by Bella Andre
What, Mia wondered, had made Marcus decide to do that? Had Nicola given him an ultimatum like Ford had given her, demanding that he choose her over everything else in his life or else she’d leave him, love be damned?
No, Mia thought with a shake of her head as she headed up the crushed-gravel walkway to Marcus’s front door, I can’t imagine Nicola ever doing something like that. Because when you were really in love the way Marcus and Nicola were, you just didn’t hurt the person you loved like that. Instead, what Mia had always thought from watching her own parents’ marriage, was that real love meant you tried to support your partner in any way that you could, while they also did everything they could to support you right back.
That was the kind of man Mia was waiting for. One who put her first at the same time that she put him first, too. A true partnership, rather than a quick flash of heat that was doused at the first drop of rain.
Speaking of great men, when she looked up and saw her brother Ian standing in front of her, she dropped her dress bag onto the gravel and ran into his arms.
“You made it!”
Her oldest brother was living in London running his investment business, and since his past few trips home had been canceled at the last minute, she’d begun to miss him terribly. Of course she loved her other brothers Adam, Rafe, and Dylan, but she’d always had a special relationship with Ian.
His arms were strong and steady around her as his hug lifted her off the ground. “I’ve missed you, little girl.”
He was the only one who could get away with calling her that. Well, there was the way her father called her Pumpkin. But that was it for nicknames that she would tolerate, and only because her father and brother were two of her all-time favorite people on the planet.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she said. “So much. Please tell me you’re going to move back to Seattle soon.”
Normally when she said that, he would shake his head as though there was no chance of his coming back to America. But this time he simply smiled and said, “I’ve got a few things to wrap up in London first.”
Joy shot through her as she immediately forgot her grumpy mood. But as she gave a happy shout while hugging him tight, absolutely thrilled at the thought of having her big brother nearby again, he said, “Don’t say anything to Mom and Dad about it yet. I’d hate for them to be disappointed if my plans change.”
She pulled back to poke him in the chest. “Well, you’d better not disappoint me, either.”
He kissed her on the forehead, then frowned as he finally got a look at the dark smudges beneath her eyes. “I hate not being close enough to watch over you. You’re tired. What’s going on?”
As close as she and Ian were, she couldn’t possibly tell him about Ford. Not if she wanted to keep her big brother out of jail, because he’d surely do terrible things to the rock star if he found out Ford had hurt her in any way.
Fortunately, right then a toddler shot out of the front door, with her mother laughing as she chased her. Mia bent down and scooped up Emma. “Hey cutie, where are you headed in such a hurry?”
Emma giggled at suddenly being weightless, then put her hands on either side of Mia’s cheeks and gave her a wet smooch. Oh, Mia thought as she snuggled the pretty little girl close, it’s going to be so wonderful to spend the weekend with my family. Especially when she’d arrived so off-kilter and now already felt a thousand times better.
Chloe’s face lit up when she saw Mia. “You’re here!” When they hugged, Chloe’s new baby bump pressed between them. “We were waiting to start the party until you arrived.”
Chloe had married Mia’s cousin Chase a couple of years ago, after the two of them had met at this very winery when Chloe had been on the run from her dangerous ex-husband. Chase had been there every step of the way to love her exactly the way she needed to be loved, and Chloe had fallen just as hard for him. Chase was a famous photographer, Chloe was a world-class quilter, and on top of that they were fantastic parents.
“Doesn’t look like Miss Emma was waiting,” Mia teased as she wound one of Emma’s curls around her little finger.
Ian also couldn’t resist stroking her soft hair. For as stern and intimidating as her nearly-a-billionaire brother could seem to strangers, Mia knew what a softie he was for little kids. Given that he’d been such a huge and influential part of his four younger siblings’ lives, she didn’t think it should be such a surprise to people. Being rich and powerful didn’t mean you had to be a total jerk.
Well, except in Ford’s case, where that was exactly what it meant.
When the toddler began to wriggle in Mia’s arms to get back down on the ground and resume her mad dash, Chloe quickly suggested, “Emma, do you want to be the one to officially bring Miss Mia inside so that we can start our girls’ party for Aunt Nicola?”
The little girl’s big eyes lit up. Standing on her own two feet again, she reached up with her little hand to take Mia’s. “Inside.” Her grin showed off her four perfect teeth. “Party!”
And as Mia let little Emma pull her down the path and into the front door with determined steps of her adorably chubby toddler’s legs, she knew everything was going to be okay after all.
Because with her family all around her, how could anything possibly go wrong this weekend?
Chapter Nine
Where most brides-to-be would likely want a really flashy bachelorette party, and despite the fact that Nicola was one of the world’s biggest pop stars and money and location were no object, Marcus’s fiancée clearly didn’t have any interest whatsoever in flashy or crazy. On the contrary, both Nicola and Marcus seemed to be of like mind that mellow was what was on the menu tonight.
