by Cassidy Coal
"She's not my type, Sarah. You are."
Sarah glanced at him and away again. She couldn't do this.
"Sarah, I'm sorry if you thought I was trying to change you. I wasn't. I…I wanted to show you how much I cared about you and I thought that…" He sighed. "Most women like it when a man buys them clothes. At least, most women I've dated before. I'm sorry if you didn't. It wasn’t meant to…" He sighed again and sat back. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me?"
She glanced at him, noting the dark circles and the worry lines around his eyes. She wanted so badly to hold him and pretend that none of this mattered.
"Okay, you're forgiven."
He sat forward, his face lighting up with a smile. She raised a hand. "But. It doesn't change the fact that we're just too different to ever be together."
He stood and paced the room. "Bullshit, Sarah. I love you." She stared at him, lost for words as he continued. "And I think you love me. Or at least like me a helluva lot. You can't fake what we had in Paris, Sarah. You can't." He leaned on the desk staring into her eyes, pinning her to her seat with the intensity of his gaze.
"It isn't enough, Tyler," she whispered, feeling a tear form in the corner of her eye.
"How do you know?" he demanded, still holding her gaze, his eyes so green they glowed.
"I…"
"You don't, Sarah. Give this a chance. Don't run away from me just because you're scared. Look, it's Valentine's Day and I can't imagine any other woman on this planet I'd rather spend it with. Please, just tell me you'll have dinner with me."
She looked down so he wouldn't see her cry, but he gently lifted her chin until she was staring into his eyes once more.
"Please, Sarah. Give us another chance."
She shook her head and pulled away. "It isn't that simple, Tyler. It's not just you and me. It's your family and friends and…It won't work."
He came around the side of the desk and knelt down in front of her, grabbing the arm rests on her chair. "It is you and me, Sarah. I don't care what anyone else thinks. If they don't like you, screw them. I don't need people like that in my life. I need you in my life. Those two weeks we spent in Paris were the best weeks of my life."
He brushed a tear from her cheek. "Please, Sarah…"
She rested her cheek against his hand, relishing the feel of his soft touch. She wanted so badly to say yes…
But…
She stared into his eyes. She didn't want to lose him, not again. "Oh to hell with it. Yes. Yes, I'll have dinner with you and…"
She couldn't finish her sentence because Tyler pulled her to him and kissed her fiercely. She kissed him back, losing herself in the feel of their lips moving together. She didn't know how long they kissed, but when he finally pulled away, Tyler was grinning at her like a little boy, all the stress and worry gone.
She laughed. "You know, Mr. Horowitz is not going to be pleased about this…He thought your asking for an accountant was all an elaborate ruse to get me down here."
"It was." He kissed her again. "All part of my master plan to get the woman I adore back by my side. And it worked." He ran his hand through her hair, staring at her face like they hadn't seen each other for years.
"It did." She stared back at him, just as lost in him as he was in her.
"So, dinner?" he asked. "Where do you want to go? Brisbane? Melbourne? Auckland? Anywhere in the world you want, we'll go."
Sarah laughed. "How about my hotel room? I'm thinking champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and not leaving the room again until Monday morning."
He kissed her again. "That sounds perfect."
As she followed him down the hallway she realized it really did sound perfect. She was still scared as hell that he'd wake up one day and realize she wasn't what he wanted, but until then…Well, she couldn't think of another man she'd rather be with than Tyler Corrigan. Even if he was a billionaire.
A Mile High Weekend
Sarah slowly lowered herself into the pitch-black cave opening, the rappelling rope gliding through her hand, the small lamp on her helmet reflecting off the cave wall just six inches from her face. She glanced up to see Tyler peering down at her, his gorgeous green eyes lit up with amusement.
She paused and glared at him. "You know, when I thought of you, latex, and rope, this is not exactly what I had in mind."
She laughed at his shocked expression and continued to lower herself into the darkness below.
It was so good to have him back in her life. Two weeks ago they'd spent the most amazing Valentine's night together. She smiled remembering how fun it had been to pour champagne on his gorgeously sculpted abs and lick it off as slowly as she could while he begged her to hurry up.
Oh, the fun she had teasing him.
Served him right. Tyler Corrigan, drop-dead gorgeous billionaire that he was, got everything he wanted. Always. (Well, except a loving family, it seemed. No one can have it all.) But Sarah was no pushover to just let him have his way with her, too.
No matter how irresistible she found him.
She'd resisted his charms for two years until that fateful Christmas flight to Paris. And even though those two weeks in Paris had been magic, she'd walked away when he tried to force her into the mold of someone she'd never be.
Well, turns out he hadn't been trying to force her to be anything. That had all been in her head. A product of her own insecurities about being too curvy and too trailer park for a little rich boy used to pencil-thin women with that exact perfect shade of blonde hair who always looked put together and never said a crude word.
Unlike Sarah who cussed like a sailor when she wasn't watching herself and who could be guaranteed to have at least one thing wrong with any outfit she wore. She was the bull in their little china cabinet world.
