Author: Bella Andre

It was a perfect day out, full of bright sunshine and blue skies with soft clouds moving slowly overhead. Even better, dogs were absolutely everywhere. How could she not have a good time?

She sighed as she scanned the signs for the section her seat was in. For the past couple of days she’d been dragging. Sleep was hard won and even her favorite chocolate truffles had lost their appeal. She’d been putting in double time between the office and the finishing touches on the fundraisers, but her output wasn’t even close to half as good as it had been the week before.

Maybe she was coming down with a summer flu. Or maybe her friends were right and she was working too hard.

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Another sigh followed the first as the childish phrase played on repeat in her head. She knew exactly why she was bumming out.

She missed him.

Somehow, Zach Sullivan had wormed his way into her head. She didn’t regret giving her time to the animal shelter, but on Thursday at 5 p.m. when she’d been down at their headquarters working out the final details for tonight’s event and Saturday night’s auction and party, there was somewhere else she had wanted to be.

Joking with Zach. Laughing with Zach. Being impressed by how well he worked with his temporary puppy.

Finally finding the right section, she and Atlas navigated their way down the stairs past the other dogs. There were six empty seats in her row, and as she took hers, she looked up and realized she really was in the best seat in the house, right behind home plate.

Firmly reminding herself that this was her chance to relax and enjoy herself for a few hours, she closed her eyes to lean back in her seat and soak up some sun, when Atlas started quaking and shivering. Not the bad kind where he was scared, but with pure excitement.

It was the way he acted whenever Cuddles was—

“Great night for a baseball game, isn’t it?”

As the low voice she hadn’t been able to get out of her dreams rolled over her, through her, finally settling deep down in her fluttering belly, Cuddles and Atlas had an ecstatic reunion before beginning to happily root around on the cement for remnants of smashed hot dogs and popcorn.

In a millisecond she went from dragging and tired to abundantly alive. At the same time, her unstoppable pleasure at seeing Zach made her mad.

Mad at herself for not having any self-control, even though she knew better. And mad at him for outmaneuvering her time and time again. Because all the things that hadn’t made sense about her ticket upgrade, suddenly did.

“I can’t believe I forgot—your brother plays for the Hawks, doesn’t he?”

Zach settled into the seat next to her. Too close. Close enough that she could feel the heat of his thigh against hers. Why had she worn shorts instead of jeans?

“I’ll introduce you to Ryan after the game.”

She ignored the offer. “You switched my tickets, didn’t you?”

He grinned at her, actually had the nerve to look proud of himself as he leaned closer and lowered his voice, his breath warm and far too seductive by her ear as he said, “You’re welcome.”

She rolled her eyes. “Most people wait to hear the words ‘thank you’ first.”

Just then, a beautiful pregnant woman stopped at their row and said, “Zach, what are you doing here?”

* * *

Damn it, thought Zach, his sister Sophie had told him they were planning on skipping this game because they had to deal with one of Jake’s out-of-town pubs.

Sophie’s husband, Jake, quickly zeroed in on Heather before looking back at Zach with a clearly amused expression on his face. “Isn’t this one of the biggest NASCAR races of the year? Never thought you’d miss one of those.”

It was, but Zach had barely given it a second thought when he’d bailed after Wednesday night’s dinner with Heather. Sullivan Autos sponsored one of the racers, but his staff could handle the event.

“Heather, this is my sister Sophie. And Jake.”

His old friend pulled Sophie closer and clarified in a possessive voice, “I’m Sophie’s husband.”

Heather stood up to say, “It’s so nice to meet you,” but as she reached out to shake their hands, Atlas decided to make his move on a popcorn seller who was almost within reach.

Sophie gasped as Heather’s feet were yanked out from under her by her oversized mutt. All three of them reached for her, but Zach got to her first, pulling her down onto his lap before she could hit the cement.

Pleasure shot through him as she instinctively wound her arms around his neck and breathlessly gazed into his eyes. “You keep saving me,” she said softly enough that he was the only one who could hear.

Eighty thousand people and their dogs ceased to exist as her warm curves shifted against him. He was stunned all over again at how beautiful she was with her hair falling out of her braid, in a long-sleeved T-shirt and shorts that shouldn’t have done anything to showcase her figure, but managed to all the same.

“You’re welcome.”

This time, instead of forcing herself to remain irritated with him, she let herself give in to a smile.

It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Thank you.” Another small smile before she frowned. “I don’t know what’s come over Atlas lately. Maybe it’s the puppy energy rubbing off on him.”

Hell, thought Zach, forget her dog. What had come over him? It was one thing to enjoy the feel of her curves pressing against him because she was a beautiful woman.

It was another entirely to want to hold her just because.

Unfortunately, Heather obviously remembered that they had an audience as she too quickly pushed out of his lap. He was impressed with how well she played off what could have been an awkward moment by joking with Sophie and Jake about the dangers of owning a dog who was twice as big as she was.

