Every Beat of My Heart Page 7

  "We're still a long way off," Ethan said.

  "So are we," William agreed.

  This time, Mary didn't bother to contain her laughter. "Famous last words."

  She turned to look at their big, wonderful family. Sullivans had come from every corner of the world to celebrate today's double wedding. Mary didn't know who would be the next to find love. All she knew was that when true love came for each of her nieces and nephews in New York and Maine, even if the road to forever wasn't always an easy one, finding the person they were meant to be with would definitely change their lives in the best possible ways.

  And even though she couldn't help but tease her brothers-in-law, she knew they'd both do great. Because they loved their children with everything they were.

  Lori and Grayson moved into the group. "Isn't this great?" Lori said. "We've never had a baby born at a wedding before." She smiled at Mary. "I wonder where we'll be when ours is ready to pop?"

  Mary held her breath as she looked from her daughter to her son-in-law. "Are you..."

  Lori threw herself into her mother's arms. "I am!" She was positively glowing as Mary kissed her cheek and then Grayson's. After William and Ethan did the same, Lori said, "I didn't want to take the spotlight off anyone else today, but we just can't keep the news to ourselves anymore." Grayson put his arms around her from behind and she held on tight to her husband as she said, "I can't wait to have a little boy or girl in seven months. Or maybe even both, like Soph."

  At last, Mary finally fell apart. She was just so happy. Overjoyed from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. There were more hugs, and more tears of joy, and she'd barely managed to dry her tears when Dylan burst through the patio doors.

  "We have a new baby boy!" Cheers went up from the guests as Dylan scooped up Mason from where he was playing jacks with Tatiana and Ian. "Let's go meet your new brother. His name is Aaron."

  With new tears in her eyes, Mary took William's and Ethan's hands. "What do you say we go celebrate on the dance floor?"

  New marriages. New life. Family laughing and celebrating together in the Napa Valley sunshine.

  It truly had been the best wedding ever.

  And, she thought with a smile, she couldn't wait until the next one...

  *

  A special THANK YOU from Bella Andre

  If you are already a fan of the Sullivans, I hope you loved getting to be a part of the double-wedding magic and reconnecting with all your favorites! If you are just getting started with the series, you can find out how Zach and Heather first found love in IF YOU WERE MINE and learn more about Ryan and Vicki's love story in LET ME BE THE ONE.

  As a special bonus, I've put together a behind-the-scenes look at what inspired me to first write about the Sullivans--and why I plan to keep writing about them for as long as I possibly can! Just to go www.BellaAndre.com/Secret to find out more.

  Now that the San Francisco and Seattle Sullivans have all found love, it's time for their cousins in New York and Maine to find love too! Drake Sullivan kicks off the New York branch with NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU and his sister, Suzanne, will be next in SINCE I FELL FOR YOU!

  Thank you for reading my books and for sending me such lovely emails and comments online. Knowing that you love my Sullivans as much as I do means everything to me!

  Bella Andre

  *

  For news on upcoming books, sign up for Bella Andre's New Release Newsletter:

  BellaAndre.com/Newsletter

  *

  Don't miss Drake Sullivan's book - NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU (New York Sullivans, Book 1) --and Suzanne Sullivan's book - SINCE I FELL FOR YOU (New York Sullivans, Book 2).

  Please sign up for Bella's New Release Newsletter (www.BellaAndre.com/Newsletter) so that she can let you know as soon as her new books are released!

  *

  *

  The following books in Bella Andre's New York Times & USA Today bestselling series about The Sullivans are out now!

