Slow Burn (Boston Beauties #2) Read online

  ‘Meet me at noon at the pier beach. I don’t think it’s a good idea to meet at the house.’ I hung my head, that wasn’t a great sign. The fact that she didn’t want anyone to see us together wasn’t all that promising. But I was choosing to look at the positive—she agreed to see me.

  ‘See you then,’ I told her and hung up, handing my sister back her phone.

  ‘You can wipe that smile off your face right now,’ Jules rolled her eyes. ‘That means nothing, maybe she wants to see you to end things once and for all.’

  ‘Fuck.’ I ran my fingers through my hair, I hadn’t thought of that. ‘So, what do I do?’

  ‘Convince her not to cancel the wedding, if she hasn’t already, and then we need to come up with some grand gesture.’

  ‘Like what?’ I asked my sister, who loved planning things. It was her obsessive addiction to shows like The Bachelor that inspired her to plan elaborate dates, and she just might be the reason I hooked Jessa in the first place.

  Over the next hour, we discussed what Jessa liked and disliked. Whatever we planned, it couldn’t be public, and it would have to be quick, personal and away from the influence of her family and friends. She had told me to leave it with her to plan, so that’s what I did, while I focused on meeting with Jessa on Friday and putting my pride aside so as to not lose her for good.

  CHAPTER 2

  MATT

  My meeting with Jessa yesterday went a hell of a lot better than I thought it would.

  She showed up late, but I didn’t call her out on it, as I normally would have. I can tell she’s still hesitant and a bit untrusting of my motives and me, so I had to ditch my manipulating ways for the time being. I needed to win her back with the tactics I used the first time around.

  There were some tense moments, especially when she brought up the prenup. In addition, the bravery she demonstrated on the phone wasn’t just a one-time thing; she wasn’t shy about speaking to me in ways I hadn’t seen in a long time. She wasn’t docile, and this might prove a bigger problem for me. She was a lot bolder than she had been just a few short weeks ago. I turned on the charm and eventually turned the meeting around with a nice dinner and a confirmation that the wedding was indeed still on.

  I was in my office, waiting for my sister to finish with opening the salon to tell her about my meeting with Jessa yesterday and to discuss the plan she had come up with for my grand gesture that I apparently needed to go through with.

  The truth was, Jessa was a sweet girl. She was nice and thoughtful. Admittedly, I wasn’t attracted to her physically; this was especially true in the beginning. She was overweight, had short brown hair, and dressed in a classic, conservative way. With my influence, she grew her hair out from her neat bob, colored it blonde, and accepted my gift last year for a boob job and new clothes to show off her new features. When she tried, she managed to look decent, despite not having my ideal body type.

  In the beginning, even knowing it was a con, I had started to actually like her. It was hard not to, she was so thoughtful, and I couldn’t knock her personality, sweet, funny, loyal, agreeable and easy to be around. She really grew on me in the first few months after I moved to Boston.

  She loved me in a way that no one else ever had, not even my family. Perhaps my mother had, but she died on me too young, so that I didn’t really have memories of her. My father had never been the caring type, and my older siblings were too angry at the family circumstances and were just as caught up as my father was in plotting revenge.

  When my siblings saw me getting too involved with Jessa, they didn’t hesitate to remind me of our mission, not so subtly. I think they were jealous of our connection, and they didn’t want me to turn on them and fully commit to my relationship with Jessa, and not just play my part in the con. If the thought had crossed my mind, I was sure it had crossed their mind also. There could be no slip-ups. Jessa was a key to seeking that revenge they wanted so much, especially after Josh’s death.

  My father spent years and years planning his revenge, but he died before he could carry out his master plan, so now my siblings were putting his plans into motion, and I was brought along for the ride as a not-so-willing participant. While I was in school, focusing on my studies, my father was teaching them all the tricks of his new trade. As such, before I had finished high school, my older siblings were seasoned con artists, learning from our dear old dad.

  It had all been a part of our father’s plan to get back at the Cahill family. To see them in the same ruins as they had left our family in.