She didn't care, though. She was who she was and proud of it.
Turns out Tyler Corrigan didn't care either. And he'd showed her just how much he loved her voluptuous curves and saucy mouth over and over and over again in the two weeks since they'd reconciled.
It was amazing to see him every day at work and then spend all night kissing and touching and exploring his beautiful body or walking the streets of Sydney, Australia, her hand in his, knowing that the most wonderful man in the world wanted her. Her. Sarah Baxter.
She'd never been happier. She'd even lost five pounds thanks to all their extracurriculars.
When Tyler suggested a spontaneous weekend trip to New Zealand, Sarah hadn't hesitated to say yes even though it meant taking off both Friday and Monday during one of the busiest times of the year for the accounting department.
Her boss, Mr. Horowitz, was pissed. She could tell from his icy silence on the other end of the phone when she called to let him know she was taking a couple days off. But she just didn't care.
When would she ever have the chance to go to New Zealand again? And with a sexy man like Tyler Corrigan? In his private jet nonetheless.
Plus, Corrigan, Inc. was Tyler's company. What was Horowitz going to do? Fire her?
So here she was on a Saturday morning in a tiny little town called Waitomo lowering herself into a dark cave to go what they called blackwater rafting—floating on inner tubes down an underground river.
The drive down from Auckland had been magical even if it had included more sheep and cows than Sarah had ever seen in her entire life.
New Zealanders were so nice and friendly—from the immigration officer to the woman at the car rental office, everyone had joked and smiled and just made them feel welcome. The scenery was breathtaking every direction she looked—grass greener than anything, yellow gorse spotting the hills, a sky so blue she just stared at it for moments on end, awed.
She was in love.
With the country and the man who'd brought her here.
She waited in the darkness of the cave as Tyler lowered himself through the narrow opening at the top. He moved more slowly than an old man crossing the street in rush hour. It was almost painful to watch.
"Come on, Tyler, you're almost there," she said when he was about five feet from the cave floor.
He glanced at her for a moment and she saw the fear in his eyes. She was tempted to tease him. Perfect Tyler Corrigan scared of heights?
Or of darkness…
Or of lowering himself into a dark underground cave when he'd never been rappelling before…
Or…
Okay, so maybe it was Sarah who was weird for not being scared.
"You know…" she said instead, drawing the words out and lowering her voice in a sexy, teasing way, "All this dark and adventure has me feeling pretty frisky. The sooner you're down here, the sooner I can show you just how much."
One of their guides, Ryan, a Kiwi bloke that was pretty darned cute in his own right, stepped forward and threw his arm around her shoulders. "Best hurry down, mate, or she might have to show me instead."
Sarah laughed and the sound echoed off the walls of the cave and down the narrow passageway behind them.
Tyler finally reached the ground and glared at both of them. "Way to distract me when I was in the midst of a life-threatening maneuver, guys."
Ryan laughed and clapped Tyler on the back. "Life threatening? Nah, mate. Worst ya could do is break a leg or two. A few months in hospital and you'd be good as new. Come on. You thought that was scary, wait 'til we hook ya up on the flying squirrel."
Ryan led the way down the dark passageway, his head lamp illuminating patches of moss on the rough walls, his feet splashing in the dark puddles on the floor.
Tyler pulled Sarah close as they followed along behind and whispered in her ear. "Whose brilliant idea was this?"
She kissed him on the cheek and leaned close. "Yours. Remember? I wanted to skydive in Taupo."
He kissed her on the top of the head. "Next time we just fly to a tropical beach somewhere and spend the day getting well and truly drunk while we work on our tans. Bali, maybe."
Sarah laughed and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss. "Nah. I like to see the unflappable Tyler Corrigan nervous. It's a nice change." She slapped his ass. "Plus, I can't tell you how hot you look in that wetsuit."
He threw his head back in laughter. "Oh, yes. A far better look for me, isn't it?"
She leaned close. "Well, it certainly shows off your…ah, assets better than those three-piece suits you insist on wearing at work."
She loved him in a suit. He always looked like he'd stepped off the pages of GQ. But the skin-tight wetsuit was a pretty close second.
"Alright you two love birds, enough." Ryan turned back to them. "Time for the flying squirrel. Headlamps off. Who's first?"
Tyler stepped forward. "I'll go." He glanced back at her. "Better than having you wait at the other end laughing at me the whole time."
Sarah pretended to feel hurt, but she was smiling too much to pull it off. "I never laughed at you, baby. I swear."
Tyler raised one eyebrow at her and smirked before turning back to Ryan.
Ryan hooked Tyler up to the harness and cinched him in until he was hanging off the ground. "Don't listen to her, mate," he said. "She was laughing the whole time. Now, try not to scream like a wee girl and you might redeem yourself."
Ryan hit the lights and plunged the room into darkness. A second later Sarah heard a snap and the loud zip of the metal cord flying by at a high rate of speed.
Tyler screamed as he disappeared into the darkness.
Ryan turned the lights back on and grinned at her. "Ready?"
