All My Tomorrow Are You

Sienna Brooks had stopped believing in forever a long time ago. To her, forever was just a beautiful word people used when they were in love, before life reminded them that nothing was guaranteed. She had watched relationships fall apart, promises get broken, and people who once swore they could never live without each other become complete strangers. So Sienna made a promise to herself: she would never give anyone enough power to break her heart. At twenty-four, she was focused on building her own life. She worked as a junior interior designer in New York, lived in a small but beautiful apartment with her best friend Madison, and spent most of her free time pretending she was perfectly happy being single. Madison knew better. “You don’t hate love,” Madison told her one Friday evening as they sat at their favorite café. “You just hate the idea of being vulnerable.” Sienna rolled her eyes. “Same thing.” “No, it’s not.” “It is when you’re the one who ends up crying.” Madison laughed. “One bad relationship and suddenly you’re the president of the Anti-Love Association.” “One bad relationship is enough.” Sienna meant it. Until she met Jackson Reed. Their first meeting was anything but romantic. It happened on a rainy Tuesday morning. Sienna was already late for work, carrying her coffee in one hand and her phone in the other as she rushed through the entrance of a small café. She turned too quickly, bumped into someone, and watched in horror as her coffee splashed across a very expensive-looking black coat. “Oh my God!” The man looked down at his coat, then slowly looked at her. Sienna froze. He was tall, handsome, and annoyingly calm. His dark hair was slightly damp from the rain, and his expression made it obvious that he was not amused. “I’m so sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t see you.” “I noticed.” She stared at him. “Excuse me?” “You were looking at your phone.” Sienna glanced at her phone, then back at him. “And you were standing directly in my way.” His eyebrow lifted. “Directly in your way?” “Yes.” A small smile appeared on his lips. “Interesting apology.” “I’m not apologizing anymore.” She turned to leave. “Wait.” She stopped. “You got coffee on my coat.” “You’ll survive.” For the first time, he actually laughed. Sienna hated that she noticed how attractive his smile was. She walked away without giving him her name. Jackson watched her disappear through the door. He didn’t know it yet, but that woman was about to change his life. Jackson Reed was twenty-nine and came from one of New York’s wealthiest families. His father had built Reed Development Group into a billion-dollar company, and Jackson had spent years proving that he wasn’t simply the rich man’s son. He was now the company’s youngest executive, known for being confident, disciplined, and almost impossible to impress. He had money, success, women constantly trying to get his attention, and absolutely no interest in settling down. At least, that was what he believed. Three days after their first meeting, Jackson walked into a business presentation and stopped when he saw Sienna standing at the front of the room. She stopped too. “You.” “Coffee girl.” Her eyes widened. “You own this project?” Jackson smiled. “Apparently, you work for the company designing it.” Sienna sighed. Madison would later tell her that was the moment the universe started laughing at her. The project brought them together repeatedly. At first, they couldn’t stand each other. Jackson thought Sienna was stubborn. Sienna thought Jackson was arrogant. But the more time they spent together, the more they discovered about each other. Jackson noticed that Sienna always bought two coffees in the morning because she knew Madison would forget hers. Sienna noticed that Jackson never ate during long meetings unless someone reminded him. He discovered that she loved old romantic movies. She discovered that he secretly loved them too but would never admit it. Their arguments slowly became teasing. Their teasing became flirting. And somewhere between late-night meetings and accidental dinners, something changed. One night, after working until nearly midnight, Jackson drove Sienna home. They sat outside her apartment for several minutes, neither of them saying anything. “You know,” Sienna said quietly, “you’re not as terrible as I thought you were.” Jackson smiled. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” “Don’t get used to it.” “I won’t.” She looked at him. He looked back. For a moment, neither moved. Then Jackson leaned closer and kissed her. It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t planned. It was gentle. And the second his lips touched hers, Sienna knew she was in trouble. Because for the first time in years, she wanted to believe in something she had sworn never to believe in again. Love. Their relationship grew slowly. Jackson took her to places she had never been. Sienna introduced him to ordinary things he had forgotten how to enjoy. They went for midnight drives, ate takeout on her apartment floor, danced in the kitchen when nobody was watching, and spent Sundays doing absolutely nothing together. Jackson became the person Sienna called when something good happened. Sienna