Heaven With You (11 page)

“I know he’s a respected doctor, but something was off about him. He was too intense and always bossing you around. And he put out serious creep-vibe that I couldn’t ignore.”

“It’s over now,” I assured them. Thank goodness it was.

We polished off two bottles of wine, listened to music and talked. Some time later, I heard Ellie say, “Looks like Dad had the same idea as us.”

Just like that my skin started tingling.

“Who’s the woman he’s with?” Cora asked.

“Sierra. She’s the Chief’s wife’s friend, and she’s got a thing for Dad.”

My eyes popped open and I saw Hunter’s boat floating along the shore, and him placing big hands around the waist of a blonde in a skimpy white bikini as he helped her out of the boat. They were with two other guys and women.

Ellie and Cora seemed to know all of them.

Since I was wearing sunglasses, I stared openly at Hunter, my eyes hungrily drinking him in like it had been years since I’d seen him instead of just this morning.

Wearing a gray t-shirt that molded to his perfect body, blue swim trunks and mirrored sunglasses, I couldn’t tear my eyes off of him.

Sierra stumbled against him and he caught her around the waist, glanced down and said something that made her laugh. The sound grated on my nerves.

Had I really offered to set this man up with women? I had to be the biggest fool alive because he obviously needed no help in that department. Why had he even agreed to my crazy deal? The mortifying answer was glaringly obvious to me now—Hunter McAllister thought that I needed help finding a date.

The two men and women Hunter was with strolled up to us, greeting Ellie and Cora before turning to me. Hunter and Sierra lagged behind.

“This is Isabelle,” Ellie told them before turning to me. “Isabelle this is Charlie, Katie, Matt and Robyn.”

I smiled. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

At last Hunter and Sierra reached us. “Hey Ellie! Cora! Wow! Ya’ll have got everything set up here! Mind if we join you?”

Wow, indeed. Did every sentence this woman utter end with an exclamation mark?

“Be our guests,” Ellie said politely.

“Absolutely! We’d love to have you!” Cora exclaimed back at Sierra.

I had to force myself not to smile. Katie and Robyn seemed amused as well.

Hunter said hello to Ellie and Cora before turning his attention to me. Even through the shades I felt his eyes on me.

Sierra stepped in front of Hunter and offered me her hand. “I’m Sierra! It’s awesome to meet you!”

Standing up, I took her hand and offered what I hoped was a friendly smile. “Same here.”

“Isabelle.”

My stomach dipped at the sound of him saying my name, though I was beginning to prefer it when he called me Izzy.  He seemed to be conflicted, unsure of what he wanted me to be to him, and I couldn’t stop hoping that he’d give up the fight and just let me be his Izzy.

“Mr. McAllister,” I replied.

Despite the sunglasses, I knew my address had gotten his attention. I’d never actually called him Mr. McAllister like Cora. He’d always been sergeant or captain, but I was in the mood to get his attention and I knew that I had. He did not like me calling him Mr. McAllister.

As everyone set up chairs and settled in, I reached for my sundress but Cora stopped me. “Leave it off.”

I glanced over at her puzzled.

“He can’t keep his eyes off of you.” Cora spoke soft enough so that only I could hear.

“Who?” I asked carefully.

“
Mr. McAllister
,” she replied with wicked smile.

I froze. Cora knew. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, and what she said couldn’t be true. Hunter never looked at me like that even though I wanted him to.

I smiled. “Really?”

“Yes, really. When he thinks you’re not looking his eyes settle on you. I’m not the only one that’s noticed.”

“Ellie?”

“No. Sierra. She’s giving you the stink-eye now that she knows you’re competition.”

“I’m not.”

“You are,” she insisted.

“Okay, you realize we’re talking about Ellie’s dad, right?”

“Yeah, I practically grew up at his house. He’s still young, he’s hot and I think he’d be good for you.”

“He told me he’s not looking for a relationship.”

Cora’s eyes flashed with interest. “When did he tell you that?”

“This morning.”

Her eyes widened.

“It’s not what you think. We’re friends. Sort of.”

“Friends that sleep together?”

“No, not that kind.”

