Page 15 of Yours, Finally

"Venue before decorations, right?" He lifted his eyes to me. "I think that's how it makes sense."

I stood, not to lean forward and gaze deep into the gray-blue of his gaze. Most people in my life had gorgeous brown eyes, but Jake's were different. I wanted to study them and know them as well as I knew and loved my own. Find the right shade of them and get a dress in that color. But I couldn't.

Funny that Javier, another of my brother's best friends, had blue eyes and I couldn't care less about figuring out their exact shade.

I went for my bags. "We also need to start thinking about guest lists. Should we reach out to some of the people that were there for their wedding in Chile? I bet they would love that."

"If you remember any of the names, I think it's a great idea. We should bring Tío Raul's brother and Tía Sonia's siblings, too. Maybe some of your cousins. You haven't seen them in ages."

I nodded and approached one of the washrooms. "I'll figure it out. Enjoy your workout."

It was the best I could do to appear neutral about Jake.

Alone in the shower room, I set up everything to get ready for the day. I undressed efficiently, ignoring the fact Jake was at the other side of the door.

Despite him wanting things to be easy between us again, it was too little a step. I couldn't let it change my mind about the future I used to wish for us.

I had moved on from every single boyfriend that didn't measure up to the love I wanted for myself. I had to believe I could move on from Jake, too.

But then, why did I carry this flame for so long?

Chapter 6

Jake

A few days later,I entered the announcement meeting not worried about the attention I would get. That was the gift from being so consumed by the idea of spending more time with Vi, and finally having the perfect excuse for it. Self control would have to be my copilot, but I could do that. I had done it for years. At least, for the next few months, I'd have more of Violeta.

Ten minutes went by in the meeting, but they were barely more than background noise.

"Jake, Gabe— it's my pleasure to announce this to everyone." Tío Raúl smiled at his son and me, drawing our attention to the news he would share.

I blushed. Not at the anticipation of all the attention, but because of the thoughts I'd been having about Tío Raul'sdaughter. Suffice to say, I'd struggled finishing my workout that day, knowing Vi had been naked in the shower a short distance from me.

Get it together, Jake Stewart.

And yet, I couldn't help stealing a glance in Vi's direction, sitting a few spots away from me across the big boardroom table.

Tío Raúl continued to grin. "We have now gotten approval from the Board for a corrected transition toward my retirement. My son, Gabe, will join me as co-CEO for a year. Jake, who you all know is like a second son to me, will take Gabe's place as the Vice President of Operations. Both have shown great skills in their respective roles, and we all believe they are a great fit for their new position."

People around me clapped, and my neighbor patted me on the back in congratulations. I smiled and did my best to take it in. We spent the next half hour discussing different aspects of the transition strategy, and doing initial estimations for a timeline. It seemed more and more certain; in six weeks, I'd be a Vice President in the Sotomayor Group.

"To wrap this up," Gabe said, "I'll meet with Dad and the Board to further finalize the process. Same with Jake— he'll meet with all of the VPs to help the transition, as well as with his successor. We're pretty sure it'll be Samar, right?"

I nodded. "My vote is still with Samar, but I'll bring it to the VP meeting in a couple of days to confirm."

"Excellent." Tío Raúl dropped an excited, single slap on the table. "I'm confident this will be a great change for the Group. I'm honored to have led this conglomerate all these years, but I'm glad I get to do it with my son for the next few months. I'm looking forward to leaving it in the hands of the next generation."

"Don't start saying goodbye yet," Gabe said. "Or you'll have us crying for the next year."

Tío Raúl laughed. "No need to cry yet. We'll get to it. For now, let's do this right, everyone."

Secretly, I was a crier. My emotions always came fast, flooding my system until it seemed like I was nothing but heart and skin. I'd worked hard over the years to regulate my inner world, but it still could overflow at times. Even something as simple as the idea of saying goodbye to Tío Raúl had me with a knot in my throat.

So I took the congratulations from the executive team with a smile on my face, while internally counting through controlled breathing. Just in case.

It all went to shit for several seconds when, on the way to each of our offices, a familiar bouquet of flowers made its way to Violeta's office.

A bouquet she used to receive each week… from her ex.