by Bella Andre
Grace and Dylan had Mason already, so Grace wasn’t a novice to childbirth. Still, the second baby often had a way of coming faster than you expected.
“How far apart are your contractions?” Claudia asked.
Grace opened her mouth to answer, then winced instead as another contraction hit her. “Maybe two, three minutes,” she finally replied.
Dylan looked stunned. “If I’d known you were in labor this whole time—”
Now that the pain had passed, Grace calmly put her hand on her husband’s cheek and said, “I didn’t even know. And I’ve done this bef—” She hadn’t quite gotten out the full sentence before another contraction hit.
“That’s a heck of a lot faster than two minutes,” Dylan’s sister, Mia, noted.
“Marcus, Nicola,” Ford, Mia’s husband, called out, “we’re going to need a doctor.”
“I’m already on hold with the hospital.” Nicola moved closer, a cell phone up to her ear. “They’ve just paged the on-call doctor. And Marcus is getting a bedroom ready.” She grinned at Grace and Dylan. “This is so exciting! Why don’t I take you both inside?”
“Mommy”—Mason tugged at Grace’s skirt—“are you going to have the baby now?”
Dylan lifted his little boy up and smooched him on the cheek. “We sure are.”
“Yes!” Mason pumped his fist. He clearly couldn’t wait to be a big brother. “It’s taken forever.”
Tatiana Landon, Ian’s fiancée, held out her arms to the little boy. “How about we spend some time having fun together while your mommy and daddy make a beautiful baby brother or sister for you?”
Just because Tatiana was one of the biggest movie stars in the world didn’t mean she cared one whit about a toddler getting her dress dirty or wrinkled. Neither did Dylan’s brother Ian. Becoming a billionaire hadn’t changed him—he’d always been a great, and protective, older brother.
“Aunt Mary, Uncle William,” Dylan said, “could you let Rafe, Brooke, Adam, and Kerry know we’d love for them to come up to the house when you see them?”
“Of course, Dylan.” Mary gave her nephew a hug. He’d met Grace and baby Mason when she had come to interview him for a feature in a boating magazine. It had been love at first sight for all three of them.
Mason went happily into Tatiana’s arms as Grace and Dylan headed into the house to meet the physician who was on the way. Claudia, Max, Mia, and Ford followed them into the house to help with anything they might need during labor.
Rafe and Brooke came dashing up a few minutes later, with Adam and Kerry close behind.
“We heard Grace went into labor.” Brooke looked beyond thrilled by the news.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” her husband, Rafe, asked.
Mary thought Brooke and Rafe were utterly sweet together. They’d grown up spending summers next door to each other on a lake in the Pacific Northwest—two kids who had no idea that one day they’d meet again as adults and fall head over heels in love with each other.
“Everything’s under control,” Mary let them know. “They’ve already got a full crew in Marcus and Nicola’s house, although Dylan would like to have all of you nearby so that you can meet the baby as soon as he or she is born.”
“I’ve been to literally hundreds of weddings,” Kerry Dromoland said, smiling widely with Adam’s arm tight around her waist, “and I have to say this one is now my all-time favorite.”
Kerry was one of the top wedding planners on the West Coast—and though Adam had once sworn he’d never fall in love and get married, Mary knew he’d move mountains for his fiancée.
“Let’s head into the house.” Adam grinned as he added, “Hopefully, there’s still time to convince them to name the new baby after one of us.”
Ethan Sullivan, another of Jack’s brothers, moved beside Mary and William. “You really know how to put on a wedding.” Ethan had settled in Maine several decades ago and had six great kids of his own. Mary’s kids always loved hanging out with their East Coast cousins whenever they could get together.
Mary grinned at Ethan, then William. “I hope both of you are taking notes. Because something tells me you’re both going to be in the thick of it in the not-so-distant future.”
She barely managed to hold back her laughter at the look Jack’s brothers gave each other—something akin to panic on their handsome faces.
“We’re still a long way off,” Ethan said.
