Fever Pitch (Boston Beauties #1)

by Dawn Edwards

  I don’t know why I called her cupcake that first night in their Boston kitchen, it just popped into my head and stuck.

  She seemed to like my choice, classic vanilla, but I couldn’t read the look on her face, and it was killing me not knowing her well enough to know what was going through that complicated mind of hers. So I took out my phone, looked at the time and sent her a quick text message. Thankfully, she had her phone on vibrate, and it wasn’t so obvious.

  When she looked down at her phone, I didn’t get much more from her, she just covered her smiling mouth and proceeded to look at the TV for an extended amount of time. I was happy to have brought a smile to her face, it had been far too long since I’d seen her smile. I didn’t think that it was just around me she was down, I figured it was all the time, and there was something seriously wrong with my poor girl.

  There I went again, referring to her as my girl. Boss’s daughter, boss’s daughter…I was going to get fired before I even had a chance to get my plans approved, let alone transform the grounds and exterior.

  After the game, Mr. Cahill, or rather Steve as he asked me to call him, reminded me to keep Saturday and potentially even Monday nights free for the hockey game. Earlier, I had just presumed he was being nice, in the moment, but now it appeared that he really did want to bring me to a game.

  As I thanked him and Colleen again for the meal and the company this evening, and Deb for the cupcakes and conversation, I noticed that Jessa and Breton weren’t around.

  ‘Good night,’ I waved to everyone, walking to the back of the house where I had come in and taken off my shoes earlier.

  I heard muffled voices, ‘...but can you just pretend to carry on with him, just until I know what it is I’m looking for or who I’m dealing with?’ It was Breton speaking.

  ‘I can’t keep it up forever,’ Jessa responded in a nearly panicked voice.

  Who was she supposed to be carrying on with?

  ‘I know, but at least you are out here, farther away from him for most of the week...Just a bit longer.’ Breton was trying to reassure her of something, was he trying to keep her from Matt?

  If she was out here, away from him, did that mean she was actively trying to keep her distance from Matt? Had he done something to her? I swore, if he hurt her, it would be the last thing he did.

  ‘I’ve been pretending to love him for a while now, what’s a bit longer? But B, please hurry up, I want out, the bastard makes my skin crawl.’ Her voice was low and resigned.

  Pretending to love him. Was that Matt? Fake relationship? Weren’t they engaged? If so, I was encouraged by the fact that he made her skin crawl.

  ‘Not much longer, trust me,’ Breton told her.

  ‘Okay.’ She sighed, letting out a breath loud enough for me to hear.

  A floorboard creaked, and they both looked up to me, panic crossing their faces, and I knew I shouldn’t have overheard what I just had. ‘I didn’t hear a thing,’ I lied, bending over to gather my shoes, walking out the back door, and closing it behind me before I could even put my shoes on.

  I was so conflicted about my feelings. I’d never been so captivated by a female before. Not even my ex, who I’d been with for over two years.

  Jessa was my boss’s daughter, but I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. She was a rich socialite type, but that meant nothing because I couldn’t get her off my mind. She wasn’t my typical type, but yet my eyes followed her, watched her, wanting to see more, to figure her out, to know her—as I had a feeling very few people actually did. Her eyes and smile were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen; and that ass!

  Fuck, just thinking about that ass had my dick springing to life.

  It was the first night I was spending in the semi-finished, loft-style apartment above the garage off the driveway. I stripped down to my boxers and slipped on a hoodie and sweatpants as the loft was chilly, and I didn't know what to expect tonight.

  I had a new message on my phone when I came back from washing up in the bathroom, she was finally answering my text from earlier.

  DREW: That smirk is killing me, I’d love to know what ur thinking.

  JESSA: I couldn’t help but think you would be anything but vanilla ;)

  I was surprised by her reply. I thought for sure she would have said something about her conversation with Breton or call me out on the fact that I lied about overhearing them.

  DREW: So ur thinking of me and my not so vanilla-ness?

