by Bella Andre
And most of all, he needed to take a quiet moment in the dark to appreciate being the luckiest guy in the world.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Cal, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Rosa. Rosa, the mayor and I go way back.”
It was the first time Drake had used the word girlfriend. He liked the sound of it. Was going to like it even more when it was fiancée. Better still when it was wife.
He knew he was racing ahead. And he didn’t give a damn. At long last, he understood what his cousins in San Francisco and Seattle felt for the people they’d fallen in love with. Forever wasn’t just something you saw in a movie or read about in a book. It was so much more than a few pretty sentences in a Valentine’s Day card.
Forever was sweet and raw, messy and beautiful, scary and strong.
Forever was Rosa.
“It’s great to meet you,” Calvin said. “I’m glad you thought of us for your TV special. Any other way we can help, just let us know. Denise and Olive from Lakeside Stitch and Knit are already ready to get out on the front lines to defend you to the end.”
“Their kindness—everyone’s kindness—has meant so much to me.” Drake drew Rosa close as her emotions rose to the surface. “Thank you so much for letting us film in your building, Calvin. But I just want you to know that if at any point you feel uncomfortable with having a reality TV crew and cast here, we can figure out something else.”
“Are you kidding? I’m the hero of the century right now.” He winked at the pretty girl who was peeking in his office door. “You wouldn’t mind signing an autograph for my sister, would you?”
“I’d love to.” Rosa immediately walked over to the door and held out her hand as if she were meeting a peer instead of a child. “You must be Jordan.” Drake had told Rosa that Calvin was raising his ten-year-old sister all by himself, after his parents had both passed away one after the other within a month of Jordan’s birth.
Jordan’s eyes were huge as she nodded, so star struck by Rosa that she was speechless for a rare moment in time. Going out of her way to put Calvin’s sister at ease, Rosa said, “I love your bracelets.” Drake finally noticed the half-dozen woven bracelets in a rainbow of colors on Jordan’s wrists. “Did you make them?” When the girl nodded again, Rosa said, “Maybe you can show me how sometime?”
“They’re really easy. There’s a kit you can use, but I figured out how to make them on my own.”
“Cool.”
That was all it took for Jordan to start talking a mile a minute, and Drake loved the way Rosa kept up with every bit of it. “You don’t think she’d be interested in babysitting sometime, do you?” Calvin asked Drake in a low voice.
“You know what? I have a feeling that might be right up her alley.”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. “You know I was kidding, right? Rosa is an international superstar with a heck of a lot more important things to do than hang out with my kid sister.”
“Trust me, she would much rather learn how to make those bracelets than go to some flashy premiere.” Calvin still didn’t look convinced, but Drake knew it would make perfect sense to his friend once Cal got to know her better.
Rosa gave Jordan a hug, then when the little girl headed back outside to play with her friends, she turned to Calvin. “Your sister is great.”
“I know,” he said with a grin. “Thanks for making her day.”
“She made mine too.” Rosa reached into her bag for a folder and handed it to Calvin. “I know you’re busy, and I don’t want to take up too much more of your time today, so hopefully the information here will answer most of your questions about the setup for tomorrow’s live shoot. My mother is arranging to fly my brothers in right now, but I’ll make sure she drops by to say hello before tomorrow morning.”
“I’m sure you’ve thought of everything we need to know.” Calvin put the folder on his desk. “Anything else you and your family need, just give a holler. We’re all on your side.”
“Thank you.”
Instead of leaving with another handshake, she threw her arms around him. Cal, of course, didn’t look at all averse to holding her for a few seconds, even when he knew damn well that she was taken.
Once Rosa and Drake were out of the building, she said, “I like your friend. It doesn’t seem fair that he had such bad luck with his parents.”
“His love life has been pretty rotten too, unfortunately.”
“How can someone that handsome, who also happens to be a great brother, have a rotten love life?”
“Handsome?” Drake teased.
“I barely noticed,” she teased back. “But seriously, he’s a major catch. What happened?”
“There was someone back in high school. Sarah. We all thought they were going to be together forever. I run into her in the city sometimes, but she never asks about Calvin. Just like he never asks about her.” When they hit a fork in the path, he decided on a detour. “Want to see something beautiful?”
“I already am, but I’m always up for more.”
He pulled her close and kissed her deeply before leading her up into the mountains.
* * *
Rosa spent plenty of time in the gym, but given how hard her lungs were rocked by this mountain trail, she planned to spend way more time in the woods in the future. Especially when everything around her was so lovely and inspiring. She wanted to buy silk floss in a rainbow of colors to stitch the reds and yellows of woodpeckers and goldfinches, the pretty white bark on the birch trees, the deep green leaves of the maples in dozens of shades all around them.
The only thing that didn’t quite fit was the buzzing of the phone in Drake’s pocket as they climbed the final stretch to the top of the hill. He pulled it out and looked at the screen a few times, before finally shutting it off with an impatient sound.
