If You Were Mine (The Sullivans #5)(66)

“I’m fine,” she told him in the same firm, no-nonsense voice that she used with particularly rambunctious dogs when they needed to know she was not in the mood to play.

Of course, the truth was that she was always in the mood to play with Zach.

And, unfortunately, he knew it.

For all his teasing, she thought he seemed a little tense. As if he didn’t really want to do this race.

Maybe, she actually found herself thinking, it wouldn’t be so bad to find a private spot behind the stands where they could relax each other. Thankfully, before she could give into the insanity that Zach’s hands and mouth always inspired, Lori called out to them from the stands.

“Saved by a brat,” he muttered as she made a beeline toward his firefighter brother who had given him Cuddles. “Gabe, Megan, Summer, this is Heather.”

She smiled at the couple and the pretty girl between them, but before she could even say hello or ask them how their trip to Europe had been, Zach said, “You can’t have Cuddles back.”

Heather’s gaze shot to the little girl, worried about how she’d take the news. But instead of getting upset, Summer gave Zach a smile so smug, it might have actually out-smugged him at his worst.

“I knew you’d love her!” Summer said as she threw her arms around Zach’s waist. “When we saw her with all the other puppies, I knew right away that she was just what you needed so you’d smile more and be happier.”

Zach frowned as he looked from the top of Summer’s blonde head to his brother’s smirk. “I was set up.”

“It was like taking candy from a baby.”

This was the kind of family Heather had often wished she belonged to. One where even the tricks they played on each other came from the heart.

Then again, Heather’s version of the perfect family hadn’t included a movie star. Her friend Brenda would die right now. Because Smith looked just like he had last week on the big screen. Only better.

Zach slid his arm around Heather’s waist and pulled her tightly against him. So tightly that it almost felt like she was wearing a corset.

“Smith, this is Heather.”

Smith Sullivan gave her the smile that she was sure had melted a million panties. Interestingly, hers were fine. Well, they would be fine, if only Zach would stop rubbing his fingertips against the underside of her breast.

She tried to shift out of Zach’s arms but he only held her tighter. He was always possessive, but for some reason, today he was taking it to a whole new level.

As Smith’s hand curled around hers and he said a low, “Hello,” she felt Zach tense against her.

Wait a minute, did he actually think his movie-star brother would be interested in her?

Ryan appeared next to Smith and grinned at her. “Great to see you again, Heather.”

Just like Zach, Ryan was the picture of good-looking charm. But that was where the similarities ended. Where Zach thrived on his sarcastic edge, Ryan was all laid-back ease. She could see why women fell for him, beyond being impressed with his skill on the pitcher’s mound.

Smith nodded toward the track. “Looks like they’re ready for you down there, Z.”

Ryan grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of Heather.”

Zach’s jaw clenched. “Don’t flirt with her.”

Had they forgotten she was still there? She was just about to remind them, when Zach’s hands were in her hair and his mouth was on hers and he was kissing all the breath from her lungs.

And then he was gone, leaving her to gasp for air in the middle of a half-dozen Sullivans, all of whom were grinning at her.

“Come, sit with me,” Smith said, leading her to one of the padded folding seats out on the bleachers. Ryan snagged the seat next to her and her butt had barely hit the seat when Zach’s two famous, single brothers started flirting.

Big time.

* * *

Photographers were out in droves to catch the pro race car drivers who’d come out in support of the San Francisco food bank. Zach figured he only had to put up with their flashbulbs until they caught wind of Smith in the stands.

Barry Jones made a crack about getting a run on him in turn two, but Zach didn’t have a comeback for him. Not when he was too busy staring up at the bleachers to make sure his brothers didn’t try anything with Heather.

He trusted her, of course. It was Smith and Ryan he was going to kill if he saw even one picture come out with their hands anywhere on her.

Zach slammed his helmet on and pushed through the other drivers to get into his car. He’d worked with this crew enough to skip the pre-race speech. He hadn’t wanted to do this damn race, but he was a man of his word and had to make good on it.

The race started and he drove like a man possessed. Not just to win, but because he wanted to get the race done, then take Heather back to bed, where it was just the two of them. Where nothing mattered but her laughter, her sweet little sounds of pleasure.

The sound of metal against metal came first, a split second before it slammed through his body.

Damn it, he thought as the car started spinning, he’d known his luck was going to run out one day, but he hadn’t thought it’d be this soon. Or that it would end like this. He’d always figured on having an aneurism like his father, had believed every headache was one step closer to the inevitable.

Zach’s brain and body went into the autopilot that any racer worth his shit immediately shot to in a crash. His hands worked the wheel. His feet worked the brakes and clutch. But as the colors all around him spun together, and his brain and body followed the do-or-die instructions his crew were yelling at him through his earpiece, his heart remained with Heather.