Chapter Thirty
Jesse
I decided to let Sebastian tell her. It wasn’t cowardly; I was being considerate.
After all, it might have been the drugs talking, and it was possible that the next day Sebastian wouldn’t remember any of it.
He might even freak out at the thought that he’d asked me to marry him—although I was going to kick his ass if he did.
I had no idea how it had happened, but Sebastian Wright had succeeded in doing what no one else ever had—he’d made me excited about the idea of marriage.
When I pushed open the doors to the waiting room, I was shocked to see Sue, Lily, Nikki, Ange, and Cam talking to Janine. Sue saw me first and rushed over to me.
“Honey, how are you doing? How is Sebastian?”
The girls hurried over and hovered over me like mother hens, hugging me, offering me food and drink, and bombarding me with questions. Cam was more reserved, but his restless eyes and clenched jaw betrayed his worry.
I managed to interrupt them long enough for a query of my own.
“What are you guys doing here?”
Janine cleared her throat, looking a little guilty.
“It’s my fault I’m afraid. A nurse brought me Sebastian’s things, including his phone.
Miraculously, it’s still intact—unlike my pig-headed baby brother.
” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, it kept ringing, and I answered it. It was Lily. She’d been trying to call you all day, and since you weren’t answering, she got worried and tried to call Sebastian. ”
Lily stepped forward. “Janine told me what happened, so I called the girls and asked them to meet me here. We had to be here for you and Sebastian.”
“How is he doing?” Cam spoke softly.
“He’s okay,” I said. “Well, not so great right now, but he’ll be fine.”
“And how are you doing?” Nikki asked, rubbing my shoulder. “Janine said you donated an impressive amount of blood for Sebastian. That can cause many side effects, including low blood pressure, nausea, and light-headedness.”
I took in her T-shirt, yoga pants, and house slippers. God bless her, she looked like she’d just rushed out of bed. So did Lily, Sue, and Cam. I had the best friends in the world.
“I know, my walking medical encyclopedia.” I squeezed Nikki’s hand. “I’m fine. After a night’s sleep I’ll be even better, and in a few days, my blood supply will be as good as new.”
“Do you need a ride home?” Ange stepped forward.
How the hell could she look this well put together all the time?
She noticed me staring at her tight red dress, black stilettos, and perfectly groomed shiny curls.
“I was on a dinner date when Lily called.” She smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry about that,” I said. “You didn’t need to come—”
“Shut up.” Sue planted her hands on her hips, forcing me to look down at her. “You should have called at least one of us, not try to go through this on your own.”
“I agree,” Cam put in, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “You should have called us right away.”
“I was a bit busy,” I said. “Besides, I didn’t want to worry you. Janine was here with me. She’s... pretty awesome.”
My gaze met Janine’s, and she smiled warmly, a kind of magical understanding passing between us. Tonight, we’d formed a bond.
“Sebastian’s looking good.” I spoke to Janine over Sue and Nikki’s heads. They always made me feel like a giraffe.
Janine nodded. The harsh fluorescent lighting emphasized the dark circles under her eyes. I probably looked just as bad.
“God, it’s been a long day.” I stifled a yawn. “Thanks so much for coming over, guys. I’m really sorry you were worried. Let’s just all go home. I have my truck, so I don’t need a ride. Just some sleep.”
“Go home, have something else to eat, and sleep.” Lily gave me another quick hug. “We’ve agreed to call the New York Blood Donor Center tomorrow and make an appointment to donate blood. You rest. Call us if you need anything: food, groceries, a functional ear…”
“Wine,” Sue suggested brightly.
“Chocolate,” Ange added promptly.
I raised an eyebrow. “You guys are amazing. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thank you for everything.”
I hooked an arm through Janine’s as we followed the others out of the room.
“Come on, I’ll give you a ride home,” I said.
“Are you sure? I can call a cab.”
“I’m very sure. Here, let me have that.”
I grabbed the bag with Sebastian’s clothes, ignoring the memory of the day I’d been handed my dad’s belongings, after his death. This wasn’t the same situation. Sebastian was alive and well. And he’d asked me to marry him.
I glanced at Janine from the corner of my eye as we walked along the corridor. Nope, I was not going to tell her. I needed to wrap my head around it first. Sebastian should be the one to break the news. Even after today, I was nervous about her reaction.
Once we were in my truck, I asked Janine for her address and tapped it into the GPS. It was in Midwood, a nice, quiet part of Brooklyn.