“So are we,” William agreed.
This time, Mary didn’t bother to contain her laughter. “Famous last words.”
She turned to look at their big, wonderful family. Sullivans had come from every corner of the world to celebrate today’s double wedding. Mary didn’t know who would be the next to find love. All she knew was that when true love came for each of her nieces and nephews in New York and Maine, even if the road to forever wasn’t always an easy one, finding the person they were meant to be with would definitely change their lives in the best possible ways.
And even though she couldn’t help but tease her brothers-in-law, she knew they’d both do great. Because they loved their children with everything they were.
Lori and Grayson moved into the group. “Isn’t this great?” Lori said. “We’ve never had a baby born at a wedding before.” She smiled at Mary. “I wonder where we’ll be when ours is ready to pop?”
Mary held her breath as she looked from her daughter to her son-in-law. “Are you…”
Lori threw herself into her mother’s arms. “I am!” She was positively glowing as Mary kissed her cheek and then Grayson’s. After William and Ethan did the same, Lori said, “I didn’t want to take the spotlight off anyone else today, but we just can’t keep the news to ourselves anymore.” Grayson put his arms around her from behind and she held on tight to her husband as she said, “I can’t wait to have a little boy or girl in seven months. Or maybe even both, like Soph.”
At last, Mary finally fell apart. She was just so happy. Overjoyed from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. There were more hugs, and more tears of joy, and she’d barely managed to dry her tears when Dylan burst through the patio doors.
“We have a new baby boy!” Cheers went up from the guests as Dylan scooped up Mason from where he was playing jacks with Tatiana and Ian. “Let’s go meet your new brother. His name is Aaron.”
With new tears in her eyes, Mary took William’s and Ethan’s hands. “What do you say we go celebrate on the dance floor?”
New marriages. New life. Family laughing and celebrating together in the Napa Valley sunshine.
It truly had been the best wedding ever.
And, she thought with a smile, she couldn’t wait until the next one…
* * * * *
~ A special THANK YOU from Bella Andre ~
If you are already a fan of the Sullivans, I hope you loved getting to be a part of the double-wedding magic and reconnecting with all your favorites! If you are just getting started with the series, you can find out how Zach and Heather first found love in IF YOU WERE MINE and learn more about Ryan and Vicki’s love story in LET ME BE THE ONE.
As a special bonus, I’ve put together a behind-the-scenes look at what inspired me to first write about the Sullivans—and why I plan to keep writing about them for as long as I possibly can! Just to go www.BellaAndre.com/Secret to find out more.
Now that the San Francisco and Seattle Sullivans have all found love, it’s time for their cousins in New York and Maine to find love too! Drake Sullivan kicks off the New York branch with NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU and his sister, Suzanne, will be next in SINCE I FELL FOR YOU!
Thank you for reading my books and for sending me such lovely emails and comments online. Knowing that you love my Sullivans as much as I do means everything to me!
~ Bella Andre ~
* * * * *
For news on upcoming books, sign up for Bella Andre’s New Release Newsletter:
BellaAndre.com/Newsletter
* *
*
Don’t miss Drake Sullivan’s book – NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU (New York Sullivans, Book 1) —and Suzanne Sullivan’s book – SINCE I FELL FOR YOU (New York Sullivans, Book 2).
Please sign up for Bella’s New Release Newsletter (www.BellaAndre.com/Newsletter) so that she can let you know as soon as her new books are released!
* * *
* * *
The following books in Bella Andre’s New York Times & USA Today bestselling series about The Sullivans are out now!
