A Mile High Romance

by Cassidy Coal

  Fiona raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Baxter."

  Sarah tried not to roll her eyes. The woman hated her and Sarah knew it.

  "Yes, always. Tell me, Fiona. How is the Australian office doing? You seem to be here quite a bit."

  Fiona shrugged delicately. "Oh, quite well, thank you. Brad manages in my absence. Far more important that I'm here to support Tyler in the latest merger talks. He needs a woman like me by his side you know." She tilted her head. "I heard about your unfortunate departure. So sad that you just couldn't manage at Corrigan, Inc."

  Sarah glared at her. "I quit."

  "Mm. Did you? Well, as long as you believe that…" She reached out and touched the wrap draped over Sarah's shoulders. "This is truly beautiful work. Where did you get it?"

  "My sister made it."

  Fiona dropped the cloth as if burned, a slight sneer on her face. "Oh. How…quaint."

  Sarah wanted to grab her throat and squeeze. "Funny. Just a minute ago you called it beautiful."

  "Well. Now that I look closer…I can see that it's just like you. Shiny but lacking a certain je ne sais quoi that indicates true quality."

  Sarah laughed. She couldn't help it. "Oh, Fiona. How empty your little life must be that you feel the need to attack me. What's wrong? Tyler still won't touch you with a ten-foot pole?" She deliberately eyed Fiona up and down. "Can't say I blame him."

  Fiona glared at her, her eyes flashing fire. "Remember, you little gutter snipe. I'm the one he came with tonight and I'm the one he'll be leaving with. You? You're nothing. A little fling. He may have slummed it with you, but now he's back where he belongs."

  Fiona spun on her heel and walked away, holding herself as if she were royalty. Sarah wanted to flip her off, but she settled for sticking her tongue out at the woman's retreating back.

  Tyler caught her eye and raised one eyebrow, a slight smile on his face. Sarah shrugged, trying not to answer his smile with one of her own, and turned away.

  At last it was time for the auction. Jane and Sarah stood together in the back of the room. Jane clutched Sarah's arm with such force Sarah was surprised she could still feel her fingers.

  As the announcer moved farther and farther down the list, Sarah felt more and more ill. This was it. If the scarf sold for a high price, they were in. It meant validation from the who's who of the city.

  But if it didn't…

  Well, it wasn't the end of the world. It just wasn't a good start.

  The old woman in the blue sequined dress drifted over to stand next to them. "I bid on the scarf by that friend of yours."

  "Did you?" Sarah was dying to ask how much the woman had bid, but didn't want to appear too eager.

  The woman nodded. "Unfortunately, I lost."

  Sarah stared at her. "How do you know?"

  The woman nodded towards the stage where Tyler and Fiona stood, talking quietly. "Because he outbid me."

  "Tyler?"

  "Ah, so you know Mr. Corrigan? Yes. He pushed the bid so high I couldn't even compete. My husband indulges me, but not to the tune of $10,000 for a scarf."

  Sarah stared at her. "He bid $10,000? That's ridiculous."

  The woman frowned. "This is for charity."

  Sarah tore free of Jane's grip and made a beeline for Tyler, pushing people out of her way.

  When she reached the stage, she didn't even hesitate. She walked right up the steps and grabbed his arm. "We need to talk. Now."

  Just as she started to drag him off the stage, the announcer said, "And here we have an exquisite hand-crafted shawl…"

  Sarah turned around. She was going to pull the thing right out of the man's grasp, but Tyler held her back. "What are you doing?"

  She turned to glare at him. "You had no right, Tyler. None."

  He stared at her blankly. "What are you talking about?"

  "The scarf. You knew it was ours. Why did you bid on it? Why did you have to ruin this for me?"

  He stared at her, mouth hanging open as the man on the stage said, "And the highest bid goes to Tyler Corrigan for the generous amount of $10,000."

  Tyler waved to Fiona to take the shawl. She grabbed it from the announcer and draped it over her shoulders, shooting a spiteful look at Sarah.