Mia laughed when she found out that Marcus was having his “bachelor party” barbecue on the opposite side of his house. She couldn’t think of another couple who had set up their bachelorette and bachelor parties with all of the women on one side of the house and the men on the other. But given the way Nicola disappeared twice in the first thirty minutes, Mia suspected the setup was all about the fact that the bride and groom couldn’t stand to be apart from one another. Especially not on the eve of one of the most important days of their lives, when they were about to make vows of forever to one another.
Mia was sitting next to her cousin Sophie, who had another little Sullivan on her lap. Jackie wasn’t quite at the walking or talking stage, but she’d clearly already had quite a big day, because all she wanted to do was cuddle when Mia asked to hold her. Jackie’s twin brother was at the boys’ barbecue with his father, Jake.
“I can take her back if she’s getting too heavy for you,” Sophie offered when Jackie’s eyes immediately fluttered closed.
But Mia loved the soft weight of the baby on her lap. She wasn’t yet ready for children herself, which was why having so many cousins with kids was so much fun. “You get her all the time. Don’t you dare take her from me tonight,” Mia said as she drew Jackie closer to breathe in her fresh baby smell.
Off mommy duty for a few minutes, Sophie relaxed deeper into the plush outdoor couch they were sitting on together and picked up her glass of wine. The view out over the vines as the sun fell in the sky was pretty darn mind-blowing. It didn’t hurt that a full bottle of Marcus’s finest cabernet was within reach.
“We had such a great time up at the lake with all of you this past summer,” Sophie said. “Jake wants to head up to Seattle to show the kids the Space Needle. And since he refuses to accept that they might still be a little young to remember anything about the trip,” Sophie said with a laugh, “I’d expect us to be knocking on your door any day now.”
When Mia had first heard that her soft-spoken librarian cousin Sophie had hooked up with tattooed Irish pub owner Jake McCann—and had gotten pregnant from a one-night stand, no less—she’d been pretty shocked. Especially since Sophie’s nickname was Nice, and nice girls didn’t usually seduce tattooed bad boys. But though they seemed very different, obviously they were an absolutely pe
rfect fit.
Just as with Nicola and Marcus, Mia had learned from watching her cousins fall in love over the years that love didn’t always make sense on paper. But it didn’t have to. The only people love needed to make sense to were the two people falling for each other.
“Definitely sign me up as your tour guide for the visit. Although,” Mia clarified, “I’m afraid my guide duties won’t include diaper duty.”
“You get used to changing them after a while.”
Mia scrunched up her nose. “Right...you just keep telling yourself that, and maybe one day you’ll actually believe it.”
Her cousin Gabe’s wife, Megan, sat down on a couch facing them. “Believe what?”
“That changing these little beauties,” she pointed at Jackie’s bottom, “isn’t totally gross.”
“I honestly don’t remember, it’s been such a long time since the diaper days with Summer. Funny,” Megan said as she looked down at her about-to-pop-any-second-now stomach, “I thought I was done with all of that after she was finally potty trained. But I never bet on meeting Gabe.”
Seriously, Mia thought as she sat with the girls in the setting Napa Valley sun, there was so much freaking love in the Sullivan family. All of her San Francisco cousins, and her brother Rafe, were either married or engaged. It was fabulous. She was super happy for all of them. And, maybe, just a teensy bit jealous about how perfectly all of their lives were working out.
Especially when hers was such a mess.
Mia was watching Chloe out on the grass holding Emma’s hand while her daughter jumped on a mini-trampoline, when Valentina appeared around the corner. Her fiancé, Smith, was holding her hand, and before he let her go, he pulled her back into him for a lingering kiss. One that had everyone watching from the outdoor couches sighing at how sweet they were together. When Smith finally let Valentina head over to the rest of the girls, he took over trampoline duty with Emma.
Mia’s cousin Smith was one of the world’s biggest movie stars, but he’d never played the star with his family, and Mia often forgot that just the sight of him sent most other women into cardiac arrest. He and Valentina had met when Valentina’s sister, Tatiana, starred in the movie Gravity with him. From what Mia had heard, Valentina had tried her hardest to resist him, but in the end she hadn’t had a chance of keeping her heart safe. Considering the kinds of crazy things Smith had to deal with in Hollywood, it was great that Valentina was such a steady, solid person who wasn’t at all interested in the spotlight.
Valentina had her cell phone to her ear as she walked past the pool onto the patio where everyone was sitting. After a really quick conversation, Mia heard her say, “Sounds great, T—see you soon.” Valentina slipped her phone back into the pocket of her elegant dress. “My sister will be here soon. She says her interview ran a little long, but she’s just about to leave the hotel.”
Mia loved Tatiana Landon. Only in her early twenties, she was an actress on the rise, especially after her star turn with Smith. But somehow, instead of turning into a vapid shell under the harsh spotlights of Hollywood, she remained totally sweet and unaffected.
Valentina looked great in a yellow linen dress that skimmed her curves and floated around her calves. “It’s great to see you again, Mia,” she said before pressing a kiss to sleeping Jackie’s cheek. “I call dibs on the baby for her next nap,” Valentina informed everyone as she grabbed a glass of wine from a circulating waiter and sat down beside Gabe’s wife. “As long as that’s all right with you, Soph.”
