Authors: Melissa Foster
“It’s me, Mom. Hey, Jackson. How’s it going?” Heath said as he set the bag of groceries on the coffee table and leaned down to hug his mother.
“Hi, lovey.” His mother kissed his cheek. “What a nice surprise. Two of my boys here at once.” She sank back down to the couch and patted the arm of the recliner beside it. Heath swore his mother had every inch of her home memorized. She’d
refused to move after the attack that had left her blind and their father dead, insisting that nothing would chase her away from the home where she’d raised her family—the only home that had memories of her deceased husband.
“Not much has changed since last night,” Jackson said. “I was doing a shoot around the corner and stopped by to see Mom. How about you?” Jackson was four years younger,
an inch shorter, and had a penchant for the models and actresses he photographed.
“Good. Had a crazy day and I’m running late. Are you cooking dinner for Mom? I brought a few groceries, Ma. I’ll put them away in a sec.”
“I’m taking Mom out to dinner. Here, I’ll put the groceries away while you visit for a minute, if you have time.” Jackson grabbed the bags of groceries.
“You’re taking
Mom out on your motorcycle?” Heath arched a brow.
“We’re walking around the corner to the café,” Jackson said as he went into the kitchen.
Heath sat beside his mother. She was smiling, and she followed his movements as if she could see him. She reached over and patted his leg, fishing for his hand, which he happily placed in hers.
“You’re running late? You don’t have to stay and visit,
honey.” Mary Lou Wild was a kind and loving mother. She had shoulder-length dark hair, an olive complexion, and a smile always at the ready. After their father was killed, she’d fought her sons on their nightly check-ins, but she’d quickly realized that they were still as stubborn as they’d been as kids, and she’d given in to their need to watch over her.
“It’s okay. I’ve always got a minute
or two to spare,” Heath said. “Did you have a nice day?”
“Oh, yes. Debra came by and we had a nice visit. Her son’s getting married in a few months, and she’s over the moon.” She patted her thick dark hair in a way Heath had seen her do a million times before, as if she were making sure it was still there. He imagined that even though his mother wasn’t overly conscious about her looks—
Personalities
reflect beauty, not hair and makeup
, she’d always said—it was disconcerting not to be able to look in a mirror every now and again. “Where are you rushing off to?”
Heath debated making up an excuse, but he wasn’t a liar, and his mother had a way of seeing right through her sons’ lies.
“I have a date.”
“Oh. A date.” She smiled, and Heath shook his head. “Well, that’s different, isn’t
it?”
“Very,” Heath answered.
“Well, then, she must be special. Maybe one day your great-grandmother’s ring will be put to good use.” She patted his hand and turned as Jackson came into the room.
The mention of his great-grandmother’s ring surprised him. His father had given the ring to his mother when he’d proposed. On their fifteenth anniversary, he had bought her a new ring, and
he’d told Heath that one day he’d find the woman he wanted to marry, and that as the eldest, he could give her that ring. Heath had forgotten about the conversation until just now.
“Who’s the lucky lady? Anyone I know?” Jackson slid into the recliner.
“God, I hope not,” Heath teased.
“Nice,” Jackson said. “Seriously, who is she?”
“Sweetie, leave your brother be.” Mary Lou used
endearments like first names.
Baby, lovey, sweetie
. They answered to all of them. “If Heath wants to share that information, he will do so without you poking your nose into his business.”
“It’s fine, Mom.” Heath knew his brother wouldn’t know Ally. She lived in a whole different world from Jackson’s life surrounded by the rich and famous. Hell, didn’t they all?
“She works at the hospital.”
Jackson nodded. “Is that smart? Isn’t there something wrong with dating a woman who works in the same place as you?”
Heath rose to leave. “Says the man who dates the models and actresses he photographs. And actually, no, there’s not. I do rounds at the hospital, but it’s not like I’m in a position of authority over her. She’s a lab tech.”
“Cool. But you don’t really
date
.” Jackson cocked
his head to the side and looked at Heath out of the corner of his eye. “She must be a knockout.”
Heath leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Have a nice evening, Mom. I’ll see you in a few days.” He held a hand up for Jackson to smack as he walked by. “See ya, Jackson.”
