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He shrugged. “Pretty much what I have. A healthy business, a happy daughter, nobody telling me what I should or shouldn’t be doing. I like my life.” He turned his head, looking at Ally. “How about you?”
She was still tracing her fingers along his skin, her circles getting smaller as she reached the thin line of hair leading down from his navel. Running her finger over it, she smiled as he gasped. He captured her hand to stop her teasing.
“I want to be happy,” she told him. And it was true. Okay, there was so much more that she wanted, but she wasn’t sure she could talk about it without looking crazy. She wanted somebody to love her and be loved. Wanted a house on the beach just like this one. She wanted her father to explain why he’d sold the café.
“Happiness I can do,” Nate said, as if he sensed her sudden tenseness. Did he know that all she wanted to do right then was to run for ten miles, and then maybe ten more? “I know one way to make you very happy indeed.”
She smiled as he pushed her until her back was against the mattress, then pressed his lips to her throat, making her shiver.
Yes, he could do happiness, and she’d take whatever he had to offer. Because if there was one thing life had taught her, it was to grab onto the happy whenever it made a fleeting appearance.
21
“Honey, it’s your dad. I’m calling to see how you are. Lorne told me your ankle’s broken and I’ve been worried sick about you. Do you want me to come home? I’ll get on the next flight if you need me, you just have to say the word.”
Ally closed her eyes as the voicemail continued, feeling her chest get tight. He must have called when she was with Nate this morning, before she’d turned on her phone.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about the café. There’s no excuse for it, except that I’m a foolish old man who didn’t want to upset you. Yet I ended up doing it anyway.”
He sounded lost. It reminded her of the way he’d been right after he and her mom had divorced and he’d pick her up from school then sit in the car as if he had no idea what to do next.
“There’s so much I want to say and I know you probably don’t want to hear it. Please call me back whenever you’re ready to talk, or even if you’re willing to listen.”
He cleared his throat. “I love you, sweetheart. More than anything else in this world. So call me, please. I just want to know you’re okay.”
Ally lifted her hand to wipe the dampness from her cheeks. For a woman who rarely cried she was so emotional lately.
She and Nate had two more nights together before Riley got back and she was determined that nothing was going to spoil it. She’d call her father back after that, when she had more time and space to think about things.
It had been too long since they’d spoken, and she knew it was mostly her fault. Firstly for blocking him – ugh what a stupid thing that was – and then for waiting for him to make the first move.
When Riley was back, she’d talk with him like the grown-ups they both were. She owed him that, at least.
* * *
“I have your clothes and I’m willing to exchange them for information.” Brooke was standing at the front door, a bag in her hand from where she’d been back to Ally’s place to pick up a few more things. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and she was wearing a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt; her standard uniform for when she volunteered at the animal shelter. It was one of her favorite places in the world.
“What kind of information?” Ally asked, leaning against the doorjamb. It was late in the afternoon, and she was all alone in the house.
“How many times, was it good, and did you remember to practice safe sex?”
Ally glanced over Brooke’s shoulder, though there was clearly nobody else there. It was a gated house – nobody got in or out without either a code or a press of the button from inside the house. “I guess you’d better come in.”
Brooke grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Ally turned on her crutches and made her way up the hallway to her bedroom, where Brooke placed the bag on top of her bed. “Oooh,” Brooke said, turning to her with a grin. “This bed is cold. When was the last time you slept in it?”
“Was everything okay at my apartment?” Ally asked, deliberately ignoring her question.
“Yep. Yo
u had some mail; I put it in your bag. Oh, and I saw your super in the lobby. The part came in earlier than expected. The elevator will be fixed the day after tomorrow.”
“It will?” Ally felt her brows knit together at the thought. “Oh, that’s great. Do you have long enough to sit for some coffee?” she asked.
“Sure. Though I have an assignment due at the end of the week, so it’ll have to be a quick one.”
They walked into the kitchen, and Ally grabbed them a couple of mugs from the cupboard in the island. “How’s school going?” she asked.
