Just To Be With You (The Sullivans #12)(72)

“You bet.” Ian found a spot on the rug between the kids, both of them talking over each other as they tried to show him the best way to put together a moving vehicle out of the scratched-up, worn Legos in the plastic box. Between Ian and his brothers, they’d probably had nearly every set of Legos as kids, and soon he was reaching over the dog on his lap into the box to make a spaceship of his own.

“I can’t get these two pieces apart!” Sadie whined, so he put down his own creation and focused on helping her with hers.

The way the little girl went from zero to sixty, from happy to frustrated in the blink of an eye, reminded him of his sister Mia when she’d been little. They hadn’t played much with Legos, but she’d been a whiz at Chutes and Ladders and, when she was a little older, Battleship. Oh yes, he thought with a grin, she’d loved to sink his ships.

He looked up, then, to find Tatiana smiling as she watched the three of them and the puppy play together on the floor. “I should have known making Lego spaceships would be yet another talent of yours,” she teased him.

Her skin was flushed from the steam rising off the pans on the little stove top, the small hairs around her forehead curling even more wildly than the others. A little Lego truck driving up his arm made him turn away, but not before he read with perfect clarity the emotion in her green eyes.

More than once she’d told him she loved him. More than once he’d told her it was impossible, that love couldn’t come that fast. But when she called out to them that bacon and eggs were ready and the kids dashed over to squeeze around the small table, moving behind her to stroke her hair and press a kiss to the top of her head was the most natural thing in the world.

Being here with Tatiana was so simple—board games and splashing in puddles and laughing at old movies. Life hadn’t been this normal or this fun for him since he was a kid. Being with other women had always meant fancy dinners, grand gestures, glittering jewels. And as he watched her help the kids settle with food and orange juice, he was struck by a sudden vision of having a life like this with Tatiana that stretched out past the storm—a life full of fun, laughter, games. She’d make every second joyful.

But just as quickly as that picture formed, he saw another one—a vision where he was too busy with work to enjoy being with her, with their kids. She’d be busy too, with her films, and tensions would surely rise when they both tried—and failed—to carve out anything extra for each other.

A knock sounded on the door and when he got up to answer it, he found a very apologetic brunette on the other side. “Sadie, Jamie, you were supposed to bring the eggs and then turn right around and come home.”

Around a mouthful of eggs and bacon, Jamie said, “They asked us to stay.”

Sadie pointed at the pile of Legos on the floor. “Ian needed us to show him how to build a spaceship.”

“I did. They’re great kids. I’m Ian, by the way, and this is Tatiana.”

The twins’ mother’s eyes went wide as she finally caught sight of Tatiana. “I’m Kelly. It’s so nice to meet you both. And I’m sorry again for the intrusion. Tim thought it would be nice if we dropped off some eggs for you. I thought the kids were back down with the horses, otherwise I would have come looking for them earlier.”

“We really enjoyed them,” Tatiana said with the gentle smile she gave people when she knew they were nervous around her. She gestured to the food. “I’d love it if you could join us.”

“Oh, I really wish I could, but we’ve got to get going to preschool.” The woman flushed even deeper. “I can’t believe I’m asking this, but is there any way I could maybe get a picture with you?”

“Absolutely. In fact, why don’t we do a big family shot together?”

Ian took Kelly’s phone and snapped several pictures with it, then just as he had at the warehouse visit, did the same with Tatiana’s at her request.

The power flickered a couple of times during their impromptu photo shoot and before she and the kids and the puppy left, Kelly said, “Looks like the power might finally go. There are some lanterns just down the stairs if you end up needing them.”

* * *

They’d only just finished washing the dishes when the lights did indeed go out. Ian had already brought the lanterns up and when he turned them on, the room was bathed in a soft glow that made everything seem even more unreal that it already was.

“You were so great with those kids.” Tatiana moved into his arms as though it was the place she was meant to be. “You were concentrating just as hard on those Legos as you do in your meetings dealing with millions of dollars.”

“Building a spaceship is serious business.”

She laughed as she laid her cheek against his chest. There was no music playing in the room, but the sound of the rain hitting the roof had enough of a beat for them to dance to in the kitchen.

“I’ve had a really good time here with you, Ian.”

“So have I.”

And as they danced by the lantern’s light on the old wood floor with the rain falling outside, Ian knew he’d never been this happy in all his life. No amount of money, no amount of power or wealth had ever given him what this beautiful woman always gave so effortlessly, so endlessly.

But even as they danced, he could hear the rain starting to slow.