Read Every Beat Of My Heart: The Sullivans (Wedding Novella) Online

Authors: Bella Andre

Tags: #Romance, #Fiction

Every Beat Of My Heart: The Sullivans (Wedding Novella) (6 page)

BOOK: Every Beat Of My Heart: The Sullivans (Wedding Novella)
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“Got them right here.” Sophie lifted her tablet. “We decided to put the spreadsheets in the cloud so that we can all access them, remember?”

“You sound like our cousin Suzanne when you start talking about computer clouds,” Lori grumbled.

Suzanne was the only female sibling of the four New York Sullivans—Drake, Harrison, and Alec were her brothers. Vicki had spent some time with each of them over the years while on trips to New York and at weddings, of course. Now that she and Ryan were going to have more free time, she hoped she could get to know his cousins in New York and Maine better. Thankfully, she was already really close with the Seattle crew—Rafe, Mia, Ian, Dylan, Adam, and their parents, Claudia and Max.

“Speaking of our cousins in New York,” Sophie said, “Alec has made arrangements to use a few of his private planes to fly family from New York and Maine into a private airstrip in Napa.”

None of the Sullivans flaunted their money or fame, but since Vicki hadn’t grown up knowing people who had private planes or who were famous, stuff like this still made her head spin.

“And Heather,” Sophie continued, “Alec wanted you to know that he’d be happy to pick up your parents in Washington, DC, if that would be more convenient for them.”

Heather did her best to try to hide her reaction from the rest of them, but Vicki knew too much about Heather’s fractured relationship with her parents to miss it as she said, “I’ll give them a call and let Alec know right away if they’d like a ride.”

Judging by the way Zach pulled Heather closer, it was obvious that he wasn’t particularly thrilled about Heather’s parents coming to the wedding. Vicki wished she could do something to help, but sometimes the very best you could do was simply to be there for the people you loved. Ryan and his family had shown this to Vicki time and again.

Lori shoved the rest of the chocolate bar she’d been eating into her mouth before saying, “Are we still going to go see your wedding gowns after the game?”

Vicki had always known that she wanted Anne to make her wedding dress. Fortunately, while her friend had catapulted straight to the top of the fashion world, she’d still offered to squeeze in two last-second dresses for Vicki and Heather.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing Anne again,” Vicki said. “She’s been so busy flying around the world opening her new boutiques in Paris and Rome that it’s been months since we’ve really had a chance to chat.”

“I’m dying to see what she’s got planned for both of you,” Sophie said. “I’ve got a borderline unhealthy fixation on her dresses.”

“You’re not the only one,” Vicki said.

Ryan had a bit of a fixation, as well, given that the first time they’d made love she’d been wearing one of Anne’s dresses—the sexy red one she’d worn in the studio just the other day. It had been the night of their fake engagement party, and she still remembered the way it had felt when she and Ryan finally gave in to their feelings for each other and he stripped her dress away, one zipper at a time.

Heather and Anne had met only once, via Skype, but Anne had taken one look at Zach’s fiancée and declared that she knew exactly the dress she should wear. Anne might change her technicolor hair weekly and have a good dozen piercings—but she was a master when it came to knowing exactly how to bring out the best in a woman. Even things the woman wearing the dress might not be able to see in herself.

When the players ran out onto the field, Sophie shelved wedding planning so that they could watch the rest of the game. One that turned out to be a total nail-biter by the ninth inning, with the score at 5–4 and the Hawks in the lead, thankfully.

Ryan was back up at the mound, and though he still didn’t look nervous, Vicki could see just how fierce his concentration was. The only other time he ever looked that focused was when they were in bed and he was utterly intent on her pleasure. One after the other, he struck the first two batters out, his fastballs precise and explosive.

Soon after, the third batter, already down two strikes, stepped back up to the plate. Lori gripped one of Vicki’s hands, and Sophie took the other.

“You can do it, Ryan.” Sophie’s whispered words echoed those in Vicki’s head.