She stared down the tunnel. She knew this part was supposed to involve a zip line, but what the hell had just happened? "Uh, I guess."
Ryan winked. "Don't you worry. It'll all be over in a moment. Good or bad. We only lose one or two guests a week at this stage."
She shook her head. He'd been cracking jokes like that the whole time. She was sure there was some grain of truth to them, but she also knew it had to be relatively safe or they'd be out of business.
She took a deep breath. Only way out was through. "Hook me up." She stepped forward.
A few moments later, she laughed uncontrollably as she plunged through the pitch black tunnel.
She was scared out of her mind, but what could she do?
She sped out of the narrow passageway into a vast space, crossing over a wide underground river before slowing down over a large stone ledge where Tyler and the rest of their group waited.
Mia, their other guide, a petite but wiry Swedish girl working in New Zealand for the year, helped her out of the harness.
They were in the middle of a giant cavern, an underground river flowing by gently below them. It stretched away into the darkness on either side. Small lights in metal cages strung along the ceiling lit the way up and down the river. Sarah shivered to think what it would be like to be here without those lights turned on.
Tyler stood near the edge staring down at the dark water. As she joined him, he said, "You squealed."
She punched him in the arm. "You screamed."
He smiled and her heart skipped a beat like it did every time he directed that sexy half-grin at her. He wrapped his fingers through her hair and pulled her to him, covering her mouth with his in a deep, passionate kiss. She stumbled, caught off guard, but then returned the kiss, her fingers gripping the back of his neck.
They were startled out of their kiss when Ryan dumped a bucket of water over their heads. "Cool it off, you two. We have kiddies watchin'." Ryan nodded at the other members of their group—a German couple and their two young children—who were gawking at them.
"Sorry." Sarah stepped away from Tyler, although she couldn't tear her gaze from his.
"Nah you aren't." Ryan winked at them before he stepped forward to lecture the whole group on what was next.
They held inner tubes behind them and jumped the ten feet or so into the river and then spent the next hour floating along the dark water, exploring the cave.
After that, the guides had them link together in a long chain and turned off all the lights. They led the group into a section of the cavern where neon-colored glow worms covered the ceiling. Sarah tried not to think too closely about the nature of the creatures generating the beautiful light above her and instead tried to focus on how pretty and peaceful it was.
Tyler squeezed her hand as they drifted along side-by-side and she smiled at him as she tried to remember when she'd ever felt this happy before.
Never.
This was perfect. He was perfect.
Everything was perfect.
She tried not to think what that meant.
Because in her life nothing ever stayed perfect for long.
They finished their adventure an hour later with a mad scramble out of the caves, passing inches away from two gigantic waterfalls that pounded mercilessly downward, threatening destruction at the slightest misstep.
"Don't you worry, I've got you." Ryan helped Sarah place her foot on the slippery rocks for the last little leap.
"Just watch where you're putting those hands, buddy. That's my girl," Tyler called from his position right below them, the smile on his face belying the seriousness of his words.
Honestly, as far as Sarah was concerned Ryan could put his hands wherever he wanted as long as he got her out safely. She was fine with rappelling into nothingness and flying at high speeds down a narrow tunnel.
But this. This was something else entirely. Pounding water, slick rocks, narrow little toe holds…she wished she'd convinced the group to choose the long walk out instead of the short but dangerous climb.
"Remind me again, whose idea this was," she called down to Tyler.
"Mine. And it was all worth it for this view of your ass," he called back.
She flipped him off.
With one last little shove from Ryan, Sarah scrambled out of the cave and into the late afternoon sun.
"Whoop!" she cried, exhilarated. She knew she was grinning like a kid who'd just ridden her first rollercoaster, but she just couldn't stop.
He did and she saw that his grin matched hers.
"So? What'd you think?" she asked, knowing already from the light in his eyes.
"That had to be one of the coolest experiences of my life." He pulled her close and kissed her.
The whole world disappeared as she lost herself in the sensation of her lips on his. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer.
"Mind the kiddies." Ryan casually knocked Tyler upside the head as he walked past them.
They managed to control themselves during the van ride back to the company's headquarters building, but that's only because they sat in different rows of the van.
Sarah raced through changing and taking a shower, eager to be alone with Tyler. She was still amped up from the whole experience.
She wished they were staying in Waitomo for the night so they could go straight back to their hotel room, but they still had to drive the two-plus hours to Taupo.
Not the best planning on their part, but Brad, her New Zealand co-worker, had insisted that they couldn't miss seeing the gorgeous lake.
Sarah sat in the left-side seat of the rental car and stared over the edge of the road as Tyler drove. She marveled once more how beautiful New Zealand was. Something about the quality of the light or the crispness of the air just beguiled her.
Whatever it was, she absolutely loved it.
She wished her family were with her now to see this. None of them had ever traveled out of the country, not even to Mexico or Canada. Vacations weren't something they could ever afford. The only one she remembered was a car trip to Virginia one summer to visit her father's mom. That was it.
"You're awfully quiet." Tyler glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road.
