by Bella Andre
“I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed for Valentine’s Day.” He pulled one of the awful things from the frying pan and held it up.
His wife always took his breath away, but never more than when she was gazing at him with such love in her eyes.
“Oh, Jack, they’re shaped like hearts. That’s so sweet.”
Frustration at all of his grand plans giving way to disaster had him blurting out in full detail just how wrong the morning—and his plans for the rest of the day—had already gone.
Mary threw back her head and laughed. “What a spectacular mess.”
Though he was just starting to see the humor in it himself, he needed her to know the truth. “This was supposed to be the most romantic day of your life.”
Still laughing, she drew him close. “Roses and heart-shaped pancakes and boat rides are all wonderful, and I love the care and thought that you put into today, but do you want to know what I find really romantic?”
He could never think straight when she was in his arms, and it took all the focus he could muster up to answer, “Tell me, Angel.”
“First, there’s the way you bring me coffee in the morning.”
He reminded her, “It’s cold before you can even take your first sip because I can’t keep my hands off you long enough to let you drink it hot.”
“See what I mean? Very romantic,” she said as she nuzzled closer. “And then there’s the way you always give me the best seat at the movies and have them douse the popcorn with butter and salt because you know it’s my favorite guilty pleasure…apart from you.” She gently brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I love the way you always hold my hand when we go for a walk, and how you look at me like you can’t believe I’m yours. And then there’s the fact that every single day we’ve spent together has been the most romantic day of my life.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him, and a breath before her lips met his, she whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
March
Sales of the Pocket Planner had been spectacular during the Christmas holiday and had kept climbing from there. While the press was still interested in Mary and Jack’s fairy-tale love story, lately they’d been even more interested in what his next brilliant invention would be.
Mary loved watching his brain work as he focused intently in his office. Despite his heavy workload, he’d been a wonderfully devoted husband. Still, in the past two months she’d learned that a little seduction could be a very valuable way to help Jack’s synapses click back into gear when he got stuck on a problem.
She was nearly on his lap by the time he looked up and noticed her. For a moment, his eyes remained unfocused, then quickly turned dark and heated with desire.
“Just what I needed,” he murmured as he tugged her onto his lap. “Beautiful inspiration.”
Her short, silky robe slipped open as she wrapped her arms around him. He traced the swell of her breasts with his fingertip. “So pretty.” He leaned in to the curve of her neck and breathed her in. “So sweet.” He pressed his lips to her earlobe. “So soft.”
Mary had come into his office to tempt and tease Jack for a few minutes…but within seconds, he was the one seducing her.
She’d never known husbands and wives could continue to have such naughty sex, but as Jack stripped her robe away completely, lifted her up onto his desk and entered her with one perfect thrust, she quickly—and blissfully—learned otherwise.
“Now, that,” he said as he gathered her close a while later and carried her into their bedroom to continue the seduction started in his office, “is the perfect way to end a workday.”
She pulled him down with her onto the bed and agreed, “Absolutely perfect.”
April
The teddy bear was squashed between Jack and Max as the two men hugged. “Congratulations, Max.”
After Mary congratulated Max, as well, Jack’s brother said, “I can’t wait for the two of you to meet my new little boy.” He looked both exhausted and ecstatic as he took them back into the maternity ward.
As soon as they walked into Claudia’s room, Ian immediately bounded off the bed and into Jack’s arms. “I’m a big brother.”
Jack gave the little boy a smacking kiss on his cute mouth. “Congratulations, Mr. Incredible.”
Ian held his arms out for Mary next. “Baby Adam is little.”
“Yes,” Mary said as she cuddled him, “and he’s perfect, just like his big brother.”
Claudia was glowing with happiness. “I’m so glad you’re both here. We all are.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Jack told her. When Max had called with the news that Claudia was in labor, Allen had offered them his private jet for the flight from San Francisco to Seattle.
Claudia held out the newborn for Jack to cradle, and Adam gazed up at him with big eyes.
“He’s an old soul, isn’t he?”
His sister-in-law nodded as Max settled beside her on the bed and she leaned against him. “That’s why we decided his middle name should be Jack.”
Mary brushed a gentle fingertip across the baby’s cheek, wonder in her eyes. “Adam Jack Sullivan,” she whispered, “you’re a very lucky boy to be born into this extraordinary family.”
Ian tugged her long, dark hair to get her attention. “Me too! I’m a lucky boy, too!”
“We all are,” Jack agreed.
Ethan burst through the door with a flustered—and obviously enamored—nurse hot on his heels.
“I’m sorry, but there are too many of you in here now,” she tried to protest. But when he gave her one of his lady-killer smiles and said, “Please,” she simply turned beet red and fled.
“I hear there’s a new Sullivan.” Ethan held up a bottle of champagne in each hand. “Time to celebrate!”
May
“Can I open my eyes yet?” Mary asked as Jack helped her out of the car. She knew they were going to be spending the weekend in Lake Tahoe, but he’d asked her to close her eyes a few minutes ago so that their final destination at the lake would be a surprise.