Zach almost groaned at the fact that he and Heather were going to be on display for the next two and a half hours. Sure, his siblings were used to seeing him with women. Lots of women. What they weren’t used to, however, was seeing him with a woman like Heather.

As soon as they realized the two of them weren’t sleeping together yet, there were going to be questions.

And if they realized that he actually liked her, the questions might never run out.

He’d never told his brothers or sisters about the way he felt about his father’s death, or the impact it had made on his life and his beliefs about his future.

He didn’t want to start having to explain now.

Fortunately, his sister and her new husband were pretty wrapped up in each other. Just as long as only one of the twins came today, he’d live through—

“Yay, it’s a party! Scoot over.”

Damn it. Lori had come, too.

It was turning into a Sullivan family reunion at the baseball stadium.

He scowled at the new arrival. “Aren’t you supposed to be on tour with Nicola right now?”

His other little sister gave him an evil smile, the one she’d patented by the time she could speak her first word. Clearly, she’d not only seen Heather sprawled across his lap as she walked into the stadium...but she’d likely seen the way he’d been looking at her, too.

“We’re on break for a few days and I haven’t caught one of Ryan’s games yet this season.” She leaned over him and held out her hand to Heather. “Hi, I’m Zach’s other sister. It is so nice to meet you.”

“Great to meet you too,” Heather said as she shook his sister’s hand. “I’m Heather. And this is Atlas.”

Lori’s eyes lit up as she cooed over Heather’s huge dog. “Oh my God, he’s gorgeous!”

Atlas shoved past Zach to get to his sister, with Cuddles only a beat behind.

“I think the feeling is mutual,” Heather said, laughing as Lori encouraged both dogs to jump up on her lap at the same time.

His hopes that the dogs would save him from his sister’s prying were dashed when she simultaneously patted them and asked, “So, how do you two know each other?”

“I’m working with your brother to train Cuddles.”

“Boy, that must be a pain in the butt, huh?”

Heather frowned. “No. Of course not. Cuddles is incredibly smart and receptive to positive reinforcement.”

Lori laughed. “I’m not talking about Summer’s puppy. I’m talking about Zach.”

Heather’s eyes widened for a moment before she threw her head back and laughed. “You have no idea. No idea at all.”

Chapter Twelve

Heather couldn’t help spending more time watching Zach interact with his sisters than she did the game. And she loved seeing him on the wrong foot for once, even if was just from his momentary surprise at seeing them there.

At the same time, however, he was as enamored of them as he was annoyed by the way they poked and prodded at him as all good little sisters must. Through it all, she could feel his protectiveness toward them simmering just beneath the surface.

Just as he’d said, he would take a bullet for them without blinking an eye. He kept asking Sophie, who was pregnant with twins, how she was feeling. Finally, his sister had snapped, “Next time I see the doctor, I’m going to send you her report so you’ll believe I’m fine.”

Zach had actually looked serious as he’d said, “That’d be great, Soph.”

Sophie’s husband muttered, “That’s never going to happen.”

No wonder Zach was so confident. It wasn’t just his looks, it was all that unconditional love from his family.

A family who actually understood what love was.

Envy stole through her as she imagined what it must have been like to grow up in a family like his. She hoped he knew how lucky he was.

After the fourth inning, Lori called out for popcorn for everyone. Zach grumbled and reached for his wallet when Lori said, “This one’s on me.”

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Feeling generous today, Naughty?”

Heather had to grin at the nickname. It definitely seemed to fit the sister sitting beside him.

“I just figured I should get some celebrating done early,” Lori said.

“What are we celebrating, Ryan’s impending shut-out?” Sophie asked as she took a bag of hot popcorn.

Lori pinned Zach with a knowing glance and a wicked grin. “Zach knows what we’re celebrating, don’t you, big brother? See, when you guys got married, we made this bet about who would be the first to fall—”

Zach abruptly stood up and grabbed the dogs’ leashes. “The dogs need to take care of business. You coming?” he asked Heather.

“I think you’ve got this one,” she told him. “Oh, and don’t forget these.” She handed him a couple of blue plastic bags.

He looked at them with disgust before taking them with a scowl, scooping up Cuddles and dragging Atlas up the stairs. After Jake got up to join Zach and the dogs, Lori scooted over onto Zach’s seat beside her.

“How long have you and Zach been dating?”

Heather choked on the piece of popcorn she’d just swallowed and had to quickly take a sip of lukewarm lemonade to wash it down. “We’re not dating. I’m just helping him train Cuddles.”

Lori looked terribly disappointed. So, Heather noticed, did her twin.

“Seriously? You’re not together?”

Why hadn’t she gone with Zach to take the dogs outside?

And what was with these Sullivans who always said the first thing that popped into their heads?

“No, we’re not,” she told Zach’s sister, but she flushed as she thought about all of his double entendres, the way he’d kissed her cheek, her hand. And how much fun she had with him, the way he made her laugh even when she should have been scowling.

“Darn it. You’re beyond perfect for him, isn’t she, Soph?”