Vicki figured the batter was assuming another fastball would be coming his way. But she knew how foolish it was to think that Ryan’s easy demeanor meant he wasn’t working out how to get exactly what he wanted. Three years ago, he’d wanted
her.
And boy, had he ever gone out of his way to make sure that happened…

Another delicious shiver was moving through her at the memories of the first time they’d kissed—and then had made the sweetest love possible—when Ryan turned his head just enough to catch her eye. She smiled and mouthed,
I love you,
and the next thing she knew, the perfect curve ball was flying from his fingers.

A curve ball the batter never saw coming.

The entire stadium leaped to its feet as Ryan’s team rushed to the mound to lift him up on their shoulders. The second he was set down on the ground, he headed straight for Vicki. She was already more than halfway to him by the time he leaped over the fence and swung her up into his arms. The moment he crushed his mouth to hers, the crowd’s cheers easily jumped a full decibel.

But all Vicki heard in his kiss—all she felt, all she knew—was how much Ryan loved her.

More than enough to fill this stadium a million times over.

CHAPTER SIX

Since Smith and Valentina had missed out on the wedding planning due to their filming schedule in Denmark, they insisted on throwing the combined bachelorette and bachelor party the night before the wedding. And with the Hawks having just won the World Series—again—there was also plenty of bubbly flowing to toast Ryan’s retirement from baseball at the very top of his game.

As Marcus and Nicola’s Napa Valley home was currently being decorated for the wedding, Smith and Valentina had booked Castello di Amorosa for the party. Children and adults alike were all having a marvelous time exploring the vineyard estate that was built to be a near-perfect replica of a thirteenth-century Tuscan castle.

Once upon a time, Zach Sullivan hadn’t just believed he’d never marry—he’d never expected to fall in love either. For a man who hated to be proved wrong, nothing could have made him happier than knowing just how off base he’d been about love and marriage.

Tonight, Heather was stunning him, yet again, in a sky-blue dress that skimmed over her curves while highlighting her long legs. He couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Thankfully, his bride didn’t mind in the least—especially given that she wasn’t doing much better at keeping her hands off him.

Little Emma had just given her a bunch of flowers, and Heather was smelling them with a happy smile on her lips—one that fell the moment she realized her parents had arrived at the party.

A muscle jumped in Zach’s jaw as he watched her put down the flowers to go say hello. The Linseys put on a good show of being a happy couple, but that was all it was: a performance.

Zach’s family had promised him they would step in with her parents any way they could. As good as their word, Smith and Valentina wasted no time coming over.

“Mr. and Mrs. Linsey, it’s great to finally meet you.” Smith had on his best movie-star smile, one that looked genuine even if his heart wasn’t truly behind it. “If we could steal you away from your daughter for a short while, Valentina and I would love to give you both a tour of the castle.”

Simply getting to meet a movie star like Smith would be more than enough for most people, so Zach figured there was no way they would turn down the chance to spend one-on-one time with Smith and his fiancée.

“Honey,” Heather’s father said, “you don’t mind if your mother and I step away for a few minutes while you celebrate with your friends?”

“No, you should absolutely go!”

Heather seemed to realize a moment too late just how enthusiastic she sounded, but Zach was already stepping into the fray. “Heather and I actually have a few things we need to discuss for tomorrow.” He forced himself to smile at her parents, though he suspected it looked more like he was baring his teeth. “Enjoy your tour with Smith and Valentina.”

After the four of them had walked around the corner, and Zach took Heather in the opposite direction, she asked, “We don’t really have anything to discuss for the wedding, do we?”

Zach stopped to give her a kiss before saying, “We do, but not here.”

Earlier, he’d made a mental note about a stone cottage on the property that would be perfect for a little alone time with his fiancée. A few minutes later, when they were inside the small building, he drew Heather into his arms.

He stroked her back to loosen the tight muscles, and she breathed out a small sigh of relaxation. “I owe Smith and Valentina big time for this. I’ve always loved your family, but I love them even more now for going out of their way to keep my parents occupied.”

“They’re happy to help,” he told her. “Everyone is.”

Zach had always been more in tune with Heather than anyone else—so even without her saying more, he knew she was not only overwhelmed by her parents being here, but also that her first trimester was tiring her out more than she wanted to admit.

“It’s not too late, you know,” he said as he pulled her down to sit with him on a plush couch, slipping off her heels so that he could rub her feet. “We could hop a plane to Vegas tonight and skip the rest of the wedding craziness.”