  My father was no saint, he had his faults, but everything he did, he did for his family, whether his actions were right or wrong, moral or immoral.

  After a stint in the Air Force as a pilot, my father took a job flying small planes regionally, working out of the small Hyannis, Massachusetts airport. It was there that he met Jessa’s father, Steven Cahill.

  Steve had an aerospace engineering degree and was finishing his MBA while working full-time doing airplane maintenance checks between flights. It was here that he and my father used to talk. Steve had big plans, the drive to succeed, and the ambition to take chances and reach out to partners.

  After a year, my father, Louis Taggart, and Steve started Custom Charters—with Steve’s father being a modest investor for the start-up. It had been a huge risk my father took, leaving a full-time job with security and benefits.

  For a while, things had been going well for my parents and siblings. But after I was born, my mother got sick. Our family was drowning in medical bills, but being ever resourceful, my father found a way to keep his head above water.

  Approaching an organized crime boss was risky, but lucrative. Dad had been transporting drugs for them while flying. When Steve found out, he tried to fire my father, but as he was part-owner, it wasn’t possible. Reporting it to the police would be a stain on the business, and Steve had bigger plans and didn’t want any blemish on his name.

  It wasn’t right what my father was doing, but it was cruel to my father and my entire family that the Cahills drove the company into the ground to get rid of my father.

  To be honest, I got where Steve was coming from; if faced with a similar situation, I might have done the same thing. In the end, Dad stayed out of jail, but we didn't have much in terms of money, material things or even a family bond. With his connections to organized crime, that’s was how he ended up trying to support his family—but it wasn't steady, and we suffered.

  As our lives changed for the worse, the Cahills’ improved. This only fueled my father’s resentment. Steve started a new company, buying out an aerospace manufacturing company. He rebranded it and rebuilt it as Cahill Global. They no longer only chartered flights, they built and customized jets and sold them. Not only did he sell luxury, but he was also living it—while we were barely scraping by. Plotting revenge was my father’s obsession, while raising me took a backseat.

  We had to move to Canada, where my mother was from, so she could get the cancer treatment we couldn’t afford while living in America. The organized crime family also needed someone on the ground in Montreal to oversee trade operations, and my father was trusted enough to do the job.

  But it was too late for my mom, the cancer was too far advanced, and we lost her within the year. I wasn’t even in school yet, and it pains me to say that I don’t really remember her. My father and siblings grieved in their own ways, and never spoke about her much.

  Being a part of Jessa’s family filled a part of my life I always knew was missing. The Cahills treated me much better than I ever deserved, and I knew that if I gave it a real go, I could have made Jessa happy, and we might have been able to build what her parents had. However, my siblings made sure to remind me of what they did. Being conflicted, I never got that close to building anything real with Jessa. I wasn’t like my family, and they knew it just as much as I did.

  Jessa had loved me once, that much I knew for sure. I didn’t blame her for hating me at the moment; I hated my
self most of the time too. The guilt was eating me alive. It wasn’t in my nature to be cruel to her. It was a skill that needed coaching, and my siblings were all too willing to play coach every opportunity they got.

  I picked up on Jessa’s insecurities and played them to my advantage. That meeting during spring break, I only had one chance to hook her. I laid on my charm, pretending to be someone I wasn’t, and to all of our shock, it actually worked.

  I was sitting in our office at the back of the salon, listening to Jules explain how I was supposed to win my fiancée back.

  ‘Ok, you mentioned how she loves sailing and boats, reading and relaxing right?’ Jules sat on the sofa, while I sat in my office chair with my feet on the desk. I nodded. ‘So, a few weeks ago, I overheard a client talking about a romantic weekend away, just the two of them getting away, how she and her boyfriend really connected. I figured, instead of camping or glamping—I don’t think the princess would go for that—I thought about chartering a yacht for a few days. I found one, out of Boston, that’s available this weekend. They are expensive, but I think it’s perfect, and Chris has already approved any money necessary for this. What do you think?’

