Love made all the difference...and meant so much more than money, or success, or fame ever had. But he wasn’t going to waste his breath explaining that to his cousins. Not when it would be so much more fun to let them suffer through figuring it out for themselves.

Fortunately, after all the clandestine sex he and Valentina’d had on set, he had the knack of scoping out the perfect spots for their trysts. Not to mention the fact that he knew just how much she secretly loved that tiny threat of discovery, of having to be extra quiet so no one heard them, and especially of knowing what they’d just been doing when everyone else had simply been going about their day.

Of course, he would never let anyone find them, would never let another man or woman ever set eyes on Valentina’s naked body, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get off on fulfilling her secret fantasies.

They’d gone to several industry events together during the past month and with every one, Valentina’s nerves came with less force. Even though Smith liked to think that her confidence mostly had to do with his brilliant distraction technique of making sweet love to her right before they got dressed—and often after, as well—he knew the truth came from her inner strength, and her willingness to do whatever she needed to do to make their relationship work.

The linen room smelled of laundry detergent and was still warm from the dryers that had been recently running. Better yet, it had a lock, and was far enough off the main room that Valentina’s sounds of pleasure would be for his ears only.

As they came together in each other’s arms, clothes stripping off, hands and mouths wandering wherever bare flesh was revealed, even as Smith’s passion for Valentina took him a thousand miles away from movie-star perfect, or from any semblance of control, he knew she was right there with him.

And she always would be.

Epilogue

Lori Sullivan watched the dance floor fill up with her brothers and cousins. Even Sophie and Jake were dancing together with their tiny little twins wrapped in pink and blue blankets between them. Lori had been so busy lately that she didn’t get to see any of them enough, and knew she should be out there on the dance floor with them.

But, for the first time in her life, she didn’t feel like dancing.

She wasn’t at all surprised when her mother moved beside her a moment later and slid a hand around her waist so that they were watching the dancers together. Mary Sullivan had a sixth sense for when her children were happy...and when they were hurting.

Their mother’s unconditional love—knowing that Mary was there for her children, and only them—had been something Lori could always count on. Still, as she turned to take in her mother’s stunning profile, one that had sold many, many magazine covers before she retired from modeling, Lori was caught by the sense that things were changing.

Not only because each and every one of her siblings had found love, but also because even her mother suddenly looked different. Almost glowing.

Could there be a man in her mother’s life?

Lori shook off the silly question. Of course there wasn’t. There never had been, not in all the years since her father had passed away. If Lori hadn’t been feeling so off-kilter, she would never have had such a crazy thought.

Just then, Smith and Valentina emerged from a back door Lori hadn’t noticed, both of them flushed and laughing, their hands linked together as Smith pulled her in for a lingering kiss.

“Aren’t they beautiful together?”

Her mother gave happy little sigh. “Oh yes. So very beautiful.”

Everyone was thrilled with the news that not only were Smith and Valentina engaged, but they would also be working together to produce a film in San Francisco next year based on Alcatraz.

“Not in the mood to dance yet?” her mother asked softly.

“No, not yet.” Her mother could probably see the dark smudges under her eyes even though she’d worked to conceal them with makeup.

“When you were a little girl,” Mary said, as she rubbed small, soothing circles on Lori’s back, “you used to talk all the time. So much that other mothers would shoot me sympathetic looks whenever we were out.” Mary smiled and leaned in closer, close enough that their foreheads touched for a moment. “But I loved it, loved that you wanted to share everything with me.”

Lori could feel the tears coming, knew she could tell her mother anything—anything at all—and Mary wouldn’t judge her.

But she couldn’t. Not yet. Not if there was still a chance that—

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, honey.”

The next thing Lori knew, her hands were full of soft, sweet baby. She looked down into little Jackie’s face, then up into her twin sister’s eyes.

“They wanted their favorite aunt to come dance with them,” Sophie said, as if her infants could say or even think something like that at this stage in their development. But she knew her sister loved her too much to let her stay on the sidelines.

And as Lori and her mother were drawn onto the dance floor, each of them holding a baby in their arms as they moved to the music the wedding band was playing, with her brothers dancing over to tickle a little foot or grasp a small hand, Lori let herself pretend that everything was actually going to work out for her love life, too.

~ THE END ~