He disconnected, then stared at the phone's screen for a long moment before dialing again. "Patrick, I need you to come to my office. No, this can't wait for your meeting to end. Get your ass in here now." Craig put the phone down, his hands shaking more than ever. "Suzanne, if anything had happened to you in a fire..." He looked anguished. "I want you to know I'm sorry. I didn't know about any of this, but I'm so sorry--"
Patrick burst through the door, nearly slamming into Roman. "You again. What the hell are you--" He belatedly realized Suzanne was standing beside Roman. "Suzanne? What's going on?"
"I'll tell you exactly what's going on, Patrick. My phones and corporate servers have been under attack for months. And then, yesterday, my apartment almost went up in flames because of an update done to this device while I was away at a family wedding."
Something that looked a heck of a lot like fear flashed in Patrick's eyes before he shuttered his gaze. "Our units have undergone strict testing and they are guaranteed to be fire safe."
"They're fire safe with the approved chip." Craig advanced on his partner, his Irish accent becoming more pronounced with his growing agitation. "This new chip installed in Suzanne's unit is unauthorized for use. You know damn well that I rejected it in early rounds of testing on the grounds that I never intended CP Systems to spy on its customers when that's what we're supposed to be protecting them from. Which is why we never took the chip far enough into testing to find out that it is also a fire hazard."
While Craig was speaking, Roman slid his hand from Suzanne's and shifted position so that her body was shielded by his. Lee, meanwhile, had backed into the corner of the office, as far from everyone as possible.
Danger crackled in the air as Craig advanced on Patrick. "You could have killed her."
"And listen to you cry over your lost love? I sure as hell wouldn't have signed up for that." At Craig's surprised expression, Patrick sneered. "You think I don't know that you were banging Suzanne?"
Roman was halfway across the room to make Patrick pay for saying that when Suzanne jumped in front of him. Though she spoke to Roman only with her eyes--I know, he's pissing me off too--she knew he would understand her. He always did. But we need to let him talk, need to find out what he was involved in. And I'm strong enough to withstand anything he has to say.
She watched as the man she loved warred with himself over his natural instinct to protect her in any way he could, before nodding his agreement that he'd let this scene play out a little while longer. If Patrick was stupid enough to lay a hand on her, however, she wouldn't hold Roman back again.
"Watch your mouth," Craig warned his partner.
"You should have watched your mouth," Patrick fumed. "If you hadn't gotten so cozy with her beneath the sheets, she wouldn't have found out that we were working on the same new software. As soon as she found out we were also in the game, she ramped up production and beat us to the punch by a flipping mile. You lost us hundreds of millions of dollars in future revenue, and for what? She might have thought you were fun for a couple of nights, but she was never going to stay with you. Girls like her look innocent, when all they really want is to do dirty things with guys like that." He jerked his thumb in Roman's direction.
Before either Craig or Roman could get their hands around Patrick's neck, Suzanne moved in front of him. Yet again, she was glad she'd learned how to be so quick, growing up in a house with three brothers.
"I always knew CP Systems was trying to build a similar program, Patrick. Creating affordable digital security software is a no-brainer." She made sure to emphasize the no brain part. Though she connected with Craig on a technical level, she'd never been able to find a point of connection with his sales-focused co-founder. But that didn't mean she'd thought Patrick was capable of going after her the way it now seemed he had. "I didn't speed up my game after talking with Craig. I just went at the same speed I always do." She bared her teeth at him in a smile that wasn't a smile. "Fast. Sullivan Security is going to beat you to the market fair and square. Even with all the distractions you kept sending my way."
Patrick's pupils had grown so large that his irises barely showed. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I didn't send any distractions."
"Funny," she said, even though it wasn't. "The phone and server logs my family and friends have been poring over point to a different story."
"Those logs can't prove a damn thing."
"I know you're not the most technical person in the world," she deliberately taunted, "but I've spent the last three decades eating, breathing, and sleeping so much technology that I could paint the Mona Lisa out of those logs if I wanted to. Which means that even with no more evidence than that, I can prove CP Systems has sabotaged me and my company."
"Bullshit." But there was unmistakable fear in his eyes as he began to move away from her.
"It's true, Patrick." Suzanne had never seen Craig look so angry. Or so disappointed. "Suzanne is that good. Worlds better than you or I will ever be. And Dennis already told me you had him install the unauthorized chip in her unit--one that I'm sure he thought was no different than any other install he's done this year. As soon as you heard that she was away, you must have thought that was your chance to get in there and do the deed undetected, didn't you, you son of a bitch?"
Before Craig could throw the punch he was clearly itching to launch, Patrick spun and leaped for the door. He was quick enough that Suzanne had barely started after him when she realized he wasn't standing there anymore.
Because Roman already had him on the ground in a wrestling hold that looked--and sounded--not only painful, but unbreakable.
Lee finally moved out of the corner. "I've sent a message to the chief and he's calling the police. They'll be here shortly."
"I truly am sorry about this," Craig said to Suzanne. "You have my word that I'll make sure Patrick is brought to justice, no matter the impact on my company."
