A Love Worth Saving (Forever Yours Book 2) Read online

  Reed stayed quiet for long moments, then strode toward the bed. He pulled her into his arms and then kissed her fiercely.

  “I’ve got to go now.”

  He left the room, and a moment later the front door closed shut.

  Ashley got out of bed. A wave of nausea assaulted her. Damn! I so don’t need this today. She raced to the bathroom and made it, just in time.

  Thirty minutes later, Ashley, still nauseous, stepped out of the cab in front of a six-story glass and steel structure in downtown Chicago. The building housed the offices of The Perfect Affair, the event planning company she worked for.

  The heavens chose that precise moment to open up. A deluge of water fell from the sky. Even with an umbrella, she was soaked by the time she made it inside.

  “Oh my god, you look like a drowned rat. It must really be coming down out there.”

  “Good morning to you, too, Alice.”

  Alice, TPA’s receptionist, laughed. “Camilla wants to see you.”

  “When?”

  “Now.”

  Ashley glanced at the closed door across the hall. “New client?”

  “Nope. He used to work with Jenna.”

  Jenna was Camilla’s former assistant, before Ashley took the position a couple of months ago. “And now he’ll work with me.”

  Alice grinned. “Yep.”

  “So, who is he?”

  “Jake Delaney.”

  Ashley drew in a sharp breath. Just when she thought the day couldn’t get any worse, it did. “Of course.” It had been two years since she’d seen the cheating bastard and wasn’t it just her luck she was feeling like crap and looked like something the cat dragged in when they finally ran into one another?

  “Okay, I’ll drop my things at my desk and then go in to see them.”

  Ashley trotted down the hall and stopped at the cubicle on the right at the end. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t known this might happen someday. Jake used The Perfect Affair to plan his political events, but usually his campaign assistant dealt with the dinners and fundraisers TPA planned and executed. So, what was he doing here, in person?

  She dried off the best she could, tucked her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk, and headed back up the hall to Camilla’s office.

  “Are you feeling all right?” Alice asked as Ashley passed by. “All kidding aside, you don’t look well.”

  “Just a little morning sickness.” Or maybe she’d come down with a virus, which would explain the overwhelming weakness that accompanied her nausea this morning and still lingered. She was going to go home after this meeting to be on the safe side.

  “Ah, I hope you feel better soon.”

  Ashley approached Camilla’s closed office door and knocked. God, she couldn’t do this. Didn’t want to re-live the pain and humiliation. Again.

  “Come in.”

  Wait a minute. She wasn’t some wallflower who faded into the background just because some idiot guy had done her wrong. Ashley McNamara was made of stronger stuff, thank you very much. Not only could she face Jake again, she would, and treat the lying, cheating, son-of-a-bitch with professional courtesy. Even if it killed her.

  With shoulders held high and a smile pinned on her face, Ashley opened the door and stepped in.

  “Good morning, Camilla.”

  “Good, you’re here. Jake Delaney, I’d like you to meet Ashley McNamara.”

  Jake turned. His eyes rounded and he gasped. “You’re Ashley McNamara?”

  Barbara hadn’t told him she got married? Interesting.

  Camilla arched up one perfectly shaped brow. “You two know each other?”

  Ashley nodded. “It was Jake’s mother, Barbara, who recommended The Perfect Affair to me when I was planning my wedding.” Ashley had driven Camilla crazy constantly double-checking all the details. Enough so that Camilla offered her a job as an event planner when her then assistant, Jenna, left right after Ashley’s wedding.

  “My mother knows you’re married?”

  “Yes.” Although her relationship with Jake ended two years ago, she maintained her friendship with his mother. She wasn’t going to ‘break-up’ with the mother because her son turned out to be such an ass.

  “She didn’t tell me.”

  Ashley shrugged, then took a seat at the oak conference table beside Camilla. “It must have slipped her mind. Now, how can The Perfect Affair help you today?”

  “When?”

  He sounded annoyed. Good. “When what?” she asked, taking great care to keep both her voice and expression neutral.

  “When did you get married?”

  Oh yes, definitely annoyed. But why?

  “If working with Ashley is going to be a problem, Jake, I can—”

  Jake gave an affable smile. “It’s no trouble, Camilla. I’m curious. Ashley and I go way back.”

  Camilla leaned back in her chair, crossed one long leg over the other, and cast an inquisitive glance up at Jake. “Now I’m intrigued. How far back?”

  “We were high school sweethearts. Dated for six years.”

  Camilla turned to Ashley, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Do tell.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. We dated. We broke up. End of story.” She wasn’t going to get into all the gory details. Why should she?

  Camilla nodded. “And now you’re married to Reed. Okay, I’ll—”

  A loud rap on the door had Camilla stopping in mid-sentence.

  “Excuse me a moment.” She rose, walked to the door, and opened it a crack.

  Camilla returned a couple of minutes later. “I have a call I must take.” She turned to Ashley. “Take Jake into the conference room. He’ll give you the particulars and what he needs from us. I’ll join you when I finish.”

  Ashley nodded and gestured for Jake to follow her. A moment later they entered the conference room and the door clicked shut. She pinned the professional smile back in place, took a seat at the massive oak table dominating the room, and gave Jake an expectant look.

  He took a seat in the chair next to her. So close she could 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.”
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  “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 twenty-four hours, or what might have happened if they hadn’t been able to stop the bleeding. When he did . . .

  No. Ashley would be fine. And there wasn’t any permanent damage. That’s what matters. “She’s still in the hospital.”

  “What about you? How are you doing?”

  “I’m good.”

  “Good? Jeez, Reed. You just suffered a significant loss, and I understand it was touch and go with Ashley. How can you be good?”

