FOREVER BELOVED (Billionaire Love Series) by Jessa Eden Read Free Book Online

any punches. I made my
face unreadable. “That’s because I grew up.”
    She shook her head, while her blue eyes
glowed with compassion. “No, there’s a sadness in your face these
days. It wasn’t there when you were with Marla.”
    I scoffed. “A lot has changed since
then.”
    “Yes, it has. But I know my sister. She never
does anything without reason. She’s as solid and practical as they
come and I think there’s more to her story than you know. I think
you should really consider the possibility that you don’t have all
the facts.”
    Why did everyone think it was a good idea to
dig up the past?
    “No offense, Emma, but I can’t take advice
from you. You have no idea what she did.”
    She put her hand on my forearm as she leaned
toward me, meeting my gaze directly. “I know how much she loved
you, Beau. That counts for something. Don’t throw that away because
you don’t want to look at the past.” She patted my arm and gave me
a sympathetic glance. “You’re a good man, Beau, even if you don’t
want the world to know it.”
     
    *****
     
    Emma’s words bothered me. She had no idea the
turmoil I was experiencing on a daily basis as I questioned my
life. I was taking a long, hard look at the way I had been
living.
    It wasn’t pretty.
    Empty and hollow were two words that came to
mind.
    It was in the little things, like eating
dinner by myself and not having anyone to talk to about my day. It
had never bothered me before, but now it did.
    So I cut out going out so much. I had partied
a million times before and it was always the same. Boozing and
schmoozing to get into some girl’s pants I wouldn’t remember in the
morning had lost its appeal. It was old and I was tired of it.
    For all my success, I wondered what I really
had in life. I had one grandfather I cared about, one friend in
Micah, and no one else I was close to. Plus, I had a kid I had no
idea how to connect with.
    Speaking of which, the concept of family was
everywhere I seemed to look. It started when I went out for a jog
and saw a father and son in the park, playing catch. It seemed
innocent enough. But it got me thinking.
    Could I actually develop a relationship with
Charlie?
    What would it even look like?
    It was daunting to consider.
    Did he even want to know his old man?
    That was even scarier to think about.
    No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t ignore
that the world was full of families. I started noticing things,
like kid photos on my employees’ desks. Happy children, adoring
parents...hell, even a couple of puppies on TV caught my
attention.
    What the hell was I supposed to do with a
grown-ass kid?
    The answer wasn’t coming very quickly.
    One thing I was sure about, though, was I
didn’t want a sign from the universe telling me what to do. I would
decide on my own damn time, if and when I would get in touch with
Charlie.
    Meanwhile, things ramped up when the FBI
showed up in my office one day unexpectedly. I was coming back from
a meeting with the contractor on the Arsenal project when Donna
stopped me at the elevator.
    “Your next appointment is with Roger
Albright,” she whispered as she pointed toward the office.
    “Who?” I asked, not familiar with the
name.
    “He’s an FBI agent. He’s been calling me
every day for the last two weeks and today he just showed up.”
    “Do you know what he wants?”
    “No, he just asked to speak to you.”
    Shit.
    I didn’t want to deal with him, but that’s
what being the boss is all about.
    “Sorry, Beau, I didn’t know what else to
do.”
    “It’s fine. Give me five minutes and send him
in.”
    I hustled into my office, threw on my navy
Hugo Boss sports coat, and prepared to meet an FBI agent for who
knows what reason.
    Sure enough, five minutes later, Donna showed
the man dressed in black into my office. He wasn’t a big guy, but
his dark eyes were sharp and he surveyed my sprawling office as if
it was a crime scene.
    “Thanks for meeting with me today,” he