Running From Love (21 page)

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-schooler’s 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 crème de la crème 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 she’ll 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 Aubrey’s heart with her son’s 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, she’d 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 she’d gotten in return was so much more than she’d ever imagined possible. She’d 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 wouldn’t be here, would he? She held her head high and squared her shoulders. Ryan didn’t 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 wasn’t large.

Aubrey focused her attention on her seat and walked quickly toward the table. The man she’d 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. They’d 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 mother’s 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 Justin’s 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 he’d 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 he’d 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 wasn’t 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 Justin’s love story in
A Forever Love
, book six in The Eligible Billionaires Series, coming soon to all major eRetailers.

RUNNING FROM LOVE

Maggie Marr

Copyright © 2015

All Rights Reserved.

978-1-62051-166-4

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