“Should I take that brush-off to mean she’s a dog or you’re not sharing?”
Heath laughed. “Take it however you
want. Oh, and, Jackson, I talked to Brett Bad today. He said to tell you that he’d do the calendar, whatever that means.”
Jackson did a fist pump. “Coop and I were hired to shoot next years’ charity calendar, featuring the hottest models and local firemen. I thought Brett would want to be one of the firemen. What did you call him for?”
“He hooked me up with the guy who runs the Central
Park Zoo. For my date.”
“You’re taking your date to a zoo? No wonder you don’t date often. Hey, I’m meeting Logan and Coop Thursday night for drinks at NightCaps. Join us?”
“Sure.”
As Heath walked out, he could hear his mother telling Jackson that
he
should be so lucky as to find a nice girl to go out with.
He texted Ally before driving home.
Running a little late.
He looked
at his watch and cringed. He was supposed to pick her up at six thirty and it was already six twenty. He was running more than a little late.
I need to run home and shower. Is seven thirty okay?
He deleted the text and called instead, fully expecting her to give him shit for messing up their first real date.
“Hello, Dr. Wild.”
He heard a smile in her voice, and it did funny things to his
stomach.
“Hi, Ally. I’m really sorry, but I’m running late. Would you mind if I picked you up at seven thirty?”
“No, not at all. I stopped at the library on my way home, so I’m running a little late, too.”
The library. He wondered what type of books she liked to read. Another thought that was so strange it opened his eyes to how she was getting under his skin.
“Great. I’m just
going to run home and shower. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Sounds good,
wild boy
.”
The way she said
wild boy
, full of innuendo, made his body ache with desire.
“Everything you do and say kills me.”
“Kills you in a good way or a bad way?” she asked with a raspy voice.
“In a
very
good way,” Heath answered. “You’d better be careful or I’m going to stop behaving myself and we’ll both
need a cold shower before we even go out.”
He spent the next forty minutes wondering how he was going to make it through the night without tearing her clothes off.
“LET ME GET this straight. You have no idea where he’s taking you or anything? Just that he’s a doctor. Dr. Heath Wild. I’m Googling him now,” Mandy said.
“Would you stop? Please?”
“You’re my sister. I have to make sure this—oh. Hey, sis, he’s noted as one of the best sports medicine ortho docs in the city.”
“He is? Wait, don’t tell me anything else.” Ally paced,
holding Fifi in one hand and the phone in the other. “I don’t want anything like that in my head. It’s better if I just think of him as Heath, the guy I met at the conference.”
Amanda sighed. “Right. Otherwise you’ll go into your I-don’t-fit-into-his-world crap. Ally, you work in the hospital. Do I have to remind you again about how pretty and smart you are?”
“It’s not that. It’s just,
you know I work with a lot of not-so-nice docs, and even though Marty rated him a one—”
“He did? Good. I trust Marty. I liked him from the first time you introduced us. He’s a straight shooter.”
“You met him once,” Ally reminded her.
“Yes, but I really liked him. If he says he’s a one, he probably is. So what’s the issue?”
“No issue. I just don’t want to fish for information. Let
this progress naturally, so I can see if it should or not.”
“Okay. You’ll text me if you need me? I still can’t believe your mystery man asked you out. You have all the luck.” Amanda blew a kiss through the phone. “Have fun, and I’ll keep my phone on in case you want me to come kick his ass.”
Ally laughed. “He’s about six three. I don’t think you and I together would be able to do much
in that regard, but honestly, as animalistic as he is in the bedroom, he seems really kind otherwise. I think.”
“You think.” Amanda giggled. “That’s really good, sis. Maybe you shouldn’t end up in bed with him tonight.”
“I’m already planning on keeping our convos outside the bedroom.”
“Really? Wow. Good for you.”
A knock at the door made her heart leap. “I think he’s here.”
“Have fun, and remember, no bedroom.”
