Sarah and Luke waited outside the doors.

Abby held Sarah’s forearm. “Um, Sarah, you know how I surprised you with the press conference earlier. Well, I kind of gave the organizers a list of your most recent personal charitable donations.”

“You did what!”

“You deserve to be recognized for everything you do for others.”

“You’re lucky I don’t have time to replace you.” There was no sting to Sarah’s words.

“You love me,” Abby said, all confidence.

“I do. And I need you to get the six new people I hired started on Monday.”

Luke squeezed her hand. “Then maybe we can sit down and make some definite plans for our future.”

“We will. I—”

Abby cut her off. “It’s time to go in. They’re announcing Sarah and you, Luke, right now.”

Which meant everyone in the room would know they were together. He liked that.

The doors opened to a crowd standing and applauding as they made their way into the room.

Luke led her up to the podium at the front of the ballroom, where he handed her off to the head of the organization honoring her.

Luke went to take his seat at the long family table the organizers had set up for both her family and his. Her dad and stepmom both smiled at him, then stared up at Sarah. They’d do the introductions later.

Sarah took her seat next to the podium with the members of the Rockford Charity Organization.

The head of the awards committee spoke first. “We’re here today to honor Sarah Anderson., CEO of Spencer Software and chairperson of the Spencer Foundation. It’s a pleasure to have her join us today, because as many of you know, she rarely grants interviews, and if you’ve ever hired her, you’re more likely to have a conference call than an in-person meeting. Not only is she the head of two growing and already highly successful software companies, she’s also someone who believes in helping others. She may not like to call attention to herself, but she absolutely caught the attention of our organization for her outstanding charitable work.

“Sarah and the Spencer Foundation have helped many individuals and charities, including a school and retreat for the deaf and blind, shelters for homeless mothers and their children, food banks, other organizations that feed the hungry, and free STEM summer programs for underprivileged girls in underserved communities. Wherever Sarah travels, she is likely to discover where the greatest need for help is and fill it, most of the time anonymously. She takes advantage of business trips to identify charitable opportunities. In several communities hit hard by wildfires, she donated new fire engines to replace the ones lost. With two young sons, it is no wonder she’s known to support Little League baseball teams by providing them with new uniforms and shoes. During the holidays, she donates turkeys to charity organizations to pass out to families in need. Homeless shelters also receive new blankets and coats. When she drove past an underfunded school in a low-income neighborhood that didn’t have a play yard for the young children, she made sure they got one. When an employee told her about a nephew’s disappointment that his high school didn’t have enough instruments, she not only donated thirty new instruments, Sarah also sponsored the choir’s trip to New York City to attend three Broadway musicals.”