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.”
Epilogue
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.
She gave Fifi a light pet, then headed downstairs, where she found Heath in the kitchen, looking incredibly sexy in a pair of dark jeans and a black cashmere sweater. He opened his arms, and she snuggled in, still feeling like she was living in a dream.
“Good evening, beautiful.” He kissed her softly, and she went up on her toes for another. “Are you almost ready to go?”
“I’m ready. I want to call Amanda. She hasn’t returned my calls all day.”
“Can you call her on the way?” Heath asked as they headed for the door.
“Sure.”
Heath opened the foyer closet and pulled out one of Ally’s colorful scarves.
“It’s chilly tonight.” He wrapped it gently around her neck, then kissed her forehead.
He’d become even more thoughtful and caring since they’d vowed their love for each other. Ally had never felt so cherished in all her life. Heath had remained just as communicative as he’d always been, calling if he was running late and offering to stop on his way home to pick up groceries or cat food. Every Sunday they had dinner with his family, and Heath’s mom and Ally’s parents had hit it off when her parents had gone to Mary Lou’s for dinner last weekend.
Outside, the air was brisk, and the sounds of leaves whisking in the wind was musical as they entered the park. A breeze swept along the ground, sending leaves into a flurry along their path. Heath pulled Ally against him to shield her from the cold. Ally tried to reach Amanda and had to leave a message.
“No luck, huh?”