Wild Boys - Heath (18 page)

Heath laughed as he paid again, and two more players joined them.

“We’ve got this.” Ally spread her legs wider and held
the gun with two hands, her eyes narrowed, focused on the target.

Heath smiled at her concentration. “That’s my competitive girl.” He stepped back and let her do it on her own.

When the kid beside her won, she whipped her head around to Heath with a challenging look in her eyes. “Again?”

He laughed and paid for another round. “Want me to try?”

“I’ve got this.” She lowered her chin,
aimed, and when the buzzer sounded, she hit the target dead-on, without wobbly arms and without looking away for even a second. Her monkey climbed to the top of the tree and her bell sounded.

“We did it!” Ally jumped up and down and flew into Heath’s arms again.

“No, babe.
You
did it.”

Ally chose her prize and hugged the stuffed cat to her chest, beaming as they crossed the boardwalk
toward the beach. “I’ve never won anything before, and I wouldn’t even have tried if it weren’t for you.”

“You were a natural.”

“A natural, huh? I wonder what I could do with a real gun,” she teased.

“I’d much rather see what you can do with cotton candy.” He pulled her in close. “I have a feeling that you have the ability to master whatever you put that brilliant mind of yours to.
Now, if I could only figure out how to get your sights set on me.”

He jumped from the boardwalk down to the beach and reached up to help Ally.

“I’ve got you in my crosshairs, Dr. Wild,” she said as she leaped off the boardwalk and into his arms.

Without missing a step, Heath spun her around and kissed her, knowing he was her easiest target yet.

THEY WALKED ALONG the shore and had dinner at a café before heading back toward the city. Ally watched the lights move slowly by as they inched along the busy city streets. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun, and as Heath reached across the console and took her hand in his, she didn’t want the night to end.

“It’s hard to believe it’s only
been a few hours since we left your place this morning. I feel like we spent a week at Coney Island.” Ally traced a vein in his hand.

“Is that good or bad?”

Ally sighed. “Very good. Do you want to stay at my place tonight?”

Heath smiled, his eyes never leaving the road. “Do you even have to ask?”

She rested her head back and closed her eyes, reveling in the sincerity of his answer
and the way it made her pulse quicken. She listened to his breathing hitch, as if he swallowed a laugh, and when she opened her eyes, he was grinning ear to ear.

“Why do you look so happy?”

“Because you’re letting me in.” He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to it.

“I think I let you in the first night I met you,” she reminded him with a playful smirk.

“Yes, but
now you’re letting me into Ally’s private oasis. There’s a world of difference.”

They stopped at his place so Heath could pick up a change of clothes and drop off his car. Ally was pleased that this time he didn’t mind showing her how he really lived. She’d heard about the fancy garage units. Probably everyone in the city had, it was so elaborate, but Heath acted as though it was just like
any old garage, and she appreciated that. During the cab ride over to her apartment, Ally wondered if her apartment would feel confining after sleeping at Heath’s, and was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t feel any less beautiful than it ever had. Heath moved through her place with comfort, toeing off his shoes by the front door and setting his wallet and keys by the bed. He picked up Fifi and
snuggled her for a few minutes while Ally took off her sandals and gave Fifi fresh food and water.

A few minutes later the activity of the day caught up with them, and they both collapsed onto the couch. Heath stretched out with Ally beside him, and when Fifi sniffed around his feet, he lifted her onto his chest, where she promptly curled up and fell asleep.

Several hours later Ally awoke
in her bed with a soft blanket draped over her. The apartment was pitch-dark, and the clock on the bedside table read 3:00 a.m
.
She drank in Heath looking deliciously handsome, sprawled across her bed with only a sheet strewn across his hips and Fifi curled up against his chest. Ally’s hand covered her heart. She felt her life falling into place. Sometime between Saturday morning and this moment,
she’d become wholly
Heath’s
. She was completely in love with him. She sat there for a few minutes, savoring the sight of his big, strong body snuggling her kitty, and when her body finally remembered how to move, she rose to her feet feeling like she was walking on a cloud.