  "Follow me." Tyler turned without looking at her. He walked directly to the patio door and held it open, a slight smile on his face as men and women turned to watch the spectacle they were making.

  Once he'd closed the door, he turned on her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "That scarf. Jane and I donated it to garner attention for our new fashion label. She said she told you about it."

  He stared at her, completely surprised. "That's…that was yours?"

  "Jane said she told you."

  He frowned. "She mentioned something about a new business idea, but I honestly wasn't listening to the details."

  "She said you offered to fund us."

  He shrugged, that wicked half-smile she loved so much tugging at his lips. "It was you. I'd fund anything you did."

  Sarah shook her head, her arms crossed tight against her chest. She uncrossed them when Tyler's eyes drifted towards her cleavage.

  "What?" he asked.

  "You ruined everything."

  "How?"

  "You paid too much for it. And you gave it to Fiona?"

  He narrowed his eyes. "What upsets you more? The price I paid? Or that you think I bought it for Fiona?"

  "The price."

  He stepped forward, reaching towards her, his voice dropping. "Are you sure?"

  She took a half-step backward, but found herself bumping into a white metal table. "Yes."

  He reached out a hand to stroke her face, his emerald-green eyes trapping hers with their intensity. "Sarah, you know you're the only woman for me. You can't possibly think there's anything between me and Fiona."

  She tried to ignore the way his touch sent shivers down her spine and the way she longed to kiss those lips, to feel her flesh against his once more.

  "She certainly thinks there is."

  "She's wrong. And how come you care? You wrote me off."

  She glared at him. "Are you really that big a fool? You have to know I still love you."

  She saw the hope kindle in his eyes and held up her hand. "But love isn't enough, Tyler. We're too different. You want to travel around the world on your jet, mingle with rich people, run an empire, and be powerful. I just want to pay my bills, live in a cute little three bedroom, two bath home in the suburbs with a big yard, a golden retriever, and 2.2 kids, spend my weeks on a job I love, and my weekends with my family."

  His thumb slowly traced a circle on her upper arm as he stared into her eyes. Sarah leaned towards him, every fiber of her body longing to touch his.

  He nodded to himself. "You're right. We can't have both." He ran his fingers through her hair and she fought the urge to wrap her arms around him and pull him closer. He kissed her softly and she followed when he pulled back, longing to continue the kiss for just a little bit longer.

  She knew it wouldn't work long-term, but maybe just for a while she could pretend.

  He stroked her face again. "You didn't choose the life I want, but that doesn't mean I can't choose the one you want."

  He knelt down on one knee and took her hand in his.

  Sarah stared at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

  He smiled at her with that wicked little half-grin she loved so much. "Sarah Baxter, I love you. I love you more than anything and I would go anywhere in the world if only I could have you by my side." He held her eyes with his, his face shining with love and adoration.

  Sarah couldn't breathe. She really couldn't breathe.

  He smiled at her, the dimple in his chin more prominent than ever. "I don't have a ring to give you right now—and knowing you, you'd want to choose one for yourself anyway—and I know we have a lot to work through to make this work, but I'm willing to do it if you are.
So I'm going to ask you now. Sarah Baxter, will you marry me?"

  Sarah couldn't move, she couldn't think. Had Tyler just asked her to marry him?

  She'd thought she'd lost him for good and now he wanted to marry her? What the hell?

  "Sarah?" The smile on his face faded slightly as he continued to kneel before her waiting for her answer.

  She willed her body to obey her, but she was frozen in complete and utter shock.

  The door banged open and Fiona Jones barged outside, the scarf wrapped around her shoulders. "There you are. It's time for your closing speech."

  Tyler didn't even look at her. "Sarah? What do you say? Will you marry me?"

  He knelt in front of her, all his love and hope shining in his eyes.

  She knew they were doomed. She knew they could never find a way to come together.

  But she loved him. Loved him more than she'd ever loved anyone before, with an unreasoning blind need that consumed her.

  And she couldn't tell him no, not when he was looking at her that way.

