assume was baseball and empire building, given the folks involved.
In theory, these were the kind of people I avoided at all costs.
While I was married to Kenneth, I’d never fit in with the crowd of folks who owned corporations and sat on boards and owned helicopters.
They had always made me feel insignificant and small.
Like they could sniff out that I was a farm girl from Vermont and not one of them.
But this group could not be more different.
These women welcomed me with genuine smiles, and their children had been kind to mine from the first moment.
And there was no putting on of airs around here.
It was so unlike what I was used to. No showmanship, no one-upping. Just honest friendships and fun.
When a wave of emotion welled up inside me, coming dangerously close to spilling over, I excused myself to the bathroom.
After a couple of cleansing breaths, I recovered, and when I came back out, I detoured to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
I was there, soaking in the view, when I felt his presence.
“Having fun?”
I turned toward him, my eyes filling with tears. So much for collecting myself. “This is too much.”
He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. For several seconds, we stood like that, silently watching a plane land at Logan Airport across the harbor.
“Nothing is too much,” he said softly. “You’ll never be too much.”
The silence returned, a calm descending over us even with the chaos going on in the penthouse.
Despite how overwhelmed I was, I couldn’t deny just how perfect this felt.
I was definitely in love with this man. With his kindness and thoughtfulness and his heart. I’d been denying it and avoiding it for too long.
The timing could not be worse. Nothing could happen. But I could at least enjoy this perfect moment.