Forever Loved (Forever Lost Book 2)
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Authors: Laura Morgan
FOREVER LOVED
A sequel to Forever Lost
LAURA MORGAN
FOREVER LOVED
Copyright © 2016 by Laura Morgan.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: June 2016
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
Formatting: Limitless Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-68058-687-9
ISBN-10: 1-68058-687-4
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
For Ells. Sweetie, you rock, and don’t ever forget it! You’re an amazing friend, mother, and all-round human being. Thank you for just being you. xxx
“Do you have any chardonnay? I’m not really one for champagne,” said a voice from over Cassie’s shoulder, and she trembled at the sound. She knew that voice oh-so-well, and dared to hope that it wasn’t a fantasy. Those deep, raspy tones had haunted her hopes, dreams, regrets, and fantasies for years, and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest. Everything about her mind and body was drawn to that voice, but at the same time, she was terrified of what it meant for him to be standing behind Cassie in her theater. She turned to stare up at him, and felt her knees grow weak when his shadow fell over her. He was evidently no apparition at all.
“Leo. Are you really here?” she asked, and lifted her hands to touch him, still checking he was real. The pair of them stared at one another for a few seconds, mesmerized by the faces neither of them had seen in well over a year, and yet it seemed as if their souls reconnected with one another’s right away. She then heard as Leo’s breath caught in his throat, and he took her in for a few seconds while the world around them seemed to fall completely away. Standing there in front of Leo’s statuesque frame, she felt as though they’d never been apart.
Cassie’s breath hitched, and her body ached for him in a primal, desirous way. Leonardo Solomon looked older, wiser, and more broken than she’d ever seen him before, but the determination in his stare stirred her senses in a bittersweet array of both the terrific and the terrible. In that moment, Cassie wanted desperately to forget all about their shared traumatic past. The cause of that hurt, Victor Sanchez, and his memory loomed over them both like the proverbial elephant in the room, but they were free from her oppressive ex and knew he could never hurt either of them again.
She forgave Leo for everything he’d done. It no longer mattered how the past had gone, only how Cassie’s present had turned out. It didn’t matter that the Mexican gangster, whom she later married, had taken her away from Leo’s grasp. Her marriage to Victor was a relationship borne out of manipulation and forced submission, rather than love, and none of that had been Leo’s doing. Victor had stolen her away from the man stood before her, and then made her his obsession. In the end, she’d had no choice but to kill him to obtain the freedom she now cherished.
Cassie knew that underneath it all, she was still that timid young woman who had been forced to set out on her own after her disastrously failed life in the States. Perhaps she always had been. After not one, but two failed marriages, she’d sworn off men in the hope she could hide from her past, but was quickly realizing there was nowhere it couldn’t reach her. Where
he
wouldn’t find her…
She thought back to how she’d been a lonely recluse when Leo had come along and everything had changed. There’d been no refusing the advances of the gorgeous, yet intimidating gangster who had wooed her from atop his New York empire of women and drugs. Despite those sides of him, she knew she’d been done for the moment he’d laid eyes on her, and yet had adored every minute of their time together.
Cassie had loved Leo once, albeit so very long ago. She knew she still did, and excitement welled in her chest as she remembered their initial game of cat and mouse from their days across the pond years before.
“How could I be anywhere but here? I had to come and find you, Cassie. There’s no going back to anything I thought I knew before. All of that means nothing to me without you in my life—safe and free,” he answered after a few minutes. “You take my breath away, you’re so beautiful.”
Tears pricked at her eyes as his words washed over her. Cassie shook her head, feeling utterly dumfounded at his presence in both the UK and in her theater. She had no idea what to say or do; all she could do was stare.
“Is there a problem here, Ms. Philips?” a deep voice then asked. Cassie and Leo turned to look at the voice’s owner in shock, their bubble having burst. Her personal security guard, Roger Haynes, stood just a couple of feet away, and with a look on his face that meant serious trouble for Leo if she gave him the go-ahead. He didn’t make it obvious, but Cassie knew Roger was well armed, and she appreciated the close attention he always gave her when they were out and she was vulnerable. She paid him well to do it of course, but he’d been a necessary addition to her staff since leaving the States, as had the change of surname. Cassie hadn’t stopped looking over her shoulder since that first day back on English soil, but having Roger on hand had helped to ease her fears, and even put a stop to the nightmares that had plagued her for months following Victor’s demise.
After having a constant bodyguard with her at all times of the day and night in Mexico, she’d actually gotten used to being watched over while under lock and key. Grayson, her Gentle Giant, had even become a friend of sorts during their time together, and she still wanted the security that having a consistent protective presence gave her. In some ways, freedom scared her—not that Cassie would ever tell anyone that. She’d had to force herself to stop from going back to being a recluse at first. It’d become evident she was just a stone’s throw away from becoming an agoraphobic for a while back then, but Roger had swiftly become her rock. They’d not grown as close as she and Grayson had, but they definitely had a tight bond that’d been deeply forged during the past year, and she wouldn’t be without him. Cassie was also quite sure he’d recently moved into an apartment near hers purposely so he could be close by if she needed him. He continually went above and beyond the job description, and she’d been grateful for every single step he took to keep her safe.
“It’s all good, Rog. Thanks,” she told him with a smile. “Leo here’s an old friend.” Upon hearing the name, he immediately nodded and backed off. Roger knew all about her history—it was one of the things he’d insisted on knowing when he’d taken the job—and so he knew that Leo wasn’t the man or his cronies she’d run from. He returned to his spot across the room, but his eyes never left his mark, and she turned her head back up to meet Leo’s gaze.
