by Bella Andre
“Ruby’s the best. My nephew, Kevin, is a really cool kid too. Have you met him?”
“Your sister—Ashley, right?—brought him to the last warehouse art show. Remind me how old he is.”
“He’ll be eleven soon.”
“Let me guess—he idolizes his Uncle Rory, doesn’t he?”
“What kid wouldn’t?” Rory joked. “Seriously, though, we all spent so much time with him when he was little that he’s super close to everyone in our family.” Before she could ask why, he explained, “Ashley got pregnant as a senior in high school. Kevin’s dad—” Anger flashed across Rory’s face, and his hands tightened on the steering wheel. “The guy is a total waste of space. Anyway, we all pitched in with babysitting when he was little.”
“I knew it!” Zara poked him in the shoulder. “You were playing me earlier when you acted like you didn’t know how to change a diaper.”
Rory had the nerve to grin. “Hook, line, and sinker.”
She poked him harder. “What else have you been faking?”
He pulled off the road into the cabin’s driveway, then hit the brakes, though they were still at least three hundred yards from the house. “Nothing.” He reached for her hand. “Everything I’ve said, everything I’ve done, since Friday—it’s all real, Zara.”
She couldn’t look away from his intense gaze…and didn’t know what to say apart from, “Okay,” in a voice that made it clear just how difficult she was suddenly finding it to catch her breath.
Ruby woke up with a mini-roar, and Zara let go of Rory’s hand to tend to her while he drove the final stretch of the long driveway. Flynn and Cassie, who were waiting for them on the front steps, jogged out to the car. But when Flynn opened the back passenger door to get Ruby out, Zara was surprised when the little girl turned to look for her, then reached out.
As Flynn obligingly put Ruby into Zara’s arms, Cassie said, “I was going to ask how she did, but I can see that the answer is absolutely fantastic.”
Zara nuzzled the top of Ruby’s head. “She’s such a sweetheart—so much fun, and so happy. We laughed nonstop today.” It was exactly what Zara had needed. To giggle with a sweet little girl, and her equally sweet babysitter. And as she walked toward the house with Ruby on her hip, Zara knew she’d miss the baby’s soft weight, her fresh scent, and her innate joy.
“Come inside,” Flynn said. “Cassie has made you both special thank-you baskets.”
“You’re giving us candy?” Zara asked in a hopeful voice.
Cassie smiled. “What better way is there to say thank you?”
“Chocolate cake can be a pretty good way,” Rory suggested with a slow smile meant only for Zara.
Zara couldn’t prevent a blush. Because despite the wild careening of her emotions since last night’s confession, she’d never forget the super-sexy way they’d eaten chocolate cake for breakfast this morning.
What’s more, even though her hair was tangled from the bike ride and her clothes were stained with a mixture of Ruby’s soft food and Zara’s own meal, Rory was looking at her not only with heat in his eyes—but also with so much affection.
She’d been sure he was a shallow, self-obsessed player.
How much more wrong could she have been?
Cassie and Flynn’s cabin was gorgeous inside and out, from the flower boxes beside the front door, to the brightly colored cushions and rugs and artwork inside, to the beautifully varnished wood walls, ceiling, and floorboards. “I love your home.”
“Thanks so much. We love it too.” Cassie shot Rory a fond smile. “Rory is far too modest to admit it, but he’s the one who did most of the renovation work on it.”
“Modest?” Though Zara now knew just how big his heart was, she couldn’t resist asking, “Are we talking about the same person?”
Cassie’s peals of laughter bounced off the walls as Rory said, “You may protest about my ego, but I know you secretly love it.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “And I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s exactly the right size.”
Zara couldn’t miss the look Cassie and Flynn shared at Rory’s obvious double entendre, especially coming on the heels of his not-so-subtle chocolate cake comment. Their look told Zara they were under the misapprehension that he wasn’t just teasing her about hot sex, but that she and Rory were together for real.
Only…was it really a misapprehension? Because regardless of how sure Zara had been on Saturday that they could never make it as a real couple—the very subject she had continued to stubbornly bang on about this morning, even though she hadn’t truly believed it—if she was being completely honest with herself, weren’t they already more a couple than she’d ever been with anyone else?
Okay, so they weren’t on the same page about plenty of likes and dislikes. But she wasn’t sure any of that mattered anymore.
At last, Ruby reached for Cassie. “Mommy!”
Cassie’s face lit up, and she dropped a kiss on Ruby’s cheek as she took her into her arms. “I’m so happy you had such a fun day with Rory and Zara.”
“Eeeee.” Ruby looked around, clearly searching for something. “Eeeee.”
Rory rooted around in the baby’s bags. “Looking for this?” He held out the stuffed elephant.
Ruby grabbed it, then made it dance in the air and sing a song. Though the words she sang were unintelligible to the rest of them, she cracked all of them up anyway.
Flynn held up a bottle of wine labeled Sullivan Winery, Napa Valley. “How about we say thank you with a glass of wine along with the candy?”
Any other evening, Zara would have loved to. But tonight, she felt too close to the edge of so many enormous emotions. She didn’t want to be rude, though, and wasn’t sure how to decline gracefully.
