I wasn’t exactly sure of my feelings, but one thing I was certain of, Cherri was too important to me to let her simply go. In the short time I’d known her, my heart had become attached to her in a way that had never happened to me before.

The way she was with Brady, and the way she made both of us feel, was real. It was powerful. I owed it to both of us to try and find out what had led to the situation we were in. And it was with that intention that I’d entered the auction. I had no idea what came over me when I bid that price! I guess a part of me wanted to know for sure. If she was in this for the money, there it was. A million dollars. If she was in it for love, then I’d know once she stuck around.

When I found out about the situation her grandfather was in, I’d decided to give her another chance.

“Wes,” she gasps when she sees me.

I stand beneath the stage and look up at her. She’s topless, her breasts perfection, wearing the sexiest lingerie I’ve ever seen, but I only look straight into her eyes.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say.

A few minutes later she’s coming out of her dressing room. She still has on the high heels and lingerie that the auction company dressed her in, but she is also wearing a silk gown that gives her a little cover.

“My car’s outside,” I say to her.

“I just need to sort out the paperwork for this auction first,” she says shyly.

“Don’t worry about that now,” I say. “They won’t be able to pay you that sort of money until the banks open on Monday.”

“Monday,” she says, panicked. “But that’s too late.”

“Too late for what?”

She doesn’t answer, but runs down the corridor to the administrator’s office and asks to speak to him.

I follow, confused as to what’s going on. When I get to the office, she’s almost crying.

“I don’t need that much money,” she’s saying to the auction administrator. “All I need is twenty thousand. That’s all I ever wanted.”

“Either way, you’ll have to wait until the banks open. I don’t have that sort of cash around.”

“No,” she says, shouting now. “I can’t wait. I need it now. Twenty thousand or I won’t go through with it.”

“What’s going on?” I say, entering the room.

“The girl’s threatening to back out, sir,” the administrator says.

He’s a short, ugly man in a dark suit.

“Cherri,” I say, soothingly. “What’s the matter?”

“I’m sorry, Wes. I’m sorry to create a scene. I know you bid a million dollars for me, but I don’t need that money. I swear all I need is twenty grand. But I need it right now.”

It’s at that moment when I realize the truth about her. It’s exactly what I’ve been hoping all along.

“You don’t want the million dollars?”

“No. I just need someone to call my grandfather’s hospital in Iowa and tell them to go ahead with the surgery. It’s being held up because of a billing issue.”

“So if I was to tell you that your grandfather’s surgery has already happened?” I say.

“What?”

“He’s already in the operating room. The surgery has begun.”

“But how?”

“It doesn’t matter how.”

“If that were true, you could all keep your million dollars.”

I take my phone out of my pocket and dial Lucy’s number.

“Can I have an update on the status of Mr. Madison,” I ask.

I put the phone on speaker.

“Mr. Madison’s surgery has been a complete success,” Lucy says. “He’s in recovery as we speak.”

Cherri looks at me, looks deeply into my eyes, and I know the gratitude is real. She never cared one bit about the money. She was doing all of this to protect her family.

I reach out and take her by the hand.

“How did you arrange that?” she asks, taking my hand.

I lead her to my limo and as we get into the back seat, I answer her question.

“When I found out about his situation, I had the bill paid.”

“But why?”

I shrug and smile. “For you, I guess.”

“I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you enough,” she says.

“Don’t worry about it. The happiness you brought me and Brady the other day is all the thanks I need.”

She looks out the window at the passing city and can’t believe what’s happening.

“I guess all that’s left is for him to sort out the farm,” she says, quietly, to herself.

“He won’t have to worry about that either. There are going to be some important changes in the dairy industry. Changes that will make life an awful lot easier for small farmers like your grandfather.”

She looks at me again and really can’t believe her ears.

“How is all this possible?” she says.

“Sometimes, the right person can enter your life at the right moment, and everything that was dark can be filled with light,” I say.

I know she thinks I’m talking about her life, but I’m talking about my own. She’s the one who made everything bright when she walked into mine and Brady’s life.

“Where are you taking me,” she says, suddenly remembering the unusual circumstances of our meeting.

“To your apartment,” I say. “You must be exhausted after all this.”

She nods, and then says, “You don’t want … what you bought?”

I look at her and cant control the attraction I feel for her. It’s as if my body is going to explode with desire in that second.

“Driver,” I say. “Turn around. Take us to the Avalon.”