  As much as she knew she should, she couldn't tell him no.

  "Yes." A smile broke across her face like sunshine breaking through clouds. "Yes, I'll marry you."

  Tyler surged to his feet and spun her in a circle. They laughed together, Sarah overflowing with more joy than she'd imagined was possible.

  Fiona stepped forward. "What? What did you just say?"

  Sarah kissed Tyler, a long, lingering kiss full of all the passion she'd been holding back for the last three months. She didn't care who saw them or what they thought. Tyler Corrigan was hers once more and she was never ever going to let him go.

  When they finally managed to pull themselves apart, Fiona was still standing there, watching them in confusion. "Tyler? What is going on here?

  He pulled Sarah close. "We're getting married."

  He laughed, a sound of pure joy and shouted it. "We're getting married."

  Sarah leaned her head against his shoulder as people came running, cameras flashing as they called out questions.

  "Is it true, Mr. Corrigan? Are you really engaged?" a reporter asked, shoving through the crowd.

  Sarah didn't even care. She was too happy. Somehow, someway, she and Tyler had found their way back to one another again and she wasn't about to let him go this time.

  She was going to marry Tyler Corrigan.

  Her. Trailer park princess Sarah was engaged to a billionaire.

  Suck that, Fiona, she thought as she smiled for the cameras.

  A Mile High Engagement

  Sarah sighed in contentment as she nestled her naked body against Tyler Corrigan's, the early morning sun shining down upon them like a benediction.

  She'd missed this. More than she'd been willing to admit.

  They fit together so perfectly—mentally, physically, spiritually. It was all just so right.

  Tyler ran a lazy hand through her hair as he kissed the top of her head. "I missed you so much."

  He rolled over until he was on top of her, his lips meeting hers in a slow, languid, early-morning kiss.

  She responded by melding herself to him, her arms wrapping around his firm torso to pull him closer.

  Her phone rang.

  Sarah glared at it.

  "Leave it." Tyler traced kisses down her neck.

  It was only five-thirty in the morning. Who the hell was calling her this early?

  She lifted her head just enough to see the name displayed on the screen and reached for the phone. Tyler caught her hand. "Leave it, Sarah. There's enough time for that later."

  "It's my mom. Something has to be wrong if she's calling me this early."

  He released her hand and rolled away with a frustrated sigh. As Sarah answered the phone, he traced the curve of her body with his hand, stirring memories of the night before that made her blush.

  "Mom. What is it? What's wrong?"

  "You're engaged?" her mother shouted from the other end of the phone. "I didn't even know you were dating anyone and you're engaged."

  Sarah tried to speak, but words failed her. She slapped Tyler's hand away as she sat up.

  "I, um…"

  "How come I didn't know you were dating anyone?"

  Sarah winced. "Because I wasn't."

  Tyler leaned close to hear the conversation, nibbling on her neck while he was at it.

  "Then how can you be engaged? And to Tyler Corrigan. He's your boss, Sarah. What the hell were you thinking?"

  "Not anymore he isn't. He…it's…Can we talk about this later, Mom? Please?"

  "You're with him now aren't you? That's why you didn't come home last night?"

  "Mom. Can we please talk about this later?" Sarah emphasized each word as she tried to ignore the distracting way Tyler's hands were exploring her body.

  There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. "Are you coming to family dinner tonight?"

  "Yeah, of course."

  "Your engagement won't change that?"

  Sarah glanced at Tyler. "Um, well, I guess I hadn't thought about it much. But, no?"

  "Bring him."

  Sarah shook her head and Tyler pulled away, his eyes questioning. "Mom. No."

  "Sarah Jane Baxter. You are engaged to a man that none of us have met. You will bring him by this house today or you will suffer the consequences."

  "Mother! I am a grown woman. I will marry who I choose to marry."

  Tyler leaned close to hear her mother's reply.

  She snorted. "Oh, don't I know it. But if you want your family there on your wedding day you will bring him by and you will explain to all of us why we had to find out you were engaged from the newspaper."

  "It's in the paper?"

