Forever Ours (The Billionaire Next Door Book 8) Page 4
“Sophia.” He smiled confidently at me. “It’s me, Luke.”
My eyes grew wide as he came into focus. There he was, Luke Trevor, standing against a pillar in the downtown Jacksonville courtyard. He barely looked any older since I last saw him.
Holy shit. It was him! And he looked just as dreamy as he did when we were dating in pre-med. His blond hair flowed in the wind and his twinkling blue eyes stared at me just as they had when we were young and in love — just as they had in the early hours of the New Year.
“Luke – but how? What are you doing here?”
Luke pushed off the pillar and took a step towards me. His hands were in his pockets.
“I’ve been thinking about you, Sophia.”
“Oh my god. I can’t believe it. It’s been – how long? Four, five years?”
“Something like that.” He smiled. “You haven’t aged a day, baby.”
There I went. My cheeks were pinker than the old lady’s fuchsia dress back in Ellie’s shop.
“Thanks. You look good yourself.”
I couldn’t lie about that. He was just as handsome as he was back in med school. Luke smirked and took another step closer to me. I was so shocked that I was frozen in place.
“What are you up to now? My god, I haven’t spoken to you since…”
I remembered the last time we spoke. It was when he decided we were no longer compatible. A wealthy surgeon and a veterinarian have no business going out — at least, that’s what he told me. My heart sunk remembering this. He must have seen the hurt in my face because he took my hand in his. I had no mind to pull away.
“You’ve always been on my mind, Sophia.”
Looking up into those sparkling blue eyes, I reverted back to my earlier self.
“Oh, Luke. Really?”
He smiled and leaned in.
No. Something wasn’t right here.
“J– Jason. Jason!” I looked at him. “I’m marrying Jason.” I pulled my hand away from him and lifted it up, showing him my spectacular ring. “I’m getting married.”
“But you’re not married yet.” A sly smile widened on his face.
I furrowed my brow.
“Luke, I think you’re forgetting that you broke my heart.”
The bump in Luke’s throat moved as he swallowed. “I know. I’ve had to live with that decision every day, and I regret it every time I think about it.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. Life just isn’t the same without you in it.”
I laughed. “I doubt that. I’m sure your life is amazing up in Maine with your practice, your two sons, your daughter, and your gorgeous wife.”
“No.”
His answer shocked me.
“No?”
“Well, yes to the practice up in Maine, but I have no children, and no wife.” His eyes remained steady on me as he said this. For some reason something warm sprang up inside me, and I felt hopeful. This feeling was unwelcome and unexpected.
“Oh?” My eyes flashed down to his ring-less finger.
“I was never able to date anyone after you.”
I was still shocked that he was unmarried. “But what about Sheyanne or whatever her name was? The girl from med school that I saw you on campus with? You know, after we broke up.”
He waved her away. “Sheyanne didn’t mean anything to me — not the way you did. Truthfully, I’ve dated a lot of girls over the years and none of them have come close to what we had. Come on, baby. You know we’re meant for each other. I can see it in your eyes.” He pulled me close.
My heart rattled in my chest.
Were we? I mean, wasn’t that what I was thinking earlier, when I was trying on the wedding dresses? Maybe Luke was right.
I sighed.
I didn’t even know what I felt or thought anymore. Everything was a jumble of confusion. A sickly feeling formed in my stomach.
“I can’t deny that I’ve thought about you over the years. Actually, I’ve thought about you a lot.”
The smile reappeared on his face. He took my hand in his and I didn’t pull back.
“See? We can’t stop thinking about each other. Don’t you want that house in Maine, near the ocean? We can both work at the most prestigious hospital in North America, together. God, I’ve thought about this a thousand times over the past few years. Think about it, Sophia. I know you want me.”
A thousand thoughts raced through my head.
“Oh Luke, I did want that. I wanted it badly.”
Luke smiled.
“Then take it.” He stepped closer to me and I put my hand on his chest. The visions of what our life could be like overwhelmed me. His sweater vest felt soft under my hand. His scent brought back a rush of emotions and memories that had been tucked away in my subconscious for years. I thought about the ocean-side house in Maine that we talked endlessly about owning one day back in school. I thought about our hypothetical children, Darren, Mikey, and little Suzie. I thought about peer-reviewing each other’s medical research articles.
“Luke.” I looked up at his face. I was ready to tell him no. I was ready to tell him that I loved Jason. Jason was the one for me and there was nothing that Luke and his change of heart could do to stop it. I couldn’t drop everything just because Luke decided he made a mistake some odd years ago. But as soon as I was going to form the word ‘no’, the desire on his face brought back a deep longing I didn’t know I had. “But, Jason…”
Luke pulled me in by the waist and before I could say no, he kissed me. The kiss was simple and sweet, but it lingered. I didn’t kiss him back but I also did nothing to stop it.
“Sophia?”
My stomach dropped to the floor. Everything inside me turned to ice.
I knew that voice so well that I could pick it out from a crowd of a hundred.
Pulling back from Luke, I hope against all hope that what I heard was my imagination and not the real person. I turned and saw what I feared the most: Jason — shocked, hurt, and everything else in between. He shook his head, not in a disapproving way, but in disbelief.
“How could you do this?” Jason asked. The hurt on his face stabbed me in the heart with the pain of a thousand knives.
Before I could say anything, Jason turned and stormed off.
“Jason, wait!” I yelled out, but he was already gone.
In just those few moments, everything I had disappeared.
To be continued…
###
The Billionaire Next Door Continues
Find out what happens in the next installment of The Billionaire Next Door #9: The One (Coming Soon). Sign up here to be notified when it comes out.
Forever Ours is the eighth installment of The Billionaire Next Door series. The series includes:
All Yours (The Billionaire Next Door #1)
For You (The Billionaire Next Door #2)
My Love (The Billionaire Next Door #3)
Just Us (The Billionaire Next Door #4)
With Me (The Billionaire Next Door #5)
You and I (The Billionaire Next Door #6)
All of Me (The Billionaire Next Door #7)
Forever Ours (The Billionaire Next Door #8)
The One (The Billionaire Next Door #9)
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More stories by Violette Paradis
*** Puck Bunny Series ***
Puck Bunny (Erotic Romance) (Puck Bunny Series #1)
Two on One (Erotic Romance) (Puck Bunny Series #2)
Penalty Box (Erotic Romance) (Puck Bunny Series #3)
*** Naughty Princess Series***
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sp; Desire: The Millionaire Count
Love: A Pirate’s Life
*** Other Stories ***
Haunted (A Vampire Alpha BBW Erotic Romance)
Love Games (Erotic Spy Romance)
The Gladiator’s Girl
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Thank You
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-Violette
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