by Cassidy Coal
Her mother glanced at Tyler and then back to Sarah. "You missed Christmas for the second year because of your work."
Sarah sighed. Her mother would never let her forget it either.
"And I'm sorry for that, Ms. Baxter. I am. If we'd had the time, I would've never asked Sarah to leave her family behind on Christmas. But you should know, too, that she missed you all terribly and let both Mr. Horowitz and me have it before she left."
Sarah's mother took another swig of her beer. "Go on, then."
Sarah squeezed Tyler's hand and continued with the story. "After that we were dating, but it wasn't always easy because Tyler travels a lot and I was here trying to work." She didn't mention breaking up with him because he'd tried to take her shopping and she'd felt he was trying to change her.
"We knew we loved each other, we'd both said it more than once, but we finally reached a point where we just couldn't keep it going any more. I wasn't willing to quit my job and leave here to travel with him and he couldn't be here." She shrugged. "So we broke up."
She stopped to smile at Tyler before continuing. "But then last night…"
Tyler continued the story. "Last night I saw her and I knew. I knew she was the only woman I ever wanted and that I was willing to do whatever it takes to be with her. So I proposed."
Sarah's mother snorted.
"Mom."
Her mother looked back and forth between them and Sarah suddenly felt like she was back in high school getting "the talk" from her mother.
"Look, I don't doubt that you love each other. I've never seen my baby girl glowing the way she is right now. But…marriage is hard even when you love someone. And if you couldn't make dating work, what makes you think you can make marriage work?"
Sarah started to reply, but Tyler stopped her. He leaned forward, holding her mother's gaze. "Ms. Baxter, we'll make this work because we're committed to making it work. It won't be easy, we know that. But I don't want to lose Sarah again and…" He glanced at Sarah. "And I don't think she wants to lose me again either."
Sarah shook her head.
"So, see? We're committed to this. And if we're both committed, we can make it."
Sarah's mother snorted again and shook her head as she stood from the table. "Spoken like a true rich boy who's never had to deal with real failure." She pulled a casserole out of the stove and set it on a hot plate on the counter before turning back to them. "Do you know what happened to Sarah's dad?"
Tyler shook his head.
"He was killed. Stepped in to defend a friend at a bar and someone stabbed him to death. Just like that." She snapped her fingers. "Here I was, four young kids, and her dad was gone. Dead. We loved each other, but you think that mattered after he was gone? Love's a sweet sentiment, but it doesn't pay the rent or feed four hungry kids."
Tyler frowned. "Once we're married, if something happens to me Sarah will be well taken care of for the rest of her life."
Sarah's mother leaned back against the counter, her arms crossed. "And what happens to Sarah if this doesn't work out? If she gives up everything for you and you decide she isn't what you want in a year or two or ten?"
"I'm not giving up anything, Mom. I'm gonna keep running this business and being here for my family. Tyler's the one who's going to change his life to make sure I can be part of it."
Her mother turned to study Tyler once more. "That true?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm…I'm planning on traveling a lot less so Sarah and I can be together as much as possible."
Her mother grunted and turned back to her casserole. She shoved a spoon in the casserole, grabbed the salad she'd made from the fridge, and plopped it down next to the casserole. "Dinner's ready. Serve yourselves."
Sarah's mother went to the front door to call Chris and Paul in and summon the kids from their TV watching.
Tyler looked at Sarah and she shrugged. That was about as good as it was gonna get. At least her mother hadn't kicked him out.
Later that night as they drove home after dinner and dessert and more than a few hands of penny-ante poker, Sarah asked. "So, still want to marry me?"
"Of course."
"Even if it means spending every Sunday with that group of crazies?"
He laughed and then grew serious. "Sarah, that was…wonderful. I loved it."
She stared at him. His face was barely visible as they drove down the dark highway.
"You mean that?" she asked, softly.
He took her hand in his. "Absolutely. I've never had a family, Sarah. Not really. I have two parents who raised me, but we've never been family. We're not close. Today when your mom heard the news, she called and wanted to meet me. And she didn't just accept me because I'm rich, she wanted to know whether I was a good match for you. Because she loves you.
"My parents e-mailed to complain about how I'd interfered with their lives with my unfortunate announcement and all they cared about was what their friends will think."
He squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "Tonight was…great. I just hope they liked me."
A tension Sarah didn't know she'd been feeling suddenly relaxed and she leaned back into the leather seat. "Oh they did. They weren't sure at first, I'm sure you could see that. But when you sat on the floor with Katie and listened to her ramble on and on and on about that stupid show she was watching…And then you managed to beat Paul at poker, too? That did it. They love you now."
"They do?"
"They do."
Tyler smiled and so did Sarah. He'd liked her family and they'd liked him. Maybe this thing was really going to work out…Maybe she could have it all.
That night, Sarah and Tyler made love for the first time. Oh, sure, they'd had sex before. Wild and fun and passionate sex that made Sarah feel things she'd never imagined were even possible.
