My Kind of Girl (21 page)

She smiled through the tears as he
called her his favorite nickname for her. “I’ve missed you, but I’m
so scared this could happen again.” She tried pulling away, but he
latched on tighter.

He stooped down to her level and
rested his forehead on hers. “I promise you that won’t happen. I
contacted the others and told them I was in a serious, committed
relationship with the woman I intend to marry. I had a few
grumbles, but most of them wished me well. They weren’t trying to
settle down with me either, so in way they didn’t care.”

“
I thought you tossed that
cell into the Mississippi.”

“
I did, but I have the
phone records with their numbers. I’ve spent the last few days
making calls.”

“
So, I’m it for you?” she
asked nervously.

“
Goodness, yes! There’s no
other woman I want to be with. These last few days have been the
worst in my life. I’ve never missed a woman before, but then again
I’ve never been in love before. I love you, dimples. I love you
very much. I wasn’t about to let you walk out of my life. That
wasn’t an option,” he stated seriously.

“
You’ve never said I love
you before.” She shuddered in his arms as he wiped the happy tears
off of her cheeks.

“
I know. I didn’t know how
much until I thought I’d lost you even though I fell for you the
moment I laid eyes on you. Heck, maybe even before. My mother was
always talking about how wonderful of a person you are and how
sweet you’d been to her. I figured you had to be someone special if
my mom adored you, and when I met you, I could see exactly what she
meant. You are indeed truly special, my love. I intend to make you
happy for the rest of our lives.”

“
Oh, Sean, I don’t know
what to say except that I love you, too. Very much.”

When he gathered her up in his arms,
she giggled with pure delight. He captured her lips with his as a
relieved moan released from both of them. She’d suffered
withdrawals because of being away from him, and kissed him even
deeper. He carried her to the bed, and she was thankful that
Caitlyn had changed the sheets and convinced her to take a
shower.

Sean placed her down on the bed, and
their kissing never ceased until they both cried out during their
last climax after making love. Traci lay nestled in his arms, with
her head on his chest as he placed a few kisses to her forehead.
Her mind tracked back to something he’d said earlier, but she was
so overcome with emotion it just dawned on her what he’d
said.

“
Sean, you mentioned you
told all those women you were getting married.”

“
I am. To you.”

She giggled. “Oh really? What’s makes
you think I’ll say yes?”

“
Because we were meant to
be, and I finally found my kind of girl.”

Epilogue

Dr. Francis Arrington stood at the
head of the table with his champagne glass in his hand as he looked
affectionately at his family that had grown over the past few
years. Tears welled in his eyes, but Darla stood, wiping them away
and kissing her husband on the cheek.

“
Make a speech, Dad,” Sean
shouted out, patting his fiancée’s knee under the table.

“
I just wanted to say on
behalf of me and my beautiful Darla, that we’re very happy and
proud of each and every one of you. You’ve made this
45
^th
wedding anniversary dinner one to remember, especially with
the surprise trip to tour Europe for the next month. We definitely
have the best children God could’ve blessed us with. Of course, you
all have tried my patience over the years, but you’re all
headstrong and intelligent. Cannon and Raven, our twins. Our first
babies. You two have truly made me and your mother proud. Cannon,
your dedication to the medical field has truly surpassed what I
could’ve imagined. You understood my real reason for becoming a
doctor, and your contribution to the field by starting Doctor’s
Unlimited has saved lives all over the world. Raven, you truly are
a gem with your seriousness and compassion to make sure your
patients are fully aware of every health issue that may occur as
women. Your down-to-earth personality and warmth makes your
patients feel at ease to discuss their female concerns. Darla and I
knew what we were doing when we turned over the ownership of the
practice to the two you. We’d groomed you two since day one to be
leaders and be a sounding board for your younger siblings. Cannon
and Raven, you make us very proud.”

The twins stood and gave their parents
hugs. Once they were seated, their father continued.

“
We thought after the twins
we were done, but then Sean came along, turning our lives upside
down with his curious nature and questioning everyone around him.
However, as you matured, we realized it was more of a concernment
for others and you wanted to help people with their issues but in a
different way as you analyzed what was really bothering them on a
mental level. We’re proud of your dedication to counseling and
aiding war veterans any way you can because you know of the
struggle my late brother had when you were growing up. I’m sure
your namesake is smiling down on you right now.”

“
Thank you, Father. I hope
Uncle Sean knows how I much his impact had on my decision to choose
the field I did.”

Dr. Arrington cleared his throat and
turned to Bria. “Bria, you have definitely tested my patience along
the way, but I have to say I’m proud of your headstrong personality
and that you never give up when something is passionate to you. I
still can’t believe you were sneaking behind my back doing
acupuncture treatments and prescribing herbs to patients. However,
once I understood Western and Eastern medicine can work together
and you actually knew what you were doing, who was I to stop you?
I’m proud of you, sweetie, your mother and I are very
proud.”

Bria wiped a few tears from her eyes.
“Thank you, Daddy and Mother, for believing in me and the
alternative ways to help our patients.”

Dr. Arrington turned to his youngest
child and sighed. “Shelbi Frances, I don’t know where to begin.
You’re my babygirl who could never do any wrong in my eyes, but
when you said you didn’t want to be a doctor after graduating from
medical school I thought I had failed as a parent. I guess it never
occurred to your mother and I that our children would want to be
anything else other than doctors considering we’d groomed you all
from a very young age. Maybe in a way I was wrong, but at the end
of the day, you each have chosen your path that was best for you.
While I am glad you decided to go the medical route after all, I
would’ve been proud of you if you’d decided to stay a food
critic.”

