Page 80 of Slow Burn (The Boston Beauties)

After a week of this I had no choice but to reach out to Breton. I questioned if Jessa was simply ignoring me, and I wasn’t sure if Breton could answer me, but if anyone could, it was him.

It was very early in the morning when my phone rang. The caller ID showed PRIVATE, which was a clear giveaway that it was Breton calling me back. I had left him a message early yesterday, knowing that he was out of London and that his schedule didn’t allow for much private downtime when he was out on a mission.

‘Hey,’ I answered the phone, not even trying to disguise the fact that I had just woken up.

‘What’s up?’ Breton’s voice beamed from the other end of the phone line; he’d clearly been up for a while.

‘Is everything ok with Jessa?’ I asked, not even trying to beat around the bush.

I could hear him take a deep breath. ‘Honestly, I have no idea,’ he confessed. ‘When I left the first time it was just for a few days, she was fine, but whenever I talk to her now, it’s like she’s acting all weird, faking her interactions with me, but she can’t bullshit me.’

‘Should I fly to her?’

‘I don’t think so. Her mom will be back in a few days and they are meeting up with Zoe. Besides, it’s only another two weeks anyways.’

I paused before I asked my next question. It has been weighing heavy on my mind over the past few days. ‘Do you think she’s met someone else?’

‘I don’t see why she’d want to make friends now, when she hasn’t wanted to in the past, knowing she’s going home soon.’

For as smart as this guy was, he was socially daft sometimes. ‘No, you idiot, do you think she’s met another guy?’

I heard him laugh on the other end of the line. ‘No, not Jessa. She was ready to risk it all to get back to you so many times. She’d never cheat.’

‘That’s not true…’ I said in a low voice.

‘Naw, it’s not her.’

‘It is, though, I know firsthand.’

She had cheated on her ex-fiancé with me, so I knew she was capable of it.

‘That’s different. She loved you and while technically still engaged, that relationship was over long before you even arrived on the scene.’ I heard the anger in his voice. He had always been protective of his cousin, who was as close as a sister to him. Even though we were close as best friends, I would always come second to Jessa. And I was fine with that because I knew I could always count on him to tell me the truth.

‘I just can’t deal with the silent treatment,’ I whined.

‘Listen, she’s probably just stressed out about returning home and the uncertainty of her future or not feeling good or on her period or some shit. She’s not with another guy,’ he tried to assure me. It didn’t fully placate me, but he did talk me off the ledge slightly.

A few days later, he sent me a text.

BRETON:She’s totally not with anyone else. I hacked into her phone, it’s you, me, her mom, Abby and sometimes she orders food. Plus, her mom says she hardly leaves her room. She’s at the gym in the complex about the same amount of time, sleeping more.

BRETON:I asked why she’s ignoring everyone, trust me, it’s not just you. She said she wanted her own space as she wasn’t going to have it soon. So I think she’s really stressing about her return.

I appreciated Breton speaking to Jessa, but I wished it was her telling me these things.

Even now as I was heading to see her, it was hard to sit still. I couldn’t wait any longer to be with her again. This had gotten so bad between us last week that I had to ask her point blank if our plans for the weekend were still on.

Thirty days since I last saw Jessa, and one more flight was all that stood in the way of being back with her for good.

I was sitting in the plane with Abby, Colleen’s parents, waiting for Steve to arrive along with Amber and Deb.

Abby and I were making small talk but avoided any talk of Jessa until we were in the air and the flight attendant was sequestered away for our privacy.

Amber still didn’t know about Jessa, but would soon find out. Jessa’s grandparents found out at Christmas when she had been back.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. ‘Breton’s just landed in Vegas,’ I told her, as Steve entered the plane looking at Abby and me.

‘Hello,’ he greeted us, taking a place next to me on one of the sofas as Amber walked on, holding a small carry-on and her purse.

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