  THE LOOK OF LOVE

  (Chase & Chloe)

  FROM THIS MOMENT ON

  (Marcus & Nicola)

  CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE

  (Gabe & Megan)

  I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU

  (Sophie & Jake)

  IF YOU WERE MINE

  (Zach & Heather)

  LET ME BE THE ONE

  (Ryan & Vicki)

  COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER

  (Smith & Valentina)

  ALWAYS ON MY MIND

  (Lori & Grayson)

  KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE

  (Mary & Jack Sullivan)

  ONE PERFECT NIGHT

  (A novella guest starring Mia Sullivan and Rafe Sullivan)

  THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT

  (Rafe & Brooke, The Seattle Sullivans)

  IT MUST BE YOUR LOVE

  (Mia & Ford, The Seattle Sullivans)

  JUST TO BE WITH YOU

  (Ian & Tatiana, The Seattle Sullivans)

  I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME

  (Dylan's story, The Seattle Sullivans)

  ALL I EVER NEED IS YOU

  (Adam & Kerry, The Seattle Sullivans)

  NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU

  (Drake & Rose, The New York Sullivans)

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  Click here to download a Sullivan Family Tree!

  *

  Please enjoy the following excerpt from THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT (Rafe Sullivan's story), the first Seattle Sullivan book...

  As a very successful private investigator who has caught most of the cheaters in Seattle with their pants down, Rafe Sullivan believes true, lasting love only happens once in a blue moon. Needing to get away from the city to clear his head, he finds the lake house where he spent the best summers of his life is now a wreck...but the sweet girl next door is all grown up and prettier than anything he's ever seen.

  While Brooke Jansen is happy making and selling chocolate truffles in her small Pacific Northwest lake town, she secretly longs to experience something wild. So when her favorite "Wild Sullivan" moves in again next door after more than a decade away, and sparks fly between them, she can't stop wondering if being bad is really as good as it always seemed...and just how long it will be before she can find out.

  But when their summer fling quickly spirals into deeper emotions than either of them were expecting, can they survive the heat between them? Or will Rafe make the biggest mistake of his life and end up losing the best thing that's ever happened to him?

  Enjoy the following excerpt from THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT...

  A lone man had just ridden up on his motorcycle, the ends of his dark hair whipping out from beneath his helmet.

  Now that, thought Brooke with immediate female appreciation, is what wild and free looks like.

  Her parents had taught her it wasn't polite to stare, but she couldn't remember why that admonition mattered as she watched the man pull off his helmet and run a large hand through his hair. She couldn't see his face yet, but she didn't need to see his features to know just how good-looking he was. His shoulders were incredibly broad, and even from a distance she could see how big--and how capable--his hands were where he gripped the handlebars.

  She was so busy reeling from a blast of pure lust for the stranger as he stepped away from his motorcycle that it took her a moment longer than it should have to realize that he wasn't a stranger after all.

  "Rafe?" His name came out as little more than a stunned whisper. "Is that really you?"

  Her question was loud enough that he finally turned to face her. Only, instead of responding, he didn't say a word, didn't even move.

  All he did was stare, but it was okay, because she was busy staring right back.

  People often said memories made things sweeter than they actually were. But Brooke now knew that wasn't true at all. Not only had she not embellished how good-looking Rafe Sullivan was over the years that they'd been apart but, if anything, her recollections had sorely underplayed just how gorgeous he truly was.

 
His hair was dark and just a little too long, his skin was tanned, his jaw was dark with stubble, and he was so big and tall that she knew she'd have to stand on her tippy-toes and wrap her arms around his neck to kiss him.

  The thought of doing something like that had her body instantly going warm all over despite the cool breeze. She'd been little more than a baby the first time she remembered setting eyes on Rafe, but even then, he'd stood out from the rest of his siblings as more fun. More daring. And infinitely more beautiful.

  When he still didn't say anything, she took a step in his direction. "It's me, Rafe. Brooke Jansen. Remember?"

  Finally, the intensity of his dark gaze shifted into one of recognition. "Little Brooke," he said in a low voice that rippled over her, "how could I forget you?"

  She had spent far too many years squashing her wild impulses. But following a wild impulse wasn't what sent her straight into the arms of her favorite Sullivan without a second thought. It was pure happiness at finally seeing him again.

  He caught her against his chest as she hugged him tight. He smelled so good, and the bare patch of skin above his T-shirt was so warm despite the cool evening air that she couldn't resist burying her face against him. As she held on tight, she felt safer than she had in years. She'd lost too many of her favorite people from childhood, and was infinitely grateful to be given the precious gift of one of them back in her life.

