“The second best decision of my life,” she said. “The first was accepting your invitation the night we met.”
Epilogue
ALLY TIDIED UP the bed and stretched, reveling in the glow of the moon streaking in through the bedroom windows. She heard Heath downstairs moving about, and Fifi was asleep on her pillow. Ally and Heath had been living together for five weeks, and true to his word, Heath had changed Fifi’s cat boxes, of which she now had seven to accommodate her needs on each floor and in each of the spacious rooms. It was a Sunday evening, and she and Heath were going to watch his brothers Jackson and Cooper hold a photo shoot in Washington Square Park. Ally slipped on her boots and grabbed a sweater. Fall, her favorite season, had officially arrived.
She gave Fifi a light pet, then headed downstairs, where she found Heath in the kitchen, looking incredibly sexy in a pair of dark jeans and a black cashmere sweater. He opened his arms, and she snuggled in, still feeling like she was living in a dream.
“Good evening, beautiful.” He kissed her softly, and she went up on her toes for another. “Are you almost ready to go?”
“I’m ready. I want to call Amanda. She hasn’t returned my calls all day.”
“Can you call her on the way?” Heath asked as they headed for the door.
“Sure.”
Heath opened the foyer closet and pulled out one of Ally’s colorful scarves.
“It’s chilly tonight.” He wrapped it gently around her neck, then kissed her forehead.
He’d become even more thoughtful and caring since they’d vowed their love for each other. Ally had never felt so cherished in all her life. Heath had remained just as communicative as he’d always been, calling if he was running late and offering to stop on his way home to pick up groceries or cat food. Every Sunday they had dinner with his family, and Heath’s mom and Ally’s parents had hit it off when her parents had gone to Mary Lou’s for dinner last weekend.
Outside, the air was brisk, and the sounds of leaves whisking in the wind was musical as they entered the park. A breeze swept along the ground, sending leaves into a flurry along their path. Heath pulled Ally against him to shield her from the cold. Ally tried to reach Amanda and had to leave a message.
“No luck, huh?”
“No. I’m getting worried. She always at least texts me back.”
“What are you worried about? She’s a big girl.” Heath tightened his grip as a group of teenagers walked by.
“I don’t know. She had that date last night, and she said the guy was a jerk. I’m sure I’m overthinking.”
She shoved her phone in her pocket. “Can we stop by her place after the shoot? Just to check on her?”
Heath kissed her forehead as they neared the fountain. “Of course, sweetheart. Whatever you want.”
Several people were taking pictures around the fountain; others were marveling at the colorful lights or cuddling on the concrete steps by the water. In the center of the wide round fountain, water spouted straight up in the air, illuminated from below by colorful lights, which gave the fountain—and the night—a celebratory feel. Water arced high in the air around the circumference of the fountain and fell in beautiful sprays into the stepped pool of the fountain below.
“Heath, look how beautiful it is tonight. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen colored lights on the fountain. I guess Jackson and Cooper had that done for the photo shoot?” She looked around.
“They must have.”
A breeze swept droplets of water across their cheeks. Ally pressed her face to Heath’s chest and laughed. His strong arms circled her and held her close.
A tall, dark-haired man carrying two bouquets of roses and a bunch of balloons walked up behind Heath, then stopped beside him.
“Hi,” Heath said.
Ally had learned a lot about Heath over the past few weeks, and one of the things she admired was his friendliness toward strangers.
“Hi. I’m supposed to meet my girlfriend here, and I need to grab something from over there.” He pointed to where a group of people were standing a few feet away. He was nicely dressed, in a pair of slacks and a sweater covered by a light jacket. “Would you mind holding these for a moment?”
“Sure.” Heath took the flowers and the man handed Ally the balloons.
“Thank you. I’ll be right back.” The man went back the way he’d come.
“That was weird.” Ally peered around Heath at the man, now talking with a group of friends a few feet away.
The man didn’t appear to be coming back, or at least he was taking his dear old time, laughing and talking while Ally and Heath held his goodies.
“Oh my God, Heath. What is he doing? I feel like I’m on Candid Camera.”
Heath handed her the flowers. “Can you hold these for one sec? I want to call Cooper and see where they are.” He put the bouquets in Ally’s hands, then put his hand in his coat pocket as she tried to juggle the balloons and flowers.
“Hurry. I’m afraid I’ll drop them.”
Heath dropped to one knee and looked up at her.
She rolled her eyes. “What are you doing?”
Heath withdrew his hand from his pocket and smiled up at Ally. “Allyson Jenner, you have turned my world upside down. You’ve filled my heart and my home with love—”
“Oh my God. Heath. Oh my God. Are you…?” Her eyes welled with tears as her mother, father, and sister came out of the shadows behind Heath, setting those tears free. She tried to cover her gaping jaw and managed to smack herself in the face with the roses. “Ohmygodohmygod.”
Tears streamed down her face as Heath’s brothers and mother came into view over his other shoulder.
“Heath,” she whispered.
“Ally, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Fifi and as many babies as you want to have.” He took her hand in his, and her legs turned to wet noodles, dropping her to her knees.
