Reunited

My Forever is You

Book 1:  Reunited

(Submitting to the Billionaire Series)

by

Ashley Blake

***

Other Books by Ashley
Blake:

The
Billionaire’s Desire

The
Billionaire’s Desire 2:  Dubai Confidential

The
Billionaire’s Desire 3:  Ultimate Bliss

Published
by Lovely Day. Copyright, 2012 by Ashley Blake.

ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations,
and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used
fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or
events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or
reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the
author.

      
Jake’s Prologue

      It was the day after my
mother’s birthday party, I was all packed for our flight back to New York the
following day, and I was sitting in the backyard of mother’s gorgeous estate,
taking in the beautiful scenery.  It had been a long, exhausting five weeks. 
My brother Joshua and I had been in Dubai on business for a month and my
girlfriend Vivienne tagged along.  We stopped in California on the way back to
New York for a week to celebrate our mother’s birthday.  I heard footsteps
behind me as mother joined me.  She sat in the chair next to me and lightly
touched my hand.

          “Jake,
I am so happy that you were here to celebrate with me.  I had a wonderful
party.  I’m sad to see you go tomorrow, but I know you are very busy with the
company and you must get back.”

          I
looked over at my beautiful mother and smiled at her.

          “Mother,
I am always just a phone call away.  If you ever need anything you know that
Joshua and I will be here in a split second.  Yes, we are busy with the
company.  But that is good, business is very good right now.”

          “Your
father would be so proud of you.”  Pride filled her eyes.  “There is something
I want to talk with you about.”

          I
looked at her wondering what was on her mind.

          “I
am not trying to meddle; I just know when my son is not happy.  And you don’t
seem happy Jake.”

          Mother
did know me very well.  I was never able to hide my feelings from her.

          “I
am sure Vivienne is a lovely girl.” 

          I
had to hold back my chuckle because I knew my mother could not stand my
girlfriend Vivienne.

          “But
I don’t see the light in your eyes that I saw when you were with Lauren.”

          My
mother
loved
Lauren.  She was almost as upset as I was when Lauren broke
up with me 10 years ago back in college.  Lauren Harper was my first and only
true love.  We met freshman year at college in Massachusetts and we were
inseparable practically from day one.  I loved everything about her and I was
sure that she would be my wife one day.  I didn’t tell her that I was Jake
Hunter of Hunter International at first because I wanted to be sure that she
liked me for me.  I didn’t want her to know that I was a billionaire.  Three
months after we had been dating, I finally told her who my family was and she
was not fazed.  That was one of the many things I loved about her.  Lauren came
home with me for many of our college breaks and she vacationed with my family
often.  Everyone loved her.  I was planning to ask Lauren to marry me the day
of graduation.  I bought a beautiful ring and had my proposal all planned. 

          I
was being groomed to run the family business with my older brother Joshua and I
was conflicted because I wanted to be with Lauren.  She was accepted into
several law schools and narrowed them down to Chicago and New York.  She
decided to go to school in Chicago and I was devastated.  I decided that I was
going to tell my family that I was not going to be a part of the family
business and I was going to pursue some sort of career in Chicago.  I had no
idea what kind of job I would look for, all I cared about was being with
Lauren. 

          Lauren
did not want me to leave my family’s business, she felt I would be throwing
away an incredible opportunity.  I didn’t want to leave her so I told her that
my mind was made up.  This led to the biggest argument we’d had ever had.  She
didn’t speak to me for a couple of days and I was miserable.  And then the
night before graduation Lauren shattered my heart into a million pieces when
she broke up with me.  I was completely blind-sided.  I begged her not to leave
me, not to throw away what we had.  But she was adamant about her need to focus
solely on law school. 

          Lauren
was a very driven woman and she worked hard for everything she had.  She said
she didn’t want any distractions while she was in law school.  She told me that
if we were meant to be together, then one day we would be.  I had no choice but
to accept her decision.  I couldn’t get out of bed for days.  My poor mother
was worried sick about me.  I tried to contact Lauren several times after
graduation but she didn’t return my calls or emails. 

