Page 111 of Slow Burn (The Boston Beauties)

‘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.

---