Because This Is Forever Read Free Page B

understood his need for independence from his father and the ‘family business’,
and with Fred’s help Nate had gone on to make some lucrative investments. During
this wasted trip, Fred had learned about a technology company that showed promise
and could potentially be another profitable opportunity. An informal lunch meeting
with the founder of Mercury Horizon was already scheduled for early next week.
    But
tonight, Nate didn’t want any advisement and he certainly didn’t need Fred to
make him feel even more stupid then he already did. Stupid for thinking he
could actually be happy.
    “Are
you and Mia having problems?” Fred asked. “I’ve been with you for two days and
you haven’t mentioned her once.”
    Nate
didn’t want to talk about Mia. He couldn’t remember the last time another woman
other than his mother made him feel…abandoned. He was hurt and the alcohol was
a soothing, numbing balm.
    “Good
night, Fred,” he said, reaching for the untouched glass that sat between them.
    Fred pulled
it away. “It’s a wonder you and Charles don’t get along,” he snapped. “You’re
as bullheaded as he is but more pathetic.”
    Nate’s
jaw clenched. Fred knew all the right buttons to push. Nate flashed his friend a
smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “And like him, I pay you for your legal
advice. Nothing else. Certainly not any of your fatherly advice.”
    Fred
stared at him blankly and said nothing. Nate cursed. Even in his alcohol-induced
state, he knew he had crossed the line. Fred and his wife had spent years
trying to have a baby until they had eventually stopped trying. There had been
a time long ago where Nate had secretly wished he’d been Fred’s son. Now
because of his stupidity and careless tongue, he had unintentionally opened old
wounds.
    “Listen,
Fred—”
    “No,
you listen,” he interrupted. “Want some legal advice? Here it is. Man-up and
get over yourself. Whatever it is that’s bothering you, which I’m guessing is
your girlfriend, you need to deal with it and quick. Either call her or get
over her. Turning into a drunken ass isn’t doing you any favors, and it would
be a damn shame to see what little you’ve built up go to shit because you
couldn’t practice some self-control.”
    Fred
got up and slid the shot glass to him, the content sloshing dangerously close
to the edge. “And that little legal advice is on the house,” Fred retorted as he walked past him.
    Nate
looked down at the brown liquid then pushed the glass aside as Fred’s parting
words ran through his muddled brain. Fred was right. He had to deal with this
or end up drinking himself into a stupor each night.
    It
had only been two days yet he missed her greatly. A part of him wanted nothing
more than to call her, to hear her voice. Mia had been like no other woman he’d
dated before. She was sweetness and sass all wrapped into a sexy, feminine frame.
Despite her flair for the romantic, which he had found endearing on occasion,
she had been his dream girl.
    Obviously,
what they had wasn’t enough for her though. He should have known she would
eventually expect the white dress and diamond ring, but he had hoped she’d be
more practical and sensible. They were happier than any married couple he knew
of and she knew far more single and divorced people than he did, which should
have been enough to show her the insignificance of marriage.
    Her
irrationality aggravated him. If she thought he’d agree to marriage and enter
into the kind of arrangement his parents had been in for thirty years, she
would be greatly disappointed.
    In a way,
it was a good thing that this all had come out now before he had gotten in any
deeper than he already was, he reminded himself.
    The
numbness of the alcohol was wearing off, but he wanted nothing more than to
rest his fuzzy yet crowded mind.
    Nate
paid his tab, leaving the still full shot glass untouched. He managed to make it
back to his room without faltering, though it took