From This Moment On (The Sullivans #2)(62)

“That’s not fair,” she protested in a breathless voice.

“I’m not playing fair anymore. I love you too much to stick to the rules.”

And then his hands were in her hair and her arms were around his neck and she was kissing him like she’d been dreaming of kissing him for weeks. If it hadn’t been for the many pairs of eyes burning a hole through them, she would have never stopped kissing him.

Forcing herself to pull away from his lips, she said, “How about I introduce you to my crew?” against his mouth.

“I think they’ve already got a pretty good idea who I am."

She was amazed to find herself laughing with him as they broke apart.

She’d been so careful to make sure she didn’t give anyone—even the road crew she’d grown to trust over the years—any potential ammo to use against her that she’d basically been living like a nun for the past six months.

Now, she had to wonder if the reason she’d cared so much what everyone thought was because it was easier to use the press as an excuse, rather than risk getting hurt again.

But maybe, she was just starting to think, some things were worth the risk.

“I’m going to grab my things off the bus,” she suddenly told Katie, who was standing a few feet away. “Turns out I’ve got a plane to Napa Valley waiting.”

Her tour manager looked between Nicola and Marcus, then nodded her approval. “Just as long as you have her back for her interview at noon in Dallas in two days.”

Grinning, Nicola said, “You guys can work out the schedule while I go get my stuff.” She was halfway out the door when she looked over her shoulder to see Katie and Marcus with their heads together over their smart phones.

But as she walked down the hall toward her tour bus, she knew that kissing Marcus in front of her crew had been the easy part.

He’d told her that her circus life didn’t scare him.

Now he was actually showing her that he meant it.

Unfortunately, the bigger question remained: What would his world think of her? Would they welcome her with open arms the way she was sure her crew was already welcoming Marcus?

Or would her youth and bad reputation hurt Marcus in just the way she feared?

* * *

There were so many things that Nicola knew needed to be said between them as she boarded the private jet, but when Marcus wrapped his arms around her and strapped his seatbelt over them both, she gave in to the warmth of his arms, curling into him the way she always had, with his heart beating against her ear, the feeling of being perfectly safe easing her into a deeper sleep than she’d had in weeks.

* * *

Finally, as Nicola fell asleep against his chest, Marcus let the breath he’d been holding go.

Nicola was back where she belonged. In his arms.

Now all he needed to do was convince her to stay.

This time, by any means necessary...

Chapter Twenty-four

“My God, this is beautiful.”

The sun was rising over the Sullivan Winery and the birds were just coming awake. Nicola laughed softly as a baby blue jay peeked its head up out of its nest to greet them. As they stood on his porch and looked out over the rolling grapevines, Marcus silently thanked his property for putting on its finest show for Nicola.

They’d both slept on the plane and even though it hadn’t been a full night’s rest, he felt more refreshed and alert than he had since Nicola had left San Francisco almost three weeks ago.

“This winery is where you came to heal, isn’t it?”

No one had ever laid it out so clearly to him...or had hit it so directly on the head.

Pulling her closer, he told her, “The first time I ever saw this land was on a high school field trip. It was crazy, but I swore I saw a man who looked like my father working the vines. As soon as I got my driver’s license, I drove up here to look for him again.”

“You weren’t alone, were you?”

“Nope.” He smiled at the woman he loved. “Most of my brothers and sisters crammed into the car with me. I didn’t tell them about what I thought I’d seen, but I knew right then that one day this land would be mine. And that I’d make him proud.”

He watched her swallow, saw her eyes glitter at his story. Her voice was raw, husky, as she asked, “How can you even think of leaving this for days and weeks on end?”

He knew what she was asking, that she didn’t understand why he would want to be with her on the road.

“It’s been twenty-two years since my father died and until you, I never told anyone how hard it was on me to take his place in the family. I never wanted to admit it to myself. And no one dared push me up against the wall on it. I’m sure others saw it. They had to. But I managed to keep them all away."

She had turned to him and he didn’t know if she realized it, but she’d taken his hands and was holding them both over her heart.

“But not you, Nicola. You were shoving your way in from that first moment in the club and no matter how hard I tried to push you away, you never let me keep you out.”

“I’m annoying like that,” she said in a soft voice. “Always pushing in where I don’t belong.”

“I love that you push, that you decide what you want and don’t let anyone get in your way. No wonder your career is shooting through the stratosphere and they want you to come play shows in Timbuktu."