Slow Burn (Boston Beauties #2)

by Dawn Edwards

‘Jessa, I do have some good news,’ Abby looked to me with a huge smile on her face. ‘The DA is not pursuing any charges against you, however, Matt—or rather, Justin—and his sister have been charged. After much back and forth, she has pleaded guilty, as has Matt, to the lesser charges of fraud. He’s asked for a sit-down with you, but I declined on your behalf.’

  ‘Thank you. And their brother?’

  ‘The Justice Department is still working on the extradition paperwork to try him here.’ She had a wicked grin. ‘Rest assured that foreign prisons are nothing like ours, he is truly suffering where he is at the moment. The paperwork will come through eventually, but I take a little satisfaction knowing that every day it is delayed, he’s miserable.’

  ‘Thanks, Abby.’ I squeezed her hand. ‘So, I’m free?’

  ‘As a bird.’

  I looked to Drew, who, for the first time looked to me with hope back in his eyes.

  ‘You can now go about living your life again,’ he said with an encouraging smile.

  ‘It’s our life, we’re in this together,’ I reminded him with a wink. He was stuck with me.

  ‘Always, cupcake.’ He leaned in and kissed me.

  EPILOGUE

  JESSA

  A year and a half later

  ‘It’s hotter than balls,’ Drew complained as we walked out of the airport into the awaiting Uber. ‘Remind me why she insisted on having the birthday party in the desert, in the middle of summer?’

  ‘You know Zoe, always looking for a reason for a good time. This certainly is one.’ I said overly enthusiastically, scooting next to him in the SUV as the driver put our bags in the trunk.

  Drew wasn’t very excited to be leaving work during the busiest time of the year for him. He was also worried about my emotions. It had been over a year since we lost our baby girl, and while we both handled it in our own ways, through it all, the constant was that we were there for one another during the hard days and celebrated the wins in our life over the past year—both big and small.

  I was in a dark place when I left the hospital after being kidnapped and losing our baby last year. But I worked my way out of that mindset with the help of my therapist and the love and unconditional support of Drew, my family and friends.

  I can’t lie, some of my hardest days were early on, and just when I was starting to come out of my fog, Zoe confided in me her unexpected news.

  ‘I need a shower.’ Drew wiped his head as we walked into our hotel suite.

  It was hot, but at least it wasn’t humid. One of the benefits of being in the desert: my hair was going to look good for a change.

  ‘How about we get a bit dirty first?’ I whispered into my husband’s ear, nibbling on it.

  He cupped my ass and pulled me into him. ‘Like you ever have to ask.’

  After the miscarriage last year, it was slow building up our physical relationship back to where it had been. We were both dealing with our loss; I had physical pain and a mountain of mental issues to work through after the trauma of my ordeal.

  However, we eventually found our groove, and for the past few months, it had been off the charts once again. I loved this man and showed him every chance we got.

  After Abby gave me the all-clear on the legal front, I dove right into getting my business off the ground, for which Drew and my family were no less than 110 percent supportive. I was starting small; I had a studio and an office in Boston that was serving as the base of the business for the past year. For the past few months, we had been offering services on the Cape for the summer. We had a property that we were renovating on the north shore that would offer resort-like accommodation and inpatient programming, similar to what I had down in Australia. If we stuck to our timelines, we would open in December, for the New Year’s rush.

  We lived in our Cape house year-round, but I did spend a couple of nights a week in the city at my parents’ house. Sometimes Drew joined me, sometimes he was too busy with his own business. We made it work.

  I looked back at how far we’d come over the past few years, especially how stronger we were as husband and wife from last year, and couldn’t help but think how awesome our life together really was.

  I had an amazing family, the best friends in the world, and the job that I truly loved. I found my calling and was surrounding myself with like-minded people who wanted to see the business grow and were passionate about the work we did. My family were not the only supportive people when it came to my business. Zoe, her sister Lana, and Amber had all pitched in with PR, marketing, and helping with HR, being nothing short of awesome.