"I do want justice," she agreed, "but I'd like to work to find a way to make sure none of your shareholders, employees, or customers have to pay for your partner's bad decisions."
At the same time, the truth was that she didn't exactly hate hearing Patrick's groans as Roman dug his kneecap even harder into the other man's lower back. Though she'd never been a fan of things like ultimate fighting, she had to admit it was pretty darn hot to see how easily Roman held the other man flat, as if he weighed almost nothing instead of two hundred pounds.
Patrick wasn't right about much, but he'd been spot-on about one thing--she did want to do dirty things with Roman. What woman wouldn't? And not just because they'd finally caught the bad guy.
Roman loved and trusted her enough to know that she could protect and defend herself. And she loved and trusted him enough to let him protect and defend her--just the way she'd protect and defend him against anything or anyone who might try to hurt him in the future.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
So this is what it's like to have a big family.
Roman didn't bother to hold back his grin as Suzanne and Alec verbally sparred over a recent movie. "The layered messages about humanity were what made it great," Suzanne insisted, while Alec countered, "There weren't any layered messages, just nonstop action. That's why it was great."
Roman's dining room table was covered with platters of pizza and pasta from Jerry's restaurant. Every seat was full as Suzanne's family mowed through lunch with everyone talking over one another. Her phone had been ringing like crazy for the past half hour, but not with junk calls. One by one, each of her cousins, aunts, and uncles who had heard about the apartment fire were checking in to make sure she was okay.
She'd barely eaten one slice of pizza when she put her food down yet again to take a call from her Aunt Mary, a lovely woman in her seventies whom Roman had met at the wedding. Suzanne had told him that Mary had raised her eight kids by herself in San Francisco after her husband passed away in his early forties, which frankly blew his mind. The Sullivans were a force o
f nature. He couldn't believe he was lucky enough to be in any part of their circle, let alone in the heart of it with Suzanne.
"I should have set up a family conference call to explain things to everyone at once," Suzanne joked once she put her phone down.
"If you wouldn't mind explaining it to us again," Harry said, "I'm sure we'd all appreciate it. I was so relieved you weren't hurt today that I didn't catch much of your original explanation."
"Let me shove this last bite into my mouth first." Suzanne's cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk's as she inhaled the pizza Jerry had renamed after Roman. "Best pizza ever." She grinned at Roman. "You should get an award for creating that combination." The kiss she gave him was the best reward he could have asked for.
Alec half-snarled, "Time to get to the explanations, Suz."
Out of respect for his friend, Roman held back his grin that time. Drake, Rosa, and Calvin, on the other hand, didn't bother. Nor did Suzanne hold back her eye roll at her brother's irritation.
"In a nutshell," she said, "one of the co-founders of CP Systems was upset about my progress on the new digital security product I've been working on for a while now. Even though they were nowhere near close to being able to launch it, he was hoping that if he could distract me enough with phone and server attacks, I would lose momentum. But when that didn't work, and he realized I was away at the wedding, he decided to take things to the next level by switching out a chip in my home automation system." She made a face. "The new chip would have controlled not only my temperature levels, lights, and Internet, it would also have been able to tap into my phone and any computers I connected to my home Wi-Fi. His partner, Craig, shut down production on the new chip last year because of privacy issues, but it turns out Patrick kept a secret stash just in case."
"The scumbag was trying to steal her code." Though Roman had long ago vowed not to use his fists unless absolutely necessary, he couldn't help but wish the guy had put up a fight rather than going down so quickly. Smashing the guy's pretty face would have been extremely satisfying.
"Could he really have done that?" Rosa asked.
"Not the whole thing, although he probably could have accessed enough messages sent between me and my development team to figure out our methodology. But the chip burned up before he could access anything at all."
"Thank God you weren't home," William said, going pale at the thought of his daughter trapped in a fire.
"Everything's okay, Dad. No one got hurt, and happily, there won't be any more junk calls or server attacks." She looked at everyone sitting at the dining table. "Thank you. Not only for being here today, but for always being here for me. Even when I tried to push you guys away, you never left me. You never gave up on me." She turned to Roman. "Especially you."
"When you love someone," he said softly, "you stay. No matter what."
And as everyone got up to give both Suzanne and Roman hugs, he finally understood: This is what it's like to have a loving family.
*
Two hours later, Suzanne closed the door behind Alec and locked it with firm purpose. "I thought he'd never leave." She walked into the kitchen, where Roman was loading the dishwasher. It turned out that big, close-knit families were not only great--they were also really messy. "He was afraid that the minute you and I were finally alone, I was going to jump you." She kicked the dishwasher shut, then reached for the buttons on Roman's shirt, deftly slipping them free one by one. "He was right."
Roman didn't waste any time on removing Suzanne's clothes as he headed straight for her mouth. She tasted sweet and spicy and so delicious he couldn't wait to make love to her again. And again and again and again.
Of course, that was right when both her phone and her computer buzzed with incoming calls.
Lifting her into his arms, he headed for the stairs. She'd already fielded enough calls and meetings for one day. Soon enough there would be more, and she would continue to thrive working with technology. But for the rest of the day--and the night--Roman was determined to give Suzanne the break she so desperately needed.
