“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.

Chapter Twenty-eight

“I’m really glad you brought Ford home to spend some time with us tonight,” Mia’s mother said to her as they walked into the kitchen to heat up the apple pie Claudia had made for dessert. “I like him very much, honey. He seems like a good man.”

Mia loved that her mother didn’t refer to Ford’s talent or his fame. She hadn’t said something like, “Considering how rich and successful he is, he’s a nice man.” Instead, Claudia was looking only at the man he was at his core, and at the way he treated her daughter. There were very few people for whom Ford’s career and bank account wouldn’t matter, but Mia’s mother was one of them.

“Thanks for being so nice to him tonight, Mom. Especially given what a tough crowd Dad and the boys were at first. Ford has never had much of a family, and I think it means a lot to him to be here with all of us tonight.”

“He’s the first man you’ve ever brought home. Even if that didn’t tell me how special he is to you, I would have known from watching the two of you together at the wedding.”

Mia stopped halfway to reaching for a stack of clean forks. “You could tell there was something between us last weekend?”

“You’ve always looked at the men you’ve dated playfully, flirtatiously. They can’t take their eyes off you, but you’ve never had a problem looking away. Ford is the only man I’ve ever seen you with where you couldn’t stop staring right back at him, too. But it’s not just his good looks that draws you to him, is it?”

“No. Although when a guy looks like he does, it’s hard to remember why I should even try to resist him.”

“What do you think will make you happier, honey? Finding a way to keep resisting how you feel about him?” Her mother’s eyes were warm with understanding. “Or giving in to what you feel whenever he’s near?”

It was both a blessing and a curse that her mother seemed to have emotional X-ray vision with her children. On the one hand, it meant she was always there for them, even before they accepted that they needed her support. On the other, it made hiding from the truth downright impossible.

Which, Mia suddenly realized, was why she hadn’t brought Ford home five years ago. Not just because she didn’t want to give up even a few precious hours in his arms, but because even though she’d been head over heels for him, she must have known that neither of them was ready yet to truly love each other. Her father and brothers would have been just as protective as they had been tonight...but her mother would have seen all the rest.

Still, Mia’s mother had never tried to push her one way or another, whether in love or career. Claudia simply supported all her children in whatever direction they chose to go. Even if that direction sometimes ended up being a mistake.

“When he came back into my life a week ago, I thought I knew exactly who he was. But he keeps surprising me in really good ways. I’m happy with him, Mom, so much happier than I can ever remember being. But—” She broke off, not knowing how to put what she was feeling into words. “Why is it that the happier I feel when I’m with him, the more and more scared I get about losing myself in that happiness?”

“I was just as frightened with your father,” her mother said as she stroked Mia’s hair. “I was afraid to let myself love him all the way just in case something went wrong and tore us apart. The truth is, honey, things go wrong all the time, but they go right, too. Finally, I realized that there was no one I’d rather share all those right and wrong times with.”

Claudia’s arms had come around her, and Mia was glad to let herself be held. “I don’t know why I didn’t talk to you about this before now. I should have told you what happened between us five years ago, but I worked so hard to keep it from everyone.”

“If you ask me, it’s perfectly natural that when we feel so much, when our entire world begins to revolve around someone else, that’s when we turn the most into ourselves. We’re sure that no one else can possibly understand what it’s like to love so deeply, aren’t we?”

Over the past few days, Mia had been coming closer and closer to accepting that what she was feeling for Ford was real. And that it could last.

Tonight, she decided, she would finally tell him everything that was in her heart. And she wouldn’t let herself be afraid anymore of the rights and the wrongs, the good and the bad, as long as she had her best friend beside her.

“He needs a family.” Mia’s heart broke all over again when she thought about the man and woman she’d met the day before who were too stupid to know what an amazing son they had in Ford. “He hasn’t been as lucky as I am to have all of you. I so want that for him.” She reached for her mother, needing her to know how much she appreciated the support, the encouragement, and the unconditional love that Claudia had given her since the day she was born. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, honey. And while Ford might not have had a great family to grow up with, he is still a very lucky man.”

“You mean because of his success?”

“No.” Her mother’s eyes were soft with emotion for her youngest. “Because he has not only your friendship, but your love, too. All that’s left is to give him your trust.”

Yes, Mia thought as her mother’s words rang true. Watching him with her family felt like putting the final puzzle piece into place. One that had been an obvious fit all along, but had eluded her until tonight.

Because if she could trust him with her secrets, with her body, and with her family, then she knew she could now trust him with her heart, too.

