It Must Be Your Love (The Sullivans #11)(65)

“If either of you want to take a few swings at me to get them out of your system,” Ford offered, “I’m game.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she told Ford before turning her glare on her brothers. “I’m sure my overprotective brothers can find it in themselves to trust their sister to have some taste—and to wait to bring home a man until she found one that was worth it. Right, boys?”

Dylan folded first. “I gotta get a beer.” But before he could escape, her father came in with enough cold bottles for everyone.

As Adam downed his first one in a long, clearly irritated gulp, Mia said to Ford, “Let’s go see if my mom needs some help.”

“Mrs. Sullivan,” Ford said as they walked into the kitchen, “everything smells great.”

“Call me Claudia, please.”

Mia couldn’t resist reaching into the salad bowl to pull out a candied walnut. “Here, taste this. She roasts them herself.”

Ford made a sound that told both Mia and her mother just how good he thought the small sugared nut tasted. “Claudia, what can I help with?”

“Why don’t you and Mia finish setting the table?”

One week ago, Mia had called Ford a self-centered egomaniac. Now, she knew there wasn’t one inch of Ford that was a rock star prima donna who expected to sit back and be served. On the contrary, Mia got the sense that he really enjoyed putting the colorful plates and pretty blown-glass tumblers on the table.

Adam scowled as he wandered past, and Mia decided she’d better deal with him before he pushed her so far that she’d have to leap across the dinner table to slug some sense back into him.

“I’ve got that thing in the car for you, Adam.”

“Thing? What thing?” But he followed her out the front door.

“This thing.” She hit his upper arm hard enough that he winced. “That’s for being a jerk to my guest. Up until fifteen minutes ago, you were Ford’s biggest fan.”

“That was before I knew he was screwing around with my sister.”

“Really? You think I’m such a victim that I let guys screw around with me?”

“You know that’s not what I’m saying.”

“Maybe you should try saying it a different way, then.”

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated with the whole unexpected situation. “That guy has the whole world on a silver plate if he wants it.”

“It’s the same for Smith,” she pointed out. “And you don’t treat him like he’s the scum of the earth simply for daring to breathe in your presence.”

Clearly irritated with her logic, he scowled in the direction of the living room. “I grew up with Smith. I don’t know Ford. I don’t know how he treats women.”

She knew she shouldn’t be angry with her brother. Sure, he was totally overbearing in the same way Ian had been at the wedding, but his heart was in the right place. “Give him a chance tonight, Adam. For me. Because I care about him.”

He studied her carefully. “How much do you care, Mia?”

“A lot.” She hadn’t even needed to think about it, hadn’t hesitated. But instead of Adam looking happier, strangely, his frown deepened. “Adam?”

“When you were born I couldn’t believe how little you were. We had always played rough, but with you—”

“You made sure I didn’t get hurt, and I love you for that. But we’re not on the playground anymore, and I don’t think you can control whether or not I get hurt this time.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry I had to slug you. Probably makes you wish you hadn’t taught me such a solid jab, doesn’t it? Because I’m pretty sure that’s going to bruise.”

She was glad to hear him laughing as he followed her back inside.

* * *

“How long have you known Nicola, Ford?”

Mia knew she could count on her mother to break the ice as they all dug into their full plates.

“I caught one of her shows a couple of years ago and was really impressed. As she started to play her guitar I could immediately hear the first chords and lyrics of the song we would write together in my head.” He laughed at himself. “She ended up taking those chords and lyrics and making them a thousand times better, of course. I was honored to be at her wedding.”

“I remember Mary calling me after a family lunch they had in Palo Alto, where Marcus declared his love for Nicola in front of all of them,” Claudia said. “It sounded so sweet.”

Mia could feel Ford’s eyes on her, and because she could read his mind, she shot him a look that said, Don’t you dare, rock star. The answering grin he gave her did nothing whatsoever for her confidence that he wouldn’t pull a Marcus on her. Stuff like that sounded so romantic, but even though she and Adam had had their little chat out front, she wasn’t sure how well he’d deal with Ford making a grand declaration of his feelings in front of them all tonight.

“Your family is great. Even after Mia told me how close you all are, seeing it for myself at the wedding was amazing.” With an easy grin, he turned to her brothers and said, “Adam, Mia told me you work with historic houses. And Dylan, you design sailboats, don’t you?”

Just that quickly, Mia knew there would always be a seat for him at her mother’s table. And as he got Dylan and Adam to start talking despite their rocky start, she was struck by just how well Ford fit into her family...and how much he seemed to thrive on being with them.