“Good girl,” he told her with a smirk, and Cassie shrugged. She knew she didn’t need to explain Roger’s presence to him, or the change she’d made to her identity. He seemed impressed that she’d taken extra methods to ensure her safety, but Cassie figured he had to have expected it. Either way, she said nothing more about Roger or his place at her side. Leo would just have to understand that they’d be under his constant scrutiny while out in public.
Without hesitation, Leo offered her his hand and together they followed the swarm of people that were attending the opening show at the
New Beginnings Theater
. She’d almost forgotten all about her commitments and responsibilities to the playwright, Alex, and his performance. In many ways, she felt out of sorts, like she had no idea what was going on around her. Cassie was still very much in shock at having bumped into Leo, and while she put her thoughts back in some semblance of a reasonable order, she let him lead the way. He grinned and held on to her hand tightly the entire time, and she knew he was enjoying having her at his mercy again after so long.
“Where are you sitting?” she eventually asked, joining the sea of guests heading toward the stands. As owner, Cassie had one of the front row seats reserved for her, and she followed him down the long pathway that led toward the stage. She felt emotionally disheveled, and lost in a sea of wondrous inner reactions to Leo’s almighty presence in her new world. The old and the new were uniting around her, and Cassie didn’t fight it for a second. She’d wanted him to come and find her for so long, but had never dared to dream it might actually happen. And yet, here he was, and it was a beautiful feeling having him close again. Regardless of where things went for her and Leo in the future, she knew she would cherish tonight’s reunion forever.
She felt herself holding on to him tightly, just to be sure it was real, and Cassie looked up at Leo as he walked her to her seat. He was still the same handsome, powerful man she’d known a lifetime ago, but now he seemed softer, gentler. Leo had the weight of the world on those broad shoulders of his, there was no doubt about it, but he’d chosen to come back to her, and she would never forget that he’d decided to seek out her company when it’d come time for him to move on with his life like she’d done eighteen months before.
“I’m right here.” He pointed to the second seat in, which just so happened to be next to hers, and Cassie chuckled.
“Of course you are.”
Together, they watched the amazing performance hand-in-hand. She barely said a word, but smiled to herself many times over the course of the show, regardless of the storyline being played out before her eyes. Cassie was thoughtful yet relaxed, and her body ached for Leo in a way she’d forced herself to try and forget since being dragged away from his side. It was the first time in years she’d even felt the rush of adrenaline that spiked from her heart and fluttered down into her belly, but it was a more than welcome return.
A huge part of her wanted to sit him down and talk over everything from the past. They needed to put it all behind them, and yet right now, she didn’t want to take turns dredging up their history. Cassie only wanted to move forward. She wanted to be with Leo, to have him hold her close and wordlessly let her know he still cared. She’d never stopped loving him, and knew by his presence here that he’d felt the same.
“You’re my soulmate, Cassie. I love you,” he whispered in her ear during one of the quieter moments of the play, and she peered back at him through the darkness. He’d never told her that before, but she trusted that he meant it, even after having spent such a long time apart.
“I love you too,” she whispered in return, laying a soft kiss on his cheek before turning back to the stage with happy tears in her eyes.
***
“Whoa, who’s that?” Cassie’s new personal assistant, and now close friend, Siobhan, asked once the play had finished. The pair of them were going over the last couple of items on the itinerary while working the crowd, and Siobhan told her how she had noticed their attractive guest right away.
Leo had left her to do her job, seemingly understanding how important the night was for Cassie, but he still watched her as intently as Roger did on the other side of the large hall. He’d walked off to chat with some of the other attendees while she and Siobhan finished their networking, but she felt his presence and hoped his mind was on her the entire time.
“That’s Leo.” Cassie grinned as she answered. She knew she was glowing, and figured her eyes were undoubtedly more alight than they’d been since moving back to England the year before. Siobhan smirked and wriggled her eyebrows, making Cassie smile wider. She thought back to when she and Siobhan had met during the stringent interview process to find her an assistant shortly after her return to the UK. Cassie had wanted only the best, needing someone she could truly trust at her side, both professionally and personally, and together she and Siobhan had made a fantastic team.
She’d been both a colleague and a substitute best friend to Cassie since taking on the role, and was as invaluable as Roger. Siobhan had become the person who’d seen her at her highs and her lows, and who hadn’t judged her at all when Cassie had finally opened up about her past. Her weekly sessions with her counselor also couldn’t be hidden from her assistant, and despite her best efforts, there’d still been rumors that followed Cassie over from the States regarding her past. Many of the new people in her life had questions that’d never been spoken aloud, and Cassie had never opened up, but her silence hadn’t helped dispel Siobhan’s intrigue about her past.
After she had a meltdown the night of the anniversary of Victor’s death, Cassie had finally revealed all. She’d needed to offload and had been rewarded with a deeper understanding from someone who had not only accepted her story as truth, but who never treated her like a victim afterward.
“Leo? As in,
your
Leo?” Siobhan asked, snapping her boss out of her reverie. Cassie watched her take a good look at the impressive man who stood a few yards away. He was talking politely with a few of the actors, but his attention still seemed solely on his once-lost lover, and even Siobhan flushed crimson.
“Yes,
my
Leo.”