She ended the call, wondering if she was strong enough to stick to the no-bedroom idea. She carried Fifi while she answered the door. Her resolve melted at the sight of Heath’s broad shoulders filling the doorway, with a bouquet of orange roses in his hands and an easy smile that warmed her all over. The black cotton shirt he wore was stretched tight across
his shoulders, and his low-slung jeans fit him perfectly in all the right places. He wore a pair of leather loafers that probably cost more than her monthly rent, and when he leaned in close to kiss her cheek, he smelled different, woodsier than he had earlier.
“Hey there, beautiful.” He handed her the flowers. “These are for you.”
Oh, that voice. It made her insides flutter every time
she heard him speak.
“Hi. Come in.” She stepped aside so he could come into her apartment. Her nerves flared for a brief moment over what he’d think of her cozy home.
“Thank you.” She looked down at Fifi.
“May I?” He reached for the kitty and nuzzled her against his chin, then kissed the top of her head. “She’s adorable. You must hate to leave her every day.”
Ally filled a vase
with water and tried to ignore the way he was making her heart go pitter-patter. She eyed him skeptically. “You’re either really good at knowing what to say to seduce a woman, or you’re a very special man.”
Or both
.
He joined her in the kitchen with Fifi cuddled along one thick arm, purring loudly.
“I think we already know that I can sweet-talk
you
into bed, and no one else matters.” He
tucked Ally’s long hair behind her ear and leaned his shoulder against the fridge, then kissed Fifi’s head again. “I don’t need to use animals for props. I really do love them.”
Ally pressed her hand to his chest and breathed deeply. She liked the way his muscles jumped beneath her palms and his eyes narrowed slightly when she touched him.
“What are tonight’s rules?”
He wrinkled his
brow. “Rules?”
“Well, when we met it was no last names, no particulars. Now you know where I work and where I live. What’s next?” She took Fifi and laid her in her bed by the couch.
Heath wrapped his arms around Ally from behind and kissed her neck. “I don’t need any more rules, Allyson. Dating is sort of new territory for me.” He turned her in his arms and ran his knuckle down her cheek.
“Do you want rules?”
She thought about that for a moment before answering. Did she want to put restraints on their relationship, or would rules make sex even more appealing for both of them?
“Allyson, what is going on in that brilliant mind of yours?” He kissed her forehead, and she smiled up at him.
“I have no idea. Part of me thinks we should try to go on a date without ending up
in bed, but the other part of me thinks that will make me want you even more.” Where was this honesty coming from?
He tightened his hold on her waist. “All I can say is that this scares the shit out of me, too.”
“Is that what I was saying?” She wrinkled her brow, knowing he’d hit the nail on the head.
***
THE FIRST THING that struck Ally was the way their hands fit together as
they walked toward the restaurant. She’d felt Heath’s hands in and on her body, but holding his hand was an experience all its own. His hands were thick and strong, yet soft and warm. Just as he carried himself with confidence, his grip was sure and safe. It was a nice feeling. She’d never paid much attention to things like how hands fit together before, but with Heath, she felt acutely aware of every
little thing about him. When they stopped to let someone pass in front of them, he tightened his grip on her hand, and when he held the restaurant door open for her, his hand slid to her lower back in a possessive touch she thoroughly enjoyed.
They were asked to leave their shoes at the door of the restaurant. Ally had never been to Hangawi, though she’d heard of the Korean vegetarian restaurant.
It was an interesting choice for a first date. The tables were low to the ground, and there wasn’t a chair in sight. They sat on pillows on the floor, and instead of sitting across from her, Heath sat beside her. The first hour of their first date was already ten times more intimate than any date she’d ever been on.
“I hope this is okay.” Heath reached for her hand.
“Perfect. I’ve never
been here, and I’ve been curious about it.”
“I haven’t been here before either, but I figured if I was stepping out of my comfort zone, I might as well go all the way.” The side of his mouth quirked up. “No pun intended.” He leaned forward and kissed her like it was the most natural thing in the world. Other than her racing heart, it was.
“Out of your comfort zone? What do you mean?”
His eyes went serious, and he took a drink before answering. “Ally, I work hard and my life is complicated. I have familial obligations that I take seriously, and because of those things, I’ve just never bothered with dating.”
“‘Familial obligations’? Like, divorced with a child or two? Or…married?” She held her breath while she waited for him to answer. She was not going to get involved
with a married man.