  I wish I was in view of her, to see the blush on her cheeks. My dick was fully erect, pleading with me to pay it the attention it clearly needed.

  JESSA: No comment.

  DREW: That’s a cop-out excuse!

  JESSA: Does it matter what I think?

  DREW: Yes, to me it absolutely does.

  Her words about a fake relationship and not wanting to continue were on repeat in my head. If it wasn’t real with Matt, if she had been faking it for a while, did it mean I may have a chance with her?

  JESSA: :)

  JESSA: good, then I’ll just keep my imagination running wild.

  DREW: buck wild, cupcake!

  JESSA: Good night Andrew!!!

  DREW: One question. Are you smiling?

  JESSA: I am now

  DREW: Good, that’s all I want. Sweet dreams, cupcake xx

  Chapter 10

  DREW

  I SAT UP WHEN I HEARD a knock on the door downstairs. It surprised me. No one ever came in here, and even if they did, it was never at night.

  ‘Hello?’ I heard a familiar female voice and the creaking of the side door opening. I stood up and took a clean t-shirt from the pile on my desk and paused the show I’d been streaming on my laptop.

  The apartment over the garage wasn’t much, but it was dry, clean and, best of all, free. I had been mortified when I found out Breton had mentioned to his uncle that I was planning on commuting back and forth every day from Boston as I couldn’t find accommodations close to the house that I could afford. It was the summertime on Cape Cod, rentals were at an all-time high, and hotels hard to come by, even if Steve wanted to continue to rent me a room, as he had done a few times during the spring. Breton suggested that I stay with him and his mother in the spare room, which really was an office with a futon. I was considering it, but before I could get back to him, Steve insisted that I stay in the apartment and apologized to me for not thinking of it sooner. The man really was a saint.

  I was free to use the kitchen and laundry room in the house and join them for meals, but even after a few weeks it still wasn’t something I was entirely comfortable in doing. I’d go when specifically invited by either Steve or Colleen. A few times I’d gone in to use the kitchen or laundry with the housekeeper’s permission when I knew the family would be out, and I was rather handy with a microwave from my university days.

  I pulled my shirt over my head as I walked down the stairs where I saw Jessa entering the garage. As I laid in bed after texting her last week, I knew I was playing with fire and crossing a line that I shouldn’t for both professional and moral reasons. She was engaged, and even if it might not be a great situation, I wasn’t going to be the reason that made her position harder. Then there was my professional reputation that I was trying to build. I’d just secured this massive, well-paying job that could really open so many doors for me, literally paving my path to a sustainable career. Pursuing her, or even just flirting, wasn’t the smartest thing. Because even I recognised this early on that it wasn’t innocent. I felt something with her, but I was too afraid to even broach the subject for fear she felt it too.

  Texting with her after dinner last week was the last real private exchange I’d had with her. That was almost a week ago. All weekend she had been busy. Saturday morning and afternoon, she was with her mother at some event, and then drove into Boston with her father, Breton and me; she dropped us off at the arena then went to hang out with her fiancé Matt while we watched the game. Afterwards, she picked us up and sat inches
away from me in the back seat but didn’t say anything or even glance my way. This only led to me being confused as to how to act around her. It was uncharted territory for me.

  I wasn’t a proud man, and I didn’t think I had a big ego, but it bothered me that she was keeping her distance from me when I wanted nothing more than to get closer to her and get to know her better, to ask her what was wrong, find out what was bothering her, if it was me and how I could fix it.

  But maybe she had figured it out before I did, so I did what I thought was best; kept my distance and hoped the chemistry would fizzle out. There were too many unknown consequences, and at this point, I couldn’t risk the complications.

  I was surprised to see her, and this must have been evident from the look on my face as she answered the question on my lips.

  ‘I need a hammer and a screwdriver.’ This was humorous to me, and I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face. I just couldn’t imagine her fixing anything. ‘I just went to Ikea and have two shelves to put together.’