Before she could reply, however, Rory said, “I’m afraid I need to head out now.”
Zara hadn’t realized he had somewhere else to be tonight. She tried not to let her heart sink at the thought of being without him for a few hours. After all, she’d been boyfriendless for most of her life, so this was nothing new.
But that was before she knew how good it was to have the support of a friend—and a lover—like Rory.
Ruby yawned and rubbed her eyes, prompting Cassie to say, “It’s probably for the best if we give Ruby a bath and dinner straightaway after her fun day with Uncle Rory and Aunt Zara.”
Yet again, conflicting emotions hit Zara. On the one hand, it was lovely to be so warmly welcomed into the Sullivan fold. On the other, she was wary of letting herself get too attached to Rory’s family when she knew just how quickly she could lose the people she cared about. Especially when there was every chance she might still lose Rory—and not just because they hadn’t actually modified their Saturday breakup plan yet.
When he’d signed on to date her for the week, he hadn’t had a clue just how messed up she was. And despite how close they’d become, she wouldn’t blame him for cutting and running.
As she’d told him their first night together, you couldn’t force yourself to love someone back, just because they’d gone and fallen in love with you. So she couldn’t expect him to fall in love with her just because—
Her thoughts skidded to a halt.
Oh God.
She’d fallen in love with Rory.
The shock of it nearly felled her, and she had to reach out to steady herself on the back of the couch. Her brain scrabbled desperately to refute the realization that their relationship had very quickly gone deeper than she’d ever thought it could.
Deep enough to fall head over heels in love.
Every part of her was reeling. But there was no point in trying to deny it—heck, even her stepmother had seen the truth that night in Camden.
Then she realized Cassie was speaking to her. “I hope we’ll see you again soon, Zara. Maybe at dinner with our parents on Friday night?”
“I’m not sure about my schedule for the rest of the week,” Zara fumbled.
The only thi
ng she was absolutely sure of was that her heart was one hundred percent Rory’s.
Oh God.
She hoped Rory’s sister didn’t notice her hands shaking as Cassie gave them their goody bags, along with a big hug.
Flynn shook Zara’s hand and then Rory’s. “Thanks again for giving Ruby such a great afternoon.”
“Anytime,” Zara said in what she hoped was a normal voice. “Your little girl is a delight in every way.”
Normally on the way out to the car, Zara would have shoved several of Cassie’s homemade marmalades into her mouth. But she was so stunned by her realization that she was in love with Rory that she could barely walk a straight line, let alone multitask by chewing and swallowing hard candy too.
She could feel Rory’s eyes on her, but he didn’t speak until he had turned on the ignition and was heading down the driveway. “Your place or mine?”
Zara shot him a confused look. “I thought you had to get back to your workshop—or take care of something at home.”
“Nope. I just wanted some alone time with you. I was hoping you want that too.”
Of course she did. But after last night, she already knew that she was incapable of keeping anything from him. If she spent tonight with him—and especially if they made love, which they surely would, given that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other—she might blurt out how she felt.
“Zara?” He took his eyes off the road long enough to give her a concerned glance. “What’s wrong?”
Oh God.
She couldn’t just up and make such a reckless declaration to him, could she?
Shouldn’t she take some time—take a step back—analyze her feelings more carefully?
Shouldn’t she make sure she’d looked at things from all angles before she went and handed over her heart on a silver platter?
But she realized she couldn’t do it. Couldn’t keep it from him.
Not when he had come to mean so much to her.
Not when he had come to mean everything to her.
“I’m in love with you.”
He pulled over and hit the brakes so hard, Zara’s seat belt barely held her in her seat.
“Say that again.”
Baring her soul to him in a way she’d never thought she would with anyone, yet again she said, “I’m in love with you. I just realized it when—”
Before she could finish her sentence, the wonderful, sweet press of his lips stopped her words. And then his hands were unbuckling her seat belt and then his too so that he could put his arms around her and pull her against him.
“I love you too.”
The relief—and the joy—in his voice poured into her, filling all the shadowy cracks with light.
“You do?” she asked.
“Of course I do.”
“But I never thought we would—”
He kissed away whatever list of reasons she might have tried to put up against the odds of this ever happening. It wasn’t until a car honked as it drove past that he drew back.
“I want to take you home and make love to you, Zara.”
“I want that too.” She truly did—more than she’d ever wanted anything in her entire life.
And as he held tightly to her hand for the rest of their drive, it felt as though all her dreams were coming true.
Even the ones she hadn’t dared to ask for.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
This was the best day of Rory’s life. No monetary prize or career award could ever compete with hearing Zara say I love you.
Once they arrived at his house, in one smooth move, he pushed his seat back as far as it would go while pulling Zara onto his lap. She laughed as she straddled him, and he loved the way her laughter filled his entire body.
In the blink of an eye, the passion sparking between them as they kissed ignited into full-blown flames. As he ran kisses from her mouth down her neck and then over the upper swell of her breasts exposed in her tank top, she ground against him. Gripping her hips to increase the delicious friction, he drank in her gasp of pleasure.
