Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life proving it,” I murmured.
“But why now?” she asked. “You said you decided before you even knew I was pregnant.”
My thumb explored the curve of her pretty pink lips, coveting the tiny hitch in her breath when I touched her this way. “I did it for you,” I said. “I almost lost you. And nothing could ever be worth going through that again.”
She blinked away her tears and nodded in apparent satisfaction as she wrapped her body around me like a vice. “I trust you not to hurt me again, Ryland,” she whispered. “Don’t make me regret that.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Brighton
Ryland had all of my stuff moved back into his apartment. I didn’t really see the point since we’d be moving again soon anyway, but he’d insisted.
And although Emma had been very helpful for the short time that I had her around, he’d also cut back her hours. Now that we were living together, he agreed that I didn’t really need someone with me round the clock.
It was a relief, and we had a schedule where I could call Emma if I ever needed her for the day. She seemed to be more than happy with the system as well, as opposed to sleeping on Nicole’s sofa.
I was sewing a lot. Ryland’s donation to Sophia’s Shoes meant there was more we could do with it. Nicole and I were working on expanding and outsourcing some of the sewing projects. But it was still something I enjoyed doing, so I wanted to keep it up for as long as I could manage.
Now we were sitting in the apartment, at one of our weekly meetings to discuss the foundation. This was one of Nicole’s ideas, but really I thought it was an excuse for us to eat dessert and hang out. I loved it.
“What about a scholarship program?” she asked, dunking a donut into her hot black coffee.
She and Matt were both sitting across from me, and he was probably bored out of his mind. But ever since Nicole had warmed up to him being around, he was taking full advantage of it. I’d never seen either of them look so happy, and it made me happy too.
“What kind of scholarship?” I asked. “They’re little girls, so I don’t know how that would work.”
“Well, I know,” Nicole said thoughtfully. “But maybe we could expand into older age brackets too. We could even do a scholarship for a ballet school every couple of years if it fits into the budget.”
I mulled over her words carefully before I realized how much they made sense. When I started all of this, I was only thinking of girls around Sophia’s age who would have been nine or younger. But it wasn’t fair to exclude the older kids who didn’t have access to these kinds of programs.
“I think you’re right,” I agreed. “It sounds like a good idea.”
“I’ll do some poking around,” she said. “And tell you what I come up with.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “So what do you need from me for the charity gala?”
“Well, we’re meeting with Alex Burton next week. He’s interested in the foundation, and I have a really good feeling about this.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?” I asked.
“Because…” Nicole glanced at Matt and then back to me. “It’s one of Ryland’s competitors. He’s probably not going to like it, but this isn’t about him.”
“Oh.”
I really didn’t want to start poking the bear again already, but Nicole was right. This was about the charity and not about Ryland’s business.
“I’m sure he’ll understand,” I said. “As long as we keep business out of it. This is just for Sophia’s Shoes.”
“Absolutely.” Nicole grinned. “This guy is a big fish, and I want to reel him in while I’ve got a chance.”
“How did you even get him to agree to a meeting?” I asked.
So far we’d been struggling to find big donors for such a small charity.
“Brighton, you underestimate me.” She laughed. “I still have plenty of contacts in the industry.”
I smiled too because I remembered the last time she’d said those words. It was because she was helping Ryland plan his revenge. We’d come a long way since then, and I trusted Nicole with all my heart now.
“Anything else?” I asked. “Do you need help with the planning?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “Got it all covered. I just need you to show up and smile while you mix with the wealthy and convince them to sign over some hard earned money to our cause.”
“I’m sure with Ryland beside me it won’t be an issue.” I grinned. “He’ll do all the work just by showing up.”
“I think you’re right,” she agreed. “I’ve got a really good feeling about this.”
“Me too. So now that we’ve got all of that settled…” I folded my hands across the counter and took on a serious expression. “It’s onto the second order of business.”