The door to the limousine opened and she climbed out beside him with a huge smile on her face.
Caleb took her hand, sliding it through his. Questions rushed toward them.
“Is she your plaything or is this relationship real?”
“We see the ring. Is this the official engagement ceremony?”
“What are your thoughts on the current scandal?”
She didn’t know half of what they were talking about and then there was silence as they entered the event.
There were a lot of people milling around. Most of them dressed in amazing designer dresses while there were some in scrubs as well. Nurses and doctors walked around. They had charts and looked very intense.
She felt like a total fraud. There was no way she should have been here because she didn’t have any money herself.
“You came,” Cassie said, coming toward the both of them. She’d also opted for scrubs.
“I’ve got to support my sister,” Caleb said. “Where’s your husband?”
“He’s over there, trying to charm someone into donating specifically to my field. Lauren, you look beautiful.”
“And you look amazing. Thank you for everything you do.”
“I love it. I love helping people and being there.”
It wasn’t long before his parents joined them and Lauren was able to calm down just a little bit.
People joined the group and talked with Timothy and Caleb, introducing her as his fiancée. There were a lot of shocked faces with the news and she hadn’t been expecting it. Her stomach kept twisting and turning with each new introduction. She was just a cleaner.
Caleb didn’t let her go.
“Do you donate money?” she asked.
“Yes. We donate a proportion of the earnings from the companies into all medical care. We believe in giving back,” Caleb said.
“I didn’t know that.”
“We do a great deal of charitable work. We don’t always announce it to the press or to anyone really. It’s our little secret.”
She smiled.
Throughout the evening, donations were given, and it all led up into a beautiful, expensive meal.
Once again, she copied Caleb in what she was going to eat. She tried to follow the conversations going on around her but it was mostly business details and that wasn’t exactly her area of expertise.
She sat, listened, and tried to understand every word, but like always, it was impossible to follow along. She ate her food, enjoying the company as Caleb made a point of joining her in on the conversation.
Toward the end, when she truly believed she’d gotten through her first, tense evening, Timothy rose to his feet.
“I know this joyous event is about raising money for our medical care and for the amazing medical professions, including my daughter’s, but I would also like to make an official announcement. I’m sure many of you already know, but I’d like to make it clear, my son, Caleb, has finally found a wonderful woman, Lauren, and they are engaged to be married.”
Cheers rang out but Lauren didn’t have time to react as Caleb took possession of her mouth.
An official announcement? This made it very much a permanent thing. There was no going back from this.
Was there?
Do you even want to?
She kept a smile to her lips as applause rang out. The rest of the evening went by in a blur, and she was more than thankful when they made their escape.
Neither of them spoke in the limousine, waiting until the safety of his apartment.
Once inside, she removed her heels as they were killing her feet. Folding her arms, she turned toward him. “Official announcement?”
“I know, I wasn’t expecting it.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Is it really so bad to be engaged to me?”
“Caleb, this isn’t about just pretending to be together. This is a full-fledged engagement. Your mom is rushing us toward the altar, and I don’t think you realize what that means.”
He cupped her face, tilted her head back, and kissed her. “You’d be really surprised by how much I know what this means. Don’t worry about everything all the time, Lauren. You spend way too much time worried and it’s not healthy.”
“You’re a doctor now?”
“No, we all know what worry does to you long-term.” He kissed her. “Now, stop stressing about everything. It will all work out in the end.”
His lips brushed across hers.
She wanted to scream at him that with every passing day, his touches, the way they were together, she didn’t want it to end. The engagement announcement didn’t scare her, it made her hopeful. To offer her and them a chance of what could be. How could she be upset by it, when the truth was she wanted it?
For some strange reason, she wanted to be with this man. She didn’t know when it happened because it certainly wasn’t with his warning comments or offensive language. Maybe it was seeing him with his parents. Whatever it was, she’d come to see there was a lot more to Caleb Turner than met the eye and what was more, she really, really wanted to be the woman to get to know him. Not to change him. His arrogance had turned into a charm, but she wouldn’t change that about him. She adored it and had no doubt she would keep on doing so for a long time to come.