When Love Happens by Darcy Burke Page A

bug you? The Tori I met seemed rather competitive. And that’s not a criticism. If you recall,I liked that about you.” A lot.
    On day two in Kuala Lumpur, a young blonde with a killer figure and a stark interest in Sean had hit on him while Tori had gone back to the buffet. When she’d returned, you’d have thought a cat had come in and taken a piss on her purse or something. Tori had slid onto his lap and made it extremely clear that he was spoken for. They’d subsequently ignored the foodshe’d just brought and gone back upstairs, where he’d shagged her against the door as soon as it closed.
    Tiny dots of pink bloomed in her cheeks, and she glanced away. Was she remembering the same thing he was? God, he hoped so. Or maybe not. There was no sense thinking about the past, especially when it had zero chance of repeating.
    Fuck it all.
    “No, it doesn’t bother me,” she said finally,watching Sara expertly name the balls and knock them into the appropriate pockets. “It used to, when I was younger. You’re right that I was competitive.”
    Was? “You don’t see yourself that way anymore?”
    “Not really.”
    He wanted to argue, but maybe she had changed that much since her brother had died. He had a sudden urge to demand she tell him why she was so bloody defeated. She was too young,too smart, too vivacious to let life beat her down like this. He also wished he could have ten minutes with Alex and tell him just what his act had done to his sister.
    He leaned close and spoke low against her ear. “Maybe you haven’t had a reason to be.”
    She turned abruptly, her eyes wide before narrowing. “I’ve done, like, three races. Of course I’ve had reason to be competitive.”
    Ah yes,her races. They’d talked about those, too. Sean was an avid cyclist, and he’d missed riding during the production in Europe. He’d found a bike and gotten a few rides in here and there, and he’d managed to watch a stage of the Tour de France, which had been amazing. In fact, he just remembered that Tori’s father was also a cyclist. He bet there would be an extra bike for him to ride. But would herdad let him borrow one? He hadn’t been rude earlier, but he hadn’t exactly been welcoming either. And Sean didn’t blame him.
    “Did you win?” he asked, knowing she was a strong competitor in her age group.
    “One of them. Came in third in the other two. Half marathons,” she clarified. “And it’s worth noting I won the Wine Country Half, which is nothing but god-awful hills.”
    He laughed softly. “Yep,still competitive. You’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise, Tori. And don’t be so quick to embrace change. I like you just the way you were.” He let his gaze linger on her plump lower lip. She darted her tongue across it, and heat shot straight to his cock in response.
    Not good.
    “Ha!” Laughter and high fives from the guys drew them to turn, interrupting the moment. Thank God. All he neededwas a raging hard-on in the middle of her family, especially when they were supposed to be “figuring things out.” Sporting wood in plain sight would certainly advertise where his head was at.
    Sara was bent over the table groaning, her head resting on her forearm. “Damn it!”
    “How many points was that?” Tori asked.
    “Thirty-seven,” Dylan said patting his fiancée’s back in a condescending manner.“There, there, dear. You’ll do better next time.”
    Sara glared at him before stalking back toward the bar. “Your turn, Sean. It is Sean’s turn, right?” Her voice brightened right up, indicating her frustration had been an act.
    “I don’t know,” Derek said. “I’m a March birthday, and Tori said you were a few months older than them?”
    “April, so yeah, it’s me.” He took a long drink of beer and wentto chalk his doomed cue. “Come on, Humiliator, let’s break this curse.”
    Sara had left four balls on the table. Sean surveyed his options and saw his shot. “Nine ball in the