Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
She moaned her complaint and he grinned. “I need you focused and that wasn’t helping,” he said.
“What is it?” she asked.
He tipped her head back and looked into her eyes. “Before things get crazy tonight, I wanted to make sure you knew how proud I am of you. You’ve come so far in such a short time when it comes to us, and you put together not just a prom for seriously ill children, you formed an entire fund for their benefit.”
His words and approval warmed her, but she didn’t know how to explain the recent changes. “I’d been feeling that growing need to get over the past so I could move forward with you. Then I fainted, and when I came to I was just . . . so tired of being emotionally crippled.”
He shook his head. “That is too strong a description. You had every right to be wary of me and my life.”
She didn’t want to argue. “Fine, but the thing that gave me the final push in the end was that I realized I wanted something so badly I couldn’t imagine living without it.”
A pleased smile lifted his sexy lips. “What would that be?” he asked in a gruff voice.
That question had an easy answer. “Us,” she murmured. “I wanted us.”
He kissed her hard, turned her around, and pulled her panties down her legs. It was fast, loving, and oh so necessary. Especially when he came inside her, shouting out not just her name but a gruff I love you before collapsing against her.
They made it to the party in the nick of time.
Chapter Thirteen
Halfway through the night, Avery counted the event a success. The room was decorated in blue and gold, the colors chosen by the kids in a poll done by the nursing staff during their rounds. The Mylar balloons and streamers, along with matching plates and silverware, tablecloths, cups, and almost everything else had been provided by a local company that Sienna had arm-twisted into a full donation, not just a discounted rate. She was a true Dare when it came to getting what she wanted, Avery thought.
And everything was documented for posterity. Thanks to the interview she’d done to draw attention to her cause, a local photographer had reached out and offered to take pictures of the event and provide copies to the families free of charge.
Music sounded from an iPod speaker system, the songs also chosen by the attendees. Avery made sure to spend time with each of the children, complimenting them on their formal wear, talking to them, and finding out how they were enjoying the night. But by far, her favorite part of the evening was introducing Grey to the kids and watching their eyes open wide with wonder and excitement.
He, like Lola, who had surprised her by arriving along with her promised gifts, spent time with them all. Avery couldn’t remember a time when her heart was fuller.
Almost every member of her family had made a brief appearance, offering their love, hugs, and support. Her mother was the first to arrive along with her fiancé, Michael Brooks, and the last to leave. None of her siblings lingered, understanding that the night was about the children. But knowing they cared enough to stop by warmed every part of Avery’s heart.
“Avery, a word?”
She turned at the sound of her father’s voice, the one family member she hadn’t yet seen. “Dad. I—” She stopped herself before saying, I wondered if you’d show up. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said instead.
“I know I haven’t been much of a father, and I’m sorry you had to spell it out for me that way. But—”
Avery didn’t want anything marring this night, least of all another conversation about something that was in the past. “It’s over. I’d like it if we could just move forward from here.”
He exhaled sharply and nodded, clearly relieved to have been given a reprieve. “This is fabulous,” he said. “You’ve done a terrific thing for these kids.”
He met her gaze, and in his eyes, she saw he meant it.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“Where’s your man?” he asked.
Avery looked toward the far side of the room, where she’d seen Grey last, with Lilly, the youngest patient there, who couldn’t leave her wheelchair.
“I’m not sure. Why?” she asked, suddenly wary.
Her father shifted from foot to foot. “I thought maybe I could start over. Get to know him.”
Avery raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I’d like that.”
Before she could say more, a commotion sounded from outside the room, and Avery realized she needed to take care of it before something disrupted the kids’ fun.
“I have to go see what’s going on.” She headed for the exit, her father close behind.
She pushed through the double doors and saw Rick with Ella’s bodyguard, Jack Tantor, detaining a redheaded woman. The two men had been assigned to keep guard outside the main room. Marco, Grey’s bodyguard, was posted outside the hospital’s front entrance.