THE LOOK OF LOVE
(Chase & Chloe)
FROM THIS MOMENT ON
(Marcus & Nicola)
CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE
(Gabe & Megan)
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
(Sophie & Jake)
IF YOU WERE MINE
(Zach & Heather)
LET ME BE THE ONE
(Ryan & Vicki)
COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER
(Smith & Valentina)
ALWAYS ON MY MIND
(Lori & Grayson)
KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE
(Mary & Jack Sullivan)
ONE PERFECT NIGHT
(A novella guest starring Mia Sullivan and Rafe Sullivan)
THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
(Rafe & Brooke, The Seattle Sullivans)
IT MUST BE YOUR LOVE
(Mia & Ford, The Seattle Sullivans)
JUST TO BE WITH YOU
(Ian & Tatiana, The Seattle Sullivans)
I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME
(Dylan’s story, The Seattle Sullivans)
ALL I EVER NEED IS YOU
(Adam & Kerry, The Seattle Sullivans)
NOW THAT I’VE FOUND YOU
(Drake & Rose, The New York Sullivans)
* * *
Click here to download a Sullivan Family Tree!
* * *
Please enjoy the following excerpt from THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (Rafe Sullivan’s story), the first Seattle Sullivan book…
As a very successful private investigator who has caught most of the cheaters in Seattle with their pants down, Rafe Sullivan believes true, lasting love only happens once in a blue moon. Needing to get away from the city to clear his head, he finds the lake house where he spent the best summers of his life is now a wreck…but the sweet girl next door is all grown up and prettier than anything he’s ever seen.
While Brooke Jansen is happy making and selling chocolate truffles in her small Pacific Northwest lake town, she secretly longs to experience something wild. So when her favorite “Wild Sullivan” moves in again next door after more than a decade away, and sparks fly between them, she can’t stop wondering if being bad is really as good as it always seemed…and just how long it will be before she can find out.
But when their summer fling quickly spirals into deeper emotions than either of them were expecting, can they survive the heat between them? Or will Rafe make the biggest mistake of his life and end up losing the best thing that’s ever happened to him?
Enjoy the following excerpt from THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT…
A lone man had just ridden up on his motorcycle, the ends of his dark hair whipping out from beneath his helmet.
Now that, thought Brooke with immediate female appreciation, is what wild and free looks like.
Her parents had taught her it wasn’t polite to stare, but she couldn’t remember why that admonition mattered as she watched the man pull off his helmet and run a large hand through his hair. She couldn’t see his face yet, but she didn’t need to see his features to know just how good-looking he was. His shoulders were incredibly broad, and even from a distance she could see how big—and how capable—his hands were where he gripped the handlebars.
She was so busy reeling from a blast of pure lust for the stranger as he stepped away from his motorcycle that it took her a moment longer than it should have to realize that he wasn’t a stranger after all.
“Rafe?” His name came out as little more than a stunned whisper. “Is that really you?”
Her question was loud enough that he finally turned to face her. Only, instead of responding, he didn’t say a word, didn’t even move.
All he did was stare, but it was okay, because she was busy staring right back.
People often said memories made things sweeter than they actually were. But Brooke now knew that wasn’t true at all. Not only had she not embellished how good-looking Rafe Sullivan was over the years that they’d been apart but, if anything, her recollections had sorely underplayed just how gorgeous he truly was.
His hair was dark and just a little too long, his skin was tanned, his jaw was dark with stubble, and he was so big and tall that she knew she’d have to stand on her tippy-toes and wrap her arms around his neck to kiss him.
The thought of doing something like that had her body instantly going warm all over despite the cool breeze. She’d been little more than a baby the first time she remembered setting eyes on Rafe, but even then, he’d stood out from the rest of his siblings as more fun. More daring. And infinitely more beautiful.
When he still didn’t say anything, she took a step in his direction. “It’s me, Rafe. Brooke Jansen. Remember?”
Finally, the intensity of his dark gaze shifted into one of recognition. “Little Brooke,” he said in a low voice that rippled over her, “how could I forget you?”
She had spent far too many years squashing her wild impulses. But following a wild impulse wasn’t what sent her straight into the arms of her favorite Sullivan without a second thought. It was pure happiness at finally seeing him again.