“I still think he’s into you, whether he wants to be or not.” Cora looked thoughtful.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We’ve got to get rid of Exclamation Sierra.” She smiled as if she had a plan. “It’ll be easier if you keep the dress off. No man can resist you in that little bikini.”

I wasn’t sure about that. Hunter seemed almost immune to me, and I thought about what he said this morning about not wanting a relationship. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to change anything so I tried to enjoy the lake.

Hamburgers always tasted better grilled.  After everyone ate, Matt suggested we play volleyball. Since I sucked at all sports, I did everyone a favor and volunteered to sit out.

“Do you want to play?” Hunter asked.

“She does,” Cora answered for me. “Isabelle loves volleyball, but she’s not that good. She should probably be on your team.”

“Alright so it’ll be Matt, Katie, Robyn, Sierra and Ellie against Hunter, Cora, Isabelle, and me,” Charlie told everyone.

“Is that fair?” Sierra complained, clearly because she wanted to be on the same team as Hunter.

“Sounds fair to me,” Cora called.

Everyone else ignored her and got into place. Ignoring Cora’s scowl, I pulled a black tank over my bikini. I was aware of every move that Hunter made, and I could tell that Sierra was as well. Luckily, my sunglasses hid most of my stolen glances at Hunter. He moved fluidly with the easy coordination of an athlete, and I was impressed.

 Our team won the first game, and we were playing the second when Hunter and I both went for the ball. It happened quickly. I reached. He reached. We collided with one another, our bodies smashing together and his arms encircling me as we went down. Somehow he turned us around so that his body broke my fall and I landed on top of him, my limbs tangled with his.

My body tingled where we touched.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m good.” Aware of our audience, I wasted no time in climbing off of him. He took my hand and pulled me up.

“Nice try, Isabelle.”

“Thanks, Mr. McAllister.”

To my surprise, he leaned down and whispered against my ear. “My name is Hunter.”

I glanced around to make sure no one was watching us. “I’m not sure I know you well enough to call you by your first name,” I replied cheekily.

“You saw me naked this morning.”

“I remember.” I got hot thinking about it.

“Then call me Hunter, dammit.”

“I’ll think about it.”

He was about to reach for me when Sierra saddled up beside him and wrapped her to-die-for body against him. I wanted to shout, ‘He’s mine!’ But Hunter wasn’t mine. I tried not to look disappointed as we headed back to the tent.

Sitting around a fire, roasting marshmallows, Sierra glanced over at me. “So what do you do, Isabelle?”

“I work as a clown.”

“A clown?” she asked in disbelief.

“Isabelle is amazing,” Ellie told Sierra, clearly thinking she needed to defend me. “She created Izzy, one of the coolest clowns around. The children at the hospitals love her. She and I work together.”

“How charming.” Sierra did not seem impressed.

 I tried not to notice how she was always touching him, but I was painfully aware of every brush, stroke and caress. More than once when he’d gotten up for a drink, she’d even smacked him on the ass. Not that I could blame her for being fixated on Hunter’s backside because it was amazing, tight, round and firm-looking. I hated that she kept touching it.

My green-eyed monster was probably just working overtime because no one else seemed as fixated on those damn touches and smacks as I was. Even Ellie ignored them. Cora kept shooting me looks and mouthing, ‘Take off the shirt’ to me. I thought about it, but I wasn’t going to parade myself in front of him. If Hunter preferred Sierra, then he could have her.

Distracted, I picked up my phone in an effort to keep from glaring at Hunter and Sierra. I glanced down and my blood iced over.

Nice day to spend at the lake
.

I didn’t recognize the number. Glancing around, I frowned. That scary-weird feeling that lifted the hairs on the back of my neck had triggered my fight-or-flight response. Okay, I was probably overreacting. The message wasn’t threatening, just strange.

Putting the phone down, I looked up and my gaze locked with Hunter’s. He knew. Somehow he knew that something was wrong.

I forced a smile.

For the rest of the day I tried not to think about the strange text and pretended that everything was fine, but I could not shake the sense that some malevolent presence was never far away.

Chapter Eight

Cora tapped her phone and frowned. “Looks like I need to run by Mom’s place. She’s got a leaky faucet.”

“I’ll drop by on my way home,” Hunter told Cora.