“Soon,” he promised.
His deep voice sent the blood racing through her veins. With her eyes closed, she was deliciously aware of the feel of his palm against hers and his clean, masculine scent.
After she’d taken about twenty steps, he said, “Go ahead, open your eyes. Happy birthday, Angel.”
They were standing just at the edge of the lake on a private bay full of pine trees. All of the winter snow had melted by late May, and the lake was a crystal-clear blue. The blue jays were chirping and the sun was making sparkles dance all across the surface of the water.
“What a beautiful spot.” When she turned to give him a kiss, she noticed he had a picnic basket in his hand. The crowds of famous actors and models with whom she’d celebrated her birthdays in previous years had nothing on a quiet picnic in the Tahoe pines with her husband. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
After they were settled on a soft blanket, he said, “I’m thinking we should build the cabin right in this spot.”
She almost dropped the glass of wine he’d just handed her. “Build a cabin? Here?”
His beautiful grin stole her breath, even before he said, “It’s ours, Mary. Every last tree and pinecone and grain of sand.”
Jack knew she didn’t need expensive gifts or extravagant gestures to prove how much he loved her. Just as she knew he didn’t need any of that from her. But sometimes, she decided as she put down her glass then pulled him closer for a very passionate thank-you kiss, extravagant—and decadent—was exactly right.
June
“I know you’ll love California, Mama. Please come stay with us for a while.” Jack moved behind Mary to massage her shoulders as she listened to her mother’s stubborn refusal to get on an airplane for a visit to the United States. Barely holding back her sigh, Mary said, “Give Papa my love.” When she hung up the phone, she l
et the sigh go. “I tried, but she won’t leave home even for a week.”
Clearly sensing her frustration, Jack pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I loved the time we spent in Italy over the holidays. How about you show me how different your town looks in the summer?”
Hope leaped in Mary’s chest even as she said, “But your workload with the new product line—”
“Can wait.”
* * *
A few days later, Jack got to show off just how far his Italian language skills had come as he directed the driver from the airport to Rosciano. Six months ago, Mary had been frightened and wary during this trip. Now, she couldn’t wait to see everyone again.
She flew out of the cab and into her mother’s arms, where she stayed for a long while. Finally, her mother drew back and took a long look at her.
“Love has made you even more beautiful, cara.”
“I’m happy, Mama.” Mary instinctively reached for Jack’s hand. “So happy.”
“Good,” her mother said, then gave a pointed glance at Mary’s still-flat stomach. “But a baby will make you even happier.”
* * *
That evening, after the moon had risen, the air was warm as Mary and Jack climbed hand in hand to the top of a hill high above town.
“Your mother was quite eloquent today as she explained how I can be a truly good son-in-law by providing her with many strong grandsons and beautiful granddaughters. Although,” he said with a grin, “she speaks pretty quickly and my Italian still needs work, so I may have filled in the blanks with some ideas of my own.”
Mary had to laugh at her mother’s new focus. Now that she’d had the Christmas wedding she’d always dreamed of for her daughter, Lucia Ferrer was ready for her next big dream to come true: grandchildren. Maybe, just maybe, Mary hoped, a newborn baby would convince her mother to finally make the trip to California.
“I can’t wait to hear what the two of you came up with,” she said.
At which point Jack brushed the hair away from one ear and began to whisper his own incredibly naughty plans for the two of them…in perfect Italian.
July
Jack always felt like a kid again on his birthday. For weeks beforehand, whenever he talked about the big day, Mary smiled in a secretive way and zipped her lips shut with her fingers. Or, if she’d been on the phone with his mother and he’d walked into the room, she’d abruptly say goodbye and hang up.
“You’re planning something for my birthday, aren’t you?” he’d asked.
“Yes,” she’d replied, instead of denying it, “your mother was telling me how to make your favorite cake.”
He’d tried to get the other details out of her in the best way he knew how, but even his seductive powers of persuasion couldn’t get her to spill the beans.
Finally, on the morning of his birthday, she gave him the tickets to Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, a world-class track only ninety minutes from their house.
Most people were surprised when they found out about Jack’s love of race cars but not Mary. She’d simply nodded as if the final puzzle piece had slipped into place, saying, “I always knew there was something dangerous about you.”
Jack loved everything about the racetrack. The smell of fresh burning rubber in the hot summer sun. The thrill of watching the cars zip by in the blink of an eye. The amazing skill of the drivers going more than two hundred miles an hour.
He’d never thought to share his love of racing with his wife, but as soon as she’d given him the tickets, he found out she’d practically grown up at the Italian Grand Prix with her father, who had taught her to love the sport.
“Speed. Danger. The thrill of victory.” She was clearly as excited as he was to get to the track. “What’s not to love about it?”
He was walking proudly with his beautiful wife past the gates into the stands, when Mary surprised him yet again by steering them in the opposite direction.