But for the first time that night they were slow and tender with one another, taking their time, touching and exploring, immersing themselves in one another's bodies. They lay together on his bed, slow and languid, their hands softly stroking as they whispered and dreamed about their future together.
Sarah spoke about the business, thrilled and excited that they'd already had five calls from the party the night before. She told Tyler of her dream for a series of small boutiques along the East Coast and in Milan and Paris and London and Tokyo and Singapore. She whispered to him about how she wanted to be wealthy, but not alone; how she wanted to bring her friends and family with her. They could build something together and all benefit, all move up in life. She could have financial stability and her family too.
Tyler spoke of his desire to step back from the day-to-day running of Corrigan, Inc. About his dreams of one day starting a small little shop somewhere that he could run himself, where he knew all the customers, and puttered around straightening things and sweeping the floors.
They talked about how wonderful it would be to come home to each other each night. And the kids they'd have. Two of them. A boy and a girl.
They laughed about possible baby names as they kissed softly. (His family tradition would've had the girl named Mildred Ethel Olga Corrigan.)
Their kisses slowly deepened into something more and the wave of their mutual passion pulled them under until they lost themselves in one another, only surfacing hours later, drained, exhausted, satiated.
Sarah snuggled herself against Tyler's body and tried not to think.
It was all so perfect. So, so perfect.
A Mile High Gala
Sarah Baxter glanced around the room, noting the millions of dollars in diamonds weighing down the wattled necks and liver-spotted hands of the local who's who—matronly women with prim expressions and older men whose waistlines showed the signs of a few too many martini and steak lunches. Scattered between them were the younger crowd—the women who spent their spare time and money on spa and botox treatments, the men with their hair plugs and two hours a day at the gym squeezed in between essential business meetings where they all got to feel like the very impo
rtant people they were.
Sarah was probably the only one under thirty in the entire room. And she was far too curvy for this crowd. Oh sure, some of the older women were carrying a few pounds—not every pencil-thin woman made it to sixty without adding some weight—and some of the younger women had a fair amount of cleavage showing.
But none of the women were curvy like Sarah. She was more Maxim, less W.
She sighed, wondering how much longer she and Tyler would have to stay at this event for some charity no one in the room even cared about.
So not her scene.
She turned her attention back to the gaggle of women clustered around Tyler, all of them gazing adoringly at him as they jockeyed for position. Lately it seemed like every single woman on the planet was making a pass at him. Guess they figured if he'd stoop low enough to marry someone like Sarah that maybe they had a chance at him after all.
Forget the fact that he was already engaged.
She'd overheard one woman say that it didn't really count until the vows were spoken and the other say that it didn't even count then. That it would only count when they'd had children.
Well, too bad none of these women understood the first thing about Tyler Corrigan. He was hers and no one was going to take him away. No one.
She smiled up at him, marveling once more that this man with his perfect physique, jet black hair, and gorgeous green eyes was hers. Hers. Trailer park trash Sarah had somehow snagged herself a billionaire straight from the pages of GQ.
Tyler smiled back at her, his eyes shining with love; she almost swooned at his feet.
She'd lost track of the conversation in their little group. Not like she really cared what they were saying. It was either not directed at her or nothing that she cared to respond to.
A waiter walked by with a tray of bite-sized meatballs and Sarah stepped away to intercept him. "Wait up. Here, I'll take one of those." She barely kept herself from grabbing his sleeve to stop him.
The waiter turned slowly with a carefully polite smile on his face and held the silver serving tray out as he offered her a napkin with his other hand.
Sarah speared a meatball on a toothpick, dipped it in the provided sauce, ate it whole, and dropped the toothpick back in the thoughtfully-provided silver cup on the tray. "Mm. Not bad," she mumbled as she chewed on it.
The waiter started to turn away with a slight eye roll, but Sarah stopped him. "Wait. That was good. Let me get a couple more of those."
The waiter sniffed in disapproval as he watched her load up with three more meatballs.
Two of the women in the group she'd abandoned muttered to one another as they watched.
Geez. It was like high school all over again…
Well, to hell with them. She was hungry and if her only options were bite-sized pieces of haute cuisine she was just going to have to look like a greedy pig for a bit until she'd eaten enough so she wouldn't faint.
Not like she wanted to be here.
She'd only come because Tyler had begged and pleaded with her for days to accompany him. Even then she probably wouldn't have said yes except Jane had insisted that it was also a great business opportunity for their newly-started company.
Whether she wanted to or not, seems she'd become the face of MSHJ Fashions. Every time she and Tyler went anywhere it seemed to end up on some fashion blog or other. She'd never had to worry so damned much about how she looked in her life.
Oh well. That was the price she paid for having the man of her dreams. At least it was helping to fuel sales for the new company.
She sighed as her eyes met Tyler's. He was so gorgeous; it made her shiver every time. She smiled, thinking of how this night might end. The two of them in the limo, the soft leather seats, a bottle of champagne…
And a trip through the McDonald's drive-thru if she had any say in it. He owed her at least that much.
