If You Were Mine (31 page)

feel so much better, so much lighter than I’ve been in a long, long

time.”

He wished he could come clean about his own demons,

wished he had half the guts Heather did. But after twenty-three

wished he had half the guts Heather did. But after twenty-three

years of holding the darkness deep inside, he just didn’t see how

sharing his fears would do anything but upset her. He also knew

there was nothing he could say to take away her scars, or to

change the man her father was.

Fortunately, he had a couple of backup reinforcements that

came naturaly equipped to comfort the woman he loved.

“Cuddles, Atlas, come!”

Three pounds of fur and bone and teeth flew into his arms.

He handed the puppy to Heather while Atlas leaned his big head

on her thighs. Zach put his arms around her and the two dogs to

let her tears fal on al of them.

And like the family they’d become so quickly, the three of

them loved her tears away with the kind of slobbery kisses that

only a couple of dogs—and a man who’d been likened to one

many, many times—could.

Heather had never been so busy with dogs and work...and

Zach. She wasn’t even coming close to getting enough sleep, not

with a sinfuly gorgeous man in her bed, or her in his. But the rest

she did get, when his body was wrapped around hers, or when

she was using his rock-hard muscles as a pilow, was better than

a ful night of sleep without him had ever been.

And every day he surprised her. Not just with laughter. But

with more love than she could have ever imagined would be

with more love than she could have ever imagined would be

hers.

On Wednesday night, he took her and the dogs to an

outdoor concert on the green. The band members were friends

of his and he’d scored amazing tickets. Together they’d laughed

at the way the dogs’ tails wagged in time to the music. And when

the sun set, he puled her between his legs and kept her warmer

than any blanket could have.

Thursday found them out on Smith’s sailboat, the dogs in

their own fitted life vests, Cuddles under one of Zach’s arms, his

free hand holding hers tightly as Atlas lay at their feet. She’d

never realized before just how beautiful the Golden Gate Bridge

looked in the setting sun...or how nice it was to be able to share

that beauty with someone she loved.

By Friday, when she thought she was ready for whatever

he had planned, he completely blew her mind by suggesting they

hunker down at home on the couch and watch movies together.

He made her watch
Hoosiers
and even though she could have

sworn nothing would ever get her interested in basketbal, she

had to admit to being hooked by the end of the movie. As

payback, she cued up
The Sound of Music
, and even though

Zach wouldn’t admit how much he liked it, she caught him

humming “My Favorite Things” as he was brushing his teeth.

Heather had to give credit where credit was due. Zach was

amazingly good at everything he did, from loving her senseless,

to getting her to talk a little more every day about her feelings

about her parents. Safe in his arms, she’d started to realize that

even though blood tied her to her father and mother, she’d

succeeded at building up a real family for herself via her close

bonds with friends, co-workers, and the animals she’d taken in

over the years.

A part of her stil couldn’t get over the fact that Zach

Sulivan was the one who had helped her see things more clearly.

He was so far from the self-absorbed, vain man she’d once

assumed he was.

Was he charming?

God, yes, he was charming. With charisma to spare,

enough that her eyebals sometimes hurt from al the eye-roling

he—and the reactions of women who constantly drooled over

him—inspired.

But was he a liar and a cheat?

No, he wasn’t.

On the contrary, he was one of the most honest people

she’d ever met. Everything was right there on the surface with

Zach. He didn’t make you guess, he just told it to you like it was.

Stil, she was nervous come Saturday morning. Not only

because he was going to be racing again, this time at the raceway

in the wine country near Marcus’s winery, but also because this

was the first time she was going to be spending an entire day

with his family.

She’d started off insisting to Lori and Sophie that she

wasn’t going to date Zach, had clearly blown that by doing the

friends-with-benefits thing, and then had capped it al off by

flipping out at Chase and Chloe’s house and yeling at Zach on

flipping out at Chase and Chloe’s house and yeling at Zach on

the sidewalk that he couldn’t possibly love her because they had

an
agreement.

Ugh.

“Looks like you need a little help relaxing.” They were

walking onto the racetrack, hand-in-hand, and he was giving her

the grin that told her he had wicked plans.

Very
wicked plans.

“I’m fine,” she told him in the same firm, no-nonsense voice

that she used with particularly rambunctious dogs when they

needed to know she was not in the mood to play.

Of course, the truth was that she was
always
in the mood

to play with Zach.

And, unfortunately, he knew it.

For al his teasing, she thought he seemed a little tense. As if

he didn’t realy want to do this race.

Maybe, she actualy found herself thinking, it wouldn’t be

so bad to find a private spot behind the stands where they could

relax each other. Thankfuly, before she could give into the

insanity that Zach’s hands and mouth always inspired, Lori caled

out to them from the stands.

“Saved by a brat,” he muttered as she made a beeline

toward his firefighter brother who had given him Cuddles.

“Gabe, Megan, Summer, this is Heather.”

She smiled at the couple and the pretty girl between them,

but before she could even say helo or ask them how their trip to

Europe had been, Zach said, “You can’t have Cuddles back.”

Heather’s gaze shot to the little girl, worried about how

Heather’s gaze shot to the little girl, worried about how

she’d take the news. But instead of getting upset, Summer gave

Zach a smile so smug, it might have actualy out-smugged him at

his worst.