“Of course it is,” Sophie said with a smile. “What parent wouldn’t want their kid to have more than a half dozen of the coolest aunts in the world who can’t wait to spend time with her? And speaking of cool, here comes the woman we’re all celebrating.”
Nicola appeared from within the house and came out to the patio. In perfect pop-star fashion, her hair was streaked with light pink and blue, but Mia was amazed at how elegant it looked on her.
“Can I squeeze in?” She shimmied her hips into the space on the couch between Mia and Sophie. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were bright enough that Mia easily guessed she’d just been off on another little meet-up with Marcus.
There were more women laughing together over by the fountain, including Mia’s mother, Nicola’s mother, Brooke, Sophie’s twin Lori, Ryan’s fiancée Vicki, and Zach’s fiancée Heather. Mia knew she’d get a chance to spend time with all of them later, but for right now, this group of women she was sitting with was just the perfect size so that they could all easily talk together.
Nicola was stroking a gentle fingertip back and forth across the bottom of one of baby Jackie’s feet as she gave each woman sitting with her a big smile. “I’m so happy that you’re all here.” Her blue eyes grew damp as she said, “I love having all my favorite women in one place. What do you say we get together like this every weekend?”
“There are certainly enough Sullivan weddings coming up,” Mia said, “that I think we could probably pull it off.”
“There’s so much love everywhere in this family,” Nicola agreed as everyone laughed, “that when I want to write a good breakup song, I end up having to harass my band and dancers to mine whatever messy things are going on in their lives.”
“You could always just call me,” Mia blurted before she realized what she was saying. She’d said it in a joking voice, but of course every pair of eyes landed on her.
“Do tell,” Sophie encouraged.
Mia forced a grin she didn’t completely feel. “You know the story—if he’s bad news, I’ve got to have him.”
Fortunately, instead of digging for more info, Sophie nodded her head. “Boy, do I know what you’re talking about.” She looked at Mia. “Jake had to be one of the biggest players on the planet when I finally decided to seduce him. Talk about bad news.”
“Fortunately,” Mia said, “he was smart enough to appreciate that you were the best thing that ever happened to him.”
Megan raised her wine glass in a toast. “To our men appreciating us.”
As Mia shifted Jackie’s weight slightly in her left arm so that she could lift her glass and clink it with everyone else’s, she noticed that every one of the women she was sitting with had the same happy smile. Wanting to drown the stupid sense of jealousy that they’d all found love when she was as far from it as she could possibly be, Mia took a long drink from her glass.
“I’ve never seen Marcus like this, Nicola,” Sophie said. “He’s always been so calm and steady, but today he was practically bouncing off the walls, he’s so excited about finally getting to marry you.”
Nicola’s skin hadn’t yet lost the flush from her latest secret assignation with Marcus, and now that they were talking about him, the pretty rose color flooded even more deeply into her cheeks. “I’m crazy excited, too. Sometimes—” She stopped and shook her head as if she didn’t quite know how to put everything she was feeling into words. “Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky. I mean, if I hadn’t met him that night at the club, and then if Lori hadn’t been choreographing my video and invited him to watch rehearsals the next day, I would have missed out on the best thing in my life.”
“If not at the club that night, you and Marcus would have met another place, another way,” Valentina said softly, which surprised Mia, because she would have said Valentina was more practical than dreamy. “Smith and I always talk about how the two of us circled each other in the film and TV business for years without ever actually meeting, until my sister was offered the part in Gravity. But I think the reason we didn’t meet until last year is because the timing wasn’t right, and neither of us would have been ready for the other.”
“Or you all could have just followed my example and thrown yourself naked at the guy you’d been wanting your entire life so that you ended up knocked up with twins,” Sophie said with a grin.
The group’s laughter was accompanied by more wine and snacks being passed around. As each fell naturally into conversation
with the person next to her, Nicola shifted to turn her pretty gaze to Mia.
“It’s really great to see you. I wish Marcus and I had had more time in Seattle after the last show to spend some time with you.”
“And what a show it was,” Mia said. “You were amazing. And you have to know how cute Marcus was out in the audience with me. He’s so proud of you.”
“Poor guy has heard these songs a thousand times already, at least.”
“And he’d gladly sign up for another thousand,” Mia said with utter certainty. “But can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” the other woman said. “Anything. Especially if you’ll pass the baby over to me first.”
“Nope, I’m not done getting my cuddles in yet. Besides, Valentina already called dibs on the next lap session.”
“But I’m the one getting married,” Nicola protested. “That should push me up to the top of the dibs list.”
“Nice try,” Mia said as she snuggled Jackie a little closer, “but you’re still going to have to get in line for baby love.”
Nothing could make a person feel better about the world than a soft, warm bundle on her lap breathing evenly in sleep. Unlike her friends, Mia had loved to babysit the little ones when she was a teenager. Sure, sometimes they were fussy, but they were also so darned cute. Kids were yet another thing she and Ford hadn’t talked about during their week together. Yes, she’d fallen in love with him, but clearly there hadn’t been any real foundation to it. Not like yesterday, when he’d talked about kids running through the house she’d showed him.
