Nate took in a deep breath. His heart was hammering in his chest. He blamed the lack of oxygen after not inhaling for so long.
“Her mom died. After that her heart wasn’t in it anymore. She refused to do all the travelling it required. Said she didn’t want to leave her dad.” Frank lowered his voice. “Such a shame for her.”
“She was still good, though,” Lorne pointed out. “She got offered a full athletic scholarship at Cal State.”
Nate glanced to his right. The man had moved out of the way. There she was again, the last of the sunlight illuminating her hair, making her skin glow like she’d just stepped off a catwalk. He lowered his gaze, taking in her legs and that cast, swallowing hard when he thought about all she’d lost.
Not just her mom, but her future too. The desire that he’d been feeling for her ever since the first day they’d met mingled with something else, something softer that he couldn’t quite define.
Even from this distance he could feel the pull toward her. The only question was how long he could fight it.
* * *
Nate pulled his car into the driveway, pushing the button to close the gate behind him. The fireworks had finished half an hour ago. He’d looked around for Ally, intending to offer her a lift home, but there was no sign of her among the crowd of people spilling out from the boardwalk. So he’d headed back to the café and picked up his Lexus, and driven home through the dark California streets. He must have beaten most of the traffic because he’d made it home within ten minutes. Thank God, because he was exhausted.
There were a few lights on in the house – one in the hallway and another in the living room – but apart from that it looked deadly quiet. Climbing out of the Lexus, he walked up the steps, the metal keys in his hand rattling against each other.
He let himself into the house and pulled the front door quietly closed behind him. It was quiet. Maybe Ally hadn’t made it home yet. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed, because his mind was full of questions he wasn’t ready to ask her.
r /> “Ally?” he called out. There was no reply. Frowning, he put his bag down on the polished wooden floor and kicked his shoes off, then headed for the living room.
As soon as he pushed the door open he saw her. She was slumped on the sofa, her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted as she breathed rhythmically in her sleep. She must have left before the fireworks had started, or at the moment they’d ended.
He stood and watched her for a moment, trying not to feel like too much of a creep as his eyes took her in. She was so damn beautiful it made his heart pound. His lips tingled with the memory of her taste. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to center himself.
He was her boss, her friend. He couldn’t be anything else.
“Nate?”
He waited for her to say more, expecting her eyelids to open any minute. But they didn’t. Instead she muttered something unintelligible and turned her head, letting out a huff of breath like she was blowing out a candle.
He willed for her to say his name again, but her steady breathing returned and the room was filled with silence. For a second he wondered what the hell he should do.
Wake her up and help her get to bed? No, he wasn’t quite ready to take her to that room again. It had been hard enough painting her nails in there the other day, and that was before they’d kissed.
He wasn’t going to stay around while she was sleeping, either. Because yeah, he might not have been a creep yet, but give it a minute or two. No, he’d go and grab something to eat and do a couple more hours reading on the reports his team had sent in. Maybe by then Riley would be home to help Ally to bed.
He almost made it to the door before she spoke again.
“Nate… please.”
Damn. There was no way he could walk away. Not when she was saying his name. He was too damn curious to hear what else she had to say.
When he turned to look at her, she’d shifted positions again. This time she was laying on her left, her body angled toward him. She gave a little huff again, her lips pursing together.
“Ally?” he said, giving her one final chance to wake up.
“Wha—?” She lifted her head, her eyelids heavy, and her brow pulled down. “What time is it?” she asked, staring up at him.
“Just after nine. I’m sorry to wake you.” He reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “I saw you at the boardwalk. Did you leave after the fireworks?”
She ran her tongue along her bottom lip. “Just before. I got tired and my leg started to ache,” she said, her voice still thick with sleep. “Lucas brought me home.”
“You missed some good ones.” He kept his voice soft. His whole body felt tense, as though he was contracting every muscle. “Are you feeling okay now?”
He watched as she straightened herself up. Then her face wrinkled up. “Damn.”
“Are you okay?”