What about this one, Mila?" Looking up from the rack at our favorite vintage boutique, I eye the dress Bella is holding. The hospital charity event is tonight, and I waited until the last minute to shop for a dress. I called Bella in a panic this morning and asked for her help. Thirty minutes later, she and Alba were at my door. Alba brought along baby Gabe and offered to stay behind and watch Ava. Alba is ready to pop any day and opted to sit this shopping trip out. I don't blame her. My friends are lifesavers.

"Omg! I love that one. What size is it?" I asked walking up to her.

Peeking at the tag, "Your size," she answers.

Stepping out of the dressing room with the dress on, Bella's huge smile tells me all I need to know. After trying on dozens of gowns, I was ready to throw in the towel.

Turning to face the mirror, I stare at my reflection. It's perfect. The dress is black satin, floor-length with an open back. The material of the dress feels cold against my warm skin. The way it clings to my body makes it feel as if I'm wearing nothing.

"Mila, you look stunning," Bella gushes. "You have to get this one."

Running my hands down my sides over the silky material, I turn to peer over my left shoulder and study my reflection in the mirrored wall, "This is the one," I confess.

Back at mine and Reid's place, I'm sitting on a stool in the bathroom while Alba does my hair and Bella applies my makeup while Gabe and Ava play together on the bedroom floor. Could I have done all this myself? Yes, but the duo decided they needed to make a fuss over me.

Reid left yesterday with the club on a charity run they had planned months ago, so unfortunately he's unable to attend the event with me tonight. I told him it was no big deal, but he still feels lousy about not going. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed to be going stag, but I understand the run is equally as important. I would never come between him and his obligations to his club.

Gazing at our reflections in the mirror, Alba pauses from curling my hair as she places her hand on her back and stretches.

"You alright?" I ask with concern. I've noticed her do this several times in the past hour.

"Yeah, I'm okay. My back is a little achy is all. I promise I'm fine," Alba insists.

"Here, I'll finish her hair. You go sit down for a little bit," Bella intervenes taking the curling iron from her sister's hands. Alba rolls her eyes, but does as she's told. I love their relationship. I'm sometimes envious of it. I always wanted siblings growing up.

I look forward to the day I can give Ava a brother or sister. With her turning five, I've come to realize I don't want there to be a big age gap between her and her siblings. I want them to grow up together. How do I even bring up the subject with Reid? I don't want to rush anything. It's just lately I find myself thinking more and more about having a family with Reid.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asks. "You look deep in thought."

Letting out a sigh I answer her, "I was thinking about how I'd like to have more kids," I confess.

"Have you and Reid been talking about it?"

"No. I haven't brought the subject up. We've finally gotten into a comfortable place since all the craziness that has happened. I don't want to rock the boat. That and it's too soon to be talking about kids." I wave my hand at her, "You know, it's probably my crazy hormones, and I'm around Alba all the time. Baby fever is rubbing off on me I suppose." I decide to steer the conversation in Bella's direction, "Are you and Logan still trying?" I watch as something passes over her face. A smile just as quickly appears.

"Still trying. I would have liked to have been pregnant right now, but we are having a hell of a good time trying." Swiftly changing the subject, she announces that she is finished.

"Holy shit!" I blurt out once I get a look at myself. My hair hangs in loose curls down my back. The smoky shadow Bella applied makes my eye color pop. To top it all off, she painted my lips with crimson red lipstick. "You two have worked some serious magic." I stand in awe, gawking at my reflection. Looking at my watch, I realize I only have an hour to get dressed and to the event. "Shit! I have to hurry." Walking over to the closet where my gown is hanging on the hook I strip out of my clothes and carefully remove the delicate material from the hanger, letting the slinky material float down over my body. Stepping into a pair of black heels, I wrap lace ties around my ankles adding five inches to my height.

"Stand there for one second, I want to get a picture," Bella insists.

After she has taken several snaps, I give myself one more glance in the mirror before walking over to the dresser and grabbing my clutch.

"Momma, you look like a pwinces."

Leaning down, I kiss Ava on her cheek. "Thanks, baby girl. You be good, and momma will see you later." I turn my attention back to Bella and Alba, "Thank you for everything," I said hugging them.