“No, it’s not a big deal, Mr. McAllister,” Cora assured him quickly. “Would you mind taking Isabelle home?”

Hunter’s gaze slid to mine. “Sure. No problem.”

Sierra’s expression said differently, but she covered it quickly, pasting a big fake smile in place. “Yeah, it’s no trouble at all! You can drop her off and then take me back to your place.”

 “Isabelle lives further North. I’ll drop you by my place to get your car first,” Hunter told Sierra.

She looked irritated at having her evening ruined, but she didn’t say anything more.

I rode on the boat with Hunter and his friends, blocking out Sierra’s incessant chatter and her constantly touching Hunter. The evening lake was beautiful and I really liked Robyn and Katie.

“How much do you think Hunter paid Cora to ask him to give you a ride home?” Katie asked, watching Sierra’s hand slide along Hunter’s back.

I smiled, surprised. “He’d never do anything like that.”

Robyn smiled back. “But he’s been turning her down for months now. You’d think she’d get a clue.”

“If he keeps taking her on dates, I can see why she’s confused about his intentions.”

Robyn and Katie both looked at me with wide-eyes and then they burst out laughing. “He’s not dating her. She’s a nuisance.”

“He doesn’t want to make waves with his boss. Hunter plays nice, but I can tell he’s losing patience with the way she’s always hanging all over him.”

 “I know Allison can’t tolerate her.”

My heart sank. “Allison?” I asked, pretending like I didn’t already know who she was to Hunter.

“She’s a lawyer with the D.A.’s office. They don’t like to label their relationship, but we think they’ll eventually wind up together.”

“Definitely. They’ve been sleeping together for three years.”

Three years! My heart didn’t just drop. It fell off the damned boat. Hunter McAllister had more women than he could handle. He was probably laughing at my crazy scheme to find him a date.

It seemed to take forever until Hunter and I were finally alone and on the way to my apartment.

“You must think I’m a complete idiot for suggesting I find you a date. What a joke, Hunter. You need help getting rid of women, not finding more.”

“I could say the same thing about you, Isabelle. Men can’t keep their eyes off of you, and you act like you don’t even notice it. I’m glad you put on that t-shirt because I was getting damned tired of watching men undress you with their eyes.”

“What? No one was looking at me.”

“Like I said, you don’t even know it.”

“What about Allison?”

“What about her?”

“How’s she going to like me trying to find you other women? After three years I think she might be a little upset.”

“I told you that’s not the kind of relationship we have.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. Tell me about what upset you at the lake.”

For one crazy, totally insane moment I considered telling him that I didn’t like watching Sierra paw him all day, but he’d made it clear that we were friends and I wasn’t going to push.

I glanced cautiously over at him, and he locked his knowing blue eyes with mine. “Ellie told you.”

“No, but she will if I ask her. You might as well be the one the tell the story.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Isabelle.”

“My ex-boyfriend has been sending me text messages. Like I said, it’s not a big deal.”

He pulled into a parking lot and shifted the car into park. “Let me see them.”

 “I deleted them. It’s not a big deal, and it’s not your problem.”

 “What if I want it to be my problem?” He rubbed his temples. “Izzy, I thought we were friends. Friends help each other out.”

“Okay. If I ever have a problem I can’t handle, I’ll come to you. Are you going to do the same with me?”

“Absolutely, I’ll start tonight. I’m feeling lonely, and I thought you might want to come to my place and watch a movie or we could take a swim, whatever you want to do.”

I wanted sex. Naked, sweaty, no-holds-barred sex with Hunter McAllister—that’s what I wanted to do. Laughing nervously, I chewed on my thumbnail and considered my words carefully. “I don’t think you’re up for whatever I want to do,” I told him, hearing the challenge in my voice.

His gaze clashed with mine. “I don’t want to take you home yet. Will you come over?”

And I didn’t want to go home. “Yes.”

We spent the night watching movies, debating which ones were better and eating popcorn in Hunter’s living room. At one point I’d glanced over at Hunter beside me on the couch and my heart ached with longing.  Jack was curled at our feet and a cozy fire blazed in the fireplace, and I realized that if I could have one wish it would be for endless nights like this. It was the best evening I’d ever had.

I was going to get my heart broken if I didn’t stop falling for Hunter McAllister.