She heard Amanda and her mother say her name, and a collective gasp sounded behind Heath, but it was all muffled as Heath caught her and helped her find stability. There they crouched, Ally holding a fistful of balloons and armfuls of roses and Heath gazing into her eyes like she was his whole world—just as he was hers. A lump formed in Ally’s throat, stealing her ability to speak. In her peripheral vision she saw flashes of light from Cooper’s and Jackson’s cameras.
As tears slid down her cheeks, she found Heath’s loving gaze.
“You caught me,” she said just above a whisper, tasting the salty tears as they slipped over her lips.
“I promised I would for the rest of your life, sweetheart, day or night. I never lie.” He held a ring between his finger and thumb. Diamonds glistened in the moonlight as he picked up her left hand and helped her reposition the flowers in her arms.
“Ally?”
“Mm-hm?” Ohgodohgodohgod.
“Ally, will you marry me?”
Yes! Yes! She opened her mouth to say yes, but no words came.
She cleared her throat, feeling their family members step in closer. Into their bubble of love. Into the rest of her life.
Into the rest of our life.
“Yes. Yes, Heath, I’ll marry you.” She flung herself into his arms, crushing the flowers between them as the balloons floated up into the night sky.
He sealed his lips over hers as cheers and congratulations sounded around them.
“Marrying me will be the second best decision you’ve ever made, sweetheart,” Heath said against her lips.
“Third,” she reminded him. “But who’s counting?”
Heath hugged her, and over Heath’s shoulder Ally eyed Amanda, who was also in tears, hugging their mother.
“I couldn’t answer your calls,” Mandy called to her. “This was too big. I would have told you!”
Ally laughed as her vision blurred from her tears. With shaky hands she held on to Heath and looked into the piercing blue eyes that’d had her from the moment she’d first seen him walk into the r
esort in Vermont.
“Come with me.” Ally held Heath’s hand and walked over to Mary Lou. She took her soon-to-be mother-in-law’s hands and pressed them to her cheeks. “Can you feel it?”
“Honey,” she answered with damp eyes. “Your love is so big I can see it.”
—The End—
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Please enjoy this sneak peek of the next After Dark novel,
WILD BOYS ~JACKSON~ (Book Three)
Jackson Excerpt - Chapter One
JACKSON WILD PUT his cell phone on speaker mode, set it on the coffee table, and shoved a few extra protein bars into his backpack as he listened to his younger brother and business partner rattle off their schedule for next weekend’s photo shoot. They owned one of the most prestigious photography studios in New York City, and both of them enjoyed the perks of the business—leggy models and actresses who loved to party. Jackson had never missed an event, but that didn’t stop his overly organized brother, Cooper, from confirming for a second time.
“Sage Remington’s gallery opening is Friday night. Are you sure you and Erica will be back by then?”
Jackson flopped onto his leather couch and kicked his bare feet up on the table beside the phone.
“Yeah. We’re coming back Thursday night.” Gazing out at the city lights, he thought about Erica Lane, who had been his best friend—with benefits—since high school. Everyone except Jackson called her Erica. He’d given her the nickname Laney the very first time they’d met, when she’d been a tough, mouthy, and beautiful teenager.
“You’ve got Mom covered while I’m away?” Jackson asked. Their father had been killed while trying to ward off an attack on their mother in the middle of the night, right in their bedroom. He’d rushed the attacker, but he was no match for the two bullets that tore through his chest and stole his life as his wife suffered a savage beating that left her blind. Now Jackson and his three brothers took turns visiting their mother on a daily basis, making sure she was safe and taking her on outings and to run errands, and in general, ensuring she continued to have a full life after losing their father and her eyesight.
“Yeah. No problem,” Cooper assured him. “How’d things go with those two girls from the bar you took home Wednesday night? They were smokin’ hot.”
“Let’s just say—” Jackson turned at the sound of his front door flying open and slamming against the doorstop.
“Get your clothes off,” Laney hollered as she burst through the door carrying an armful of red roses and the biggest box of chocolates Jackson had ever seen. She slammed the chocolates and roses on the counter. Several roses tumbled to the floor, leaving a trail of petals as Laney glared over her shoulder at him.
“Come on. Strip,” she demanded. Her blond hair was wild, as if she’d run from wherever she’d come from, and her cheeks were red with anger, but it was the look in her eyes that had Jackson’s blood boiling. They were damp, as if she’d been crying.
He strode across the room, forgetting about Cooper, and grabbed her by the shoulders. She glared up at him with her jaw tight, her eyes shooting daggers as she tore at the buttons on his shirt.
“Get this off. I need to get laid.” She was five foot four to his six three, with full, pouty lips, an angular, tipped-up nose, and big hazel eyes, which could look innocent or wicked, depending on her mood. Currently they were watery and angry, which had his gut fisting into a knot. She shifted away from his gaze as she fumbled with his buttons and said, “Fuck. I can’t—”
Jackson pressed his hand to hers on his chest and felt her trembling.
“Talk to me, Laney. Why were you crying? What happened?”
