There Goes My Heart

by Bella Andre

  Brittany rolled her eyes. “You’re so adorable when you’re in denial.” Then she pulled the world’s fattest folder out of her bag, pieces of lace and silk falling out onto Zara’s desk. “We’ve got a million decisions to make, so we’d better get started.”

  * * *

  Three hours later, Zara’s head spun from her crash course in wedding planning. Brittany had, not unexpectedly, left the folder behind so that Zara could continue to make headway on the details.

  She went to find Rory just as he was coming to find her. They were in the middle of the hallway between their workspaces when he threaded his hands into her hair and gave her one of the best kisses of her life. Even when one of their co-workers walked past, they didn’t let each other go.

  At last, he asked, “Everything go okay with Brittany?”

  Wondering how on earth he could talk when she was still trying to get her breath back, she nodded. “Everything’s great. Although you’ll never believe her crazy reasoning for what she did. But before I tell you about that, I need to know—how did things go between you and Chelsea after we left?”

  “Thank you for being my own personal superhero,” he said first. And then, “We cleared the air. It was good to finally get a chance to talk things through. We both needed to say we were sorry.”

  “Britt and I did too.”

  “So I made the right decision in leaving you alone with her for so long?”

  “Absolutely. You would only have ended up smothered in napkin samples if you’d made the mistake of walking into my office.”

  “After attending more than a dozen weddings for my cousins the past few years, there’s a good chance that I know more about putting one on than either of you.”

  “You really shouldn’t have told me that,” Zara said. “Because now I know exactly how to keep you in line. One call to Britt to drop that little nugget her way, and you’re toast.”

  “Actually…” He pulled her close. “I have a much better idea for how you can keep me in line.”

  “I haven’t checked my email yet today to deal with all those orders you claim are going to be pouring in,” she said. But of course that didn’t stop her from taking his hand and leading him into her office to see if they were on the same page.

  And after they’d torn each other’s clothes off and had a glorious quickie, she could confirm that they most definitely were.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  The next twenty-four hours were a blur. Once Zara had finally logged on to email and checked her voice mail Wednesday afternoon, she’d learned that her new ads had been a bigger hit than even Rory had anticipated. Orders were through the roof, and she’d spent nearly every second since packaging and mailing her frames to buyers from around the world.

  Joyce from the post office was cracking jokes about Zara spending more hours on the premises than most of the full-time employees, she had bought out all the packing supplies from the local stores, and her inventory was down to the bare bones.

  She’d just gotten off the phone with her materials supplier to let them know she needed a rush on her next order to meet the increased demand when she felt two strong hands massaging her shoulders.

  “Mmmm, that feels so good.”

  “Tell me how I can help.” He spun her chair around so that they were face-to-face, then resumed massaging her shoulders from the front. “I’m done for the day, so I’m all yours.”

  Zara had long thought that one of the biggest benefits to starting her own business was that it kept her too busy to stew about everything she wanted to avoid. But even she knew when she’d hit her work-hour limits. Fortunately, she had an idea about another good way to make sure the storm clouds couldn’t possibly return to ruin her newfound happiness.

  “And remember,” he added, “nothing’s off-limits.” He put on his best lecherous look. “No matter how filthy.”

  “Perv.” But she had to pull him down for a kiss anyway. She was loved and in love. She’d made up with her stepsister. And her business was growing like gangbusters. Surely there was no way the darkness could get back in now. “I want to turn it up to eleven.”

  “Tell me more, baby.”

  They both laughed at his faux-smarmy baby.

  “Well, I am pretty impressed by the armadillo in your pants.”

  “Armadillo?” He looked confused…and then the light bulb went on. “Are you trying to tell me that D minor is the saddest of all keys?”

  “Ding ding ding!” She grinned. “The Criterion Theatre is playing This Is Spinal Tap this week between new releases. What do you say we go annoy everyone at the showing by quoting all the best lines and making out during the rest of the movie?”

  “I know I keep saying this—” He pulled her up out of her seat. “—but you really are the perfect girlfriend.”

  * * *

  For two hours, they fed each other candy, competed over who could yell out the classic lines louder—it was part of the This Is Spinal Tap experience, so they didn’t feel bad about disturbing the other attendees—and laughed their heads off at one of the best mockumentaries ever made.

  Oh yeah, and making out with Zara in the dark theater was pretty damned awesome too.

  By the time they left the movie, the sun had set. A food truck was parked in front of the theater, pumping out the smell of fries and bratwurst.

  “Perfect,” Zara said. “I’m starved.”

  She acted like she hadn’t eaten in days, and this was after they’d already polished off an extra-large popcorn, huge red Slushies, and several boxes of candy. Rory was confident that his mother was going to love Zara—but given that few things made Beth Sullivan happier than feeding people, she was going to be even more over the moon about Zara and her appetite at the dinner table every Friday night.

  Which reminded him… “You’re in for dinner with my family tomorrow night, right?”

  “Of course. But only if you’re sure that your parents won’t be thrown off by having to add another person on short notice.”