"You're welcome, now go before you're late," Alba ushers.

I arrive at Dr. Walker's home where the event is taking place. Parking in the circular drive, I step out of my car and I'm instantly greeted by the valet. Placing my ticket in my clutch, I make my way around the side of the house where I see a large white canopy. Underneath the tent is an array of round tables with white linen tablecloths along with white chairs that have been spaced evenly throughout the area. Located in the very front is a podium. I feel my anxieties start to grow. I realize I will soon be standing at the podium giving a speech to roughly two hundred people.

A woman stands at the entrance of the tent and speaks as I walk up, "Name?" she asks.

"Mila Vaughn."

"You're seated at table one. Dinner will be delivered to your table at 7:00 pm. Followed by the announcement of the winners for the silent auction, which is taking place right over there," she points to the right where several sets of large tables are lined around the inside perimeter of another tent. "Then you'll be called up on stage to give your speech, Ms. Vaughn. Any questions?" she finishes.

"No, I think I got it. Thank you." I politely tell her before walking in.

When I get to my table, I notice I'll be sitting with the director of the hospital Dr. Walker and his wife Claire.

"Good evening, Mila," he greets me with a warm smile. "You look lovely."

I don't miss the ugly sneer Claire gives me. I take my seat. "Thank you, Dr. Walker."

"Please call me Liam. I'm pleased you decided on giving this year's speech. I'd also like to offer my condolences on your grandmother's passing."

"Thank you," I reply trying not to choke on my emotions at the mention of Grams.

"I see you came alone, Mila." Claire leans into my personal space and murmurs. The comment hits the target nerve she was after. I shouldn’t let her get to me. Usually, I wouldn't, but I do wish Reid could have been here. Tonight, however, not being about her or myself, I squash the idea of shoving her face into the appetizers she has sitting in front of her.

Instead, I excuse myself and walk over to the tent and tables they have set up and check out the various auction items. Amongst the items is an all-inclusive trip to the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru. I flip through the color catalog they have placed on the display. I've never been outside of New York or Montana unless you count the states I passed over on my way back and forth during my summer trips as a kid. The thought alone of enjoying a vacation like this, getting to lay around in the warmth of the sun. The green-blue waters so vivid and alive with colorful sea creatures- I retrieve a bid sheet from the table. Every stroke of my pen as it writes out my bid fills me with excitement. Even if I don't win the trip, I will write a check for the same amount before I leave tonight to donate in my grams honor. Afterwards, I wander back to my table just as dinner is about to be served. From the options given, I settle on the roasted Cornish hen with rosemary buttered fingerling potatoes and bacon wrapped asparagus bundles. Aside from sharing brief moments of conversation with other contributors seated at my table I'm able to finish half my meal before the event coordinator starts announcing the winners of the auctioned items. When she gets to the exotic island vacation I bid on, I hold my breath.

"The winning bid for a gorgeous all-inclusive vacation at the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru," she pauses as she gets handed a piece of paper, "Mila Vaughn. It seems this was a highly sought-after item tonight. Congratulations."

I can't help the smile that overtakes my face.

"You? How in the world can you afford a bid that size, and it had to have been a large sum to outbid me. How can you afford such a thing on a nurse's salary?" Claire looks down her nose with a smug disgusted look on her botoxed face.

"Claire, that's enough," her husband Liam scolds his wife in front of the entire table. Opening and closing her mouth she shoots a knife-cutting glare my way before standing up and walking away from the table in the direction of their home.

"Mila, my apologies for my wife's behavior tonight," Liam tells me. I didn’t miss the underlying tone of detest when he said, wife.

"I appreciate the apology." I'm about to say more when the lady on stage announce, "Ladies and Gentlemen, our speaker for the evening is a nurse- a caregiver herself. Who better to stand up here at this podium. Please welcome Ms. Mila Vaughn."

Standing, I smooth down my dress. Applause fill the night air, giving me the courage to put one heel in front of the other. Afraid I might mess up and forget something, I retrieve my notes I had stashed in my clutch. Exhaling the warm night air, I start to speak.

