by Ashley Blake
“No, I don’t mind.” My voice was soft because I knew that this was not going to be easy.
"Okay, Jonny told me that you broke up with him because you didn't want to get in the way of him following his dreams. Let me tell you a little bit about how Jake and I met because I don’t want you to make the same mistake that I did.”
Hmmm, this I’ve got to hear.
“Jake and I met in college, just like you and Jonathan and, just like you, right before graduation I broke up with Jake.”
This surprised me. “You did? Why?”
“I got into law school in Chicago and Jake was supposed to work for his family in New York and he was going to throw all of that away so that he could be with me in Chicago. His father had been grooming him to take over the family business with his brother ever since he was a young boy, and it was expected that that was what he was going to do. Jake didn't want to be away from me so he was planning to tell his father that he was not going to work for the company and he was going to figure out something else to do in Chicago. I didn’t want him to do that because he was going to be throwing away an incredible opportunity that I felt one day he might resent me for, and I didn’t want that to happen. So I told him that I had to focus on law school and that it would be best for us to break up and he should go work for his father’s company. He wasn’t happy about it at all, but he didn’t have a choice so we broke up.”
“How did he take it?”
“He was devastated, and so was I, but we went our separate ways and it just so happened that at our 10 year college reunion we saw each other and it was as if no time had passed because we picked up right where we left off. So, because everything eventually worked out with us, if I had the chance to do it all over again would I do everything the same? Absolutely not. I lost 10 years with Jake and I will never be able to get those 10 years back. Jake is the love of my life and he is the person that I was meant to be with, and I knew that the moment that I met him.”
I could feel the tears welling up as she spoke to me because it was like she was talking about what Jonathan and I had.
"Skylar, Jonathan really loves you and I know my nephew, he's like his father and he's like his uncle, they know when they've met the right woman for them and I truly believe that Jonathan feels that way about you. I have never seen him as happy as he was when he was with you. You need to follow your heart and not worry about you getting in the way of his dreams. If you both love each other like I think you do, don’t let the love slip away.”
“But he’s going to be gone for so long and his life is going to really change.”
“Yes it is, but he loves you. He might be on tour, but he can fly you to visit him anywhere whenever your school schedule permits. If you truly love him Sky, go to him and tell him that you want to be with him and you’ll both figure out a way to make things work. Don’t do what I did and miss out on precious time together. This kind of love comes around once in a lifetime and I would hate for you both to miss it.”
I wiped away my tears as her words sank in.
“Well dear, that’s all I wanted to say. Thank you for listening. I’ll let you get back to packing and I hope to see you again soon.”
Lauren smiled at me and gave me a big hug and then left, and I had to admit that talking to her made me feel better about things with Jonathan. I thought about everything that she said to me. She missed out on 10 years with her husband who she knew was the love of her life, and looking back she said she knew that it was a mistake to break up with him before graduation.
Was I making the same mistake? Did I break up with him because I thought it was the best thing for him, or because I was afraid of getting my heart broken? If I was being honest with myself I knew I did it to protect myself, and you know what? That was a pretty selfish thing to do. I sat there dumbfounded looking around at everything and nothing at the same time.
What am I doing? Skylar, what are you doing? Why am I going to throw away what we have?
All of a sudden something just clicked and I flung open my door and ran downstairs to Jonathan's room to see him. He looked pretty sad as he was packing his suitcase and I gently knocked on the door so that he would know that I was standing there. His eyes were full of sorrow as he looked at me and I wanted to make it go away.
I didn’t say anything, I just walked right over to him and put my arms around him and held on tight. He wrapped his arms around me and I could feel his body shake as he sobbed on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve been such an idiot Jonathan. I love you and I don’t want to lose you. If you still want me we can figure this out. I don’t want to break up with you.”
He pulled back a bit and gently held my face in his hands as his tear filled eyes searched mine.
"I don't want to lose you either Sky. I love you so much and my heart was breaking when I thought about life without you. I don't want to be with anyone else. I promise we’ll figure out how we’re going to see each other while I’m on the road.”
I smiled at him. “I know, we can work this out.”
"You'll visit me, I'll visit you and we will be together. This, what we have, this is meant to be. I don't ever want to be with anyone else.”
“Neither do I.”
He leaned down and gently touched his lips to mine.
“I love you, Sky.”
“I love you too.”