  I had an incredible office manager, Penny, who took a lot off my plate so I could focus on personal coaching and growing the business. She had an assistant, who I wasn’t totally sold on yet, but time would tell.

  Prya was the nutritionist I hired and was literally one of the best people I had ever met. From day one, I wanted to be her friend, and we hit things off straight away, both personally and professionally. She was in high demand, and I was thinking of hiring a second nutritionist.

  Breton’s friend Leah moved back to the area earlier in the spring, and I managed to snag her for a few days a week, as she was contracted two days a week at the local VA working as an occupational therapist. I didn’t have the need for this at the moment, but her personal training, especially in leading yoga classes, was where her skill set was most valued to me. I did need another personal trainer and physiotherapist, and I knew just who I wanted for it—it was the other reason for our late summer trip, and likely the real reason Drew was grumpy.

  I hadn’t kept in touch with Marcus as much as I should have, but from time to time, he would email me to check in on me, and through Breton, I’d been keeping tabs on him too.

  Breton arranged so that he ‘won’ a trip to America to see a sporting event. And by won, I mean Breton had sent him so many email and ads to his Facebook that he was bound to click one eventually.

  Whenever I spoke about him, Drew got a bit jealous. He’d never admit it, but all the signs were there, even after all the conversations I had to assure him that Marcus and I were only friends and that nothing had ever happened between the two of us.

  Still, Drew saw pictures of him and was confident enough in his own sexuality to admit that Marcus was a good-looking guy—he wasn’t wrong, but in my eyes, no one ever came close to my husband.

  ‘Are you trying to butter me up so I won’t snap at your Aussie later?’ Drew asked me as we were showering after an intense lovemaking session that lasted two rounds.

  ‘Is it working?’ I smirked at him, as I rubbed my backside into him.

  ‘If I get hard again, we’re not making it out of this room tonight.’ He reached around to pinch my nipple.

  ‘Save it for later, we are on a mission.’ I swatted his hand away.

  ‘You mean you are on a mission, there’s no we here.’

  I turned to face him. ‘That’s where you are mistaken. Marcus is bi-sexual, I need you as eye-candy too.’

  Drew shook his head as he stood under the water to rinse the shampoo from his hair.

  An hour later, I was in a sexy black number with red heels and my hair falling down my back in loose waves. Drew was casual in a pair of dark jeans, a white collared shirt with the sleeves folded, and a pair of brown deck shoes.

  ‘There he is,’ I said to Drew, pointing to Marcus sitting at the bar looking over a menu. His hair was shorter than it had been back at the resort and he wore a collared shirt, something I only saw him in a handful of times, and only when we headed out to clubs.

  Drew and I walked around until we were standing behind Marcus, ‘I hear the onion rings are fight worthy.’

  He turned around, and it took only a second for the realization to cross his face, ‘Sarah?’ he questioned, standing to give me a hug.

  When he pulled back, he looked me over and then looked to Drew, who had moved in closer to me, placing his hand on my lower back in a possessive way.

 
‘Actually, my name is Jessa,’ I smiled.

  ‘I knew Sarah wasn’t your real name,’ he snapped his fingers.

  ‘And this is my husband, Drew.’ I turned to look up at Drew, who was gracious enough to extend his hand to Marcus.

  ‘Ahh, this is the guy you were pining after, isn't it?’

  I looked up to see the smile cross Drew’s face. ‘Yeah, he was worth it in the end after all,’ I said.

  ‘Congrats,’ Marcus said before being cut off by the dealer.

  ‘Sir, are you ready to order?’ the older male bartender asked.

  Marcus turned around, handing him back the menu. ‘No, I’m good, sorry.’

  ‘Are you guys busy, can we get a drink and catch up?’ he asked.

  ‘We’d love to,’ Drew replied as I took his hand and squeezed it in thanks.

  We made our way to the bar and got a booth, where I ordered a pitcher of ice tea and a few appetizers to share, as Drew and I hadn't had a chance to eat dinner yet due to our prolonged extracurricular activities.

