There Goes My Heart (The Sullivans #20) - Bella Andre Page 0,68

out for him as though he were.

“Kevin just did a killer magic trick,” Rory told her.

“I love magic,” Zara exclaimed. “Could you do the trick again for me?”

“Sure,” Kevin mumbled, looking embarrassed by all the attention. But by the way he recentered his top hat and cleared his throat, he was pleased by Zara’s interest nonetheless.

He did the spoon-bend trick again, finishing with, “Abracadabra.”

Zara clapped. “That was amazing!”

Kevin mumbled, “Thanks.”

Ashley’s phone rang, and her face paled when she saw who it was. “Hello.” Her voice was flat. “Really?” Her irritation seemed to mount at whatever the other person said. A person whose identity Rory could easily guess. “I’ll see what he thinks.” She put on a smile that didn’t read entirely true as she looked at Kevin. “It’s your dad. Do you want to talk to him?”

“Yes!”

She handed Kevin the phone, and he was already talking a mile a minute as he went to sit on the couch in the far corner of Rory’s workshop.

“His dad doesn’t call for weeks,” Ashley said in a low voice ripe with frustration, “and then suddenly, from out of the blue, he wants to be Kevin’s best friend. I’m sick of it.” She sighed. “Sorry, Zara, I don’t mean to air my dirty laundry in front of you.”

“It’s okay,” Zara said. “I’ve got heaps of dirty laundry myself, if you ever want to see it.”

Rory was glad to see his sister smile at Zara’s comment.

“I love your glasses, by the way. Whenever I see you,” Ashley continued, “I always regret not needing to wear any.”

“I love that you wish you had bad eyesight so that you could wear my glasses.” Zara was now beaming as much as Kevin. “Don’t tell Cassie, but you’re officially my favorite Sullivan now.”

Rory couldn’t resist saying, “I thought I was your favorite Sullivan.”

Zara leaned in to kiss him, which was good enough confirmation for him. He’d thought it was pretty damn great when she’d reached for his hand in front of his sister—but kissing him in front of Ashley felt like a straight-up public declaration of love.

“Sorry to toss you a sandwich and run,” Zara said, “but I’ve got to get back to work. Great to see you, Ashley. Tell Kevin I’d love to see more magic sometime. And, Rory, if you want to save some of the chocolate cake for later, I’ll share it with you.”

He couldn’t take his eyes from her as she left the room. And it wasn’t the fact that she’d just put the most glorious chocolate-cake-licking fantasies into his mind that made it impossible for him to look away.

No, the reason had absolutely everything to do with magic.

“I thought Turner and Hudson had to be pulling my leg,” Ashley said once he finally turned back to his sister. “But they’re right—you’re falling big-time for Zara, aren’t you?”

“I’m not falling, Ash. I’m already all the way there.”

“Wow.” She was silent for a long moment as she absorbed the big news. “You and Zara have always set off sparks when you’re together. It’s just that after what happened with Chelsea, I was worried you wouldn’t let yourself try with anyone else, even though it was obvious that she was never going to be the right one for you.”

“It was? I thought everyone loved Chelsea and wanted her to be a part of the family.”

“We did love her, but that doesn’t mean we loved her with you. Whereas Zara never takes any of your nonsense. She challenges you in all the best ways.” He was surprised to see Ashley frown. “How have you been able to do it?” she asked. “How have you been able to trust again after what happened with Chelsea? How have you been able to risk going to that scary place for Zara? Because as far as my experience goes, people putting their hearts on the line is a very rare thing.”

Rory had always taken his duty to look after his younger sister seriously. It killed him that during the years he’d been away at college, she’d hooked up with Kevin’s father. Though Rory knew he couldn’t rewind time, he still wished there was something he could have done to protect her. Everyone in their family felt the same way. Still, if she hadn’t hooked up with the scumbag, she wouldn’t have had Kevin. And the world would have been a much sorrier place without his nephew.

“Honestly, I never saw Zara coming.” Rory hadn’t always felt able to speak so openly to his