  "How the hell do you think I found out about it, Sarah?"

  She opened and closed her mouth a few times. "I guess I figured Jane had told you. But it's in the papers?"

  Sarah rubbed at her face as she tried to think about all the ramifications.

  Her mother snorted again. "Front page of the Lifestyle section and home page of the online edition. I've already had three calls this morning congratulating me on my daughter snagging herself a billionaire. Quite frankly, I think it's a bit early for celebrations. Is he a good man, Sarah? Or did he just blind you with his money?"

  Tyler sat back, his shoulders stiff, a frown creasing his beautiful face. Sarah ran a hand down the side of his face as she answered, "He's a good man, Mama. He is. You'll see. Tonight."

  "Tonight, then."

  Her mother hung up and Sarah fell back, pulling the covers over her head. "What were we thinking?" she asked.

  Tyler pulled the sheets away and stared down at her, his eyes clouded with worry. "You don't regret it do you?"

  "What? Saying yes to you?"

  He nodded.

  "No. Never." She gripped the back of his neck and pulled him down for a long, lingering, passionate kiss. When they both surfaced for air, she said, "I love you, Tyler Corrigan. And I can't think of anything I want more than to marry you. But…"

  He tensed under her grip as she continued, "I think we could've kept it to ourselves until we had a chance to tell our families."

  His eyes went wide and he jumped out of bed. "Oh, God. I didn't even think…"

  "What? What is it?" Sarah asked, half-laughing at his frantic search of the room.

  "If it's in the news, then my parents have seen it too." He grabbed his phone and punched in his code. When the phone dinged to indicate new mail, the blood drained from Tyler's face. "Oh no. It's already started."

  "What?"

  Tyler shook his head and put the phone back down like a man trying to ignore a death sentence. "No. I don't care. I am not going to ruin this morning with that."

  Sarah's phone started to ring, and she glanced at the display. It was her sister, Mary.

  Their eyes met and they both sighed.

  "Go ahead and answer." Tyler reached for his phone and started reading his e-mails as Sarah reached f
or her phone.

  She had the feeling it was going to be a very, very long morning.

  Two hours later, they sat across from one another at a small café near Tyler's condo that served fresh chocolate croissants and the best coffee in the world. They'd hidden themselves away in the back corner so no one would notice them, but it hadn't helped. Every few minutes someone came over to congratulate them.

  "How the hell do people know?" Sarah whispered after the latest one walked away smiling to herself.

  Tyler nodded towards a man at the table near them. He was reading the paper, oblivious to them and everything around him. But sitting right there on the table for all the world to see was the Lifestyle section of the paper with a picture from the night before of Sarah in her red dress and red and black drape with Tyler next to her in his tuxedo. They were both smiling as if they'd received the best news of their lives and the headline above the picture read "ENGAGED! MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR ANYWHERE SNAGGED BY FORMER ACCOUNTANT."

  The story itself was even worse. Something about Cinderella dreams coming true and how Tyler was every girl's dream of Prince Charming.

  How they even knew what they knew about Sarah she didn't want to know.

  "They better leave my mom alone," she muttered to Tyler as she took a bite of her croissant, savoring the taste of the buttery crust and bitter chocolate.

  Tyler nodded, but he'd been distracted ever since he'd read his e-mails.

  Sarah leaned forward. "Out with it."

  "Out with what?" He blinked at her with a vacant smile, trying to pretend he hadn't been miles away.

  "Tyler. You've been distracted all breakfast. What did your e-mails say?"

  He chewed on his lip as he studied her.

  "Tyler."

  "Can't we just talk about it some other time?"

  She laughed. "No, because you keep thinking about it. So?"

  He sighed heavily, but before he could speak an older woman bustled up to their table, camera in her hand. "Oh, do you think I could get a picture with you? You're such an attractive couple. I love that you chose a real woman for yourself and not that skinny blonde woman I kept seeing pictures of." She patted Tyler on the shoulder like he was her five-year-old great-nephew who'd just given her a pretty finger painting.