  She might have held on to him like that forever if it hadn't been for her sudden realization of just how good his hard, heated muscles felt against her cold, wet, nearly bare skin.

  The little girl inside her had thrown herself into his arms...but it was the woman she'd become who wanted to move even closer.

  When she was eight years old, the crush she'd had on Rafe was sweet. Innocent. But what she was feeling now was decidedly not sweet.

  Nor was it anywhere close to innocent.

  Wild. The thought--no, it was more desire and pure need than it was a cognizant thought--came at her in an instant: I want to be wild with Rafe Sullivan.

  Excerpt from THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT by Bella Andre (c) 2015

  Buy THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT

  *

  Please also enjoy the following excerpt from the first San Francisco Sullivan book, THE LOOK OF LOVE

  Chloe Peterson is having a bad night. A really bad night. The large bruise on her cheek can attest to that. And when her car skids off the side of a wet country road straight into a ditch, she's convinced even the gorgeous guy who rescues her in the middle of the rain storm must be too good to be true. Or is he?

  As a successful photographer who frequently travels around the world, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women, and whenever he's home in San Francisco, one of his seven siblings is usually up for causing a little fun trouble. Chase thinks his life is great just as it is--until the night he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley. Not only has Chase never met anyone so lovely, both inside and out, but he quickly realizes Chloe has much bigger problems than her damaged car. Soon, Chase is willing to move mountains to love--and protect--her, but will Chloe let him?

  Enjoy the following excerpt from THE LOOK OF LOVE...

  Chase almost missed the flickering light off on the right side of the two-lane country road. In the past thirty minutes, he hadn't passed a single car, because on a night like this, most sane Californians--who didn't know the first thing about driving safely in inclement weather--stayed home.

  Knowing better than to slam on the brakes--he wouldn't be able to help whomever was stranded on the side of the road if he ended up stuck in the muddy ditch right next to them--Chase slowed down enough to see that there was definitely a vehicle stuck in the ditch.

  He turned his brights on to see better in the pouring rain and realized there was a person walking along the edge of the road about a hundred yards up ahead. Obviously hearing his car approach, she turned to face him, and he could see her long wet hair whipping around her shoulders in his headlights.

  Wondering why she wasn't just sitting in her car, dry and warm, calling Triple A and waiting for them to come save her, he pulled over to the edge of his lane and got out to try to help her. She was shivering as she watched him approach.

  "Are you hurt?"

  She covered her cheek with one hand, but shook her head. "No."

  He had to move closer to hear her over the sound of the water hitting the pavement in what were rapidly becoming hailstones. Even though he'd turned his headlights off, as his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, he was able to get a better look at her face.

  Something inside of Chase's chest clenched tight.

  Despite the long, dark hair plastered to her head and chest, regardless of the fact that looking like a drowned rat wasn't too far off the descriptive mark, her beauty stunned him.

  In an instant, his photographer's eye cataloged her features. Her mouth was a little too big, her eyes a little too wide-set on her face. She wasn't even close to model thin, but given the way her T-shirt and jeans stuck to her skin, he could see that she wore her lush curves well. In the dark he couldn't judge the exact color of her hair, but it looked like silk, perfectly smooth and straight where it lay over her breasts.

  It wasn't until Chase heard her say, "My car is definitely hurt, though," that he realized he had completely lost the thread of what he'd come out here to do.

  Knowing he'd been drinking her in like he was dying of thirst, he worked to recover his balance. He could already see he'd been right about her car. It didn't take a mechanic like his brother Zach, who owned an auto shop--more like forty, but Chase had stopped counting years ago--to see that her shitty hatchback was borderline totaled. Even if the front bumper wasn't half-smashed to pieces by the white farm fence she'd slid into, her bald tires weren't going to get any traction on the mud. Not tonight, anyway.

