“Tatiana,” Claudia confirmed for her husband, her brain already a half-dozen hopeful steps ahead to another wedding and babies and, most of all, the happiness Ian had always deserved, but had never quite been able to find.

It suddenly occurred to her that if she could have picked out a woman for her son herself, she couldn’t have chosen better. Tatiana would never need Ian’s power or influence to help her achieve success. She would never need his money. All she would ever ask him for was a love that matched her own for him. Granted, that was the one thing Ian didn’t seem to think he had to give. But Claudia was confident that in time, he’d realize the truth of what was in his heart, that there was not only enough love for her and his father and siblings...but endless love for a woman who would finally make his life truly whole.

“She’s very pretty and obviously talented,” Max said in a considering voice, “but do you really think she’s strong enough for Ian?”

Claudia looked toward the door through which Tatiana had just exited. “Something tells me she’s going to end up surprising everyone with just how strong and determined she is. Ian, most of all.”

Max’s arms tightened around his wife. “I hope you’re right.”

“When,” she said with a saucy little grin, “have I ever been wrong?”

Knowing better after several decades of marriage than to answer that one, he simply covered her mouth with his. When the sound of the pasta boiling over forced her out of his arms, both of them knew without a word being said that as soon as dinner was over and the kids all went home, they would be right there in each other’s arms again.

CHAPTER THREE

Ian already had his jacket off, his shirtsleeves rolled up and at least two dozen fire logs moved into the wood shed by the time his brothers tore themselves away from drooling all over Tatiana to come outside to help. They’d pulled in Ford, as well, and soon the four of them were making a serious dent in the wood his parents had had delivered.

He hadn’t had a chance to see Adam or Dylan since he’d been back. They’d both called a couple of times to ask if he was free to grab a beer with them, but he’d been in meetings each time. He’d been looking forward to finally getting to sit down with his brothers tonight in their parents’ house, but when he’d seen Dylan with his hands on Tatiana—and then Adam a couple of minutes later—he’d immediately seen red.

Ian had always been a possessive man, but where Tatiana was concerned he didn’t have one damned thing to be possessive about.

She wasn’t his.

She would never be his.

Hell, if one of his brothers wanted to date her, he should be happy for them both.

His jaw popped hard, and the pain of it had him belatedly realizing that he was clenching his teeth hard enough to break a molar. Damn it, he needed to get his infatuation with Tatiana under control, and fast.

Ian had always been able to calculate sums quickly in his head and could figure out the worth of a risky investment with nearly perfect clarity every single time. But so far, he hadn’t been able to figure out how to stop thinking about a pretty girl.

Out on the driveway when she’d stumbled into his arms, the attraction between them had flared up so fast and so hot that he’d been a heartbeat from dragging her into the woods at the side of his parents’ property so that he could turn that intense attraction into something even hotter. But though this only reinforced his decision not to let her shadow him, knowing he was doing the right thing by keeping his hands off her didn’t do one damned thing to diminish his desperate need for her.

“Heads up!”

Ian dropped the logs in his arms onto the top of the pile and spun around just in time to catch the football before it slammed into his head. He hadn’t played in years, but his muscles and his hands still held enough memory to throw a perfect spiral back to Dylan without so much as blinking. They sent the ball sailing back and forth several satisfying times before Adam suddenly decided to steal the ball from Dylan. He quickly lobbed it back to Ian before Dylan got his revenge by sending his Adam flying on the wet grass.

For a few minutes, as he played football with his brothers on the back lawn, Ian felt like a kid again. Back then there’d been no worries holding any of them back, no concern whatsoever about what the future held, no responsibilities beyond remembering to kick their shoes off outside so they didn’t track mud on the kitchen floor…and hoping there would be enough light left after dinner to pick up their game where they’d left it.

He’d started with those games in the backyard with his brothers and ended up the top high school quarterback in the Pacific Northwest. But though he’d done even better in college, instead of gunning for a contract with the NFL, he’d traded in his football jersey for a three-piece suit and a career in investing. Still, after all these years, he’d never forgotten the rush of throwing for a touchdown. Every time he closed another big deal, he felt that same rush. Running Sullivan Investments might be a hell of a lot different than the pro football career he’d once dreamed of, but the challenge of bringing his best game and the thrill of the win were the same.

Speaking of challenges, Ian was well aware that he hadn’t yet dished any retribution to Ford Vincent for the way he’d screwed around with Mia’s heart for five years. Sure, from everything Mia had told him, it sounded like Ford had gone out of his way to atone for his sins, but just because Ian’s sister had completely forgiven the guy didn’t mean Ian was all the way there himself. Mia hadn’t let Ian tear Ford apart at the wedding, or after, but if he acted quickly enough, she wouldn’t be able to stop him tonight.

With the center of Ford’s chest a perfect target for the football, Ian got ready to let it rip. But a few seconds later, on a curse, he dropped the ball back to his side.

“Mia would be very proud of you for not giving in to the urge. And don’t worry,” Tatiana said as she moved closer and took the football out of his hands, just in case he changed his mind and decided to nail Ford after all, “it will be our secret that you were even thinking of doing it.”