“You didn’t think watching the race was going to be your birthday surprise, did you?”
Wait a minute. Mary couldn’t have possibly arranged for him to—
“Mary! It’s been too long.”
One of racing’s greats, Alvin Rusker, gave Mary a kiss on each cheek.
“I’d like to introduce my husband, Jack Sullivan. Jack, this is Alvin.”
“Ah,” Alvin said as they shook hands, “so you’re the lucky man who managed to steal Mary’s heart.” He grinned at Jack. “Ready to get behind the wheel?”
“Surprise!” Mary said, clearly thrilled with herself for having managed to keep him in the dark about her amazing gift.
Jack barely stopped himself from jumping up and down like a little boy. But before he gave Alvin his answer, Jack had to pull his wife into his arms to kiss her breathless.
Finally, he turned back to Alvin. “Now I’m ready.”
* * *
The track was fast, the car even faster. Every last one of Jack’s boyhood dreams came true as he took lap after lap in one of Alvin’s race cars.
It was the best birthday he’d ever had. One full of speed. Danger.
And the thrill of being in love with the most incredible woman he’d ever known.
August
Mary handed Yvette, Susan and Janeen thick towels to wrap up in during their break out on the beach in San Francisco. “You are doing a fantastic job today. I’m very proud of all of you.”
The girls beamed at her. “Thanks, Mary. And thanks for thinking of us for this commercial.” Janeen was the most excited of all of them as she said, “I can’t believe I’m going to be on TV!”
Georgina called Mary over to take a look at some of the film they’d shot. “How’s this look, boss?”
Mary grinned after she looked the film over. “Fantastic, as always.”
“Well, the way you directed the girls a few minutes ago in the surf was great. This is going to be a top-notch commercial. I take it you’re enjoying consulting with the ad agency?”
“It’s been a really nice challenge,” Mary told her friend. “At first I wondered if I was in over my head, but Jack kept reminding me of the times when I was hired to model and the ad agencies ended up using my conceptual ideas instead of sticking to the storyboards.”
“You definitely married the right guy,” Georgina said. Her eyes lit up as she spotted something over Mary’s shoulder. “He’s not too hard on the eyes, either.”
Mary turned, surprised to see Jack walking across the sand toward them. After the secrecy of their courtship, Mary loved the way he always kissed her hello now, no matter where they were or who they were with.
Her knees were weak by the time he turned to smile at Georgina.
The director gave him a mock glare. “You’re not here to distract my advertising genius, are you, Jack?”
He grinned unrepentantly but promised, “If you let me stay on set, I’ll sit in the background and won’t cause any trouble.”
Of course, when Yvette, Susan and Janeen saw him, they all gathered around for hugs and to pepper him with their recent dating and career news. Mary loved how he’d become so much of a father figure to them.
“Nothing but trouble,” Georgina muttered as she tried to hide her grin, clearly as deep under his spell as the rest of them. “Back to work, everyone, before we lose the light. And you,” she said, pointing at Jack, “sit over there and be good. Or else.”
After dragging Mary against him for one more kiss, he left the commercial set they’d constructed on the beach that morning.
It took her a few moments for her synapses to start firing properly again. “I’m ready whenever you are,” she said to Georgina.
But, instead of getting right back to business, her friend put a hand on her arm. “I’m happy for you, Mary.”
Mary could still feel Jack’s kiss tingling on her lips and his loving gaze on her as she told Georgina, “I am, too. Happier than I ever thought I could be.”
September
“Do you ever think abo
ut what would have happened if we hadn’t met each other last December?”
They were taking a late-evening stroll on the paths through the marshlands near their home. While Jack greatly enjoyed the surprises they gave each other and the many exciting moments they shared together, it was everyday moments like this that he loved best.
Her hand was in his and the sun was still quite high in the summer night sky as he replied, “No, I’ve never wondered that.”
Mary turned to him in obvious surprise. “You haven’t?”
He smiled at his wife, thinking how amazing it was that she grew more beautiful by the day. Love, more than one of their friends had remarked in the past nine months, had given her an even brighter glow than she’d already possessed.
“We were meant to be together. And whether we had met last Christmas or ten years from now, I would have still loved you. Truthfully,” he added as he tugged her into his arms, “the only thing I’m wondering is how long it will take to get back home and get you into bed.”
“Did you know I was the fastest girl on my track team?” She gave him a quick kiss before taking off, running in the direction of their house at a quick clip.
Jack chased after her, laughing—and loving her more and more—every step of the way.
October
Mary and Jack stood at the top of a hill in Napa Valley and looked out over the rolling vineyards. The crush was just starting, and the air was perfumed with the scent of grapes.
“Growing up in Italy, the local winery owners would let us in to crush grapes with our feet in barrels. And then they’d pour the juice into cups for us to drink afterward.” She laughed as she looked down at her feet and added, “Unfortunately, I’m not sure how many of us thought to wash our feet before getting into the barrels.”