  Well, this would be interesting; I couldn’t imagine her using tools, let alone putting the shelf together. I walked over to the bench where I kept all my tools.

  ‘What kind of screwdriver?’ I asked her, looking over my shoulder.

  She looked confused and shrugged. ‘I didn’t know there were different types.’ I laughed at her in an adorable kind of way and saw that perfect blush light up her cheeks.

  Fuck me, I always felt a pull in my groin with this chick. Even when I thought she was pissed off at me, that magnetic pull was there

  Boss’s daughter, engaged boss’s daughter. It was my mantra I kept trying to tell myself.

  ‘Well, seeing as it’s Ikea, they typically only require Phillips,’ I took a few different sizes of Phillip’s screwdrivers and a hammer and handed them to her one by one. ‘Small, medium, large.’ She looked as if she had no clue as to what I was talking about. ‘And the hammer.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she smiled at me. I looked back into the toolbox, moving some things around, looking for a particular tool. ‘I’ll return them in the morning,’ she told me.

  ‘No problem,’ I told her, finding one of the Allen keys I had been looking for.

  ‘Bret still around?’ she asked. I didn’t know if she was trying to make small talk with me or not. Clearly, it was dark out, I was showered and no longer in my work clothing.

  ‘No, he left a few hours ago, drove into the city, had some school stuff tomorrow and is staying for the weekend,’ I told her, short with her and not making eye contact, still rummaging through the toolbox. I needed to try harder to keep myself in check. I felt too much of a pull towards her, and I needed to concentrate on my job and let her work out her shit with her fiancé. She clearly had enough to deal with, my horniness and feelings didn’t need to be a part of it.

  I could see her from my peripheral vision, nodding and looking at the ground. As she started to walk away, she turned on her heel. Unable to look at me, she asked, ‘Did I do something to personally offend you?’ Her voice cracked with fear of confrontation.

  I looked at her, surprised at the question. I shook my head. ‘No.’

  ‘So why does it suddenly seem as if you don’t like me then?’ Her voice cracked again. ‘You used to be all nice and smiling with me. I don’t think I was imagining you flirting with me after family dinner a few weeks ago in Boston, and I have the text messages from last week…yet now you’re...you’re just…’

  She didn’t finish. ‘I’m just what?’

  ‘You are just like everyone else who sees past me, or just sees my father through me.’

  I didn’t have an answer. I couldn’t very well tell her that she did things to me, made me feel things, by just looking at her. That it was literally painful to be around her on account of the blue balls. It was inexcusable, and I had no reason for it. She wasn’t even my typical type, but I sure as hell wasn’t telling her that, I didn’t want to hurt her. She was wrong, I saw only her, because of her father it was probably best if I did keep my distance, because she had a point, sort of. Her father did factor into this equation.

  I needed to be diplomatic. ‘I’m sorry I have given you that impression. But to be fair, I’ve been trying to talk to you, you are the one who was ignoring me on the weekend, so I’m just giving you the space I thought you wanted. It’s not that I don’t like you, far from it, I thought that I made it clear.’

  She looked to me, relief spreading across her face. ‘I couldn’t really tell, I mean, yeah, the flirting was obvious, but you know…uhhh…I’ve been so lost in my own headspace and miserable lately, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what I’m imagining in my head. It just seemed like you were getting on with Brett and my parents so well, and maybe just forcing the conversation with me. Sorry, it seemed like I was ignoring you, maybe I was, I’ve had a lot to think about, maybe I did need the space…fuck, I don’t know. I should stop talking.’ She giggled and took a big breath.

  My girl was back. Flustered and blushing.

  I hadn’t been all that observant, and now I felt like shit for obviously alienating her, making her feel bad like she did something wrong.

  Brett and I worked together and hung out in the evenings if he was around. Steve and I often spoke, and I often joined him and Brett to watch some sports.