  ‘Do you live here or are you really from Bermuda?’

  I laughed, but it was Drew who answered for us. ‘No, I’m from England, obviously,’ he pointed to his mouth, ‘but she’s from Boston, we live near there.’

  Marcus smiled. ‘That’s awesome, small world I’d run into you,.’

  I shook my head. ‘No, coincidence at all, we came here to see you.’

  He looked at both of us wide-eyed. ‘W...Why?’

  ‘I need you to sign some documentation for your work visa,’ I informed him as the server delivered the pitcher of sangria.

  ‘Your food will be out soon,’ she said before walking away to her next table.

  He was looking at us, not really sure what to say. I was playing casual, as if I’d just asked him to point out where the washrooms were.

  ‘My work visa, for what?’ he was confused and rightly so.

  ‘I want you to come work for me,’ I said, taking a sip of the drink Drew just poured for me. ‘You said you wanted to get out of Australia for a while. At the time you had no ties, and from what I can tell, you don’t have any ties other than an old car you need to sell and a lease on a shitty apartment that will end in a few months.’

  He looked at Drew, ‘Is she on something?’

  Drew shook his head with a knowing smile; he was used to me getting pushy when it came to getting what I wanted with my business. ‘Nope, this is business-Jessa, get used to it.’

  Marcus took a drink and thought about it for a moment. ‘Sure, why the hell not.’

  ‘Don’t you want to know what she does?’ Drew asked with a raised eyebrow.

  ‘Clearly, it’s something she’s passionate enough about to fly out to ask me in person. And if she’s that passionate, it has to do with my career, because she would only want to have the best, am I right?’

  ‘You are,’ I smiled taking another drink.

  ‘So what services do you require of me? Physiotherapy, personal training or male escort.’

  ‘What?’ Drew nearly spit his drink out.

  ‘Relax; I’m just kidding on one of them.’

  ‘Best be the last one.’

  I hit Drew playfully. ‘You know he is, Brett would have caught it otherwise.’

  ‘Caught what?’

  ‘My cousin did a background check on you, to make sure you’re legit.’ I raised my glass, but not before catching the shock roll across his face. ‘To moving forward.’

  They raised their glasses and repeated, ‘To moving forward.’

  We ate the food I’d ordered, drank, and chatted for a few hours. Marcus looked down to his watch when he yawned. I was sure the time change was still kicking his ass. ‘Do you guys have plans for tomorrow?’

  ‘A kid’s birthday party. Do we know how to live it up or what?’ Drew joked.

  ‘Stop it,’ I playfully tapped his leg. ‘One of my best friends had a baby girl last year and tomorrow she turns one, so we’re all here to celebrate.’

  ‘Leave it to Zoe to plan an over-the-top first birthday party for her daughter.’

  It had been a hard year for Zoe also. She had hidden her pregnancy from me for as long as she could to protect my feelings after my miscarriage, until she had to publicly withdraw from the Olympics. Not only that, she had to find out who the father was and uprooted her life to co-parent. On top of that, she switched from being career driven to adjusting to motherhood.

  I looked down to my barley noticeable bump, thinking that this time next year I’d be in the same boat as her. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to tell all our friends at the party.

  ‘You should come,’ Drew offered. ‘A bunch of our friends from Boston will be there.’

  He nodded, thinking it over. 'Is Zoe the partier or the do-gooder?'

  'Not so much of a partier these days as she's busy being a mommy, but the do-gooder, Amber, is dating a rock star, so a bit of a role reversal.’

  'And you?' he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  'I'm happily married, so all is perfect in my world.'

  The End

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for reading, Slow Burn. As an independent author, I’d appreciate you leaving a review, it helps others find my books and I always love hearing what people have to say.

  Want to know what antics Zoe gets up to and who her baby daddy is? Look out for Red Hot, releasing soon.

  I would love to keep in touch, like and follow me on my socials for giveaways, contests and updates on my next releases.

  GoodReads

  Facebook author page

  Instagram

  Bookbub

  Warm Regards,

  Dawn