“Hello?” Alec said from the doorway.
I turned, about to race out but then slowed myself down, not wanting her to see me frantic in the least. I smoothed my hair back and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. I plastered a smile on my face and walked out into the living room. Alec escorted Sara into the penthouse, and she smiled at me.
“Did you see a bunch of cool stuff?”
“I did,” she said happily. “I need to change my clothes. I’ll be back. Thanks, Alec.”
“No problem,” he said. “I had a good time.”
I watched as Sara walked down the hall and disappeared into her room. When the doors were shut, I casually turned back toward Alec. He looked at me and smiled, and I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the side.
“So help me,” I whispered. “I promise the next opportunity I have, I will cockblock the hell out of you.”
“Calm down, bro.” He chuckled. “I didn’t take your girl out so I could steal her away. I saw the stress going on in this penthouse, and I knew she needed a break from the drama of it all. You are seriously oozing stress right now, man.”
“Do you blame me?” I said, groaning. “Everything is a disaster, and I know how suave you are.”
“I am pretty suave.” He smiled. “I have to admit, she thought I was awesome.”
“Seriously, bro,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I’m messing with you, dude.” He chuckled. “You seriously need to chill. I really like this one, so don’t fuck it up again.”
He slapped me on the shoulder and smiled wide, turning and walking from the penthouse. At least he’d noticed that Sara mattered to me, and it sounded like Sara talked about me to him. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad. I stood there and waited for Sara to come back out.
“Did he leave?” Sara asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “So, tell me about your day.”
“Well, I saw the Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square, and a bunch of other places in the city,” she said. “Alec was really great company, and he made me laugh the whole time, so that was good. He’s a really nice guy and a really good friend to you. He showed me all the hidden little gems in New York, so I kind of got the insider tour.”
“Wow,” I said, listening to her gush about Alec and the tour. “Did you see the Statue of Liberty?”
“Just from afar,” she said. “It was too late to actually take the ferry over there.”
“We’ll have to do that before you leave for sure,” I said, trying to calm the jealousy raging inside of me. “So, I was thinking we should go out to dinner somewhere.”
“Oh god,” she said, holding her stomach. “I don’t even think I can think about food. After getting hotdogs in Central Park, he took me to some exclusive restaurant. I don’t know what the name was, but they served food dipped in gold. It was definitely interesting, but now my stomach feels kind of like Fort Knox. We can totally get you something if you’re hungry, but I don’t think I’ll eat anything for a while. I don’t know how you rich people eat this stuff all the time. I feel like I’m going to be over the weight limit to take the flight back home. I seriously didn’t even know you could eat gold, much less ever thought of eating it myself.”
“That place is nuts,” I said, laughing, knowing what restaurant she’d gone to. “I’ve only been there once, and I probably will never go back.”
“Cool once, for sure.” She giggled. “But more than once, no thanks.”
“Well, let’s stay in then,” I said. “If you get hungry later, we can order delivery.”
“Delivery late at night?” she said.
“Uh, yeah, this is New York. You can get anything you want pretty much twenty-four hours a day.” I chuckled. “We’re like our own little country over here, and if you had the money and the want, you could seriously never leave your apartment and just have everything delivered to you. It’s like a hermit’s dream.”
“I wish they had that in Bonanza.” She laughed.
“For all twelve of you?” I joked.
“Hey,” she said, slapping my arm and giving me a warm smile.
“So, you want to watch a movie with me?”
“I don’t know.” She smirked. “From what I hear, you’re swamped with work, trying to catch back up with all of your biggest fans.”
“Biggest fans,” I scoffed with a smile. “You mean nervous investors, crew members, and every media outlet in the world?”
“Yeah, them.”
“Honestly, sometimes I think if I knew how it would be to start a company, I might have skipped it after selling my apps and just disappeared somewhere warm and tropical for the rest of my days,” I said. “Sometimes, it’s just too much.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, sounding genuine.
“It’s my life,” I said. “But not tonight. Tonight, I would rather be entertaining my houseguest. Work can wait. It’ll be there tomorrow and the next day and the next day. Besides, it should be quitting time for me anyway.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” she said. “Then yes, of course, I’ll watch a movie with you.”
“Awesome,” I said, clapping my hands. “All the movies are on the shelf. I’m going to fix myself a sandwich really fast. Pick out whatever you want.”
“Even a chick flick?” She sent me a sly look.
“Sure, though I think you might have a hard time finding those in my collection.” I laughed. “I keep those in my secret hidden collection where no one ever looks, but I don’t think you’re ready for that just yet.”
“Riiiight,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Good thing I’m not the chick flick kind of gal.”
“I knew you were perfect.” I smiled, walking into the kitchen.
