Come A Little Bit Closer (The Sullivans #7)(75)

“My God, I think this just might be the worst machine-dispensed coffee I’ve ever had.” A beat later, she was turning her attention back to Valentina.

“Smith is the most driven of all of us,” Lori told her and Valentina knew how extraordinary a statement that was, considering how successful each and every one of the Sullivans was. “I used to think that he was waiting to hit a certain stage of his career before he gave his personal life the same priority. But now I know that wasn’t it.”

Lori smiled at her with such open affection that Valentina felt the tightness in her chest start to fade.

“He was simply waiting for the right woman.” She squeezed Valentina’s hand. “I’m so glad he’s found you.”

* * *

Smith found Sophie and Jake bracing for a contraction when he walked into their room wearing the scrubs the nurse had given him. His heart stopped for a moment as he saw his elegant and soft-spoken sister gritting her teeth and groaning low and long as the pain hit her. Her husband had one hand in hers, the other brushing back the damp hair from her forehead as he whispered encouraging words into her ear.

His mother put her arm around him and said in a low voice, “The anesthesiologist has just been in. Her pain should be lessening soon.”

Smith could barely swallow past the lump in his throat. He couldn’t stand to see his baby sister in pain, even if giving birth was supposed to be the most natural thing in the world. Yes, he and Tatiana had played this out on screen, but pretending to be in labor was very, very different from actually going through it.

Finally, when the contraction finished having its way with her, Sophie looked up through eyes blurred with pain and gave him a weak smile.

“Smith. You’re here.”

He quickly moved to the open seat at her other side. “Of course I am, sweetheart.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and took her hand in his.

Seven months ago, the four of them—Sophie, Jake, his mother, and Smith—had been in another hospital room together. He’d flown in from Australia not just to make sure his sister had come through her emergency surgery in one piece, but also to give a piece of his mind to the man he’d called a friend. The man Smith believed had betrayed them all by seducing his sister.

It hadn’t taken him long, fortunately, to accept the love between Sophie and Jake, and to understand just how long in coming it had been. His mother, it turned out, had always seen it, but then again, when had she ever missed one single thing for any of them? And, of course, Mary Sullivan was the first one Smith had confessed his own feelings to. Because he’d known she’d understand and support him, no matter whom he loved, or how difficult it had been to convince that one precious woman to love him back.

“Yes, I love him,” Valentina had said. And there had never been sweeter words spoken, or ones that touched his heart so deeply. And even if the first time he heard her say those words had been to a bunch of paparazzi, instead of directly to him, he wouldn’t ever want her to take them back.

“How is Valentina?” Sophie asked him as if she could read his mind. She grinned before he could reply and said, “You knew Lori would tell me about the two of you.”

“Amazing,” he told his sister as he thought of the way Valentina had faced the paparazzi and sacrificed herself to their spotlights—for him and for his family—without fear, without hesitation. “She’s absolutely amazing.”

“Oh Smith, I’m so h—”

Her words were cut off by another contraction. Her hand clamped down on his so hard he heard his joints crack at the force of her small, strong fingers wrapped around his much bigger fingers.

Every last ounce of Jake’s concentration was on his wife, and soothing her pain, even though it was clear to Smith that he was barely holding on to his own control. If Smith had any final reservations about his friend’s love for his sister, they were all dispelled as he witnessed Jake’s utter devotion to Sophie.

When the contraction finally passed, and her grip had loosened the slightest bit, she gave them both a watery smile. “I think that one was a little better.”

“You’re doing so great, sweetheart,” Smith told her, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m so proud of you.”

She smiled at him, such a pure sweet smile full of love, and in that moment she was again the quiet little girl he’d always taken special care of, making sure that his louder brothers and sister didn’t run roughshod over her.

But, just as he’d said to Valentina, Sophie was a heck of a lot tougher than people gave her credit for. Tough enough to withstand the pain of yet another contraction as it hit her like a Mack truck.

Smith turned to meet his mother’s eyes and even though he knew she didn’t like seeing her daughter in pain any more than the rest of them, it was clear where Sophie had gotten her strength from. Mary Sullivan looked delicate, and was just as beautiful now as she’d been in her modeling days...but they’d all learned their strength from her.

Looking back at his sister, Smith saw that Sophie’s head was buried in the crook of Jake’s shoulder as she worked to get her breath back between contractions. Smith would always be there for her, but now he finally realized she didn’t need him to protect her from the world anymore.

She had Jake. And Smith knew with utter certainty that her husband would never let any of them down. Especially not the woman who meant absolutely everything to him.