Epilogue
Six Years Later
Katie and I ended up rooming together all four years of college and she is my best friend in the world. The summer after our sophomore year she was visiting me in Chicago and we walked by a cupcake shop and a light bulb went off at the exact same time for both of us. From that point on, in all of our spare time we created a business plan for a cupcake business, found sponsors, found a storefront in Boston and started our cupcake boutique the summer after our junior year. By the time we graduated we were turning a profit. We now have 20 stores across the East Coast and over 200 employees.
Jonathan ended up touring for three years, recorded three albums and is recognized by fans all the time who beg him to put out a solo album. He hung up the guitar to go work for his dad when two of the guys in the band got married and had babies. They decided that they didn’t want to be away from their families anymore, so the band stuck to their original plan and they broke up after the contract ended. I can tell he misses it but he still keeps in touch with the guys from the band.
We continued to see each other and the distance wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be probably because I was so busy with school and starting a business. He flew out to see me and I flew out to see him as often as we could and every time I saw him it was always better than the last time.
Katie and I live in the same condo building in Manhattan and I’m not too far from Jonathan’s condo. Our relationship is stronger than ever and I will be forever grateful to his aunt Lauren for coming to see me that day.
*****
It was around 5:00 p.m. on a gorgeous Saturday in the spring, I was checking my lipstick in the car mirror and I looked over at Jonathan, who was driving, and smiled at him. He must have felt me looking at him because he glanced over at me and returned my smile.
“What’s on your mind, beautiful?”
“Oh nothing, just thinking about how much fun we just had at Bunny’s 90th birthday party. She is a ball of energy.”
“Yeah, Nana Bunny has always been a spitfire. It was good to see everyone, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was. I was kind of surprised to see that your uncle Ethan has already moved onto wife number six. Wasn’t Barbi’s mom wife number four?”
“Yep, but everyone in the family knew that wouldn’t last.”
“I would say I feel bad for Barbi but she seems to be doing just fine. Did you see her on that tabloid news show the other day?”
“I did, and she seems to fit right in with the kind of stuff that she likes to wear.”
I giggled at
that, I couldn’t help it. “Funny how some things never change.”
“I know. So, do you want to go for a walk in the park before dinner? Our reservation isn’t until 7:00.”
“Sure, we haven’t done that in a while.”
Ever since that first walk in the park in college when Jonathan called out Barbi, we made it a habit to take a walk in the park whenever we could.
We were strolling through the park and Jonathan suggested that we go in the Botanical Garden since we rarely did that. The flowers in there were so beautiful. We were casually walking through the garden and Jonathan pointed out a beautiful group of sunflowers.
“Aren’t these beautiful?”
“Yes, they are. They look like the flowers on my ring and necklace.”
Just then an employee walked by and said she had a package for us. I was thoroughly confused, how could she have a package for us when she didn’t know that we would be there? She handed Jonathan something and I couldn’t see what it was until he turned around towards me. There in his hand was a gorgeous bouquet of sunflowers and, once again, I knew that my dad was there. He handed them to me and I couldn’t stop smiling and I could feel the tears welling up.
“Jonathan, these are beautiful, thank you.”
“You’re beautiful, Sky.”
He suddenly got very serious. “You are everything I have ever wanted in woman. You make me a better man every day, you are my best friend, my happiness and joy, the person I cannot live without. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Before you there was no one and without you there will never be anyone else.”
He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box and got down on one knee. My heart was pounding as a tear gently rolled down my cheek. He opened the box and the diamond ring took my breath away.
“Skylar Miller, will you marry me?”
I didn’t even hesitate. “Yes! A thousand times yes!”
I flung my arms around him and our lips met in a passionate kiss.
“I love you, Sky.”
“I love you too, Jonathan.”
All of a sudden people around us started clapping and I couldn’t stop grinning as I looked around and wiped away my tears of happiness. Jonathan picked me up and swung me around.
“We’re getting married!”
I am the happiest woman in the world.
The End
Books by Ashley Blake
Beautiful Sky
The Billionaire’s Desire
The Billionaire’s Desire 2: Dubai Confidential
The Billionaire’s Desire 3: Ultimate Bliss
The Billionaire’s Desire Bonus Book 4: Breakable Bonds
The Billionaire’s Desire Bonus Book 4: Always and Forever
My Forever is You: Reunited
My Forever is You: Resolution
My Heart Says Yes
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