“
Oh … sooooo … I don’t have
to work at the practice when I’m done with my residency?” Shelbi
asked, running toward her father and kissing him on the cheek. “I’m
teasing, Daddy.”

“
Oh thank goodness,” he
laughed nervously.

“
Well, again this has truly
been an awesome forty-five years with my wife and my children and
now I have two beautiful daughter-in-laws and three son-in-laws
along with my grandchildren who are the next generation of
Arringtons. As I look at my lovely wife, I can honestly say when I
first met her, I saw our future in her eyes and I wouldn’t have had
it any other way. I love you, Darla, and I can’t wait to spend the
rest of our lives together.” He grabbed his wife to him and kissed
her passionately as their family stood and clapped.

The End

About Candace

Born and raised under the
sunny skies and on the whitest beaches in northwest Florida,
Candace Shaw knew she wanted to become a writer after she
read
Little Women
in fourth grade. Once graduating from the University of West
Florida with a degree in Elementary Education, she began teaching
and put her dream of becoming a writer on hold until one summer
vacation she started writing again and hasn’t stopped.

When Candace is not
writing or researching information for a book, she's reading,
shopping, learning how to cook a new dish or spending time with her
loving husband and their loyal, over-protective Weimaraner, Ali.
She is currently working on her next fun, flirty, and sexy romance
novel. You can contact Candace on her website at
www.candaceshaw.net
,
on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCandaceShaw
or tweet her at
https://twitter.com/Candace_Shaw
.

Books by Candace Shaw

Arrington
Family Series

Cooking
u
p Love

The Game
of Seduction

Only One
for Me

Prescription for Desire

My Kind
of
Girl

Chasing
Love Series (Harlequin Kimani Romance)

Her
Perfect Candidate

Journey to
Seduction

Free
Reads

Simply
Amazing
(Arrington
Family Series)

Only You
for Christmas
(Chasing Love/Harlequin’s website only)

Enjoy an excerpt from the
first book in the Arrington Family Series,
Cooking up Love.

What happens when a suave, handsome
chef meets a cute, sassy food critic?

When Shelbi Arrington accepts a
position as a food critic in the hopes of burying her medical
career and foregoing her residency, the last thing she’s searching
for is love. However, that’s just what the doctor ordered
especially when she lays eyes on the handsome chef, Justin
Richardson. While sorting out her secret conflict of continuing her
medical career, she falls for his mouth-watering charm, leaving her
hungry for anything he has to offer.

Justin is leery of doctors because a doctor’s negligence
caused his mother’s death
when he was twelve. He has put his focus and energy
into his restaurant, which had been a dream he and his mother
shared.
Justin is immediately smitten by
the cute, sassy food critic that has him cooking up different ways
to please her appetite. But when things start to heat up, Shelbi
learns of a shocking revelation that could extinguish the flame of
their relationship. Will Justin be able to forget his pain and
commit to the woman who has stolen his heart?

Excerpt from
Cooking up Love

“
This is so delicious. Do
you think they’ll let me have another one?” Shelbi Arrington asked
the waitress at Chow Bella’s Italian Restaurant after she took the
last bite of the tiramisu, savoring every sweet, sinful taste of
the delectable dessert her hips needed to stay away
from.

The waitress gave a sneaky look around
the restaurant, then leaned over and whispered to Shelbi, “I’ll see
what I can do.” She winked and hurried to the kitchen.

Satisfied with the response, Shelbi
placed the to-go bag, which held the rest of her uneaten lunch, on
the chair next to her purse. She had a habit of leaving her doggie
bags and made an effort to remember this one. Her uneaten portion
would serve as lunch tomorrow. She took out her iPhone and typed a
few notes before tossing it back into her purse.

Shelbi rested her elbows on the
checkered red-and-white tablecloth, making mental notes of the
patrons and the decor. A few wrinkled their noses, one couple
called a waiter over in disgust, and a group of businessmen checked
their watches as they waited for the check. A party of eight in the
corner booth was being serenaded with “Happy Birthday” by the
waiters. Her favorite scene was of a small boy talking louder than
anyone else, yet his parents still conversed and neglected to quiet
him. The customers seated near gave the couple frosty stares, but
they never noticed.

The waitress returned with a small
bag, which she set on the table along with the check. She winked,
and Shelbi winked back. She eased the smaller bag into the larger
plastic one and tied the handles into a tight knot.

“
Ms. Arrington, here’s the
check. Your lunch is on the house, but the manager thought you may
want it in case you need the information for your
article.”

“
Thank you very much,
Lizzie.” Shelbi took the slip of paper from the black leather
receipt holder.

“
You’re quite welcome, Ms.
Arrington. I feel honored to have served a famous food critic,”
Lizzie said before leaving to serve another customer.

Shelbi laughed. As a
contributing food critic for
Food for
Thought
with
The
Memphis
Tribune
, she was nowhere near famous.
Some of her articles were featured in the newspaper and on their
website. Plus, she had a large number of followers on her personal
blog,
Food Passions
, which she started during her undergrad years at Spelman, but
she wasn’t famous.

She pulled her last five-dollar bill
from her wallet, as well as all of the quarters at the bottom, and
placed the money on the table.