* * *

Even after the wedding in Napa the previous weekend, where Ford had seen how close the Sullivans were, this family dinner with Mia’s parents and two of her brothers was a revelation. It was all so normal, so easy—from the colorful plates, to the table and chairs Max had built himself, to the gray-muzzled dog snoring on the cushion in the corner. He could see where Mia came by her decorating prowess, particularly when it came to color and family photos on every table and wall. Ford especially loved the pictures of Mia growing up, from a beautiful baby to a cute little girl with pigtails and missing teeth to a knockout teen all dressed up for the prom. He’d already been on the road by the time his own prom had rolled around, and he hadn’t given it a single thought. Now he wondered, what would it have been like to go with a girl like Mia Sullivan on his arm?

But he already knew how great it would have been to be the luckiest guy on the planet...because it was exactly how he felt now, every single second they were together.

Most of all, it struck him just how comfortable the Sullivans were with each other. All throughout dinner there had been so much laughter, friendly debate, and support. In many ways it reminded Ford of the way his crew and band were together while they were touring for months on end.

Struck by the thought, he paused. All this time, he’d thought he didn’t have a family. But had he made one for himself out of other musicians? Only, while he’d shared plenty of beers and nights around the poker table backstage, he’d never truly trusted any of them the way Mia had taught him this week that you trusted a friend.

“You spend a lot of time on the road, don’t you?” Adam asked, the second the door closed behind Mia and her mother.

Ford turned his focus back to Mia’s brother. Nodding, he said, “I’ve spent most of the past decade on the road.”

“How long until you head back out?” Adam had thawed a little during dinner, but he was clearly still prepared to go to the mat for his sister.

“I’ve got plenty to do for the kids’ music camp I’m starting up here in town. I’m not planning to tour again anytime soon.” But he knew what Adam thought, that Ford was just toying with Mia while he was in town. There was only one way to prove to her brothers that he was serious about her. “But the biggest reason I’m not going back out on the road is because I’m hoping to convince your sister to marry me.”

“Marry you?” Adam shot his father and brother a look. Max didn’t look particularly surprised, but Ford wasn’t sure he looked wholly pleased, either. “How well did the two of you know each other five years ago?”

Mia had said again and again that the past didn’t matter anymore, but Ford still planned to spend the rest of his life making it up to her, and to everyone who loved her. “I loved Mia from the first moment I saw her, but I was young and stupid.”

This time Dylan was the one growling, “You cheated on her with some groupie?”

“No. But just because I didn’t cheat on her, doesn’t mean I deserved her.”

Finally, Mia’s father spoke. “What makes you think you deserve to be with my daughter now?”

Ford had assumed Max Sullivan was a great father simply because of how much Mia adored him, and he’d immediately liked the man, but during dinner his respect for Max had only continued to grow. Not only had he raised five great kids, he had also managed to keep the love alive with his wife for nearly four decades.

Ford’s parents had been a terrible example of how to parent and love well. He hoped he’d have many more chances to watch and learn from Max and Claudia.

“I know you think no one will ever be good enough for your daughter. And you’re right—she deserves a better man than me. But I can promise you that no one will ever work harder to make her smile. No other man will ever support her dreams the way I will. And I will love her more and more every day for the rest of my life.”

Again, a look passed between the brothers and their father, before Adam said, “You expect us to believe you’d give up everything for her?”

Ford had held his temper all night long with Mia’s brother. Now, he let it fly as he leaned forward and growled, “Your sister is beautiful. She’s intelligent. She’s fiercely loyal to her friends and employees and family. And I wouldn’t hesitate for even one second to give up everything I have if it meant getting to be with her for the rest of my life.”

The three men were silent for several long beats as they studied him to feel out his sincerity. Finally, her father said, “The day Mia was born, even though I’d already had four kids, I knew I was in for it. I could see not only the spunk and intelligence in her eyes, but also just what a beauty she was, and I knew how easy it would be to live in fear of her being taken advantage of, getting hurt by men who only saw her beauty and wanted to claim it as a prize.”

Five years ago, Ford had been at least partly guilty of that, but he’d already confessed his idiocy to her family, so he remained silent as her father continued.

“I promised myself that day that I would trust Mia to make the right decisions, and to teach her by example to always insist on the best and the most powerful love.” Max Sullivan raised his glass across the table. “I’m not saying it will be easy to let my little girl go, and to know that I’m no longer the first man she’ll turn to, but if anyone is going to take my place, I’m glad it’s you, Ford.”

Before Ford could begin to express how much Max’s faith in him meant beyond clinking their glasses together in a quick toast, Mia and her mother came back in carrying a huge, warm apple pie and six forks. And as everyone dug straight in, Ford knew that even if Mia’s father hadn’t just said he approved of their relationship, he would have known it by the way her family assumed he’d fight for his pieces of apple from the center of the pie just like the rest of them...and then by the way Mia leaned over, mid-bite, and kissed him in front of the people she loved most in the world.