Just then, as his sister came out into the yard and put her arms around Ford’s waist, Ian couldn’t decide what was harder right then: not letting himself turn to drink in Tatiana’s beauty, or keeping his gaze on Ford and Mia while they kissed as if they were alone rather than surrounded by family.

In the end, however, Ian knew it wasn’t really a choice. Not only was he slowly starting to accept that Ford really was treating his sister the way she deserved to be treated, but the woman beside him drew him like no one else ever had. And even if he should have been focusing on protecting his sister and reconnecting with his brothers, Ian hadn’t yet figured out a way to stop himself from losing the thread of anything but Tatiana whenever she was near.

“It was nice of you to help my mother out in the kitchen.”

Tatiana’s answering smile had Ian feeling as though the football had just nailed him in the chest, right in the spot where he’d been so certain nothing would ever be able to touch him again.

“I love your parents. They’re so easy to be with, and to talk to. I can’t imagine how any of you kept anything from your mother when you were kids.”

“It wasn’t easy,” he agreed. And yet, just as he’d kept the finer details of his marriage and divorce from his sister, he hadn’t talked to either his mother or his father about the situation, either. They all loved him, just as much as he loved them, and he knew how badly they all wanted him to fall in love again, to marry again, and hopefully to have kids this time around. There was no one he wanted to disappoint less than his family. So since he couldn’t give them what they most wanted, he believed it was better to keep his own counsel on the reasons his marriage had gone so wrong and why he wouldn’t make the mistake of going that route again.

“I think I may have just shared my biggest secret with your mom, actually.” Tatiana ran a hand over her skirt in what he was starting to realize was a slightly nervous gesture. “And what’s really amazing is that I was only in the kitchen with her for a few minutes.”

As Tatiana stood beside him in his parents’ backyard, so beautiful that she took his breath away, Ian wanted to know all of her secrets. What did she secretly dream of? What did she secretly desire? And were her secret cravings as sensual, as desperate, and as endlessly hungry as his were becoming?

But he couldn’t ask her any of that. He could only say, “If you’re worried that she’ll give away your secret—”

Tatiana shook her head before he could finish reassuring her. “No, I’m not worried about that. Although I’m sure she’ll tell your dad, which is totally fine. In any case, what I really came outside to say was that dinner’s ready. I’ll go tell everyone else.”

He didn’t want to relinquish Tatiana to the attentions of his brothers again. But since he didn’t have anything to give to her, and he was pretty sure his brothers both did, Ian let her walk away from him...and toward them.

* * *

Tatiana found herself seated between Adam and Dylan at the dining room table, with both of them living up to their reputations as master flirts. She couldn’t remember another dinner where she’d laughed so much. Were it not for Ian choosing the seat farthest from her, and remaining almost completely silent during the meal, it would have been the perfect evening.

She was glad she’d stepped into the backyard in time to see Ian playing football with his brothers. She wasn’t at all surprised by his athletic ability. No, she thought with a little shiver of desire, she was absolutely certain that he did everything with both innate grace and strength. It was the joy she’d seen on his face as he played with his brothers that had her needing to put a hand on the French doors to steady herself.

All at once, she’d been able to see it so clearly—the expensive tailored suit gone and in its place, a football jersey streaked with mud and grass stains. She’d wanted to kick off her heels and dash out onto the grass to get in on their game, if only to be a part of Ian’s joy for a few precious moments. She still didn’t have the first clue how she was going to get him to change his mind about letting her shadow him, but she was hopeful that a brilliant idea would come to her soon. It certainly helped, in any case, to know that she had his mother’s seal of approval.

She also loved watching how sweet Mia and Ford were with each other. Every touch, every look they gave each other was laced with love. At the same time, it was clear to Tatiana that while they were a perfect team now, they had both remained unique individuals. Mia was full of her usual spark and sassiness, and Ford was still a brilliant and bold rock star, through and through. Tatiana was encouraged, yet again, that when people were meant to be together, even if they sometimes had a rough road to travel, things worked out in the end the way they were supposed to.

After they’d cleared the dinner plates and moved into the living room to dig into the delicious chocolate truffles that Rafe’s fiancée Brooke had made, Ian’s father walked in carrying a large bottle of champagne.

Standing by the fire where the family dog was snoring contentedly, Max said, “It’s been a heck of a great year for us Sullivans. First, with Rafe and Brooke getting engaged, and then, Mia and Ford finding each other again.” Max gave a warm smile to the man who would become his son-in-law and Mia blew her father a kiss. He popped the champagne cork and poured the fizzing liquid into the glasses Claudia had brought out, waiting until each of them was holding a full glass before raising his. “Tonight, I’d like to make a toast to Ian. We all missed you while you were living in London, and we’re very glad you’re back home.”

Ian hadn’t said much all evening, but even so, it was easy to see just how much he enjoyed being with his family. Now, as he smiled at his mother and father and said, “It’s good to be back,” Tatiana’s heart just about stopped in her chest.