Changing into a negligee, she wondered how things could move so quickly—from the way she breathed to the weight of the
air in the apartment. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and saw Heath’s toothbrush hanging in the ceramic holder beside hers. A damp towel hung over the towel rack. She touched it and felt her heart squeeze. She was bummed to have missed the opportunity to shower with Heath and delighted at the thought of him making himself at home in her apartment. She peeked behind the shower curtain,
imagining him going quietly through the motions of his nighttime routine while trying not to wake her. She wondered if he’d talked to Fifi, the way she did as she got ready for bed each night. She saw his shampoo, body wash, and shaving cream in a toiletry bag on her sink. His razor was sticking out of the top. Seeing all those things sent a tingle through her limbs that spread like wildfire around
her heart.

She loved seeing Heath’s things mingling with hers, and when she walked back into the bedroom, her heart nearly stopped at the sight of him. His eyes were partway open. He held a finger up to his lips to shush her and pointed to Fifi sleeping soundly against him; then he opened his hand for her to take. She slid into the bed carefully, and he blew her a silent kiss.

“Sorry I
fell asleep,” she whispered.

“You were adorable, and I had good company.” He beckoned her closer.

Ally inched closer, until Fifi was nestled safely between them, and for the first time in her life, she wondered what it might be like to have a child. Amanda was the dreamer in the family. Ally had never given much thought to marriage or babies, but now, as sleep made her eyelids heavy, her
mind drifted to what it might be like to be married to Heath. To have a family of their own. Heath smiled as he curled one hand around her and laid the other protectively over Fifi. He had such a big heart, and as her eyes rolled over his contented expression and he gathered them both in close, she imagined he’d make a loving and protective father.

“Good night, sweetheart,” he whispered.

A minute later his chest rose and fell in the even pattern of sleep, and Ally’s heart beat a little harder.

ALLY AWOKE TO the sound of Fifi purring. She felt the weight of Heath lying a few inches away on the mattress, and when she opened her eyes, she found him petting Fifi.

“Hi, sleepyhead.” He leaned over Fifi and kissed her.

“You didn’t mind that she slept here?”

He lifted Fifi onto his bare chest, and the kitty licked his chin. “This little muffin? Not at all.”
He reached one arm out and pulled Ally closer. “I have my two favorite girls in bed with me.”

She smiled and petted Fifi. “She’s very spoiled.”

“She’s very loved. There’s a difference.” He kissed Ally’s forehead, laid his head back on the pillow, and closed his eyes. “What do you usually do Sunday mornings?”

“Depends. Sometimes I lie around and read all morning.”

“That sounds luxurious.”
He smiled and opened his eyes.

“You mean
lazy
.”

He laughed.

“I’m not always lazy. Sometimes I go for a run. Gosh, I haven’t been since I got back from Vermont. I should really get out of bed and go running.”

“You’re a runner?” Heath pushed up on one elbow, sliding Fifi back onto the mattress. The kitty yawned and stretched her front paws out, pressing her butt up in the air. Then
she leaped from the mattress to the floor.

“A
jogger
. I’m not very fast.”

“Let’s go for a run together,” he suggested. “I run a few times each week. We have more in common than we even imagined.”

“You’ll blow me away. Your legs are much longer than mine, and I’m sure you’re much faster.”

“Come on. I’ll go slow.”

Before she could answer, his cell phone rang.

“That’s the
answering service ring tone.” He sat up to answer the call. “Yes.” He paused, and while he listened, he rose to his feet and reached for his bag of clothes. “I’ll be right there.” He ended the call and pulled on his briefs.

“One of my patients has been in an accident.” He pulled on his shirt and spoke fast. “I have to go to the hospital.”

As he pulled on his socks, Ally grabbed his shoes
from the living room and brought them to him. “I hope your patient’s okay.”

He shoved his feet into his shoes, and Ally handed him his wallet and keys as he headed for the door. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Go for your run. Do something fun today. I’m not sure how long I’ll be, but I’ll call you later, when I have a handle on things.”

She unlocked the door, and he pulled her into his arms.

“Are we still on for dinner with my family?” He smiled. “Even though that makes me sound like a mama’s boy?”

“I
love
the mama’s boy in you.”

