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“What? Did I make it too easy for you? You can go because it’s educational, and because you proved yourself trustworthy
tonight. But I’ve still got a close eye on you.”
Riley launched herself at Nate, throwing her arms around him as she thanked him profusely. “I need to call Charlie,” she said, pulling herself away. “And then I need to start packing. What do people wear in LA, anyway?” She looked at Ally. “Oh God, there’s so much to do.” She turned on her heel and ran for the hallway, raising her hand in goodbye. “Laters, people.”
Ally slowly turned to look at Nate. “You’ve made somebody very happy.”
“That’s what I live for.” He raised an eyebrow. “On the plus side, we only have to listen to that level of crazy for the next couple of days.”
After that, Riley would be gone. For three nights. The realization struck Ally like a ten ton truck.
She was going to be alone in the house with Nate, and the mere thought of it made her heart pound.
19
Leo just asked me to sit next to him on the bus. That’s a good sign, right?
Ally bit down a smile as she read Riley’s text, then immediately hit the reply button.
It’s a great sign. Now relax and try to enjoy yourself. L.A. is an amazing city.
Maybe she needed to take that advice herself, because she felt herself shiver as Nate’s tires crunched on the driveway, quickly followed by the slam of his car door as he climbed out.
A few seconds later he was opening the front door and walking up the hallway. His face split into a smile as he looked into the living room and saw Ally there. She grinned back as a thousand butterflies decided to beat their wings in her stomach. “How was your day?” she asked as he slumped on the sofa next to her.
“Busy.” He ran his hand through his thick brown hair. “I have some investors and my management team coming down to check out the Beach Café, and I’m planning to pitch the Coastal Coffee idea to them. So, I spent most of the day running numbers and creating slides for the presentation, which left them one short behind the counter.”
“I could probably come back to work, you know,” Ally suggested, glancing down at her leg. “I’m much more mobile than I was, and not in any pain. If I did some short days I could make a difference.”
“Our insurance won’t cover you like that. Even if it was a good idea, which it isn’t.”
Ally sighed.
“What’s with the rush to get back? Are you getting bored of saving the world?” Nate asked, his voice teasing.
“Something like that. I miss people and talking, and conversations. I even made Brooke take me grocery shopping with her today so I could get out.”
“There must be a lot of things you could do with your time,” Nate said, his brows knitting together. “All those things we put off because we’re too busy working.”
“Like what?”
He ran his finger along his jaw, deep in thought. “I’ve always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail.”
“Well that would be a great idea if my leg wasn’t in a cast.” She smiled ruefully. “Can you think of anything else?”
Nate was silent for a moment. “No,” he said. “I can’t think of anything I’d want to do that wouldn’t involve full use of both my legs.” His expression softened with sympathy.
“You know what I miss the most?”
“Apart from the coffee shop?”
She laughed. “Yeah. And apart from running.”
“In that case, you’ve got me stumped.”
“I want to walk on the beach as the sun goes down. Feel the warm sand against my toes, let the waves lap over my legs as I make my way along the shoreline. I don’t even want to run. Just an hour without this damn cast and those crutches and I swear I’d be happy.” She sighed, remembering how beautiful the beach had looked on Saturday night. She’d stayed safely on the boardwalk, but her whole body had itched for the sand. “Ignore me. I’m just feeling sorry for myself. You’re the one who’s had the busy day, you should be relaxing, not listening to my tales of woe.”
“Maybe I find your tales of woe relaxing.” He glanced out of the glass doors that led from the living room to the deck. “The sun looks beautiful tonight,” he murmured.