  I nodded, for my brother to agree to an open budget, he really must think it’s important. Chris watched the money like a hawk. It wasn’t like when we were kids and went hungry, we were all millionaires now, but he held the purse strings tightly. ‘I like it, I could surprise her.’

  ‘Surprise her,’ my sister nodded. ‘Yeah, that’s brilliant, unpredictable, and she will think it’s so romantic.’ She made a puking gesture as she said it.

  ‘I first need to get her to agree.’ My sister walked towards me, handing me my phone that was on my desk next to me. I rolled my eyes and took it from her. Jessa picked up on the second ring.

  ‘Hey,’ she greeted me, and I heard a smile in her voice. Promising.

  ‘How are you doing?’ I asked her.

  ‘I’m good. Amber and I just finished some yoga, and I’m just driving home for dinner.’

  ‘I hope you’re hands-free.’

  ‘You’re on Bluetooth, but no one else is in the car with me,’ she clarified, knowing how much I hated being on speakerphone.

  I paused, thinking of how to phrase my question.

  ‘I was so happy to see you yesterday. I really missed you.’ She didn’t respond. ‘I meant what I said, I want to get back to how we were. I want to start our marriage how we once were, before…well, you know, not how we’ve been recently.’

  ‘Me too,’ she agreed in a small voice.

  ‘I’m planning a relaxing romantic weekend away for us this weekend. Tell me you’ll come, and I’ll book it right now. I literally have it open on my screen in front of me,’ I lied to her, but the hope and excitement I felt was real.

  She paused, ‘I don’t know…’

  ‘Do you have plans?’ I asked her, a bit frustrated that she was being hesitant, and also worried that I might be too late, perhaps she did have plans. A bachelorette party, even though I had made it very clear that under no circumstances was she permitted one, at least not in the traditional sense. If it were just plans with friends, I was pretty confident she’d cancel them for me—at least in the past, I would have been. Nevertheless, she was different now.

  ‘Not that I know of.’

  ‘So, what’s the issue?’

  ‘I just want to check with my parents.’

  I sighed and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Back to this fucking shit again.

  ‘Matt?’ Jessa asked when I didn’t speak.

  ‘I’m still here,’ I replied through my teeth. ‘Do you have plans for the weekend after next?’ I asked her.

  She laughed. ‘Um, yeah, unless you’re bailing on me, I’m pretty sure we both do.’

  ‘Oh yeah? What’s that?’ I prompted, playing dumb and asking in a carefree manner.

  ‘Our wedding…’

  ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ my anger was rising. ‘So, seeing as six days after I’m asking to take you away to relax before the biggest day of our life, the day we get married—to each other—I hardly think your parents have much of a say in the matter.’ It came out sounding mean, and angrier than I had intended it to, but it was honest.

  She was silent on the other end of the line; I knew she knew I was right.

  ‘Look, Jessa,’ I breathed out. ‘I’m not trying to start something, but we need this time away. If you are really going to check with your parents, then don’t bother calling me back, I’m done playing second fiddle.’

  There was a long pause. ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘I wanted to make it a surprise for you,’ I replied in a disheartened voice.

  ‘Ok, when do we leave?’ she asked in a low nervous voice.

  ‘I was thinking Friday evening, but now that I look, Saturday morning might be best, and come back Monday morning or early afternoon.’

  ‘Alright, that works for me, but if you’re not going to tell me where we’re going, you at least need to tell me what to pack for,’ she protested, but I could tell she was warming up to the idea.

  CHAPTER 3

  MATT

  For the rest of week, Jessa and I chatted more, mainly through text messages, and a few phone calls. Each time she tried to get me to tell her where we were going, I told her to pack two bags, just to play with her.

  I asked her to meet me for breakfast at a restaurant near the marina, under the pretense I had to drop a contract off for a client before he left for the weekend. She didn’t complain when I mentioned it, as I told her after that I would be hers all weekend long.

  I was standing beside my car when she pulled up next to me. As she got out, she asked me, ‘Shall I just wait here?’

