Seeing Red (38 page)

She had a big smile and a hiccup escaped her, which
made her giggle. She was obviously a little tipsy. It seemed that
her flute of champagne was always full. “I thought the Q & A
portion of this evening was over.”

“You know what? You’re absolutely right, never
mind.”

“No, Xander. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I always
have to give you a smart-ass remark. I’m just glad that you dealt
with the speech thing and that the whole island talk is over and
done with—at least for tonight. Please, what were you going to ask
me?” She turned around to face him intently and grabbed his
hand.

“I wanted to know about that father comment you made
earlier.”

She grabbed a flute of champagne—another one—from a
passing waiter and drank it all in one big gulp.

“Easy there, tiger. You’re not going to feel so hot
tomorrow morning.” Alexander smiled.

“Roar.” She laughed, sounding a little too happy.
Her words were coming out a little slow and slurred. She was
definitely three glasses of champagne past tipsy.

Hiccup.

Hiccup.

She leaned over and gave him a soft but slow kiss on
the cheek which took him by surprise, causing him to turn his face,
and her lips landed on his lips instead. But she didn’t pull away.
It wasn’t a chaste kiss, but it was not overtly sexual either. He
pulled away first, before it turned into something more than she
had intended it to be. She whispered in his ear, “I love you,
Alexander Jacobs.”

He wanted that to mean so much more than he knew she
meant it to be. “And you love Oliver Jacobs too, huh?”

“Yep, he’s my best friend.” Hiccup.

A few minutes later, Oliver came back with a plate
of desserts and saw Jillian’s face. “Shit Jillian, how much have
you drank?”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Oh, Oliver, you’re so boring. I’m having fun.” She
took another gulp of champagne.

“I think you’ve had enough.” He went to take it out
of her hand. Alexander was still seething over the “best friend”
comment.

“I’m so sick of you two telling me what I can and
can’t do. I never do anything irresponsible. In fact, I can count
with one hand how many times I’ve ever been drunk. I wouldn’t even
need all five fingers!”

“Today isn’t the day, Jillian.” Oliver refused to
give her back her champagne, which didn’t stop her from signaling
another waiter and grabbing two more flutes—both for her. She was
not going to share with these two jerks.

“Are you kidding me, Oliver? If there was ever a day
to get completely obliterated, today would be the day. Look around,
he’s
not here.” She thought she was being quiet and
discreet, talking so only Oliver could here. “Well, I don’t think
he is. Plus, I survived all the bombarding questions. I knew you
guys wouldn’t let anything happen to me. But if you guys are going
to be party poopers, I will go find Heather, and I’m sure she will
gladly help me with these drinks.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Who is
he?”
Alexander asked, but neither of them answered.
“Jillian? What the hell is going on? What’s the real reason you
didn’t want to come here.” She rolled her eyes and looked over to
Oliver and nodded her head to indicate that he could tell his
brother.

“Jill asked me to help her go through Helen’s
journals a few months ago. It’s a long and story, but the short of
it is that Jillian’s father, according to Helen, was a very
dangerous man—so dangerous, in fact, that Jill’s mom was on the
plane that day running away from him. He didn’t even know that
Jillian was born and survived. That is why Helen sent her away
after we were rescued. She was afraid that he’d somehow make the
connection if he ever came to see Helen. Anyway, there was a note
left in her apartment the night you guys had that big argument:
Thanksgiving night.”

“You lied to me, Jill? You didn’t tell me anything
about a note.” He was enraged.

Hiccup. Shrug.

“Anyway, the cryptic note was from her father. Helen
insinuated in her journals that someone named RT was her father. We
didn’t know what RT stood for until the day Jill had that spell
that caused her to pass out. Her father has some sort of ability to
channel Jill—to get into her brain, and it took so much energy for
him to do that, that when he finished he passed out, causing her to
pass out too. I think he basically sucked out all her energy. We
think that he wanted her to know his name to see whether Jill had
this same gift. So when she found out who he was by her own psychic
visions, he must have been pleased, because she hadn’t had any more
visions of the red-haired guy, and now he’s here. He’s Rocco
Taylor. RT.”

“Yep, that sounds about right.” She hiccupped.

