It Must Be Your Love (The Sullivans #11)(35)

Damn it, he’d left her behind with Ford. But when he turned to look back at the storeroom, he didn’t see either of them nearby.

“Why were you and Tatiana together, anyway?” Mia wanted to know.

“She was looking for you.”

He thought he’d been careful to speak about Tatiana with absolutely no inflection, but when Mia shot him a sidelong glance heavy with curiosity, he knew he’d blown it.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she? And so nice I keep forgetting to be awed by what a great actress she is. Hey,” she said when he didn’t immediately respond, “wouldn’t it be amazing if Valentina married Smith and then you and Tatiana—”

“She’s not my type.”

Mia actually laughed at that one. “Are you kidding? She’s everyone’s type. Heck, I’m not the least bit into women, and I can barely keep from drooling over her every time we’re together.” She patted his hand as if he shouldn’t blame himself for already being a lost cause. “I want to see you happy, too, you know.”

With that, she pressed a kiss to his cheek, and left him to go be in the pictures.

* * *

“Any chance you can fill me in on what just happened there?” Ford asked.

Tatiana had a feeling she looked just as shell-shocked as Ford. Not because she’d been particularly stunned to see him and Mia kissing, but because she had wanted to pull Ian Sullivan into some other private room on the property and kiss him just like that.

She’d never felt that kind of electric attraction to anyone before. His eyes were such a deep brown she’d gotten lost in them, even as she’d felt as though he was looking all the way down into her soul. Men had always come a distant second to acting. She rarely dated, and when she did, she often wished she was alone with a script or spending time with her sister. But for the first time in her life, she understood the kind of desire that could drive people to do crazy things...like wanting to head back out into the throngs of wedding guests to find Ian again so that she could give him a kiss that would, hopefully, blow both of their minds.

“Mia’s brother was looking for her.”

“No wonder he looked like he wanted to kill me. I’m surprised he hasn’t come back to tear my heart out through my throat.”

Tatiana felt she should be honest with him. “Actually, based on the way he was acting when he found out you two might be together, I’m kind of surprised, too.”

“I knew I was going to have deal with her brothers soon, anyway. But it’s a small price to pay if she’ll have me.”

Wow, he was going to willingly offer himself up to Ian, Adam, Dylan, and Rafe, who were all tall and full of muscles and had grown up wrestling with each other? Tatiana sighed at how sweet it was that Mia obviously meant that much to him.

“I’m Ford, by the way,” he said as he reached out to shake her hand. “I’ve seen your last couple of films. Great work.”

She smiled at him. “I like your work, too.”

There wasn’t even a speck of attraction between them. Only the immediate bond that she sometimes felt with other people who were also in the public eye. Life for people with their kinds of careers was great in lots of ways, of course, but could be difficult, too, when simple things like going out to get a cup of coffee could be a trial. Sometimes Tatiana felt like a hermit holed up in her house because it was easier to order in than put on makeup and an outfit and do her hair just to go out to pick up some milk.

“I don’t think he’s got anything against you personally,” she said, wanting Ford to understand. “It’s more that he wants to protect his sister against all men.”

“Smart guy.” He took off his hat and left it on a rough wood shelf. “Care to join me in what could very well be my last drink if Ian Sullivan gets a hold of me?”

Laughing, she took the arm he held out to her as they stepped into the very bright sunlight. “I’ve seen you on stage. You’re pretty fast. I think you could outrun him if you really needed to.”

“How about you distract him so I can get a head start? Maybe drag him into a dark corner and kiss him senseless before he realizes I’ve gotten away?”

The deep flush that took over her cheeks instantly gave away just how much she liked that idea.

“Ah,” he said in a gentle voice, “so that’s the way the wind blows.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Ian and I just met last night. And we’ve only spent fifteen minutes together today.”

“Sometimes,” he said very seriously, “fifteen minutes is all it takes for your entire life to change.”

But before he could say anything more, a large group of wedding guests finally realized they had a rock star in their midst, and he was completely surrounded by fans.

Chapter Sixteen

For the next half hour, the photographers took dozens of shots, first of the girls and then the whole family together. Mia had hated knowing how upset Ian was about what he’d seen, but though his nickname for her was little girl, he had to know that she wasn’t one anymore, right?

Of course, it didn’t help that just a few minutes after Mia had made it to the group for pictures, Ford finally emerged from beneath his dark hat. The wedding guests’ excitement began as murmured exclamations of surprise, but soon escalated to the point that Mia was starting to feel like she was in the audience at one of his shows.