Heath (Wild Boys After Dark, #2)(32)

“Allyson Jenner? Amanda Jenner’s sister? Sexy as hell, dark hair?” Mick asked.

Heath felt his shoulders rise with tension. “That would be her.”

“Her sister, Amanda, is our paralegal. She’s on a date with some guy from our building. That’s why I’m here. When she told me she was going out on her first date with him, I thought I’d keep an eye on her. She’s a sweet girl, and you know how we lawyers are.” He winked again, then nodded in Amanda’s direction.

“Aw, how cute,” Cooper said. “Mick is playing chaperone for his paralegal.”

Heath’s phone vibrated. Logan didn’t miss a thing. His head snapped around as Heath read the text from Ally. Me too. Miss you. My sister blew me off.

“Ha-ha.” Mick shook his head. “With guys like you roaming the streets, women have to be careful.”

Jackson laughed. “Coop’s harmless.”

“Does that smile mean things are okay?” Logan asked Heath.

“No. It means I’m an *.” He texted Ally. She’s at NightCaps with some guy. I’m here with my brothers. Want to meet us?

“Why are you an *?” Logan asked.

Heath was thirty-four years old and telling his younger brother that he’d been nervous about something that he had no business being nervous about was like eating crow. No thank you.

“Where’s Stormy tonight?” Heath asked in an effort to change the subject.

“She and a girlfriend went out to dinner,” Logan answered.

“I can’t imagine how good it must feel for her not to have to hide anymore, after hiding from that crazy ex-boyfriend for so long,” Heath said.

“It’s like night and day, but I forgot what it was like to care about someone enough to get jealous.” Logan took a long swig of his beer.

“That’s why it’s better to play the field,” Jackson said. “No ties, no worries.”

“Wait, you’re jealous?” Heath could hardly believe that Logan, the guy who’d had a hard time feeling anything but guilt after coming back from war, had fallen in love, much less was jealous.

“Hell yes. You’ve seen Stormy.” Logan smirked. “She’s f*cking hot as hell.”

“I want to photograph her, but jealous boy won’t let me,” Cooper said. “Jackson and I could get her a gig modeling. I’m sure of it. But Logan’s too possessive.”

“True,” Jackson agreed.

“But you trust her,” Heath said.

“Hell yes, I trust her. What does that have to do with anything?” Logan looked at the vibrating cell phone in Heath’s hand. “Is that why you look like you’ve got a crowbar up your ass? You’re jealous over Ally?”

“Shit.” Heath shook his head, though he knew by the laughter around the table that his brothers and Mick saw right through him. “Okay, fine. Yes, okay? What the hell do you want from me?”

Logan patted him on the back. “I told you, bro. Forget everything you thought you knew about yourself, because when love comes knockin’, you got no choice but to be home.”

“Two brothers fallen, Jackson. Here’s to remaining single.” Cooper held his beer bottle up, and Jackson tapped it with his. “Mick?”

Mick’s eyes were locked on Amanda and her date. “Huh? Sorry.”

“I think Ally’s sister has an admirer,” Logan said to Heath.

Heath arched a brow at Mick, who shook his head and said, “She works for me.”

“So?” all four Wild brothers said at once.

“On that note, I think I’ll go grab another beer from Dylan.” Mick looked around the table. “Anyone else want one?”

Cooper nudged Jackson. “Check out the two blondes at the bar.” He and Jackson joined Mick, leaving Logan and Heath alone.

Heath read Ally’s text.

I don’t want to spoil your fun. I’m reading one of the journals you gave me.

It was just like her to put him first.

“Tell her to meet us,” Logan said.

“You read my text message?”

“No. I read the look on your face. Heath, being jealous is totally normal. Missing her is normal. If you’re like me, you’re sitting here trying to have a good time when you really want to be with her. Don’t you think I would rather be with Stormy every minute of the day?”

Heath shrugged. “I assume you would, but what do I know?”

“You know more than you think you do.”

“Logan.” Heath scrubbed his hand down his face in frustration. “Ally has become everything to me way too fast. I think about her when I wake up. I want to be with her the minute I leave work, and the messed-up part is that I trust her explicitly, when the way we met should totally nix that idea from the get-go.”

“One-night stand?”

One quick nod gave Logan his answer.

“Big shit. Stormy and I started off with hate sex.”

“Hate sex? What does that mean?” Heath asked.

“Sex to escape all the stuff in life that you hate. You know, get it out of your system.” Logan wrinkled his brow. “Okay, so you probably don’t know hate sex. That’s not really your thing, but that’s how we started. So what? Would it have been better if we’d started on a blind date? Would I love her more? Trust her more? Care for her more? Hell no. Life isn’t neat. Why should relationships be?”