  If her car had been in a less precarious situation, he probably would have sent her to hang out in her car while he took care of getting it unstuck. But one of her back tires was hanging precariously over the edge of the ditch.

  He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Get in my car. We can wait there for a tow truck." He was vaguely aware of his words coming out like an order, but the hail was starting to sting, damn it. Both of them needed to get out of the rain before they froze.

  But the woman didn't move. Instead, she gave him a look that said he was a complete and utter nut-job.

  "I'm not getting into your car."

  Realizing just how frightening it must be for a lone woman to end up stuck and alone in the middle of a dark road, Chase took a step back from her. He had to speak loudly enough for her to hear him over the hail.

  "I'm not going to attack you. I swear I won't do anything to hurt you."

  She all but flinched at the word attack, and Chase's radar started buzzing. He'd never been a magnet for troubled women, wasn't the kind of guy who thrived on fixing wounded birds. But living with two sisters for so many years meant he could always tell when something was up.

  And something was definitely up with this woman, beyond the fact that her car was half-stuck in a muddy ditch.

  Wanting to make her feel safe, he held his hands up. "I swear on my father's grave, I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay to get into my car." When she didn't immediately say no again, he pressed his advantage with, "I just want to help you." And he did. More than it made sense to want to help a stranger. "Please," he said. "Let me help you."

  She stared at him for a long moment, hail hammering between them, around them, onto them. Chase found himself holding his breath, waiting for her decision. It shouldn't matter to him what she decided.

  But, for some strange reason, it did.

  ...Excerpt from THE LOOK OF LOVE by Bella Andre (c) 2014

  Buy THE LOOK OF LOVE

  Click here to sign up for Bella's New Release Newsletter to find out about future books as soon as they're released!

  BELLA ANDRE BOOKLIST

 
The Sullivans

  The Look Of Love

  From This Moment On

  Can't Help Falling In Love

  I Only Have Eyes For You

  If You Were Mine

  Let Me Be The One

  Come A Little Bit Closer

  Always On My Mind

  Kissing Under The Mistletoe

  One Perfect Night

  The Way You Look Tonight

  It Must Be Your Love

  Just To Be With You

  I Love How You Love Me

  All I Ever Need Is You

  Now That I've Found You

  Since I Fell For You

  The Maverick Billionaires

  Breathless in Love

  Reckless in Love

  Fearless in Love

  Irresistible in Love

  Wild in Love

  The Morrisons

  Kiss Me Like This

  Tempt Me Like This

  Love Me Like This

  Game For Love series

  Game For Love

  Take Me series

  Love Me

  Take Me

  Stand-alone Novels

  Candy Store

  Ecstasy

  Red Hot Reunion

  Tempt Me, Taste Me, Touch Me

  Hotshot Firefighter series

  Wild Heat

  Hot As Sin

  Never Too Hot

  Bad Boys of Football series

  Game For Anything

  Game For Seduction

  BELLA ANDRE writing as LUCY KEVIN

  Lucy Kevin is the "sweet" pen name of Bella Andre. Lucy Kevin books are fun, flirty and romantic--without the steamy scenes.

  Married in Malibu Series

  The Beach Wedding

  The Summer Wedding

  The Walker Island Series

  Be My Love

  No Other Love

  When It's Love

  All For Love

  Forever In Love

  The Four Weddings and a Fiasco Series The Wedding Gift

  The Wedding Dance

  The Wedding Song

  The Wedding Dress

  The Wedding Kiss

  Stand-alone Lucy Kevin novels

  Falling Fast

  Sparks Fly

  Seattle Girl

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Having sold more than 5 million books, Bella Andre's novels have been #1 bestsellers around the world and have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists 30 times. She has been the #1 Ranked Author on a top 10 list that included Nora Roberts, JK Rowling, James Patterson and Steven King, and Publishers Weekly named Oak Press (the publishing company she created to publish her own books) the Fastest-Growing Independent Publisher in the US. After signing a groundbreaking 7-figure print-only deal with Harlequin MIRA, Bella's "The Sullivans" series has been released in paperback in the US, Canada, and Australia.