became the first person Jackson wanted to see when his day went badly. Madison watched it all happen with a smile. “You are in love,” she told Sienna one night. Sienna shook her head. “I’m not.” “You literally smile at your phone when he texts you.” “I smile at funny messages.” “He sent you ‘good morning.’” “It was a nice good morning.” Madison laughed. “You’re hopeless.” Sienna eventually admitted the truth to herself. She was falling in love with him. But there was something she didn’t know. Jackson had been keeping a secret. And the secret involved her family. Months before he met Sienna, Jackson’s father had begun negotiations to purchase an old property on the edge of the city. The property belonged to Sienna’s father, Daniel Brooks, who had been struggling financially after his business collapsed. The Reed company wanted the property for a massive new development. Jackson had been involved in the negotiations. He had even seen Sienna’s name in the documents. But he never connected the name to the woman from the café. When he finally realized that Sienna was Daniel Brooks’s daughter, the deal had already become complicated. Jackson should have told her immediately. Instead, he convinced himself he would find a way to fix everything before she ever discovered the truth. He didn’t want her to think he had pursued her because of the property. He didn’t want to lose her. So he stayed quiet. And that silence became the biggest mistake of his life. Sienna had a secret of her own. She had received an offer to move to Los Angeles for a major design opportunity. It was everything she had worked for. She had planned to accept it before she met Jackson. But after falling in love with him, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him. She was afraid that if she told him she might leave, he would think she didn’t see a future with him. So both of them were keeping secrets while falling deeper in love. Then everything came crashing down. One afternoon, Sienna went to Jackson’s office unexpectedly. She wanted to surprise him. Instead, she overheard a conversation between Jackson and his father. “The Brooks property has to be finalized this week,” his father said. Sienna stopped. Brooks. Her heart dropped. Then she heard Jackson say, “I’ll handle it.” She walked into the room. Jackson turned around. The moment he saw her face, he knew. “Sienna…” “How long?” He couldn’t answer. “How long have you known?” Jackson stepped toward her. “Please let me explain.” “You knew who I was.” “Not at first.” “But you knew eventually.” “Yes.” Her eyes filled with tears. “And you never told me.” “I was going to.” “When?” “I wanted to fix it first.” “You wanted to fix it?” She laughed bitterly. “You mean you wanted to decide what I deserved to know.” “That’s not what I was doing.” “Then what were you doing, Jackson?” He couldn’t give her an answer that would make the situation better. Sienna walked away. For the first time since they met, Jackson didn’t chase her. Not because he didn’t want to. Because he knew he had hurt her. Their relationship ended that night. Sienna returned to her apartment and finally told Madison everything. Then she revealed her own secret. “I’m leaving for Los Angeles.” Madison stared at her. “When?” “Three weeks.” “You were really going to leave without telling him?” “I was going to tell him.” “When?” Sienna looked down. “I don’t know.” For the first time, she realized that she had done exactly what she accused Jackson of doing. She had been hiding something because she was afraid of losing him. Jackson spent the next few weeks trying to make things right, but Sienna refused to speak to him. He eventually discovered something that changed everything. His father had not only planned to buy the Brooks property. He had deliberately pressured Daniel Brooks into selling it for far less than it was worth. Jackson confronted his father. “You knew they were struggling.” “It was business.” “No. It was exploitation.” Jackson refused to sign the final agreement. He used his own money to settle Daniel’s outstanding debts and stopped the acquisition. But he didn’t do it to win Sienna back. He did it because it was the right thing to do. When Sienna eventually found out what Jackson had done, she went to see him. He was sitting alone in his office. “You should have told me,” she said. “I know.” “You hurt me.” “I know.” “I don’t know if I can trust you again.” Jackson looked at her. “I understand.” She swallowed hard. “I was going to leave for Los Angeles.” He looked surprised. “When?” “In three weeks.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Because I was scared.” “Of what?” “Of loving you and then losing you.” Jackson stood. “Sienna, I can’t promise that nothing will ever hurt us. I can’t promise life will always be easy. But I can promise that I’ll never hide something from you again just because I’m afraid you’ll leave.” She looked at him through tears. “I loved you.” Jackson’s voice broke slightly. “You still do.” She shook her head. “I don’t know.” He stepped closer but didn’t touch her. “Then don’t decide today.” She looked at him. “Take your time.” For the first time, Jackson wasn’t trying to convince her. He was simply giving her the freedom to choose.