“I could never do that when everyone has done so much and worked so hard to make our day perfect.” She looked up into his eyes, and his heart squeezed as she said, “It’s just that when my parents walked in, and I realized just how big a contrast your family makes to mine. I guess it’s just a little hard to swallow tonight.”

Zach wanted to soothe her, wanted to tell her everything would be okay, wanted to do whatever he could to steal away her pain. But he knew she was still thinking, still trying to put her feelings into words, so he forced himself to remain quiet.

Her voice was soft when she spoke again. “Even your two-hundred-mile-an-hour races hardly scare me that much anymore, because I know how much control you have over the vehicle. And I stopped measuring you against my father practically right from the start, because you’re nothing like him. Nothing at all.” She sighed. “So why does the idea of getting married still sort of freak me out?”

Zach moved his hands from her feet to slowly run them down her arms, over the crisscrossing of scars. She’d started cutting herself as a teenager after she found out the father she’d always adored had been cheating on her mother for their entire marriage. Heather was strong, confident, and sassy—yet Zach knew she still felt phantom pain sometimes when she had to deal with her father.

“Some scars run deep. So deep that even when we think they’re healed, they might not be. Not completely.” Zach held her gaze as he prepared to admit to his own scars that were still healing. “I can’t help but think about my dad tonight. I’ve been thinking about him more and more since we got engaged. Since I found out I’m going to be a father myself.”

She lifted her hand to his cheek, which was covered with the hair his superstitious race crew insisted he keep from shaving off. Fortunately, Heather seemed to like it when he got scruffy. “Do you still worry that you’re going to follow in his footsteps?”

His father, Jack, died of an aneurysm when Zach was seven. Out of all eight kids, Zach was the one who looked the most, and acted the most, like his father, so he’d grown up believing that he wouldn’t see past forty-eight either. This was why Zach had never planned to fall in love—because he hadn’t thought he could count on tomorrow. It was also why he’d gone for speed his whole life, to experience as much as he could before it was over.

But then he’d met Heather. And everything he’d once believed to be true had been flipped upside down and inside out. In all the best possible ways.

Which was why he couldn’t lie to her tonight, and would never want to even if he could. For thirty years he’d held his pain and fear over losing his father inside. Held it inside until Heather had made him feel safe—and loved—enough to confess it all.

“Sometimes I do still worry,” he admitted. “Especially around the anniversary of his passing—or when we have big family events. Which,” he added with a small smile, “seem like they happen twice a month depending on the birthday-baby-wedding schedule for the year.”

“Three years ago,” Heather said, “those worries were why you tried to hold back from me. So if you’re still scared sometimes, how do you keep yourself from holding back now? Because I never feel that you are. Even when you’re telling me that your scars haven’t gone away completely, you’re not at all scared about promising me forever tomorrow, are you?”

“Falling in love with you—that was the biggest thing that made the worries fade at first.” He pulled her on to his lap. “I couldn’t imagine a world in which I’d ever be able to give you up. Even if I knew for sure that I wasn’t going to make it past the next five years, I realized I’d still be the selfish bastard who had to have you.” He kissed her for emphasis…and also because he couldn’t resist the pull of her sweet mouth. “And ever since then, knowing I’m not indestructible or bulletproof has been a good reminder to live every single day to the fullest. With you.”

“I love you.” She lowered her head to his shoulder. “I’m sorry I’m being weird tonight.”

“You’re not being weird. You’re being honest, and I love you even more because you’re not afraid to tell me what you’re feeling. Fortunately, I happened to prepare a few bad dog jokes in case we needed them. Want to hear them?”

She lifted her head to look at him, and he was glad to see her mouth quirk up on the side. “I know you’ll be bursting to tell them to me all night if you don’t get them out now.”

“What do you call it when a cat wins a dog show?”

“Honestly, I’m scared to even guess.”

He grinned. “A cat-has-trophy.”

She shook her head. “That’s just awful.”

“I try.” He gave her another quick kiss. “What kind of dog does Dracula have?”

BOOK: Every Beat Of My Heart: The Sullivans (Wedding Novella)
11.19Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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