Not that they were quite as hot and heavy as they'd been when they first got together. She'd practically moved in with him after the engagement and it seemed things changed when you lived with a guy.
They'd settled into a comfy cozy coupledom for the last few weeks. One more prone to nights curled up on the couch next to each other than hours-long sessions of trying crazy positions and edible condiments.
It was still great, though. To have that much time with Tyler was like a Godsend.
She would've loved to just stay in and never leave, but there was always something pulling them back to the real world—Sunday dinner at her mom's or one of these little swank to-do's that he just had to make an appearance at.
At least he wasn't traveling anymore so they could wake up together each morning.
He'd given that up.
For her.
She tried not to think about that too much—everything he'd sacrificed to be with her and how little she'd been willing to give up to be with him—because if she did then she'd wonder how long they could really last before he realized and walked away.
Sarah shoved a meatball in her mouth and stepped back to the group. They were discussing yet another charity event scheduled for next weekend.
Did these people never just stay home and watch TV? Weren't there easier ways to support a good cause, like just writing a damned check?
She was so ready to go home.
Her strappy five-inch black heels were killing her; she was sorely tempted to kick them off and leave them somewhere along the wall, but she didn't. Not because she cared what the circle of fawning women around Tyler would think, but because she was trying to be a good partner to him, trying to live up to the kind of woman he needed by his side on nights like this.
"Is that for me?" Tyler asked, nodding at the meatball she was holding and giving her that sexy half-smile of his.
"Hell no. I'm starving." She popped it in her mouth and winked as she showed him the last meatball that she'd been hiding in her other hand.
Tyler laughed and kissed her on the forehead before taking it and popping it into his mouth.
Sarah tried to follow the conversation, but she was far more interested in the waiter with a tray of fresh shrimp and cocktail sauce circulating on the far edge of the room. Unfortunately, he turned back to the kitchen long before reaching them.
She nudged Tyler, hoping he'd move closer to the kitchen.
One of the women turned to her. She was probably mid-thirties and in a bright pink dress that was almost painful to look at. "So, um, Sarah. Have you thought about where you're going to have your wedding?" The woman tried to smile, but couldn't quite remove the impression that she was sucking on a lemon.
"No, not really." She really wished they hadn't been so excited on the night Tyler proposed that they'd shouted it to the world and ended up on the front-page of the paper the next day. Now all anyone ever wanted to talk to her about was the wedding. Or Tyler.
The woman touched her arm, her expression far too earnest as she said, "Oh, you should. The best venues fill up years in advance."
Tyler smiled, casual and easy as always. "You forget, Amanda, the Corrigans do own half of the most popular wedding venues on the East Coast. Wherever and whenever Sarah wants to say I do, I'll make it happen."
Sarah forced a smile. His casual mention of that kind of power and influence chilled her. She loved Tyler Corrigan. She did.
But…
She could've done without all the money and what that brought with it.
She turned to him, a slight smirk on her face. "So, tomorrow at the county court works for you then?"
The woman who'd asked the initial question gasped and Sarah found herself waving her hands to calm the entire group. "I was kidding, of course."
Amanda fanned herself. "I certainly hope so! Your wedding is going to be the social event of the season. Oh, to think what Henrietta would do if you just got married at the county court like…That would almost be as bad as running away to Vegas."
Sarah's other top choice.
But they couldn't do that either.
Because, Henrietta, Tyler's mother, wouldn't allow it.
The woman still hadn't deigned to meet Sarah, but she'd made it clear through her e-mails to Tyler that she expected him to handle the wedding ceremony with far more class and planning than he had the engagement. Henrietta Corrigan was not going to let her son's foolishness damage her reputation one whit more than it already had.
A woman with an unfortunately overdone bun perched on the top of her head leaned forward, glancing between them as if sharing some sort of big secret. "Is it true that you and Tyler met when you were working at Corrigan, Inc.? I heard you were his intern." The woman waggled her perfectly-sculpted eyebrows as she smiled at them.
Sarah shook her head. So now she'd been his intern? Instead of a highly-educated accountant with strong career prospects and a good education? She was sick and tired of that little undercurrent of judgment she kept hearing. Just because he'd been her boss when they met didn't mean she'd been incompetent or unprofessional.
She wished just one person would come out with it and say, "So you're a low-class slut who seduced your older and much richer boss into marrying you?" At least then she could meet it head-on. But no. That wasn't the way these people worked.
Tyler stepped in before Sarah could say something unfortunate. "Sarah and I did meet while she was working at Corrigan, Inc., but she was far from some lowly intern. She was one of my best forensic accountants. And it took me a full two years to finally catch her eye."
She shook her head, still not believing that he really had fallen in love with her the first day they met even though he insisted on telling everyone that.
She'd certainly been drawn to him that first day, but she refused to believe he'd been drawn to her the same way. Of course, her attraction had lasted until she found out who he really was and then she'd done everything she could to avoid him. The last thing she'd needed was to get all hung up on some privileged, rich boy.
(And look at her now.)
