Heath (Wild Boys After Dark, #2)(35)

“Right. Too nice. And it got me thinking.” Amanda took a bite of her salad.

“Are you going to clue me in, or am I supposed to guess this part?”

“Remember Kevin?”

“Boring Kevin? How could I forget?” Amanda had dated Kevin for two months. He was so quiet that Ally had thought he was mute the first time she’d met him.

“And do you remember M.J.?”

Ally rolled her eyes. Another boring boyfriend Amanda had dated for a few weeks.

“Right. Well, what do my previous boyfriends tell you about me?”

“That you like boring guys?”

“No, that I’m a boring-guy magnet. Whereas you’re a hot-guy magnet.” She raised her brows. “Speaking of hot guys. I saw your man walk out of NightCaps last night.”

“Yeah, I know. We can go back to him in a sec.” She set a serious stare on Amanda. “Tell me about you. You do realize that you’ve sexed yourself up enough that guys will expect more from you than hand-holding and fluttering eyelashes, right?”

“I am the older sister, you know.” Amanda set down her fork and wiped her mouth, then folded her hands in her lap and pulled her shoulders back. “I’m just testing the waters. Last night one of the partners in my firm, Mick Bad, was at NightCaps. I told him I was going there on a date with a guy from our building, and then I saw him up at the bar with some other guys, and he kept stealing glances at me. Mick’s a real sex machine. I mean, our female clients dress in six-inch heels when they have meetings with him, and I know it’s for his benefit.”

“Mandy, those women can probably handle six-inch heels and sex-machine guys. But you’re not that girl.”

“Relax. I don’t want to sleep with Mick.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Or maybe I do, but I won’t. He’s way out of my league. But it made me think about what I do want. I liked that he was looking at me last night. I like the way he was looking at me. I was more intrigued by him than my date. So…” She motioned toward her outfit. “I’m running an experiment. To see what happens if I dress a little sexier.”

Ally shifted her gaze to the guys who were still eyeing Amanda, only now they were eyeing Ally, too.

“I’d say you’re definitely gaining a wider audience. Are you sure you want to do this? I’m not sure you can handle the kind of guys you’re going to attract. You have a killer body, you know.”

Amanda blushed. “Thank you, but just because I gain attention doesn’t mean I have to go out with the guys. I’ll be careful. I promise.”

“Well, I can’t say it’s a bad look for you. You’re totally hot, but I know what dressing provocatively can bring on, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I get it. Okay. Now can we move on?” She touched Ally’s hand. “What’s up with your guy?”

“My guy.” Ally sighed. “I really, really like my guy.”

“You’re gushing. You never gush.”

“I know. I’m conflicted and I’m not conflicted at the same time, which makes no sense.” She met her sister’s curious gaze.

“I’m really good at deciphering things, you know. Maybe I can help. What’s got you worried?” Amanda crossed her arms and settled back in the booth.

“How much I feel and how fast I feel it.” Ally glanced at the people walking by, trying to determine why it was bothering her that she and Heath were moving fast.

“That would probably throw me for a loop, too, but you know fast is how you are in everything you do. You knew with your last boyfriend that he was going to be a long-term boyfriend right away, but you also knew he wasn’t the one.”

“My cheating ex?” She’d stopped using his name after they broke up.

“Yes, but you knew he wasn’t the guy you were going to marry. You told me that the first week you dated him. You said he wasn’t marriage material but he was more than a few nights’ material, remember?”

“No.” Ally didn’t remember saying that, but she did remember feeling that way.

“I think you’re pretty intuitive. You knew you wanted the job at the hospital after talking to the HR person over the phone. And you have always said that you get a feeling about things and you follow your gut, so what does your gut tell you?”

“That’s the problem.” Ally pushed her salad around on her plate with her fork, no longer hungry. “Every part of me wants more. More time with him, more time to get to know him. But it scares the heck out of me. What if I’m wrong? What if we spend more time and then…I don’t know, it just goes to shit?”

Amanda shrugged one shoulder. “I’m the careful one, remember?”

“Mandy, I need your help.”

“No, you don’t. Not really. You need to figure out your pros and cons. What do you have to gain?”

“Possibly the happiest, greatest feeling of my life on a daily basis.” Ally couldn’t suppress her smile at the thought of spending more time with Heath, but as Amanda asked what she had to lose, her smile faded.

“Lose? You mean my cons list? What if I get hurt?” The knot in her stomach tightened.

“What if you do? Don’t all relationships have that risk? And why are you being so careful anyway? You usually make a decision and go with it.”