“What?” Alexander was beyond words and beyond
comprehension.

“Oh, and I saw him back there.” She pointed to the
corner of the ballroom. “He made me feel great—relaxed for the
first time. Isn’t that nice?” She beamed dreamily. Drunk.

“The billionaire businessman? The one with the
reputation of being cunning and ruthless?
That
Rocco
Taylor?”

They both nodded. Alexander grabbed the flute of
champagne from Jillian’s hand and drank it all in one long gulp. He
didn’t say anything for about thirty seconds.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you tell
him?
” Alexander demanded, pointing at Oliver.

“Jesus Christ, Alexander, is that all you got out of
that story.” Oliver was stunned.

“No, I also got that you’re a fucking idiot. If this
man is as dangerous as you two seem to believe, then I understand
why Jillian didn’t want to be here, and I think she was right. She
could be in danger, you asshole. How could you let this happen?” He
was seething. Jill had never seen him so upset.

“Yep, that’s what I was trying to tell you people.
We shoulda stayed in Texas.” She grinned and hiccupped.

“Let’s get out of here, Red.” He grabbed her wrist
and pulled her up.

“Wait, where’s Heather?” She was wobbling from all
the bubbly champagne she’d had.

“Go get her, Oliver.”

“Babe, I’m so sorry for forcing you here,” he cupped
her face with his enormous hands. “I’m so pissed off you didn’t
tell me. We’ll discuss that when you’re not completely drunk, but
we need to get out of here.”

“I want to go home, Xander.” She inched closer to
his chest, feeling small and protected by him.

“My beautiful girl, I’m so sorry for dragging you
here.” He planted a small kiss on her forehead. “After Oliver finds
Heather, we’ll leave.” She sat and leaned her head against his
shoulder. They waited ten minutes. “Where the fuck is Oliver? Damn
it.” Alexander’s leg moved up and down, anxiously.

Finally, Oliver came back with Heather in hand.

“She says she’s staying and Richie Rich over there
will take her back to the room after the party, but I don’t think
it’s a good idea. She just met him.”

“Helloooo. I’m right here. Don’t talk about me as if
I’m not right here. Goodness, I see how Jillian feels now. You guys
are very intense, aren’t you? I’m a big girl. These are respectable
and classy folks. I’ll be fine. Ben said he can take me home. I
have y’alls phone number if I need you.” She bent down and gave
Jillian a kiss on the cheek and then one to each twin. “Take care
of our girl. She isn’t lookin’ so good. Nightie night.”

“I thought I was your date, Dixie. You should be
leaving with your date.” Oliver insisted, grabbing her arm as she
was about to walk away.

“Honey, please, you’ve been involved in whatever
drama you got going with Jill and Alexander. This threesome
situation is getting old. I need a man who’ll give me his undivided
attention and look there,” she pointed and waved her fingers at the
guy she was going home with. “I’ve got his undivided attention.”
She said, winking at Oliver and sashayed away.

“I don’t feel right about leaving her. She is just a
juicy piece of meat wrapped in a very tight red dress. They will
eat her alive.” Oliver said.

“So stay. Please stay. Don’t leave her. What are you
going to do? Go home and watch me throw up all night?” She turned
to Alexander “That’s what happens when you’re this drunk,
right?”

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Because you’re the expert.”

“You’re a fucking pain in my ass, Red. Come on.
We’re leaving.” He helped her up and she almost fell right back
down.

“Well, I feel pretty safe leaving you two together
since she’s pretty much going to pass out any minute. See you
later. Drink lots of water. You’ll feel better sooner. Don’t take
advantage of her, Alexander.” Oliver gave Jill a peck on the cheek
and scowled at Alexander before walking towards Heather.

Alexander helped her up, guiding her towards the
door, but she stopped and reached for Oliver as he was barely arm’s
length away. “Oly, I love you.” She gave him a big kiss on the
cheek and a loopy smile.

Alexander made an unintelligible noise. “Let’s
go.”

He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked
back to the room; she leaned into him and closed her eyes. He was
absently twirling her red curls with his hand that was around her
shoulder. Instead of taking her to her room, he took her to his. He
made her sit up and drink two big glasses of water and then
carefully took off her dress and put one of his t-shirts on her. He
put her under the sheets and gave her a kiss on the forehead before
sleep consumed her.