  He was, or he would be if everyone would stop asking. He didn’t want to talk or think about any of this anymore. Had only come in to the office to get away from it for a while. “Was there something you needed?”

  Daniela opened her mouth to speak and then closed it as if reconsidering. She shook her head. “It can wait.”

  “What can wait?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “No, if there’s a problem with the Archer project, I want to know.”

  “Working isn’t going to make anything of what you’ve just been through disappear. Go to your wife. You need each other at a time like this.”

  His lips tightened. “I said I’m okay. Now, what’s the problem?”

  Daniela glared at him. “We never received the third payment owed.”

  Shit. “How late is he?”

  “Over a month.”

  Reed frowned. “Has anyone from our side contacted him about this yet?”

  “Yes. The first time was two weeks ago. Their Accounts Payable person told us there had been a glitch at the bank and the payment would be wired immediately. We still haven’t seen it, and no one from Archer Industries is returning our calls.”

  “Damn.”

  Daniela walked further into the office and took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. Reed gave her an assessing look.

  “I did a little digging after I got the call from our accounting people last evening.”

  “And?”

  “Rumor has it Archer Industries is looking to file Chapter 7.”

  His heart pounded and fingers shook. “Bankruptcy?”

  Daniela nodded.

  “Shit.” The last thing Paradis and McNamara needed was to lose the one client who’d been single handedly keeping the business afloat for the last six months.

  “Yeah, my sentiments, exactly.”

  “So is it rumor or fact?” Reed asked.

  “At this point I honestly don’t know. I checked in at the jobsite and some of the supply orders have been delayed, but not all. So, Archer must be paying some of his bills.”

  “Are we behind schedule?”

  Daniela shook her head. “Not at this point.”

  “Okay, I’ll give Archer a call and see if I can find out what’s going on.”

  “I’m already on it. I left a message on his personal cell phone this morning on my way into the office and asked him to contact me as soon as possible.”

  Reed nodded. “Good. Let me know when he gets back to you.”

  “Will do. In the meantime, why don’t you get out of here? You look exhausted.”

  He was. He hadn’t slept much last night. Couldn’t get the image of Ashley’s still, pale form out of his head when they’d wheeled her out of surgery and into recovery. Or the pain and anguish in her eyes when he’d told her about the baby.

  The baby . . . No, his son. Damn it. How the hell did this happen? The doctor tried to reassure them it hadn’t been anything they had or hadn’t done, but his words offered little comfort. Who cared that fifteen-to-twenty percent of pregnancies ended in miscarriage during the first trimester? This was his child and . . .

  He wanted to scream, or better yet throw something, anything to get rid of the heavy weight that had settled in his chest. His vision blurred.

  No. He wasn’t going to think about any of it anymore.

  “Go home, Reed,” Daniela said, her voice full of compassion. “You shouldn’t be here. I’ll let you know if anything more comes up.”

  He blinked to clear his eyes. “I said I’m okay.” He had work to do and he was damned well going to do it.

  “Then I’ll leave you.” Daniela stood, and strode to the door.

  “One more thing.”

  She stopped and turned to face him, an inquiring look on her face.

  “What was the value of the missed payment?”

  “Two and a half million.”

  Reed drew in a sharp breath. A loss of such magnitude would put Paradis and McNamara in the red. “Holy hell.”

  “Yeah,” Daniela agreed. “Holy hell, indeed.”

  “Hi, Ashley. Can I come in?”

  Ashley glanced up from her book and frowned. “Jake?”

  “These are for you.” He ambled into the cramped hospital room and presented her with a bouquet of gerbera daisies—her favorite flower—in vibrant hues of sun-kissed peach, russet red, and burnt orange, then folded his long frame down into the chair by the bed.

  “They’re beautiful, but what are you doing here?”

  Care and concern blazed from his sapphire blue eyes. “I wanted to see how you’re doing. You gave me quite a scare yesterday.”

  Yes, she probably had, passing out the way she did. �
��Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t worry about it. What I want to know is, are you going to be okay?”

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.” Physically at least. Emotionally, she wasn’t so sure. She knew all too well what it was like to grieve the loss of a loved one. It had taken a long time to come to terms with losing her parents. Jake, too.

  “And the child?”

  She glanced down at her abdomen and shuddered. And this baby, no, her son, her little boy, who she’d come to love with all her heart over the last eighteen weeks, now he was gone, too.

  Okay, so the pregnancy hadn’t been planned, but now . . . Tears clogged her throat. She swallowed hard and turned away. “You know?”

  “You said something about it right before you blacked out.”

  Something in the tone of his voice had her turning back to him. An emotion burned in his wide eyes. Anguish? Dread? No, she must be mistaken.

  “Oh, Ashley. I’m so sorry.”

  A strangled sob escaped from her parted lips.

  “Please, Ash. Please don’t cry.”

  Jake clamped strong arms around her and held her tight. She tried to ease away. It wasn’t him she wanted. She wanted Reed, but Reed wasn’t here. He was at work. Again. When she needed him most.

  Ashley cried. Breath-stealing sobs that wracked her body. She couldn’t help it. And Jake held her, comforted her.

  “Ashley, I—”

  Jake dropped his hold on her and jerked away as if he’d been scalded. She stared up at Reed who stood frozen at the entrance to her hospital room. A muscle twitched in his neck.

  He’s pissed. Too bad, because so was she. He should have been here, with her, but wasn’t. She sucked in a deep breath and swiped the tears from her face. “Hi.”

  Reed dragged a hand through his hair. “Hi.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “I’m Jake Delaney.”

  “Barbara’s son,” Ashley added.