Fortunately, his bed wasn't far away...and he was more than happy to keep her from work by any means necessary.
Only pausing long enough to strip away their clothes, Roman soon had Suzanne lying naked and warm and breathtakingly beautiful beneath him. "You went too easy on that scumbag today." He ran his hands from her hips, up over her waist and breasts, until he was cupping her face. "It's one of the millions of reasons I love you."
"Millions?" She turned to press a kiss to his palm before teasing, "And here I thought there couldn't be more than a dozen."
"I already loved you a dozen different ways by the time we left the gallery that first night your brothers introduced us. By the time you kicked me out of your apartment that night, we were up into the hundreds."
"Wow." She bit her lip, and he had to bend down to lick the wet spot left behind when her teeth lifted away. "That was the first thing I thought when I saw you for the first time. And then I wondered how my brothers could have hidden you from me for so long."
"Alec would have hidden me forever if he hadn't been so worried about you."
"I'll never admit it to my brother, but I'm so glad he went behind my back and hired you." She laughed softly at herself. "A part of me is even thankful that Patrick lost a screw. Because if he hadn't, I might never have found you."
"Yes, you would. And I would have found you. Because I was meant to fall for you." Roman let all his walls drop, removed every last barrier he used to have around his heart. "I was meant to love you, Suzanne."
"I was meant to love you too." Her eyes were full of unconditional love as she whispered, "Now and forever."
Her lips were soft and warm as they met in the middle for a sweet kiss. One that quickly turned sinful as their tongues slipped together and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. He loved hearing her whimper of pleasure as they sank deeper into the kiss and he ran his hands back down over her curves, then followed the heated trail with his mouth. Once, twice, three times, he let himself feast on the slippery flesh between her thighs, before quickly putting on protection and climbing back up over her so that the full length of her naked skin was pressed all along his.
Suzanne gasped as he filled her, her gasp turning to a moan as he rocked against her faster, harder, deeper, until her release crashed through them both and became his too.
"I love you," he whispered against her lips. He would never grow tired of saying it, would never get enough of loving her. And he would never stop being thankful that he'd signed on to protect Suzanne Sullivan.
She hadn't needed a bodyguard. But she had needed love.
His love.
Forever.
EPILOGUE
Alec Sullivan barely held himself back as Suzanne gave Roman a seriously inappropriate thank-you kiss for the ruby earrings he'd given her to celebrate the huge success of her new digital security product.
"You're holding up like a champ," Calvin noted in a low voice beside him.
Alec reached for his bottle of beer, before realizing he'd already emptied it. "Just wait until your sister starts dating. You're going to be a freaking mess."
Calvin didn't argue with him as he looked over at Jordan, his ten-year-old sister he'd raised practically from birth. "Hopefully we're at least a decade away from that."
Alec decided the kindest thing would be to let that one go. Calvin would surely be put through the wringer of watching his sister fall in love and get her heart broken soon enough.
He turned to gaze out at Summer Lake through the Inn's large parlor window. His father was here, along with Drake and Rosa and Harry. They'd grown up coming to the lake, so plenty of locals had turned out too. Christie was supposed to be celebrating with them, but half the time she was running around supervising her staff. Denise and Olive from the knitting store were there, along with his father's business partners, Henry and Jean. Alec loved the fast pace of the city, but there was no question that S
ummer Lake was a great community. His father had been lucky to land here.
"You guys are pairing off so fast lately," Calvin said. "I was half expecting you or Harry to show up today with someone on your arm."
"There's no chance of that happening with me," Alec said with a firm shake of his head. "Although Harry's always been a quiet one, so he could surprise us one of these days. Or," Alec added with a grin, "maybe you'll be the next one to lose your mind over someone."
"I don't think so."
Alec didn't know the full story of what had happened between Calvin and Sarah, Calvin's high school sweetheart. Back when they were teenagers, everyone thought the two of them were going to be together forever. But that hadn't happened. Sarah had left Summer Lake in the dust, and Alec always had the sense that Calvin had never quite gotten over her.
Alec was happy Drake and Suzanne had found their happily-ever-afters. But Calvin's brutal lost-love story was yet another reminder that no matter how good Alec's siblings had it now, the rest of them should stay the hell away from love.
Grabbing two beers from a passing waiter, Alec handed one to his friend. "Here's to being mayor of a hell of a great town with a new group of pretty tourists to choose from each week. What more could a guy need?"
As Calvin knocked his bottle against Alec's and drank, he pretended not to notice his friend's heart didn't seem to be in it. And if his own heart wasn't either, well, that was too damned bad.
Because Alec Sullivan was never going to fall in love.
*
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Alec Sullivan and Harry Sullivan's upcoming stories, the third and fourth New York Sullivan books, will be coming soon! Please be sure to sign up for my newsletter (BellaAndre.com/Newsletter) so that I can let you know as soon as I have the release dates for their books.
And don't miss two upcoming Summer Lake romances, coming this spring and summer! Calvin, the Mayor of Summer Lake, reconnects with a lost love in The Best Is Yet To Come. And Christie, who runs the Inn at Summer Lake, falls in love with the last man she ever thought possible in Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.