There Goes My Heart (The Sullivans #20) - Bella Andre Page 0,59
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 thing she was absolutely sure of was that her heart was one hundred percent Rory’s.