“I thought you lived closer to us— I mean, to Sebastian,” I said.
Janine leaned back in the passenger seat. Her tone was introspective.
“It’s our parents’ house; the home where Sebastian and I grew up.
I haven’t had the heart to sell it. In my mind, I associate our childhood home with our parents.
If I let go of the house, I’m afraid I’ll lose my memories of them.
This house was their dream. Silly, I know.
With a part-time job and their life insurance, I got myself and Sebastian through school, then college.
Sebastian had a scholarship—he was always brilliant. ”
I drove in silence. My reflexes were slow, so I was grateful that traffic was light.
“I’m sorry I judged you the way I did when we first met,” I said.
“I guess it’s human nature. My dad used to say there’s no shortcut to wisdom.
To achieve wisdom we need to live, experience pain, loss, gain, happiness, success.
.. He told me, ‘Jessica, as many things as I can tell you in words, you’ll never understand until you learn your own life lessons.
’” I smiled at the memory. “Boy, was he right. Life can crush you, crumple you, humble you like nothing else can. I wish I hadn’t gone through all of this before learning to have more respect and understanding for people—you in particular.
You’re the reason Sebastian is the incredible man that he is today. ”
She sighed softly. “Thanks for saying that, Jesse. Your father was a wise man. Sebastian told me about him. He liked him very much.”
I swallowed. “I know. I wish… I wish my dad had had more time with us. I wish he’d known that Sebastian and I would…”
“Fall in love?”
“Yeah. And I wish he could’ve met you, too.”
As I stopped at a red light, I glanced at her.
She looked down at her hands. “That would have been nice. My parents would have liked you, too. You’re good for Sebastian. You challenge him, keep him on his toes, and take care of him… You two are a perfect match.”
I chuckled. “One of those matches that sets things on fire?”
She laughed. “That, too, but it’s not a bad thing. You need fire in a relationship to make it last. I’ve never found that with a man, at least not yet. Maybe I’m too much to handle.”
“Don’t ever think that. If you haven’t yet met the right man, that’s not your fault. You’re a rare person, and it’ll take a rare man to make you happy. He’s out there, somewhere. Maybe where you least expect him.”
She scoffed. “Like right next door?”
I shrugged. “It’s always a possibility.”
“Well, there’s this guy who moved into the neighborhood a few weeks back.” Her tone was a mix of casual and playful. “I can’t say I hate the way he looks shirtless when he works on restoring the house he bought.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Do tell me more.”
“I don’t know much. We’ve never spoken. I’m usually rushing out the door and straight into my car. It’s been years since I’ve had an opportunity to talk to a neighbor. I just notice the new guy when I drive back from the office.”
“Then you have to create the opportunity to talk to him. Take a walk one of these days, say hi, introduce yourself… Maybe offer him a glass of cold lemonade?”
She gave me a dry look. “Does that sound like something I’d do? Would it be something you would do?”
I giggled. “No. And no.”
“You picked up my brother by fixing his door.”
“First of all, I didn’t pick him up. And secondly, do you know how to fix stuff? Because if you do, the problem is as good as solved. Just offer to help him with whatever he’s doing. And if you don’t know how, I can teach you.”
She waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll think about it. I’m not looking for a relationship right now. But you and I have something more important to discuss. Tell me exactly what happened with your employer today—in detail.”
I blinked forcefully to clear my vision. I was exhausted, and it was hard to focus. I did my best to recount the day’s events, starting with the moment Ben cleared his throat, until after I drove off in my truck.
Janine listened carefully.
When I finished, she shook her head. “You can’t let this go. It’s unacceptable.”
“What can I do? He didn’t actually assault me, or do anything that could be taken seriously. He never even touched me. On the contrary, he can claim that I assaulted him. How can I prove otherwise?”
She clenched her jaw, tapping her foot on the car floor.
“I’m sure he would have done more if you hadn’t fought back.
But you’re right, it wouldn’t be much of a court case, a matter of ‘he said, she said’.
” An edge laced her words, each syllable sharpened with a subtle irritation that lingered in the air.
“Don’t think about it anymore, at least not tonight. You need rest.”
I couldn’t argue. I could sleep standing up if I had to.
“Thank you, Janine. Do you know how long he’ll be in the hospital?”
“The doctor said it depends on how quickly he heals, but at least a week.”
Panic shook me at the thought of Sebastian not sleeping in our bed for a week.