“Used to be, you couldn’t get reception out here. It was one of my favorite things about this place.”
“I’m pretty good at chucking cell phones from high places,” she joked, “if you want me to give it a go.”
“I’d take you up on it if I thought it would get this gallery off my back. But since I owe them a dozen paintings in a week, I’m sure they’d find a way to track me down even without the phone.” Before she could respond to this rather shocking new piece of information about the gallery needing all those new paintings, he said, “Right now, though, I want us both to forget about everything we’ve got to do and just spend some time appreciating this.”
Pulling her up onto a large, flat rock, he brought her in against him, back to front, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Sensual warmth flooded her at his closeness even as she gasped at the stunning beauty laid out in front of her.
“Oh, Drake.” She felt it again, that sense that she’d finally found where she was meant to be. “You’ve painted this, haven’t you?” She recognized this vista from one of the larger canvases hanging in his father’s cottage. “Standing right here, looking out over the lakes and rolling hills.”
“It’s always been one of my favorite spots in the world. And now that you’re here, I honestly can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”
“I feel the same way.” She turned away from the view to look into his eyes. “Someone had to have seen me by now and sent a tweet or posted on Facebook. The paparazzi will be here by tomorrow morning. Maybe even by tonight.”
“Let them come.” Drake looked fiercely protective. “They’ll find out soon enough that’s not how we do things at Summer Lake.”
“It was one of my worst fears,” she said softly. “That they’d find me and drag me back into a life, a world that I didn’t want anymore. And then when I started falling for you, I hated the thought of them dragging you in too.” She wrapped her arms even tighter around him. “But even if those fears never completely go away, I refuse to let them hurt me anymore. And I definitely won’t let anything hurt you.” Her lips lifted into a smile as she told him, “You already have the paintings the gallery ne
eds.”
“Rosa...” He framed her face in his hands. “I made you a promise to keep the paintings of you private.”
“Now I’m asking you to make me a new promise. A promise to show them to the entire world. I can’t stand the thought of letting such beautiful art sit dusty and forgotten beneath tarps for thirty years. And I would never forgive myself if you kept something you created hidden because you were worried about hurting me. You were the one who saw my strength from the start. You were right, Drake. I am strong. As strong as the woman you painted on all those canvases.”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked deep into her eyes as if he needed to make absolutely sure that she wasn’t just saying it to make him happy. Finally, he said, “I’ll show them. All but the last ones.”
Though she understood his instinctive desire to hold back the nudes, Rosa knew better now. It didn’t matter how many clothes she had on—it was who she was beneath them that mattered.
“Especially those last ones.” She tightened her hold on him, wanting to get closer. Always closer. “When people think of me in the nude, I want your paintings to be what they remember. But it’s more than the fact that I’m finally ready for the world to see who I really am. More than anything, I want people to see that true love changes everything. That risking your heart for the right person can give back even the things that you thought were gone forever. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to trust again. To love. But you showed me that I could own every part of myself—the good and the bad—without shame. Without fear.”
“You’re so damned brave.” He tangled his hands in her hair and kissed her before saying, “You’ve showed me how to be brave too. How to stop running. How to let go of the past and fight for a future with my dad. You brought me back here, back to the place I’ve always loved best but never thought could be mine.” He smiled at her, that beautiful grin that always sent her heart flip-flopping in her chest. “Ours, if a his-and-hers art studio and gallery on the lake sounds good to you.”
She’d cried more in the past week than she had for the past decade, but she didn’t feel the need to stop her tears this time. Not when every single one came from pure joy.
“A his-and-hers art studio and gallery sounds like a dream come true,” she replied. “Maybe we can even convince your father to build us a house.”
“Something tells me he’s already started drawing up the plans.”
Epilogue
Rosa was strong and luminous in front of the cameras, and Suzanne couldn’t have been more proud.
Rosa’s brothers, Aaron and Lincoln, were seated with her and their mother on screen. The two boys reminded Suzanne of her own brothers at that age. How they were obviously overprotective of their sister, while also overrun with enough hormones that they homed in on any pretty girl nearby.
Everyone watching the live broadcast in the town hall obviously wanted Rosa to know how deeply they supported what she was doing today. Not just Drake, Harry, Suzanne, and her father, but also Denise and Olive from the yarn store, Christie from the inn, and Calvin and the city hall staff, as well.
The paparazzi had come in droves and had tried to park themselves and their cameras right outside the town hall—but the locals were having none of it, so the closest the photographers and cameramen could get to Rosa was the other end of Main Street.