"Good evening. I'm honored to speak here tonight." I wet my lower lip, look down at my notes, then lift my eyes to the 200 plus guests in the crowd. "Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. I can also tell you almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women. One of those women happened to be my grandmother Charlotte Scott. I cared for her for a long time, doing everything I possibly could before the disease started to progress to the point she needed more care than I could provide for her at home. You see, I'm what society describes as a "sandwich generation" caregiver—meaning I cared not only for an aging grandparent but also for a child, my daughter who just turned 5. At times, more times than I can count, I would feel overwhelmed and brokenhearted. What a lot of people fail to understand is Alzheimer's takes a devastating toll on not only the person having to live with the debilitating disease, but it affects the caregivers and families as well. Watching a loved one lose pieces of themselves, like forgetting the person they fell in love with or reliving a sad moment in life repeatedly because they got stuck in the past- because they became so lost in the present."

I pause to collect myself and swallow past my emotions. "Watching them stop right in the middle of eating a meal because they become confused with the simple task of how to use a fork to feed themselves." The memory of Grams at Christmas dinner last year grips at my heart.

Scanning the sea of faces I continue, "I urge you to open your hearts and of course your wallets. The donations given tonight will not only benefit the research and ongoing advancements in finding a cure for Alzheimer's, it will also help families cover the many out of pocket expenses associated with caring for their loved ones and provide much-needed counseling for the patient and the family members affected."

A distant roar—like a million horses running on open pastures starts to echo through the night sky. As the sound amplifies, you can feel the vibrations from the rumble course through your body. In the distance, a massive sea of lights heads our direction. I stand rooted to my spot while men and women stand to look on at what appears to be dozens of motorcycles traveling down the long private driveway of Dr. Walker's home. There are so many of them. I don't have to make him out. I know he's in the formation somewhere. One lone biker weaves his way through parked limos and high dollar vehicles, eventually coming to a slow stop at the edge of the white tent. I stand frozen until my eyes connect with Reid's. This man is every bit the definition of handsome. Dressed in a black, well-tailored tux, he dismounts his bike.

Be still my heart.

Standing at his full height, Reid doesn’t say a word. His eyes tell me everything. He's here for me; all of them are here for me. Giving me his signature smirk, Reid encourages me to continue. I clear my throat to gain the crowd's attention.

"I apologize for the noise ladies and gentlemen, but my family likes to be fashionably late. I'm going to try and end my speech on a more positive note. There is good among the bad. Those good days—maybe even brief moments of clarity your loved one will experience; hold onto them. Moments when they know; They are aware they have found their way out of the dark. Cling to that, latch on to each other because time is precious. It's those memories I clasp hold of. It's those moments I will share with my daughter. Charlotte Scott is who inspired me to become a nurse. Giving and taking care of people was not only in her nature, it's what she was put on this earth to do. To spread compassion and give her love to those around her. She instilled all those core values in me. I'm standing up here for my grandmother… I'm her voice," I flip the page to wrap up my speech.

Absently, I continue reading the printed words. "Finding Solace," I seek Reid out after reading two words I know are not my own. Placing his finger on his lips to suppress a smile he nods his head wanting me to continue. I feel my knees wobble. Dropping my eyes, I read aloud again. "Your touch was my waking. Your kiss my oxygen-the air I breathe. In you, I see thousands of memories we have yet to make."

Overwhelmed, my voice trails off.

I close my eyes.

I get lost in the words—his words.

I didn’t realize he was now standing right next to me. His scent invades my lungs and consumes all my senses. His love radiates off of him; It blankets me like the warm summer sun.

"Look at me, Kitten," his warm breath floats across my ear as he leans in.

Lifting my head, I open my eyes. The only sound being the soft whispers of the wind. When I look out in the crowd, I spot all the guys standing towards the back. Along with the rest of the family—my family. And holding my little girl is Bella.

I smile.

Grabbing my trembling hands, Reid tells me, "I made a promise a while back to one very remarkable lady. I promised her I would watch every sunset with you. I plan on keeping my promise. You fixed all my broken pieces, Mila; you and Ava. Let me make up for all the moments I should have been kissing you. Marry me?" he asks me.

I don't make him wait. "You’ve got a lot of making up to do," I smile, and he kisses me.