  Colleen was hands down the sweetest woman I had ever met. Very loving, motherly, intelligent and patient; we surprisingly had a lot in common. When she was free, we spoke a lot about design and about life in general. Similarly with Steve, he was a great sounding board and a role model for how I wanted to grow as a businessman.

  Jessa was right and observant, I did spend time with her family, so I got where it appeared I was being dismissive to her.

  I flashed Jessa a smile, the best I could form from my overriding guilt. The poor girl looked as if worrying about me liking her was the last thing she needed.

  I should have texted her this week, checked in on her. But after the way she ignored me, I figured it would have been unwelcomed. Looking back, it was obvious that she had been withdrawn and needed someone. Could that someone be me?

  No better time to find out, as at that moment I saw a different girl, a sad, vulnerable one. ‘No, Jessa. It’s not that I dislike you, but I want to get to know you better, to understand you and be the person you need, to build you up and help stop the pain you are clearly going through.’ It was true, every word I just said. She looked broken and sad.

  I believed that underneath all the hurt and vulnerabilities there was a strong woman who was battling against the tide. And when she won her battle, she was going to rise and rule her own life, like the way she had been ruling my thoughts for months now.

  She was confident in her own right but needed assurances to bolster her own convictions.

  From the moment I first met her, I had been fascinated to know more about her. ‘And no, you weren’t imagining me flirting with you, but I’m sorry I did, it was wrong, I know you’re engaged.’

  She huffed out a breath as if my words pained her, and I couldn’t help but replay the conversation I had heard her and Breton having last week. If it was indeed about Matt, then I knew their days were numbered, and she didn’t want to be engaged to him any longer. As much as I was banking on it, I also didn’t want to just be a rebound, or worse, the other guy on the side. I handed her another tool. ‘Here’s an Allen key, Ikea sometimes requires one.’

  ‘Allen key?’ she asked, confused, looking at it in her hand. ‘Hardly looks like a key,’ she said seriously, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her.

  ‘What do you call it then?’

  ‘I don’t know, I’ve never had to call it anything, but I’d have called it an L-shaped thingy.’

  ‘L-shaped thingy?’ I repeated, laughing. ‘Shall I give you some help putting them together then?’ I offered. ‘I’ll even bring my own L-shaped thingy.’ I held another one up and waved it around in the air.

  She
looked to me. ‘Oh, that’s ok, you’re off for the night and you’ve already been working all day.’

  I walked over to her, putting my arm around her shoulder in a friendly way, happy that she allowed the physical contact, as I led her out the door. ‘Jessa, it’s not part of my job, I’m just offering to be nice. You’re talking to me again, you really think I’m going to pass up the chance to spend some time with you?’

  ‘I think you’re just starved for some human interaction,’ she joked at my solitude over the past few weeks.

  ‘You are not wrong there, cupcake.’

  She looked up to me with appreciation and a smile at the use of my nickname for her. She had kind eyes and seemed to be thankful for the offer. ‘I could use some help carrying the boxes up to my room if you don’t mind.’

  ‘Not at all,’ I replied. ‘Lead the way.’

  I followed her to her car and was able to carry the two boxes into the house. I put one at the bottom of the stairs then followed her up to her room. I placed the first box in her room and looked around to find it was neat and tidy, but a bit more lived in since the last time I’d been up here.

  As I walked out to get the other, I saw a door half ajar. ‘Whose room is that?’

  ‘Um…that was Josh’s room,’ she said in a low voice.

  I knew I was overstepping, picking up on how she said was, as in past tense. No one had mentioned him yet, but I had to ask. ‘He’s the one in all the pictures downstairs?’

  She nodded as I walked to the end of the hallway; it was clear she wasn’t going to discuss it any further, and I wasn’t about to push it.

  ‘I’m just going to get the other box,’ I told her.

  ‘Alright.’ She smiled; she had such a beautiful smile, it was what got me on day one and was still getting me now. ‘I need to change, so just knock when you get back,’ she informed me with a shy smile and closed her door behind her.