Bella Andre - Just To Be With You

Oh my. He had melted her heart from the very start, even though he’d been working so hard the entire time to keep his distance. But now that he was finally speaking to her straight from his heart, without any walls up, she realized just how much harder—and farther—she’d fallen for him than she’d been aware of.

Tatiana had never been in love before. But as she stood with her hand in Ian’s and his dark eyes holding hers with such intensity, she now knew with perfect clarity that she was all the way there.

“Ian,” she began, just as Genevieve’s voice sounding from the living room behind her reminded her that they weren’t alone.

“You’re busy,” he said as he started to pull his hand back. “I’ll let you go.”

“Please, stay.” She kept his hand in hers, knowing instinctively that once he went back to the office, all of his walls would build back up, and likely be even more impenetrable. Thinking fast, and talking even faster, she said, “Since you’re already here, I’m sure Smith would love your opinion on this read-through, too. In fact, I know he’d be thrilled to have a third party here who can look at things totally objectively.” Realizing he had no idea what she was talking about, she dropped her voice so it wouldn’t carry to the women sitting in her living room. “Serena Britten is a really well-known model who auditioned for a part in one of Smith’s new movies. He thinks she’s good, but working with models can be...” How could she put it nicely?

“A pain in the ass?”

Tatiana remembered what she’d learned online when she’d looked up Ian all those months ago—that Chelsea had been a model. She paused, before nodding. “Yes, that’s why he wanted to get my opinion.”

“Only about her acting skills?”

“Mostly that, but also how I think she’ll do in the mix in rehearsals and on set. I haven’t seen her act yet, but I like her. And it would really help if you’d be willing to watch us run through two short scenes and give your opinion, as well.”

His phone rang then, the specific tone that meant it was Bethany calling. Finally pulling his hand from Tatiana’s, he answered it. “Yes, she’s at home, and she’s fine.” He listened to something his assistant said, then asked Tatiana, “How short are the scenes you’d like me to watch?”

She knew how seriously he took his work, and what a big deal it already was that he’d skipped out of a meeting at all. But for him to even consider staying a few more minutes?

Well, if that wasn’t a declaration to her of his feelings...she didn’t know what was.

“Really short. I promise.”

“Please tell them to continue the meeting without me,” he told Bethany, then slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Unfortunately, in her excitement over having Ian stay a little while longer, Tatiana had forgotten about Genevieve…and how over-the-top her reaction was bound to be when one of the gorgeous, famous, successful Sullivan men in the picture on her mantel came to life.

But there was nothing Tatiana could do or say to warn Ian, because they’d barely walked into the living room when Genevieve jumped up off the coach, yanking Serena up by the wrist.

“Well, hello .”

“Genevieve, Serena, I’d like you both to meet Ian.” Tatiana purposely left off his last name, hoping that Serena’s mother wouldn’t make the connection, but between staring at the wedding photo and the stalker-like research she likely did on wealthy, famous men, there was no fooling her.

“Serena, can you believe we’ve been lucky enough to meet two Sullivan men in one week?”

Serena politely offered her hand to Ian. To his credit, he neither goggled at the model’s incredible beauty nor blanched at her mother’s handshake that went on way too long. It was, Tatiana thought, as if the older woman was silently trying to tell him, “You can have either me or my daughter, whichever you choose, big boy.”

“Why don’t we get started?” Tatiana suggested in an overly enthusiastic voice as she boldly put her arms around both Serena and her mother to direct them away from Ian. “I asked Ian to stay and watch, as well, if that’s okay with you, Serena.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Genevieve answered, actually clapping her hands in delight.

Beyond irritated with the woman, Tatiana moved close enough to Serena to make it clear that she was speaking directly to her, rather than to the mother-daughter team.

“Before we start, I want to ask you to forgive me if I’m a little off my game today. I haven’t been sleeping that well the past couple of nights, so I might need a few restarts to get it right.”

“You’re always so good, I thought you always got things perfectly the first time out.”

Tatiana laughed out loud at the idea that she was perfect. Hadn’t Serena already seen what a mess her home was? And wasn’t it also true that she’d gone and fallen head over heels for a man who obviously didn’t want her to feel that way about him?

“Clearly, Smith didn’t tell you about the time I couldn’t stop giggling in the middle of a really sensitive scene in Gravity . I don’t know if you’ve seen it—”

“Of course I’ve seen it.” Serena looked shocked that Tatiana could have thought otherwise.

“Well, you know the scene where Jo is secretly watching Graham cuddling with her baby girl?”

“I cried during that scene.”

“Good. You were supposed to cry. But I was punchy from a long week of sensitive and hushed scenes, and I swear every single thing Smith did and said was positively hilarious that afternoon.” Thinking back on it, she laughed again. God, she’d been such a twerp. But she’d needed the temporary lift to get through the following hours of giving such heavy and strong emotions to the cameras. “I’m sure he would have strangled me were it not for the fact that we already had ninety percent of the movie in the can and he needed me alive to finish the last ten.”

When she saw a real smile on the girl’s face, Tatiana knew they’d both shaken off her mother’s interference, and were finally ready to begin the scene.

Ian had been wondering what the hell he was doing sitting in Tatiana’s living room with a model and her overbearing mother who clearly was hoping he’d take a shine to either herself or her daughter. He should already be back in the meeting he’d so abruptly walked out of—or at least listening in on his phone as he headed back to the office in the town car.

But then Tatiana started laughing...and, suddenly, Ian knew not only why he was still there, but also why he’d had to come find her in the first place.

Something was poking him, so he shifted on the couch and pulled a paperback book out from behind the cushion. Yes, messy was definitely one word for Tatiana. But as he looked around him at her home, he was struck more by its charm than its disorder. Though he knew it was only a temporary residence while she filmed her next movie, she’d filled it with lots of pretty, fun things that he could easily guess made her happy. Lots of framed pictures of her with her family along with a little stuffed tiger on the fireplace mantel that might not have made sense if someone didn’t know her.

Ian’s thoughts skidded to a halt as he realized he was no longer one of those people who saw Tatiana’s beautiful face, her gorgeous figure, her incredible acting skills, and thought he saw the whole picture. Yes, all those things were a part of her, but there was so much more to her. Her humor. Her intelligence. Her devotion to family. And, he had to acknowledge, the way she stuck up for someone she cared about when she’d walked into Chelsea’s warpath yesterday with the clear intent of avenging him.