In the middle of the night, Jillian woke up with a
blinding headache.
Where am I?
Confused, she looked around
and saw Alexander sitting on a chair asleep in a corner. A rush of
nausea and dizziness hit her like a brick wall, and she darted out
of bed and ran to the bathroom. Within seconds, she felt someone
behind her, holding her hair up.

“I’m dying, Xander. Really, I am. Just call 9-1-1
and let them know.”

With a smirk, “Red, you’re not dying. I promise.
You’re meeting your goals of last night. You wanted to feel how
great it would be to get totally drunk, so here you go. Congrats.
Job well done.”

She sat down on the pristine marble floor right in
front of the white porcelain toilet. Alexander walked out and came
back with a glass of water. “Here drink this,” he then proceeded to
put toothpaste on his toothbrush.

“Here.” He put the toothbrush in her hands.

“Whose toothbrush is this?”

“Mine.”

“Um . . . no thanks, I’ll just use my finger.”

“Don’t be stupid, Jillian. Just brush your teeth.
It’ll make you feel better. I don’t have cooties.”

He rolled his eyes, grabbed her face and squeezed
her cheeks, forcing her to open her mouth. He stuck the toothbrush
into her mouth. She was too weak to argue and got up off the floor
and finished brushing her own teeth and drank some more water.

“Is it over?”

He laughed. “Probably not, babe, you drank a
lot.”

She got up to go back to the room, but the room was
spinning, so she sat back down. “I think I like it in the bathroom
better. The cold marble floor feels wonderful. I’ll just sit here
for a little while.” He laughed.

“God, you’re adorable. Okay, come here.” He sank
down to the floor and lifted her up to his chest. She spent the
next few hours throwing up and swearing off alcohol for the rest of
her life. When she was so weak and he felt the worst had passed, he
scooped her up and took her back to the bed. She was shivering, so
he placed another blanket over her.

“I’m fff-rrreezing, Xander.” Her teeth were
shattering.

“That’s the effect of all the throwing up. Don’t
freak out. I’m going to lie down with you. Don’t get any funny
ideas,” he winked and got in bed with her and held her close until
he felt her heart start slowing down and the shivers start to
subside. He was wearing flannel pants and no shirt; his skin felt
like hot lava on her body. She felt too ill to think too much about
it, but it still felt great, and within minutes, they were both
sound asleep.

Jillian woke up at noon. Her head still throbbed,
but at least, she wasn’t dizzy and the nausea had subsided. She sat
up and heard movement in the other room. Alexander sat behind a
desk in the living room with books open all around him. He was
studying. He actually studied; that surprised her. On vacation of
all places.

She walked behind him and gave him a kiss on the
cheek. “Thanks for taking care of me last night.” Her voice was
hoarse and her throat ached.

“How do you feel?”

“Like death. I can’t believe you’re studying. We’re
on vacation.”

He laughed. “I’m not studying. I’m researching
Rocco. Come on. I ordered you some breakfast.”

She shook her head and sank into the couch and
grabbed a blanket and wrapped herself in it all the way to her
nose. He smiled. “You look miserable, but adorable.”

She moaned. Her head was pounding.

“Have some toast and coffee. It’ll make you feel
better. I promise.”

“No.”

“Woman! Can you please do one thing I ask? Just one
thing.”

“Fine. Bring me the coffee.”

“And toast.”

“Fine.”

A few minutes later, he was at her side with the
food and held it up to her mouth.

“Here. Eat.”

“You’re so bossy.”

“Not even a night like last night keeps you from
arguing with me, huh?” Alexander said, amused.

“Have you heard from your brother and Heather?”

“Yeah. Heather left with that Ben guy, and Oliver is
in his room asleep.”

“Ben? Who’s Ben?”

“That guy that was all over her at the party,
remember?” Jillian nodded. “Jillian.” His tone changed. He was
suddenly serious. Very serious. “How do you feel?”

“What do you mean? I feel hung over. I thought that
was obvious. I saw my reflection this morning. Ughh.”

“I need to talk to you, but I need you to be sober
and coherent, and I need you to listen to me carefully.”