  “We’re Sullivans. The more the merrier.”

  “What should I bring?”

  “Just your beautiful self. My mom always cooks for a thousand. And I’m sure she’ll be pulling out the red carpet for you, so if you happen to have any favorite Irish dishes, I’ll let her know.”

  “Why would she want to roll anything out for me?”

  “She knows I wouldn’t bring you to dinner if you weren’t important to me. And I’m sure my brothers and sisters have been singing your praises to my parents this week. Plus,” he added with a smug grin that he guessed would push her buttons, “now that you’ve finally done the impossible by taming the biggest prize in the family, who wouldn’t be impressed by you?”

  “I’ve certainly won the biggest—”

  He kissed away the rest of her sentence, which surely would have been stuffed full of expletives and insults.

  The woman taking orders in the food truck cleared her throat to get their attention. “What would you like to eat tonight?”

  Zara pinched him before he could give one of his inappropriate, fourteen-year-old-worthy responses. “Two bratwurst with everything, an extra-large fries, and a chocolate shake.” She turned to him. “Your turn.”

  “I’ll have the same.” After he paid, he said to Zara, “We are going to have one heck of a grocery bill.”

  “We’ve only just started dating,” she was quick to point out. “It’s not like we’re moving in together.”

  Their shakes came up in the pickup window, and she had just put her hands around the cups when he said, “Move in with me.”

  “What?” Zara fumbled the cups, and they tipped. Rory set them back to rights before they fell and splatted all over the sidewalk.

  Though he knew she’d heard him perfectly the first time, he repeated himself. “Move in with me.”

  But from the stunned look on her face, she was still wildly thrown off by his proposition. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” />
  “If you moved in, we could swim wild together every single day. I’d make sure there was always chocolate cake in the house.” He leaned in to whisper, “We could alternate whose body we eat it from. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I’ll lick it off you. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, you can lick it off me. As for Sundays…” He let her see everything he felt for her as he said, “Sundays will be for staying in bed all day long. Even after we’ve polished off the cake.”

  Their orders were called, and he was almost positive that her legs and arms were shaking as she took the tray over to the plastic tables and chairs on the sidewalk.

  “If someone told me a year ago that I was going to fall for you,” she said in a voice that was notably breathless from the erotic picture he had just painted, “I would never have believed it.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You really are a piece of work.”

  “A maybe, then?”

  She shoved a French fry between his lips. “Maybe this will keep your mouth busy.”

  Knowing it would be better to give her time to see the light, instead of continuing to push her on moving in with him, he made her laugh instead with stories about the scrapes he and his siblings had gotten into when they were kids. Then she regaled him with the tale of how her first attempt at making glasses frames had been such a disaster that they’d melted while she was wearing them on the beach, leaving her with orange and red circles around her eyes for a month.

  The easy conversation and laughter didn’t stop the sparks from flaring between them, however. Fortunately, after they walked back to her cottage and Zara closed the door behind him, she said, “Oh look, there’s some cake left. And since it’s Thursday, that must mean it’s my turn to lick it off you.”

  Just hearing her say the words was nearly enough to make him lose it. That didn’t stop him, however, from racing her to the cake box in the fridge. He beat her by a hair, grabbing the box and holding it over his head.

  She went onto her tippy-toes to reach for it, deliberately rubbing her body against his. “You don’t play fair, do you?”

  “All’s fair in love and who gets to eat chocolate cake off who first. Besides, that was just a hypothetical weekly schedule. And since you haven’t agreed to move in with me yet…” He shrugged as though their little kitchen tussle couldn’t be helped.

  “If you think I’m going to agree now, you’ve got your head even farther up your—”

  He covered her mouth with his, kissing away the rest of her snarky sentence. But it wasn’t enough just to kiss her. He needed to touch her, to hold her, to show her exactly how much he loved her.

  He put the cake box down and lifted her onto the counter beside it. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and when her billowy skirt lifted to bare her legs, he ran his hands over her thighs before pulling her dress up and off her body. Lucky him—she was wearing another incendiary lingerie set, this one bright green and gorgeously sheer.

  He reached into the cake box, smeared cake onto the tip of one breast, then lowered his mouth to lave her aroused flesh through the fabric. Her head fell back as she arched into his mouth and threaded her fingers into his hair to hold him to her. As he turned his attention to her other breast, he danced his fingertips up her thigh to the heated core of her arousal. Covering her fabric-covered sex with his palm, he pressed the heel of his hand against her as she rocked into it.

  “Damn you.” She lifted her head to look into his eyes. “Damn you for putting that insanely sexy picture of living together into my head. Damn you for being so irresistible. Damn you for stealing my heart when I didn’t think it would ever happen.”

  Yet again, Rory was amazed that even in the midst of the sexiest possible moments, making love with Zara was exactly that—love.

  “You stole mine too,” he whispered against her lips, then kissed her at the same moment he slid his hand beneath the fabric and entered her with his fingers.

  He swallowed her cries of pleasure as she climaxed so unexpectedly, and so beautifully. He could spend every moment of his life making her happy and never want for another thing.