He caught her against his chest as she hugged him tight. He smelled so good, and the bare patch of skin above his T-shirt was so warm despite the cool evening air that she couldn’t resist burying her face against him. As she held on tight, she felt safer than she had in years. She’d lost too many of her favorite people from childhood, and was infinitely grateful to be given the precious gift of one of them back in her life.
She might have held on to him like that forever if it hadn’t been for her sudden realization of just how good his hard, heated muscles felt against her cold, wet, nearly bare skin.
The little girl inside her had thrown herself into his arms…but it was the woman she’d become who wanted to move even closer.
When she was eight years old, the crush she’d had on Rafe was sweet. Innocent. But what she was feeling now was decidedly not sweet.
Nor was it anywhere close to innocent.
Wild. The thought—no, it was more desire and pure need than it was a cognizant thought—came at her in an instant: I want to be wild with Rafe Sullivan.
Excerpt from THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT by Bella Andre © 2015
Buy THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
* * *
Please also enjoy the following excerpt from the first San Francisco Sullivan book, THE LOOK OF LOVE
Chloe Peterson is having a bad night. A really bad night. The large bruise on her cheek can attest to that. And when her car skids off the side of a wet country road straight into a ditch, she’s convinced even the gorgeous guy who rescues her in the middle of the rain storm must be too good to be true. Or is he?
As a successful photographer who frequently travels around the world, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women, and whenever he’s home in San Francisco, one of his seven siblings is usually up for causing a little fun trouble. Chase thinks his life is great just as it is—until the night he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley. Not only has Chase never met anyone so lovely, both inside and out, but he quickly realizes Chloe has much bigger problems than her damaged car. Soon, Chase is willing to move mountains to love—and protect—her, but will Chloe let him?
Enjoy the following excerpt from THE LOOK OF LOVE…
Chase almost missed the flickering light off on the right side of the two-lane country road. In the past thirty minutes, he hadn’t passed a single car, because on a night like this, most sane Ca
lifornians—who didn’t know the first thing about driving safely in inclement weather—stayed home.
Knowing better than to slam on the brakes—he wouldn’t be able to help whomever was stranded on the side of the road if he ended up stuck in the muddy ditch right next to them—Chase slowed down enough to see that there was definitely a vehicle stuck in the ditch.
He turned his brights on to see better in the pouring rain and realized there was a person walking along the edge of the road about a hundred yards up ahead. Obviously hearing his car approach, she turned to face him, and he could see her long wet hair whipping around her shoulders in his headlights.
Wondering why she wasn’t just sitting in her car, dry and warm, calling Triple A and waiting for them to come save her, he pulled over to the edge of his lane and got out to try to help her. She was shivering as she watched him approach.
“Are you hurt?”
She covered her cheek with one hand, but shook her head. “No.”
He had to move closer to hear her over the sound of the water hitting the pavement in what were rapidly becoming hailstones. Even though he’d turned his headlights off, as his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, he was able to get a better look at her face.
Something inside of Chase’s chest clenched tight.
Despite the long, dark hair plastered to her head and chest, regardless of the fact that looking like a drowned rat wasn’t too far off the descriptive mark, her beauty stunned him.
In an instant, his photographer’s eye cataloged her features. Her mouth was a little too big, her eyes a little too wide-set on her face. She wasn’t even close to model thin, but given the way her T-shirt and jeans stuck to her skin, he could see that she wore her lush curves well. In the dark he couldn’t judge the exact color of her hair, but it looked like silk, perfectly smooth and straight where it lay over her breasts.
It wasn’t until Chase heard her say, “My car is definitely hurt, though,” that he realized he had completely lost the thread of what he’d come out here to do.
Knowing he’d been drinking her in like he was dying of thirst, he worked to recover his balance. He could already see he’d been right about her car. It didn’t take a mechanic like his brother Zach, who owned an auto shop—more like forty, but Chase had stopped counting years ago—to see that her shitty hatchback was borderline totaled. Even if the front bumper wasn’t half-smashed to pieces by the white farm fence she’d slid into, her bald tires weren’t going to get any traction on the mud. Not tonight, anyway.