Most other couples, on the eve of declaring their love for each other, would surely celebrate with rose petals and champagne and soft whispers. But making out in his car struck Rory as exactly right for them. Nothing about their relationship had been ordinary—and something told him it never would be, thank God.
As they broke their kiss to yank off each other’s shirts, he needed her to know something else. “You make me so damned happy.”
“You make me happy too.” She pressed her palms flat over his chest, then slowly trailed her fingers down toward his abdominal muscles. “And not just because I can’t get enough of your hot bod.” She lifted her eyes to meet his. “Your heart—” She leaned forward to press a kiss to his chest. “—is so big. Big enough that I couldn’t fight my feelings for you, no matter what I did.”
“It was so cute watching you try,” he said in a teasing voice.
Of course she whacked him lightly on the chest. “Don’t act like you weren’t fighting too.”
“I wasn’t.” He was dead serious. “Our first night together, I knew you were the one for me.”
She paused in her unfastening of his jeans. “Don’t mess with me, Rory.”
“I’m not.” Although he was perfectly game for messing with the satin straps of her sexy red lace bra so that they fell down her shoulders. “As soon as you kissed me, I was a goner.”
“That was just sex,” she said, exactly the way she’d said it so many times during the past few days.
“Nope.” He yanked her bra cups down to expose her beautiful breasts. “It was never just sex.” Moving his hands from her hips, he cupped her breasts. “Even now, in the front seat of my car, what we’re doing is so much more than just sex.” He blew lightly across the aroused tips of her breasts, then brushed the callused pads of his thumbs over her as he said, “I adore you, Zara. Every inch of your body, every thought in your mind, every emotion in your heart.”
“Rory.” His name was a whisper of heat, and tenderness, on her lips. “You’re right, damn it. It was never just sex.” Even her love for him—and the fact that she obviously adored the way he was caressing her—didn’t lessen her irritation at his being right.
“You know what else I’m going to be right about?” he said.
Though she made a show of rolling her eyes, the flush on her cheeks spoke to her intense arousal as she asked, “What?”
He grinned wickedly. “How fast you’re going to come for me.”
Before she could reply, he slid one hand into her jeans and panties…then over the gorgeously slick heat between her thighs.
Her head fell back as she pushed against his hand, her inner muscles already working against his fingers as his touch sent her spiraling into climax within seconds. As aftershocks continued to rock through her, she laid her head on his shoulder, and he stroked her hair with his free hand.
“Now let’s go inside so I can really rock your world,” he whispered in her ear.
She gave a gratifying shiver as he lightly sank his teeth into her lobe. Finally, she managed to reply. “Setting some pretty high expectations, aren’t we?”
“Not just setting them—swearing by them. I’m never going to let you down, Zara.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder. “Only you would make a promise that big.”
“What can I say?” he said. “Everything about me is big.”
She cupped him through denim. “I’ll say.”
Knowing he would take her in the car if they didn’t get out of it in the next five seconds, he popped open the door and swung them out. He practically sprinted into his house with her in his arms, making a beeline for his bedroom while Zara laughed, tightly gripping his hips with her legs and his neck with her arms.
They’d made love in the ocean outside his house, but not only had they never spent the night there, he’d never had her in his bed.
Putting her down on top of the navy and wh
ite striped duvet, he stepped back to take in the way her hair flowed across his pillow, the rosy flush of her cheeks and bare chest, the beautiful—
Lightning fast, she reached out and yanked him on top of her, cutting off his train of thought.
“That’s more like it,” she said with evident satisfaction as his heavy weight pushed her into the down of the duvet, even though the movement had knocked off her glasses. “Everything is better when you’re close to me.”
“Everything,” he agreed, his voice made hoarse with emotion. “You’re everything I could ever want in a woman.”
The first time he’d complimented her, she’d told him he didn’t need to shower her with pretty—and false—compliments. Which only made the smile on her lips tonight, and the light in her eyes, all the sweeter.
Placing her hands on either side of his face, she drew him into the sweetest kiss he’d ever experienced. Emotion coursed alongside arousal as, in perfect sync, they stripped away the rest of their clothes. Rory threaded his fingers through hers, and without breaking their kiss, in one long thrust he made her his—just as she made him hers.
“I swear,” he said in a raw voice as he stilled above her, “I’m going to make you the happiest woman alive.” On all fronts, from the hot sex they’d keep having, to doing everything he could to help her heal from her mother’s death, to the amazing future he couldn’t wait for. “You’ll never regret loving me.”
“How could I ever regret loving you?” Emotion throbbed in her voice. “For the first time in so long, I’m happy. Truly happy. And you’re the reason why.”
They found each other’s lips in the same moment, passion and love driving them higher and higher, flying together, soaring in each other’s arms.
They were still catching their breath when Zara said, “You know that park ranger outfit you mentioned earlier?” She smiled the kind of soft, post-great-orgasm smile he hoped to see a million times more. “I sure would love to see it.”
“Wait here.”
She put her glasses back on as he walked into his bedroom closet. Fortunately, it didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. He’d considered throwing the uniform out several times over the years, but something had always held him back. Now he knew what it was—he’d been waiting to wear it again for Zara.