CHAPTER 3

Jake

Storming into her room was a total dick move, but I was almost driving myself crazy, not knowing what was wrong with the mysterious girl I picked up a mile away from the hospital.

Granted, she caused me to miss one of the most important meetings I've had in a while but I couldn't turn my back on the bloodied, unconscious lady on the road.

However, what I can't figure out is if I couldn't stop thinking about her because of the magnetic pull I had or because it was the right thing to do.

Seeing her in person made me lean towards the former. "Hi."

Shock enveloped her face, followed by a flash of fear. Shaking her head slightly to jolt out of whatever trance she was in, the woman shrank back into her pillow. "Excuse me, who the hell are you and why are you in my room?"

I blinked, realizing how this must look to her. "I can explain. My name is Jake and I…"

"You're the one who saved me!" She concludes breathlessly.

Now, it was my turn to be surprised. "You know me?"

"No, not really but the nurse who treated me earlier told me about you, saying you wouldn't leave if you didn't check up on me."

Oh.

could feel my face heating up and I cleared my throat, thrusting my hands into my pants. "Yeah, I felt responsible…bringing you here and my Mom would kick my ass if she found out that I just dumped you here and bailed."

She nods, those eyes of hers roving over my face. "Well, then, I guess I have to thank your Mom sometime, huh?"

I shrug, digging my heels in. "Yeah, I guess so."

My phone buzzed in my jacket, reminding me of a meeting I couldn't afford to miss. "Well, I'm happy you're going to get back on your feet but sadly, I've got to go."

She only hummed, which I took to be my cue to leave. As I spun around on my heel, taking a step towards the door, her voice made me halt.

"Wait, I didn't get your name." She called out, making me turn back to face her.

"It's Jacob but my friends call me Jake for short…and you?"

"Rose. Rose McGowan."

Bending low to kiss her wrist, I smiled. "A pleasure then, Miss McGowan."

As my nose brushed the back of her palm, her unique scent floated over to me and even when I got into my car, I couldn't seem to get it out of my mind.

Plugging my phone into the Bluetooth connect thingy that fancy cars of nowadays usually get, I kickstarted the engine, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

As my hands wrapped around the steering wheel, my mind was transported to how it felt having my hands around Rose's body.

Now that I knew her name and who she was, I was eager to get to get to know her.

However, the shrill ringing of my phone cut into my thoughts.

Stabbing the 'answer' button, I stepped on the accelerator.

"Jake, care to explain why it's taking you forever to get here?" My mother, Elizabeth Keesler questioned in a stern tone.

Glancing at the watch, I cursed when I realized I was running an hour late. "I'm sorry, Mom, I'll be right there soon-"

"Yeah, that's what you said two hours ago." She cuts me off, sighing. "Listen, I know that there's been a lot of change happening in this family recently but I know your Dad wouldn't drag us all this way if it wasn't important, so please, hurry up."

Before I could even get a word out, she hung up.

Pissed that I'd gotten dragged into the family drama once again, I revved the engine, increasing the speed at which the car moved.

Just like Mom said, there's no reason why any one of us would want to travel halfway across the world just because Dad wanted to call a meeting.

To give you some backstory on my family's drama… a couple of years ago, my dad decided that he was tired of pretending to love my mom and be a perfect, little happy family for the public and he broke things off, only to hook up with his secretary less than a month after.

As predicted, my mom got pissed off that a woman 20 years younger than her was reaping the fruits of their combined labor and has held a grudge over it ever since.

Less than a year later, my brother and I grew tired of running our father's company and branched off to create our own, only serving to break the family up more because Dad hated it.

The family dinners and trips got canceled, and our family was driven further apart.

Except for sporadic calls in between, it's been silent on Dad's end for years which was why we were all shocked to hear him call for this gathering.

Nevertheless, I would treat this like I would any business proposition.

In and out, obtaining what I needed out of this.

Pulling up to Dad's three-story house, I slid into the next available space, right next to the BMW and the M5.

The house was lit up, and I could even hear the faint echo of music from within, but for some reason, I was reluctant to move an inch.

At least, that was until I heard a loud bang followed almost immediately by a crash from inside.

I started before reacting like I was supposed to, jumping down from the car and racing towards the front door.

Now that I was closer, I could hear the screaming and curses being tossed as everyone was trying to talk over the other.

What the hell is going on in there?

I reached for the doorknob, about to storm in only for it to be yanked inwards before I could touch it.

My brother, Stefan, stared up at me with a face that bore so much resemblance to mine, grunting, his lips turned down in annoyance. "Finally! It's about time you got here!"

At that same time, Mom hurled a glass at Dad's head.

What an epic family reunion.