“I knew you’d love her!” Summer said as she threw her

arms around Zach’s waist. “When we saw her with al the other

puppies, I knew right away that she was just what you needed

so you’d smile more and be happier.”

Zach frowned as he looked from the top of Summer’s

blonde head to his brother’s smirk. “I was set up.”

“It was like taking candy from a baby.”

This was the kind of family Heather had often wished she

belonged to. One where even the tricks they played on each

other came from the heart.

Then again, Heather’s version of the perfect family hadn’t

included a movie star. Her friend Brenda would die right now.

Because Smith looked just like he had last week on the big

screen. Only better.

Zach slid his arm around Heather’s waist and puled her

tightly against him. So tightly that it almost felt like she was

wearing a corset.

“Smith, this is Heather.”

Smith Sulivan gave her the smile that she was sure had

melted a milion panties. Interestingly, hers were fine. Wel, they

would be fine, if only Zach would stop rubbing his fingertips

against the underside of her breast.

She tried to shift out of Zach’s arms but he only held her

tighter. He was always possessive, but for some reason, today

tighter. He was always possessive, but for some reason, today

he was taking it to a whole new level.

As Smith’s hand curled around hers and he said a low,

“Helo,” she felt Zach tense against her.

Wait a minute, did he actualy think his movie-star brother

would be interested in her?

Ryan appeared next to Smith and grinned at her. “Great to

see you again, Heather.”

Just like Zach, Ryan was the picture of good-looking

charm. But that was where the similarities ended. Where Zach

thrived on his sarcastic edge, Ryan was al laid-back ease. She

could see why women fel for him, beyond being impressed with

his skil on the pitcher’s mound.

Smith nodded toward the track. “Looks like they’re ready

for you down there, Z.”

Ryan grinned. “Don’t worry, we’l take care of Heather.”

Zach’s jaw clenched. “Don’t flirt with her.”

Had they forgotten she was stil there? She was just about

to remind them, when Zach’s hands were in her hair and his

mouth was on hers and he was kissing al the breath from her

lungs.

And then he was gone, leaving her to gasp for air in the

middle of a half-dozen Sulivans, al of whom were grinning at

her.

“Come, sit with me,” Smith said, leading her to one of the

padded folding seats out on the bleachers. Ryan snagged the

seat next to her and her butt had barely hit the seat when Zach’s

seat next to her and her butt had barely hit the seat when Zach’s

two famous, single brothers started flirting.

Big time.

* * *

drivers who’d come out in support of the San Francisco food

bank. Zach figured he only had to put up with their flashbulbs

until they caught wind of Smith in the stands.

Barry Jones made a crack about getting a run on him in turn

two, but Zach didn’t have a comeback for him. Not when he

was too busy staring up at the bleachers to make sure his

brothers didn’t try anything with Heather.

He trusted her, of course. It was Smith and Ryan he was

going to kil if he saw even one picture come out with their hands

anywhere on her.

Zach slammed his helmet on and pushed through the other

drivers to get into his car. He’d worked with this crew enough to

skip the pre-race speech. He hadn’t wanted to do this damn

race, but he was a man of his word and had to make good on it.

The race started and he drove like a man possessed. Not

just to win, but because he wanted to get the race done, then

take Heather back to bed, where it was just the two of them.

Where nothing mattered but her laughter, her sweet little sounds

of pleasure.

The sound of metal against metal came first, a split second

before it slammed through his body.

before it slammed through his body.

Damn it, he thought as the car started spinning, he’d known

his luck was going to run out one day, but he hadn’t thought it’d

be this soon. Or that it would end like this. He’d always figured

on having an aneurism like his father, had believed every

headache was one step closer to the inevitable.

Zach’s brain and body went into the autopilot that any

racer worth his shit immediately shot to in a crash. His hands

worked the wheel. His feet worked the brakes and clutch. But

as the colors al around him spun together, and his brain and

body folowed the do-or-die instructions his crew were yeling at

him through his earpiece, his heart remained with Heather.

A dozen quick flashes of beauty, of pleasure, sweled

behind his breastbone, pushing even deeper, al the way into his

soul.

Heather with scratches on her knees, her shirt ripped, dirt

smudged across her cheek as she clutched Cuddles to her chest

and glared at him.

The feel of her soft curves beneath him as he roled them

out of the way of the skateboarder, and then her fingers slipping

into his as they stared up at the blue sky together.

Her mouth warm beneath his at the balpark as he stole that

first kiss, the desperation that had flared to life between them and

only grown hotter every time they touched.

Running after her on the sidewalk to tel her he loved her,

and loving her even more for the way she’d yeled at him, for

how hard she’d tried to insist their love wasn’t real.

And then, later, the taste of her tears on his lips as she’d

And then, later, the taste of her tears on his lips as she’d

cried in his arms, the dogs there with them, al of them comforting

her.

People had always joked that nothing could touch Zach

and his charmed life, but as the wal finaly won the battle he was

waging to control the car and the heat of the engine’s flames

burned through metal and leather, he knew better.

He’d always known better.

After al, his father had died young, and everyone always