An Excerpt from A Forever Love.
A Forever Love, book six in The Eligible Billionaires Series, coming soon from Maggie Marr.
Aubrey sipped her white wine and glanced around the wedding reception. Before today, she had never met any of the people at her table. Paloma, Aubreys best friend and the grooms first wife, had on occasion mentioned a fondness for Prim Baxter, who sat to Aubreys right, next to her billionaire husband Tristan Rhoades.
Having worked in investment banking before returning to her childhood home, Aubrey knew Tristan by reputation. Shed heard a mult.i.tude of stories about his ruthless nature and his habit of buying and dissecting companies. But the man who sat beside Aubrey with his arm around his wife, teasing Prim about what Tristan called her near-addiction to anything colored gold, was much more jovial and charming than all the reports Aubrey had heard.
Aubrey glanced at the long head table where Ryan and his bride Charla sat. She was so very different than Paloma, but the bride did share one similarity with Ryans deceased wife: Charla seemed to love Ryan in that never-ending way that Paloma had loved him. Aubrey smiled. Paloma would be pleased, very, very, pleased that Ryan had found love once again.
"Aubrey, you mentioned that you live in Kansas?"
Aubrey turned to Prim and nodded. Prim was lovely, with her light brown skin and dark brown hair. Her smile was warm, and a quick intelligence inhabited her eyes.
"I run Rockwater Farms in Hudson," Aubrey said.
"Wow, Kansas? Whats that like?" Tristan asked.
Aubreys smile widened. "Pretty great, actually. I was in investment banking for years, but when my mom pa.s.sed away and my dad started to fail, it just seemed like the right time to go home." Of course she wouldnt mention the extenuating circ.u.mstance that had predicated her return trip from the heady atmosphere of investment banking in New York City to the Heartland of America.
"Wait? Rockwater Farms? Isnt that the where the Red Barn is located?" Prim inquired.
Aubrey nodded. "The very one. Nina Hayes, the chef, is my sister."
"Oh," Prim nodded toward her husband. "Then dont let this woman fool you. Rockwater Farms and The Red Barn is one of the best-kept secrets in America. I just read a profile on you in Women Executives. Youre building a farm to table model and a soon-to-be three star Michelin restaurant. "
Heat pulsed through Aubreys face. Attention wasnt something she craved and, well, tooting ones own horn might work on the coasts, but in the center of America people put their heads down and worked.
"Youre very kind, but I cant take all the credit. Its my sisters talents that have made The Red Barn so successful. I just run the farm side and take care of the numbers."
"In Kansas?" Tristan asked.
Prim smacked him on the arm. "Stop. Not nice. Not funny. Warren Buffet is from Nebraska, for goodness sake, and it borders Kansas."
"It does?" Tristan tilted his head. "I thought Nebraska bordered Oklahoma?"
Aubrey took another sip of her wine. Yes, she knew from experience that Midwest geography was as mystifying to most Los Angelinos and New Yorkers as Mandarin Chinese. She glanced down at her watch and did some quick math in her head. "Excuse me, wont you?"
Tristan and Prim and the other five people at her table smiled her way. She grasped her bag and skirted the edge of the Versailles room to the outer lobby. She pulled her phone from her purse and pressed "Home." She had just enough time to catch Max before he went to bed.
"Hey Mom."
Where once upon a time Max would have been tap-dancing around and singing when she called, she now got a practiced junior high-schoolers nonchalance.
"Hi baby, how was your day?"
"You know. Math, science, English, and history. Helped Aunt Nina for a while. Now grandpa and I are splitting a pizza. When are you coming home?"
Aubrey glanced about the room at the creme de la creme of the financial and business worlds wandering about the lobby of the Versailles room. "Tomorrow," Aubrey said.
"Got it. I think Aunt Nina wanted to talk to you, said sh.e.l.l call you later tonight."
"Tell Grandpa I love him, and Max, I love you too."
"Yep, got it Mom. Be safe. Love you."
A tiny ache of longing pulsed through Aubreys heart with her sons words. She closed her eyes and took a long deep breath. She had every right thing she could ever want. She opened her eyes. Yes, shed given up the "glamorous" lifestyle of private jets and high-end luxury resorts and more money than any one person could ever want or need, but what shed gotten in return was so much more than shed ever imagined possible. Shed gotten her son and her freedom. She slipped her phone into her bag and walked back toward her table. Just as she entered the room she stopped.
Fear trickled through her blood. Across the room? Was that Justin Travati? No. He wouldnt be here, would he? She held her head high and squared her shoulders. Ryan didnt really travel in the same circles as Justin, nor did he pursue the same sort of exploits. But when you dealt with the billionaires of the world, the orbit wasnt large.
Aubrey focused her attention on her seat and walked quickly toward the table. The man shed spotted was tall and imposing, with olive-colored skin and lush black hair that spoke to a Mediterranean heritage. He carried himself with the regal Travati air. They were such arrogant men, the Travati brothers, and in some ways understandably so. Theyd swept through the society and financial worlds, breaking hearts with their breathtaking good looks and banking billions with their astute business sense.
Tristan Rhoades stood when Aubrey approached the table and pulled out her chair. Such a gentleman.
"Thank you." With one last swift glance toward the far side of the room, her heart froze. From across the room, the Travati brilliant blue eyes, the one homage to their mothers Irish heritage, locked upon her.
Adrenaline spiked her blood. She forced her face to remain neutral. So similar in looks, so similar in bearing, but thankfully not Justin Travati. No, the man across the room was the youngest Travati brother, the bon vivant, who would jet set and in fact orbit in the high-end resort circles that inhabited Mesquale. She nodded toward Justins brother, Devon. His eyebrow hitched upward. He might recognize her, might have some vague recollection of her working at Travati Financial, or he might just wonder where hed met her before today. Not enough to raise the alarm. Not enough to draw questions and inquiries, or even to make Devon comment to his older brother, Justin, that hed run into a former employee.
Her palms were moist and her fingertips tingled. A deep breath, a forced smile, and then faked attention to the conversation around her that revolved around a story involving Prim, Tristan, and a mishap with a fire hose. How funny. She really wasnt listening, but she laughed and let her gaze slip to where Devon had been sitting. His chair now empty, he was gone. She gave a silent prayer of thanks, because the last thing she would ever want in this world was for Justin Travati to know was that she was now residing in Kansas and raising his only living child.
You can continue reading Aubrey and Justins love story in A Forever Love, book six in The Eligible Billionaires Series, coming soon to all major eRetailers.
The EligibleBillionaires Series.
Cant Buy Me LoveOne Night for LoveA Christmas Billionaire.
Last Call for Love.
Eligible Billionaires Books 1-3.