Suzanne had always loved being at the lake, but after graduating from Columbia with a degree in computer science ten years ago, she’d worked in high tech in New York City ever since. Fortunately, now that she ran her own company, she had the flexibility to come here more often. Sure, she always brought several computers with her, but at least she could see trees, breathe fresh air, even jump into the lake if she was so inclined. But beyond the beautiful natural surroundings, it was the closely connected community that continued to impress Suzanne. She was all thumbs when it came to knitting, but Denise and Olive had been so enthusiastic about her joining in on their knitting nights that she’d gone several times over the years and pretended to knit while mostly drinking wine and laughing with the other women.
It was a testament to the Summer Lake community how quickly—and passionately—they’d rallied around Rosa.
Suzanne’s phone buzzed in her pocket for the millionth time, and Harry shot her a look. Though she was always on call for her employees, she decided to shut it off completely so that she wouldn’t distract anyone while Rosa was speaking.
“I’ve often heard people say that I’m famous just for being famous,” Rosa said in a steady but emotional voice. “Today, whatever people might think of my choices, I’m simply glad that so many of you want to hear what I have to say.” She looked directly at the cameras, while her mother held tightly to her hand and her brothers flanked them both. “For any woman, any man, who has been made to feel cheap or dirty or small on the Internet, whether it’s with words or in pictures—I want to let you know that we don’t have to feel ashamed. Because it isn’t our fault. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the past. It doesn’t matter what we’ve worn, what we’ve said, who we’ve dated, what career we’ve had. None of us deserve to be attacked, either online or off.” Rosa paused to let her words settle with the millions of people around the world who were watching the live broadcast. “Even if I can never get the pictures off the Internet, I’m not a victim. I’m taking my life back, right here, right now, and I’m going to make it better than it’s ever been before. With art, with friends, with family, and with the foundation my family and I have created to support people who have been hurt by personal cyber-attacks.”
When the cameras finally went dark, all of them gathered around Rosa in a big group hug. Suzanne had already spoken with her about the role she’d like to take as the lead technical volunteer in the Bouchards’ new foundation, and she was excited to get going with it as soon as possible.
Waiting until she’d stepped outside the city hall building to turn her phone back on, she wasn’t thrilled to see another array of phone calls from several random numbers she didn’t recognize.
She was shoving her phone back into her pocket when Harry said, “He’s still bothering you, isn’t he?”
Suzanne should have known better than to tell her brothers about one of her tech competitors. The guy seemed hell-bent on annoying her in any way he could in the hopes that she’d lose her momentum on their newest security product, which was particularly groundbreaking, if she did say so herself. Lately, she was getting dozens of random phone calls each day, but no one was ever there when she picked up.
Though she knew it was nothing more than a mind game, she didn’t want to lie to her brother and act like nothing was happening. “Don’t worry, Harry. I’ve got it under control.”
Unfortunately, he looked anything but convinced. “Have you looked into hiring a bodyguard yet?”
“No, and I’m not going to.” No was the same reaction she’d always had to such a ridiculous suggestion. “My competitor is a pain, but apart from bombarding me and my servers with automated junk emails and calls and uploads, he’s harmless.”
For a moment, she thought Harry was going to press her further on it. Thankfully, Drake and Rosa walked out arm in arm just then and asked if they wanted to head to the Tavern for a drink.
No question about it, Suzanne would much rather bask in the glow of Drake and Rosa’s love than argue with her brother about a bodyguard. Because if love could come for her youngest brother in the most unexpected way, that meant there was hope for the rest of them, didn’t it?
Although she couldn’t imagine how she would possibly meet the love of her life when she usually spent twenty-four seven with her computers. Especially if she gave in to her brother’s concerns and actually hired a bodyguard to tail her every second of every day...
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Do
n’t miss Suzanne Sullivan’s book – SINCE I FELL FOR YOU (New York Sullivans, Book 2) – coming Fall 2016! Please sign up for Bella’s New Release Newsletter (http://www.BellaAndre.com/Newsletter) so that she can let you know as soon as the new book is released!
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The following books in Bella Andre's New York Times & USA Today bestselling series about The Sullivans are out now!
THE LOOK OF LOVE
(Chase & Chloe)
FROM THIS MOMENT ON
(Marcus & Nicola)
CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE
(Gabe & Megan)
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
(Sophie & Jake)
IF YOU WERE MINE
(Zach & Heather)
LET ME BE THE ONE
(Ryan & Vicki)
COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER
(Smith & Valentina)
ALWAYS ON MY MIND
(Lori & Grayson)
KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE
(Mary & Jack Sullivan)
ONE PERFECT NIGHT
(A novella guest starring Mia Sullivan and Rafe Sullivan)
THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
(Rafe & Brooke, The Seattle Sullivans)
IT MUST BE YOUR LOVE
(Mia & Ford, The Seattle Sullivans)
JUST TO BE WITH YOU
(Ian & Tatiana, The Seattle Sullivans)
I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME
(Dylan’s story, The Seattle Sullivans)
ALL I EVER NEED IS YOU
(Adam & Kerry, The Seattle Sullivans)