Because This Is Forever Read Free Page A

so close to him a pin couldn’t pass between them.
    “Life’s
not a fairytale, Mia,” he bit out inches from her face. “I’m not your Prince
Charming and there’s no such thing as forever after. There’s only here and now.”
    “It’s
happily ever after,” she murmured absently.
    He
cursed then released her. He snatched the jacket from her limp hand and jerked it
on. “Mia, do yourself a favor and get your head out of the clouds,” he snapped.
“I know what I want, but I won’t be manipulated into having you.”
    His
words hurt because if he thought she would resort to such tactics just to keep
him, he would be sadly mistaken. Obviously he didn’t know her as well as she’d
hoped.
    “Trust
me,” she whispered, “you won’t have to worry about that.”
    He
stared down at her long and hard. Without another word, he slammed out of her tiny
apartment.

 
 
 
    Chapter Two

 
    Nate
had arrived in California in a bad mood and would leave it with a splitting
headache.
    He
sat at the hotel bar, cradling his third drink between his palms. His trip to
California had been a waste. The distribution company he had come to check out
in the hopes of financing had turned out to be a bust. They were less
structured and efficient than they presented themselves to be. Nate had
canceled their final meeting and made arrangements to fly back to Chicago first
thing tomorrow morning then meet with his father that afternoon.
    Nate
clenched his jaw tight. He hated being summoned and his father knew it. The
first half of his life had been spent with a father who seemed to take pleasure
in undermining him—when he wasn’t ignoring him—and with a mother who, when she was
around, treated him like a burden. Nate eventually learned to keep his distance
until his father demanded his presence or found some use for him.
    Normally
he would prolong his father’s request for a meeting, but since he was leaving
California early anyway, Nate decided to get their meeting over with. But if he
was completely honest with himself, Nate would admit that he craved to see her , which was really why he wanted to
be back in Chicago.
    Tonight,
however, he wasn’t in the mood for honesty’s company.
    She
was the one who had given him the ultimatum, had suggested they ‘take a break’.
Now she would have to be the one to come to him if she wanted them to be
together.
    He
downed the rest of his drink and ordered another. His pathetic attempt to
forget about Mia for just one night was not working. The more he drank, the
more he thought about her.
    So
tonight, he would indulge.
    “I
won’t be responsible for what happens to you if you keep that up,” Fred Carlson
said, staring pointedly at his drink.
    Nate
turned to his lawyer and longtime family friend with a smirk. “I thought I told
you to take the night off, Fred.”
    Fred
sat on the stool beside him. “I haven’t taken a night off since I started
working for you and your father. Why start now.”
    Nate
grunted. “Then in that case, have a drink with me.” Nate ordered two shots and
slid one to the older man.
    When
Fred continued to stare at him in a way that made him feel like a defiant
little boy, Nate raised his glass in salute and tossed back his drink.
    Fred’s
graying brows furrowed. “Nate, I’ve known you long enough to know you only
drink like this after an argument with your father. But since you’ve been with
me all day, there’s something else making you act like an ass.”
    Nate
turned away from Fred’s concerned face. Fred was the only man in his life that
he had been able to count and rely on. At twelve years old, Fred had come into
his life and shown him what it was like to have someone pay attention to him.
He hadn’t looked through him or ignored him as his parents had. As Nate grew
into manhood with his own dreams and ambitions, Fred had become his close friend
and advisor and an integral part in helping him establish himself as an angel investor.
    Fred
had