Heath’s piercing blue eyes narrowed, and a smile spread across his lips.

“I mean…I
like
...I mean…”
Love. I mean I love everything about you
.

“You mean?”

“I…”

He sealed his lips over hers and took her in a knee-weakening kiss, and
when their lips parted, he searched her eyes with a glint of hope in his.

“You have to go.”
Before I say
I love you. She took a step back, afraid she’d melt against him and her feelings would flow like a river from her lips.

“Yes, I do. And when I see you later, you can tell me
exactly
what you mean.” He pressed two fast kisses to her lips, then went out the door and called over his shoulder,
“Love you, sweethe—”

Ally sucked in a breath.

Heath stopped, as if the words had rolled off his tongue without thought and shocked him, too. He turned, and the confused look on his face quickly morphed into a wide smile. He pulled her in close again, breathing hard.

“I have to leave, but I do love you, Ally. And I mean
exactly
that.” With another quick kiss, he hurried down the hall
to the elevator, turning to look at her as the doors slid open.

“Pick your jaw up off the floor.” He blew her a kiss and disappeared into the elevator.

Ally stood stock-still for a few seconds, her mind a frantic tangle of thoughts all circling one big truth:
I love you, too, Heath
.

She ran inside and tugged on a pair of sweats, shoved her feet into her sneakers, snagged her keys,
and ran into the hall. She pushed through the stairwell doors and flew down to the lobby, bursting through the entrance to her building in time to see Heath climbing into a cab.

“Heath!” She ran into the street, dressed in her negligee and sweatpants, with a major case of bed head, and leaped into his arms. “You caught me, just like you said you would.”

“I always will,” he said with a
wide smile.

“I love you, too, Heath. And I mean
exactly
that.” She kissed him quickly and wiggled out of his strong arms, then gave him a playful shove toward the cab. “Pick your jaw up off the ground and go. Your patient needs you.”

“God, I love you,” he said as he climbed into the cab.

She watched his cab disappear into the mass of cars moving down the busy street, and when she turned
back toward her apartment building, a small crowd had gathered. They whistled and clapped, and rather than shrink back in embarrassment, Ally took a bow before heading into her building.

Her heart raced as she walked into her apartment and scooped Fifi into her arms.

“I love him, Fifi. I do. I love him.”

Fifi meowed.

“I know. You do, too. I could tell.”

She was headed for the
bathroom with an unstoppable grin on her face and her heart dancing in her chest, when her cell phone rang. She saw Heath’s name on the screen, and before she could say hello, he said, “Tell me again.”

“Go. Your patient needs you,” she teased.

He laughed. “Tell me, Ally.”

“I love your smile, and your voice, and the way you look at me like I’m the only person you see. I love the way
you hold me and the way you touch me. I love how you love your family, and I love how you treat Fifi. I love all of you, Heath. The good, the bad, and the naughty. Maybe especially the naughty.”

“Ally?”

Her belly fluttered at his seductive tone. “Yes?”

“I’ve waited my whole life for you. Loving me will be the best decision you’ve ever made, sweetheart. I’ll never let you down.”

She sank down to her bed thinking of the night they’d met, the way he’d stroked her hand instead of her thigh when they were in the bar. How, as they’d gotten closer, he’d told her how important his family was to him. Seeing him with his family had confirmed what she’d known from the start—Heath was a man who knew how to respect a woman—and what she’d known from the moment their lips had touched
and from the way he’d treated her every minute since—Heath knew how to
love
a woman.

“The second best decision of my life,” she said. “The first was accepting your invitation the night we met.”

ALLY TIDIED UP the bed and stretched, reveling in the glow of the moon streaking in through the bedroom windows. She heard Heath downstairs moving about, and Fifi was asleep on
her
pillow. Ally and Heath had been living together for five weeks, and true to his word, Heath had changed Fifi’s cat boxes, of which she now had seven to accommodate her needs on each floor and in each
of the spacious rooms. It was a Sunday evening, and she and Heath were going to watch his brothers Jackson and Cooper hold a photo shoot in Washington Square Park. Ally slipped on her boots and grabbed a sweater. Fall, her favorite season, had officially arrived.