I ate a quick sandwich, and then we snuggled onto the couch and started watching movies. It didn’t take long, though, with the lights down and the warm blanket before Sara’s head started to droop. She’d picked out a couple of superhero movies, which were some of my favorites, but there was no way she was going to make it through it. I reached over and put my arm around her, pulling her close and letting her rest her head on my shoulder. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes again, drifting in and out of sleep. I couldn’t help noticing how amazing it felt to have her in my arms again. She was this amazing rock star of a woman, and my heart fluttered just feeling her skin so close to mine. It was the same feeling I’d had for her the entire time we were together, that feeling that it couldn’t get any better. Life around her couldn’t get any better, and she was the only girl in the world for me. It was obvious my protector persona was shining through.
She had worked herself into total exhaustion all day long. Between the constant emotions and trekking all over the city, she couldn’t keep her eyes open to save her life. It was adorable, and I definitely didn’t mind when she abandoned all attachment to the idea of not seeking comfort in my arms. Slowly, I leaned her back, pulling myself to my feet and bending over, picking her up in my arms. I cradled her, feeling her head against my shoulder, and walked to her room, gently setting her down. She groaned lightly and turned over on her side, bringing her knees up. I pulled the covers up over and leaned in, kissing her on her head.
I had never stared down at something more precious in my life. I felt like her protector, like she was the greatest treasure I would ever come to know. As I stood next to her bed, I had this aching feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me want to always watch over her and never let anything come in the way of me doing that. I had never felt this way about a woman before, and I couldn’t imagine I would feel this strongly for anyone else. It was her I wanted. It was her who was on my mind, and I would put myself in the fire just to ensure she was okay. It was her who brought these emotions bubbling to the surface at every turn.
I had spent so many years being obsessed with money and status. It had become something that took over my life, my every thought. I wanted to show everyone that the street rat from the ghetto
could be someone real one day, so I’d put everything else in life on hold and just ground in, making it happen. When I got here, I never realized the people I thought I needed to impress would become a whole other group, and they would be hard to convince. It had reached a point where I felt like people were just a dime a dozen. Either they respected me for my hard-working mentality, or they turned their nose up because I wasn’t old money. There was no in-between, and there was no apology for it. It was just how it was.
When I met Sara, though, she stuck out like a sore thumb. She was like a ruby buried in the sand, and I felt like she was worth her weight in gold and more. She was special in ways I couldn’t imagine any other woman could match, and then she tied it all together with a strong but sweet demeanor. I never wanted her to lose that. I wanted to protect that part of her for the rest of her life. It was a gift most people were not given, and I was able to see that, even when she couldn’t see it for herself.
Whether her trip that day was with me, holding hands like I imagined, discovering the world, or with my best friend, taking time away, I just wanted her to be happy. She was here and that was what mattered. I was going to keep her safe and make sure she didn’t want to ever be away from me again.
Chapter 35
Sara
Sitting across the table from Ryan, I kept thinking about his arms being around me the night before. I had been too tired to take it any further than that, but it was sweet how he had picked me up and tucked me into bed. That next morning, we were eating breakfast together, and I glanced up, watching him read the paper and eat his toast.
“So, what are you plans for today?” I asked, hoping the answer would have something to do with me.
“I, unfortunately, have to finish up some work,” he said with a smile.
“Oh,” I said, looking down at my plate. “Okay, cool.”
“But,” he said, chuckling. “I was thinking that when I was done sometime this afternoon, we could do something together, spend some time with each other since I left you in the neurotic hands of my best friend yesterday. I figure I owe you. Plus, I don’t want to waste the time I have you here on silly things like conference calls and paperwork.”
“Oh, those silly things that make you money?” I laughed.
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Those silly things. Also, I had something I wanted to ask you.”
“What’s that?”
“Tomorrow night, I have an event to go to,” he said. “I was wondering if you would be my guest to the event?”
“What kind of event is it?” I asked, really not wanting to end up at some rich person party somewhere in Manhattan.
“It’s a charity event.” He smiled. “I go to a lot of charity events in the city every year. I choose the ones I care about the most to donate to, and it acts as a pretty good tax write-off at the end of the year while I’m doing something good for someone else. It’s really a win-win situation for me.”
“That’s really awesome of you. I try to donate to things that matter to me, too, but in Bonanza, that’s pretty much the horse ranch.”
“It’s definitely a morale booster, and out here, it’s almost trendy to do so, which is great for the organizations. It really helps them raise as much money as possible,” he said.
“What’s this fundraiser for?” I asked.
“Oh, well, it’s a little thing held at an art museum in town to raise money for animal preserves to fight back poachers in Africa,” he said. “I actually went on a tour with them when I was overseas and saw what they really do. It’s a big deal, and unlike most charities, a very large percentage of funds raised actually go to the cause.”
I sat there looking at him for a moment, unsure if he was for real or if he was mocking me. He stood up and walked over to the counter, grabbing an invitation and handing it to me. Sure enough, there was a fundraiser for that very organization. My jaw dropped open, not believing I would get to be a part of something so big and so amazing. They did so much work for animals, and being a vet and animal lover myself, I wanted to do anything I could to support them. I would never have a chance to be invited to something like this while living in Bonanza, and there was no way I could turn down the invitation while I was in New York.