          Eventually
I pulled myself together and joined my family's company as the Chief Financial
Officer and it turns out I really enjoy the position.  In hindsight, Lauren was
right about me joining the company.  I would have thrown away so much if I
would have walked away from this opportunity. 

          That
break up with Lauren changed me.  I was no longer the mild-mannered, easy-going
man I used to be.  That “nice” Jake was reserved for those who had not hurt me,
who I felt I could trust.  The list was very short.  Unfortunately, Vivienne
was not on that list.  I knew that I was not always nice to her but she seemed
to like my aggressive side, the side that told her what to do.  And I learned
that I liked to be in control.  I had a wall of steel built around my heart and
I was fine with that.  I didn’t know if I would ever let a woman in again.

          As
I sat in the backyard with my mother, I was faced with a huge dilemma.  I
didn't know if I wanted to continue to move forward with my relationship with
Vivienne, or if I wanted to find Lauren and see if we could rekindle what we
once had. 

          I
suspected Vivienne was seeing my cousin Ethan behind my back, or she was trying
to make it appear as if that was what was going on.  I wouldn't put it past
Vivienne to try and make me jealous to get my attention.  I knew that I was not
giving Vivienne the time and attention that she wanted.  She wanted to marry me
and she told me this practically every time she had a chance.  She kept saying
that our families would blend so well together because they were both wealthy. 
That always bothered me a little bit, but I would just push it out of my mind. 
I knew that I would have to make up my mind about what I was going to do soon.

          “Jake,
darling, we should get inside.  It looks like it might rain.  I know you’ll
make the right decision to make you happy.  Or maybe it will be made for you.”

          As
we walked into the house her last words stuck with me. 
I wonder what she
meant by that?

          We
flew back to New York on the private jet the next day and the car dropped
Vivienne off at her townhouse first.  She wanted to go out to dinner but I told
her that I was exhausted and I would call her later.  My housekeeper had
collected my mail while I was away and the huge pile was waiting for me when I
walked into my condo.  I walked over to the window and looked out at
Manhattan.  I was on the top floor and no matter how many times I had stood at
that window, the view was always breathtaking.  It was good to be home. 

          I
grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and walked over to my dining room
table to tackle the mail.  When I picked up the envelope that was sitting on
top of the pile, my heart skipped a beat.  It was an invitation to my 10 year
college reunion.  I opened it and it was going to be a week long cruise to the
Western Caribbean. 
Lauren.
  I had completely forgotten that our reunion
would be this year.  My mind started racing and I wrestled with whether or not
I should go.  Did I want to throw away the possibility of seeing Lauren again? 
What if she didn't go, or what if she was engaged or married to someone else? 
I could barely think straight so I set the invitation aside and continued
rifling through my mail.  I would go back to the invitation later. 

          I
went into my office, trying to busy myself and decided to check my e-mail.  I
hadn't checked my e-mail during the week that I was in California with my
mother.  I wanted to be completely cut off from work and just wanted to focus
on spending my time with family that week.  I checked my work e-mail first and
I had at least 200 emails to read.  Nearly an hour and a half later I finished
responding to the last work email and I was going to take a nap, when I decided
to quickly check my personal email. 

          I
saw an e-mail from Amy Collins and I knew that I recognized the name but I
couldn't quite place it.  I clicked on it and as I started reading, my heart
began pounding against my chest.  Amy was Lauren's best friend in college and
she was writing to tell me that she and Lauren were going to the reunion.  She
wanted to know if I was going to go as well. 

          Just
then my mother's words came flooding back to me: 
I know you’ll make the
right decision to make you happy.  Or maybe it will be made for you.
  I
decided in that second that I was going to the reunion, and I emailed Amy to
tell her I would see them there.  ***

           
CHAPTER
1

           
My
heart was fluttering as I stumbled to my chair, holding the back for support,
while I read the invitation.  In the back of my mind I knew it was coming, but
I had pushed it out of my mind for years.  And now the day was finally here.  I
knew I would have to deal with my past sooner or later, and later came a lot
sooner than I had anticipated.