A Love Worth Saving (Forever Yours Book 2) Read Free Page A

smell his cologne. A citrus scent with hints of saffron, sage, redwood, and coffee. Polo Red by Ralph Lauren. She’d know it anywhere. Once, it had driven her crazy. Now, it held no appeal.
    “You didn’t answer my question,” he said quietly.
    She sighed. Her marriage was none of his damned business. “Why do you care?”
    Color slashed across his prominent cheekbones. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter.”
    “Now, what type of event are you looking to hold?”
    “A fundraiser. Dinner. Upscale.”
    She nodded. “How many people are you expecting?”
    “Around two hundred.”
    “Okay.” That ruled out some of the smaller, more intimate locations around town. “And when are you looking to hold the event?”
    “On the twentieth.”
    Her brow arched up. “Of this month?”
    He shook his head. “Next.”
    She checked her calendar and nodded. The twentieth was a little over four weeks away from now and in the middle of the week. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I have enough information to get started. I’ll contact you in a couple of days when I have some options for you to look over.”
    “You’re still friendly with my mother.”
    Ashley sat back and folded her arms across her chest. So much for keeping this professional. “She’s my god mother, Jake. Not to mention my mother’s best friend. Am I supposed to cut all ties because you couldn’t handle the pressure of being engaged?”
    “God, Ashley, I never meant to hurt you.”
    She let out a sharp bite of laughter. “Which is why you slept with my college roommate.”
    “I told you, I never meant for that to happen. I—”
    She held up a hand to stop whatever he might say. “You’re sorry. I know.” He’d said the words a hundred times, maybe more, in the weeks following that horrible night when she’d come back from class early and found her fiancé in bed. With her roommate. No, Ali was more than just her roommate, they’d been friends. Good friends. She shuddered. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” And it didn’t. “I’ve moved on.” She realized it was true. Sometime over these past months her broken heart had mended. Jake Delaney didn’t matter.
    He gazed down at her with glittering sapphire blue eyes. “I just want you to be happy, Ashley.”
    “I am.” For the most part.
    “Hey, are you okay? You’ve gone sheet white.”
    Her stomach pitched and rolled. Oh hell. Whatever bug she’d caught was wreaking havoc on her entire system. “I’m fine. I’ll be in touch in a few days.” She stood and then dropped back down on the chair as pain lanced through her abdomen.
    Jake rushed to her side. “No, you’re not. You need a doctor.”
    “Call Reed,” she managed to say just before the world went black.
    Ashley woke to the sound of hushed voices. She opened her eyes and peered around trying to get her bearings. Machines hummed and beeped. A woman in a white coat stood over her.
    Hospital. She was in the hospital, but why? Oh, god. No. “Reed.”
    He gazed over at her from where he stood in the open doorway. “I’m right here, sweetheart.” He came to sit beside her. “It’s all right. You’re going to be all right.”
    She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “And the baby?”
    Tears filled his eyes and he shook his head.
    Oh God. “No!”

Chapter 3
    “What are you doing here?”
    Reed peered up from behind his desk in the downtown Chicago office of Paradis and McNamara. Daniela Mathews, his cousin and second-in-command, stood in the open doorway to his office, a tote bag and purse slung over one shoulder. “I have work to do.”
    She leaned against the doorframe, a puzzled expression on her face. “I didn’t expect you to come in today.”
    He frowned. “Why?”
    “Max called yesterday and said . . . Reed, I’m so sorry about the baby.”
    He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. “Ah, thanks.”
    “How’s Ashley?” Daniela asked.
    A shudder ripped through him. He didn’t want to think about the last