“Nothing. I wasn’t cryi—” She pulled her top off and wiggled out of her miniskirt, which left her in a pair of black heels, a sexy black lace bra, and matching panties. Jackson had seen her naked and in just about every stage of undress one could imagine hundreds of times, and still, he was rock hard in seconds. She had no idea how hot she was, with full breasts straining against her bra, her taut stomach begging to be licked, and hips made for holding on to while she rode him hard. But Jackson knew just how hot she was. Damn did he know.
She pulled her hand out from beneath his. “Stop gawking and take your clothes off.” She ripped open the button on his jeans and fought with the zipper.
He stripped to his skivvies as he said, “Fine, but just tell me if I have to go kick some Ricker ass.” Laney had been dating Bryce Ricker for about nine months, and as far as Jackson knew, things were going well—even if she refused to commit to a monogamous relationship with the guy. Her parents had divorced when she was in high school, and ever since, she’d said she’d commit to a man when hell froze over, which suited him just fine.
“No, you don’t have to kick his ass; you just have to fuck tonight out of me.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him through the living room toward his bedroom. Her heels tapped out an angry tune against the hardwood floor.
“Laney—”
“Jesus, Jackson. Since when do you talk so much? I’m fine, okay? Fine.” The harsh clench of her jaw told him she was very far from fine, but he knew that once their bodies came together, she’d be fine in no time, and then she’d spill her guts. And he’d decide for himself if he was kicking Ricker’s ass or not.
“Hi, Erica.” Cooper’s voice sailed up from the cell phone on the coffee table as they passed.
“Cooper?” She stopped cold, and Jackson ran right into her luscious curves. Her eyes shot up to Jackson, then darted around the room.
“Cell phone,” Jackson said.
“Damn it, Jackson, you could have told me.” Laney’s eyes darted back to the phone. “Hi, Coop. Jackson has to go now.”
Jackson smirked. His family had known about him and Laney sleeping together since his mother caught them in bed together their senior year in high school. That was a fun afternoon, he thought sarcastically, remembering his mother’s surprise and the lecture he’d gotten afterward.
Jackson picked up the phone, took it off speaker mode, and pressed it to his ear. “I’ll catch ya later, Coop.”
“You lucky bastard. Breakup sex?”
He eyed his best friend, whose arms were crossed as she tapped her toes impatiently. “Dunno.”
“No, it’s not breakup sex!” Laney took the phone from Jackson, whispering, “You need to lower the volume on your stupid phone.” She turned her attention to Cooper. “It’s I-can’t-think-straight sex. Are you guys cool? Can we hang up now?”
She ended the call and pulled Jackson into the bedroom. The room was dark, save for the lights of the city ten stories below. He gripped Laney’s arms and spun her against him, searching her eyes for the truth. Bryce Ricker was a nice guy, a stable stockbroker who treated Laney well. But there was something about the guy that rubbed Jackson the wrong way—he was too good. He was too nice, and if he did a damn thing to Laney, he’d be too dead.
“Tell me he didn’t do anything bad, or we’re not doing this.”
She placed her hands on his hips and stepped in closer, bringing her belly against his throbbing erection, and slid her hands up his rib cage and over his pecs, which were strung tight.
“He didn’t do anything bad,” she said just above a whisper. “I would never lie to you. I just need…” Her hands traveled down to his ass, and she pulled their bodies flush against each other. “This.”
He cupped her beautiful face in his hands and brushed his lips over hers, feeling her anticipation in the arch of her back. He ran his tongue over the sweet bow of her lower lip, then pressed soft kisses to her lips as her hands slipped beneath his briefs and cupped his bare ass.
“Off,” she whispered.
He pressed his cheek to hers, knowing exactly how to calm her racing thoughts, and whispered, “In due time.”
“Jackson,” she said in one long breath.
He
lowered his mouth to her neck and sucked in her supple skin, earning a throaty moan.
“Please,” she said. “I need you now.”
“You don’t know need yet.” He pulled her tight against him, grazing his teeth over the ridge of her shoulder. He loved her taste, her softness, and the way her entire body reached for him, from her pert nipples to her rocking hips. Even after more than ten years of having sex whenever the urge struck, every time felt like the first—only better, hotter, because they both knew exactly how to get the other one off.
End of Sneak Peek
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WILD BOYS ~JACKSON~ (After Dark, Book Three)
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AFTER DARK SERIES
WILD BOYS
Logan
Heath
Jackson
Cooper
COMING SOON!
BAD BOYS
Dylan
Carson
Mick
Brett
NICE GIRLS
Phoebe
Francine
Nicole
Genevieve
BOOK LIST
Full LOVE IN BLOOM SERIES order
Love in Bloom books may be read as stand alones. For more enjoyment, read them in series order. Characters from each series carry forward to the next.
SNOW SISTERS
Sisters in Love
Sisters in Bloom
Sisters in White
THE BRADENS (Weston, CO)
Lovers at Heart
Destined for Love
Friendship on Fire
Sea of Love
Bursting with Love
Hearts at Play
THE BRADENS (Trusty, CO)
Taken by Love
Wild Boys - Heath Page 15