  She looked sad, as if she had been crying. I was sure she had a fight with her parents, likely they weren’t happy she was spending the weekend with me. I obviously wasn’t their favorite person at the moment. That was too bad, they were stuck with me; at least for the next few years.

  I shook my head. ‘No, come on down.’ I took her hand, as I led us to the pier where there were a bunch of boats docked, and walked to the end, where the largest was docked. It was a medium-sized yacht, and it was our getaway for the weekend.

  ‘It’s my client’s, come have a look,’ I encouraged, knowing she wasn’t going to resist, she loved boats.

  ‘That one?’ she asked, admiring the size as we walked to the end.

  ‘Mr. Wilson,’ the captain addressed me as we walked up the plank, onto the yacht. ‘Welcome aboard.’ He shook my hand and then turned to Jessa. ‘And you must be Miss Cahill.’

  Jessa looked surprised, but her manners prevailed, as they always did. She looked to me quickly, to which I smiled and winked at her, and then she shook the captain's hand. ‘Yes, nice to meet you,’ then turned back to me. ‘Matt?’

  ‘So, I may have lied, my client doesn’t own this, nor do I have to drop off documents to him.’ I smiled at her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. ‘We get to spend the weekend on this incredible yacht.’

  She jumped up and down with excitement, and just seeing the joy on her face made my day. After everything I put her through, I was pleased I could elicit that reaction out of her again. ‘Really?’ she questioned, then settled, and asked seriously, ‘But you hate boats.’

  I shrugged, ‘But I know how much you love them.’

  She leaned in to hug me, and I thought that was a good sign for things to come. It had been a long time since she had initiated any form of physical contact with me, even a hug, that wasn’t just for show. She looked happy, and it seemed genuine. ‘This is our getaway?’

  I squeezed her hand, ‘Yeah.’

  After gathering our bags and locking up our cars, we walked back to the yacht hand in hand. We were then introduced to the two other crew members, a chef and a steward named Sonja, then given a tour by her. We settled our things into our cabin as the captain set sail.

  My sister went all out in an attem
pt to woo Jessa. The plan was to sail around the Cape to Edgartown tonight, where a romantic and fun evening had been planned for us. After relaxing and getting settled in, I suggested that she get dressed for dinner off the boat. She wore a maxi dress with a cardigan and flat strappy sandals. I hated when she wore heels, they slowed her down, and she’d be too close in height to me. We got off the yacht, walked down the beach where a table was set up on a rug, under a canopy tent, with candles and lanterns. Off to the side, two staff stood behind a portable kitchen of sorts.

  ‘Wow,’ she commented when it came into sight. ‘Is that really ours?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I smiled shyly. ‘Is that ok?’

  She laughed, ‘It will do,’ pretending not to be impressed at all. After a dinner of fresh fish, grilled vegetables, rice, salad, and apple pie for dessert, she stood when I did and started back in the direction of the boat.

  ‘You want to go back, or would you like to see the next part of our night?’

  She turned to look at me standing a few feet away, holding my hand out to her. ‘That’s not it?’ She was surprised.

  ‘If you want it to be, but I do have one more thing, just down the beach a bit.’

  She walked towards me, took my hand and we walked slowly in the deep sand. She was equally impressed with our private screening of Dirty Dancing, one of her favorite summer flicks, on a big screen that Jules had also arranged. A cushioned patio sofa and ottoman were set up, with blankets, wine, and snacks.

  Jessa sang each song off-key, as she always did when she watched this movie. She had a truly horrible singing voice, but I let it go tonight, she looked too happy and I wasn’t about to spoil that.

  During our dinner and throughout the movie, Jessa seemed happy and was pleasant, but she was still distant. She allowed some physical contact, holding hands, hugging and some kissing as long as it wasn’t on her mouth or involve any tongue.

  ‘Please understand, that I still need some space,’ she told me as we got back to the boat after the movie. ‘I really appreciate everything today, and tonight was pretty spectacular,’ she told me, holding my hand. ‘But I’m going to sleep tonight in one of the guest rooms.’