  “My turn,” she said once her tremors finally subsided.

  Before he fully realized her intent, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt in each hand and yanked it open. Buttons went flying, but neither of them cared as she scooped up some cake and spread it onto his chest and stomach.

  “Time to switch places,” she said. And when she hopped off the counter, he was more than happy to take her place. “Mmm,” she said when his chest and abs were at eye level. “Now you’re the perfect height to be my very sweet treat.” Leaning forward, she lightly licked the right side of his chest. His muscles jumped in response, making her smile. “This is fun.” She ran her tongue over his left side, and when those muscles jumped, she laughed. “I could do this all day.”

  Now it was his turn to groan. The power was entirely in her hands—and mouth—now. She could so easily keep teasing him like this.

  And he would love every single second of it.

  Every sweet press of her lips, her tongue, even her teeth, over his chest and abs, made the fire inside him burn hotter and hotter. He was so lost to the feel of her tongue running the ridges between his abdominal muscles that he didn’t realize she’d unbuttoned his jeans until she was reaching into denim and cotton to wrap one hand around him.

  “Not just a pretty face,” she murmured as she lowered her lips to his erection. “You’re pretty everywhere.”

  And then she was taking him inside her mouth, and it was only through sheer force of will that he held it together. But his self-control could hold out only for so long, so before she could send him all the way over with another long, slow lick of her tongue, he pulled her up onto the counter with him.

  She laughed as she straddled him, the sound quickly changing to a gasp as he gripped her hips and drove up into her.

  “Rory.” She braced herself on his chest with her hands. Her gaze held his as she stilled over him. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”

  He pulled her mouth down to his and kissed her with all the love in his heart…then gave her that same love not only with his body, but with his soul too.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Every part of Zara’s life was gunning happily ahead at a hundred miles an hour. She was slammed with another wonderful rush of orders on Friday. Brittany was extremely chipper over having her stepsister as her wedding-planning partner. And Zara’s body and heart had never felt more alive.

  The person responsible for her massive turn of fortune on all fronts?

  Rory Sullivan.

  She should have guessed that pictures of him wearing her frames would send orders pouring in so fast that she’d have to put a note on her website changing her shipping timeline from twenty-four hours to two weeks, so that she could build more frames in the interim.

  But how could she have predicted that, when she hadn’t been able to predict that she would not only fall in love with Rory—but agree to move in with him as well?

  It was just that when Rory was loving her, or making her laugh, or spouting off his far-too-smart mouth—and especially when he was making her breathless, and boneless, with his sexy kisses and caresses—it felt like the storm clouds that had been ever present in Zara’s heart for the past fifteen years disappeared completely.

  Even tonight, on the verge of meeting nearly everyone in his family, she wasn’t nervous. On the contrary, she couldn’t wait to learn more about the people who had helped shape the extraordinary man she’d fallen in love with.

  At six p.m., they took his car from the warehouse, parking outside his parents’ home. But as they went up the front walk, Rory stopped them before they reached the door. “My family can be a bit much the first time you’re surrounded by all of us. If you start freaking out for any reason, don’t forget our secret code.” He stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes.

  Had she been at all nervous, Rory maki
ng her laugh at his silly face would have been the perfect remedy. “I already know how great your family is,” she reassured him. “So there will be no need for this.” She crossed her own eyes and hung her tongue out of the side of her mouth.

  He leaned in to nip at it, which spun into a kiss, of course. One so hot that it temporarily made her forget they were standing in front of his parents’ home.

  The front door swung open midsnog. “Yuck!”

  Zara broke away from Rory to see Kevin standing in the doorway, looking horrified to find his uncle sucking face with her.

  “Hey, dude.” Rory kept his arm around Zara’s waist as they walked inside. “Got any new magic tricks to show me?”

  It was exactly the right way to wipe the disgust off the ten-year-old’s face. “Sure. I’ll go get my bag.”

  “Well, hello there.” A drop-dead-gorgeous woman close to Zara’s age walked into the room, her hand outstretched. “I’m Lola, and it is fabulous to finally meet you.” She grinned as she added, “Nice kiss, by the way. We were all debating whether we’d need the fire extinguisher to make sure the house didn’t burn down.”

  Zara should have been embarrassed. After all, Rory’s sister had just confirmed that his entire family had seen them making out. But she couldn’t get over the vision in front of her.

  Lola looked as though she had walked off the pages of a fifties pinup calendar. From her hair to her makeup to her bountiful curves, she was breathtaking. Even Rory’s looks couldn’t compete with his sister’s—and that was really saying something, considering he was easily one of the best-looking men on the planet.

  Zara spoke without thinking. “What would it take to convince you to model my eyeglasses frames for my next set of ads?”

  “What’s on offer if I agree to do it?” Lola playfully responded.

  Belatedly, Zara realized she should have waited at least a few more minutes before propositioning Rory’s sister. Especially considering that Lola surely had to deal with people drooling over her stunning looks all the time. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have just blurted that out. Can we both forget I suggested it?”