“Holy crap,” I said. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. When you said you were coming to New York, I thought it might be the perfect thing for you and me to do. I figured you might be interested.”
“Uh, yeah.” I gawked. “Of course, I want to go. Thank you so much for inviting me. This is really exciting. And I’ve never been to a fundraiser outside of Bonanza, so it should be an experience.”
“Maybe it’ll give you some ideas for your annual fundraiser with Alison,” he said. Then, his grin widened. “Shake it up a little in that small town.”
“You know how they like a good shake-up,” I said sarcastically. “But maybe I can at least get rid of the Christmas lights everywhere.”
“Might be time.” He laughed. “Anyway, what are you going to do this morning?”
“Probably check in with my clients, relax a bit, and then wait for you to be done.”
“Sounds good,” he said, putting his plate in the sink. “I’ll work as fast as I can.”
As he walked past me, he put his hand on my shoulder and sparks flew into my chest. I sat back and smiled once he was gone, thinking maybe this trip was a good idea after all. I finished up my breakfast and headed back to my room, pulling out my phone book and calling all of my regular clients. I wanted to make sure their animals were doing well and find out if they had found alternate care. In the end, the only one that had actually gone to another vet was a more urgent matter, and the dog was doing really well. They told me they couldn’t wait until I got back so they could bring the dog in for a check-up. It felt good to have clients who were so loyal to me and me to them in return.
When I was done with that, I dialed Alison’s number. I wanted to check on the horses, their medications, and also tell her the exciting news about going to the fundraiser. Surprisingly, though, I didn’t get an answer from her at all. Usually, she jumped at my calls, but I figured maybe she was out in the stalls without her phone. I was sure she would end up calling me back later. When I was done, I got up and walked around the room, looking at all the books on the bookshelf. There were all the greats, from Tolstoy to Shakespeare and everything in-between. On top of that, there were newer books, ones I hadn’t even heard of before. I started to pull them off the shelf and open them up, realizing that anything that could be signed by the author was signed. I almost felt bad for touching them. I chose one and sat down in the sitting area and read for a few hours, stopping when I heard a knock on the door.
I closed the book and carefully set it down, walking over and opening the door. Ryan was standing there looking handsome as ever with a charming smile on his face. He made my heart skip a damn beat every time he came around.
“Did you find something to keep you busy?”
“I started reading the books you have on the shelf. It’s an impressive collection. And many of them signed.”
“Yeah, it was kind of my first investment when I got the money,” he said. “I wanted to see if you wanted to grab lunch?”
“Sure,” I said.
“Great. You ready?”
“Yep.” I smiled, walking out of the room and following him to the front door.
We headed out to Manhattan and went to a fancy little eatery in the center of a luxury shopping district. It was the kind of place I imagined I would see famous movie stars shopping in. As we sat there talking about the city, Ryan looked over at me and sweetly smiled.
“What’s up?” I said, feeling like he was about to tell me something.
“I brought you to this place for lunch because it was so close to the shopping district,” he said.
“You don’t like my clothes?” I chuckled.
He laughed, too, and waved his hand. “It’s not that. I’m going to take you buy a g
own for the fundraiser tomorrow night.”
I tilted my head and looked at him for a moment, getting the inkling this fundraiser might be a little fancier than I had expected. The last “gown” I had worn was my old prom dress during the auction, and I wasn’t sure I knew what to even look for. I could see him studying my face with a smirk.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m taking you to a place where there’s a stylist to dress you in the best dress for your body. You won’t have to do anything but stand there and give a yes or a no.”
“All right,” I said with a laugh.
After lunch, he led me to a small boutique where, apparently, we had an appointment. The woman took me in the back and stood me up on a pedestal, trying several different gowns on me. Finally, I found one that took my breath away, and I okayed it. When I got dressed and walked out to Ryan, she followed, handing him the gown all wrapped up. I glanced down at the tag and shook my head.
“I cannot let you buy me this,” I said my eyes wide. “There are more zeroes than my car cost—hell, than any car in Bonanza cost.”
“You aren’t done yet.” He chuckled.
“What size are your feet?” the woman asked.
“Uhm, a seven, I think,” I said.
“Perfect.” She opened a box with a beautiful pair of shoes inside. “And this is the clutch that matches the ensemble.”
“That’s wonderful,” Ryan said to the woman as I stood there frozen. “We’ll take it all.”
He handed the woman a credit card and then turned to me.
“How about we go out to a fancy special dinner tonight?”
“Sure,” I said.
As we wrapped everything up and headed back to the penthouse to get ready for dinner, I thought about the fact that I was slightly tired of gourmet fancy menus. What I really wanted was a greasy cheeseburger, but I could tell Ryan was trying to take me somewhere nice, so I decided to go along with it. As long as it wasn’t covered in gold, I was pretty sure I would be okay. When we got back, we both showered and changed and then headed out to dinner. The restaurant was big, and they sat us at a beautiful little candlelit table by the windows overlooking the city.
My Last First Kiss: A Single Father Secret Baby Novel Page 45
