Just To Be With You (The Sullivans #12)

Being here with Tatiana was so simple—board games and splashing in puddles and laughing at old movies. Life hadn’t been this normal or this fun for him since he was a kid. Being with other women had always meant fancy dinners, grand gestures, glittering jewels. And as he watched her help the kids settle with food and orange juice, he was struck by a sudden vision of having a life like this with Tatiana that stretched out past the storm—a life full of fun, laughter, games. She’d make every second joyful.

But just as quickly as that picture formed, he saw another one—a vision where he was too busy with work to enjoy being with her, with their kids. She’d be busy too, with her films, and tensions would surely rise when they both tried—and failed—to carve out anything extra for each other.

A knock sounded on the door and when he got up to answer it, he found a very apologetic brunette on the other side. “Sadie, Jamie, you were supposed to bring the eggs and then turn right around and come home.”

Around a mouthful of eggs and bacon, Jamie said, “They asked us to stay.”

Sadie pointed at the pile of Legos on the floor. “Ian needed us to show him how to build a spaceship.”

“I did. They’re great kids. I’m Ian, by the way, and this is Tatiana.”

The twins’ mother’s eyes went wide as she finally caught sight of Tatiana. “I’m Kelly. It’s so nice to meet you both. And I’m sorry again for the intrusion. Tim thought it would be nice if we dropped off some eggs for you. I thought the kids were back down with the horses, otherwise I would have come looking for them earlier.”

“We really enjoyed them,” Tatiana said with the gentle smile she gave people when she knew they were nervous around her. She gestured to the food. “I’d love it if you could join us.”

“Oh, I really wish I could, but we’ve got to get going to preschool.” The woman flushed even deeper. “I can’t believe I’m asking this, but is there any way I could maybe get a picture with you?”

“Absolutely. In fact, why don’t we do a big family shot together?”

Ian took Kelly’s phone and snapped several pictures with it, then just as he had at the warehouse visit, did the same with Tatiana’s at her request.

The power flickered a couple of times during their impromptu photo shoot and before she and the kids and the puppy left, Kelly said, “Looks like the power might finally go. There are some lanterns just down the stairs if you end up needing them.”

* * *

They’d only just finished washing the dishes when the lights did indeed go out. Ian had already brought the lanterns up and when he turned them on, the room was bathed in a soft glow that made everything seem even more unreal that it already was.

“You were so great with those kids.” Tatiana moved into his arms as though it was the place she was meant to be. “You were concentrating just as hard on those Legos as you do in your meetings dealing with millions of dollars.”

“Building a spaceship is serious business.”

She laughed as she laid her cheek against his chest. There was no music playing in the room, but the sound of the rain hitting the roof had enough of a beat for them to dance to in the kitchen.

“I’ve had a really good time here with you, Ian.”

“So have I.”

And as they danced by the lantern’s light on the old wood floor with the rain falling outside, Ian knew he’d never been this happy in all his life. No amount of money, no amount of power or wealth had ever given him what this beautiful woman always gave so effortlessly, so endlessly.

But even as they danced, he could hear the rain starting to slow.

He pulled her closer, held her tighter, wishing that the rain could just keep falling, that the fog would continue to shroud them forever, that the wind would always blow hard enough to keep airplanes out of the sky.

Here in the storm, on the island everything had been so simple. He’d been a man falling head over heels for a beautiful woman with a heart so pure, so sweet, that it humbled him...and made him see everything with new eyes.

Even—as their dance transformed from sweet to sinful in the span of one kiss and he drew her across the room past the Legos and old movies to the bed—love.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Tatiana woke from their late-morning, post-sex nap to the shine of bright sun pouring in the windows. But when she reached out for Ian, his side of the bed was empty. Rolling over, she found him sitting in the chair at the foot of the bed by the window, staring out into the beautiful day and looking utterly grim.

Her chest clenched even as her heart felt fuller than it ever had. She hadn’t known it was possible to love someone so much, so deeply, that she could almost swear she could feel his emotions roll through her.

Pushing the covers off, she moved naked onto his lap. He’d pulled on his jeans, but his chest was bare. When he automatically put his arms around her to draw her closer, she leaned into his warmth, his strength.

She didn’t say anything, just listened to the steady beat of his heart and breathed him in. He already knew what was in her heart. Today, she guessed, he would finally tell her what was in his.

“When we leave this room today,” he finally said, “when we walk into the sunshine, when we get back on the plane, everything is going to be different.”

She couldn’t deny that everything was about to change. She’d heard the rain ease off when they’d been dancing together earlier. And the way he’d just made love to her, so sweetly, so reverently...hadn’t she known that he’d been touching her as if he was afraid that it was the last time?