“Do you really mean that?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Sky kissed him lightly on the lips.
Remington leaned in and deepened it as he pulled her into a tight embrace. After a moment, he broke the kiss.
Sky was basking in the euphoria of it especially after dreaming about kissing him for so many nights, she didn’t want it to end. Her eyes were still closed when she spoke. “The hospital is going to make things right with everything that happened here. I hope we can put this all behind us and move on.”
“I know and we will as long as we want to. I for one and ready to move on—with you.” Remington touched his forehead to hers.
Her eyes fluttered open and stared at him questioningly. “How did you know the hospital is going to make it right? Nia just negotiated the deal not ten minutes ago.”
Remington gave her his trade-mark lop-sided grin that made her knees go weak. “I wasn’t about to let this hospital destroy your career, so I bought it to make sure.”
“Are you kidding?” He couldn’t have been serious. “You bought the hospital?”
“I know how important your career and reputation is. No matter how angry I was, I knew you wouldn’t sleep with Kane. I knew you would never be behind a cover-up. I just hated you didn’t tell me the truth. We have to be honest with each other no matter how hard it is.”
Sky’s eyes started to water. “Okay.”
“At the end of the day, you saved my daughter’s life. And since I’m falling in love with you, buying the hospital was the least I could do. There would be no chance of starting over if your career was in tatters.”
Sky could barely form words. Did he just say he thought he was falling in love with me? “I’m falling in love with you too.”
Remington grinned. “That is good to hear since someone told me ‘Don’t mess this up.’ So, in my effort not to do just that, would you like to have dinner with Charlie and me tonight?”
Her unshed tears spilled over. “There is no place I would rather be.”
Epilogue
One year later
Remington was decked out in a black tuxedo and tie as he paced back and forth in the foyer. He was nervous. “C’mon, Charlie she’s going to be here any minute.”
“I’m coming, dad.” Slowly, Charlie rounded the corner in the new ranch-style mansion that her father had built specifically with her disability in mind. It boasted of wider than normal hallways and was equipped with ramps and more. Tonight the home sparkled with a different kind of energy that had nothing to do with the large chandelier that hung above them.
Charlie was dressed in a beautiful tea-length yellow gown. It brought out her silky golden curls that had been pulled back into a messy ponytail as she walked on her own two feet with just the assistance of a walker. “Is she here yet?”
Remington checked his watch. “Not yet, but she should be any minute. Wow. You look beautiful.”
Charlie blushed. “Thanks. Special night, special dress.”
Sophia and Yolanda came out of the shadows. “Is she here?”
“Not yet,” Remington answered.
“Well, everything is all set, Mr. Remington. The wine is chilling, and everything you’ve asked for is in place.”
“Thank you, Sophia.”
The doorbell rang.
“It’s her.” Charlie and Yolanda said in unison.
Remington took a deep breath and opened the door.
Sky stood on the other side. She wore a candy apple red form-fitting dress with a plunging neckline that hugged all of her generous curves. She didn’t wear any accessories. She didn’t need them not when her full, kissable bow-shaped lips were covered in a bold red lipstick. The color complimented her smooth caramel skin. Remington’s eyes smoldered as he visualized not just taking off the dress and lipstick, but how he planned to do it. Considering his daughter, her best friend and mother were standing right behind him, he needed to tamp down his illicit thoughts.
The heat in his eyes made Sky’s stomach flutter. Even after dating for over a year, Remington still made her heart race. As she stepped over the threshold, Sky had been unable to look away from his gaze. Remington had a way of shrinking the size of a room. He could make her feel nothing existed outside the two of them.
“Wow. You look amazing, Sky.” Charlie spoke in awe.
Her voice brought them back from whatever world they had absconded to.
“I second that. You look beautiful.” Remington leaned over and placed a lingering kiss on Sky’s cheek. Then whispered into her ear, “I know you look even better underneath that dress and I can’t wait to find out.”
His words put a saucy smile on her face. Sky’s response was for his ears only as she pulled back and gazed into those gray eyes. “Maybe we should skip the fundraiser and find out.”
“Hmm . . . Don’t tempt me.”
Sky looked around Remington to see several pairs of eyes staring at them. She cleared her throat and moved out of his embrace. “Thank you, everyone, for the compliment, but we all know the bell of the ball is Charlie Kneeland. You look fantastic.”
“Is that the lip-gloss we bought the other day?”
“Yep. It sure is.”
Remington wasn’t
