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CHAPTER 1
Carter
The cool water on my face clears some of the fogginess from my brain. I use one of the brown paper towels to dry my skin, watching my movements in the mirror. My eyes show just how tired I am, and all I want to do is go home to sleep off this deep-rooted exhaustion. Not that it would do any good.
My brothers would never let me out of their attempt to cheer me up. I sort of love them for that, even if their meddling is annoying.
With a sigh, I slide my black-framed glasses back on my face and leave the bathroom. I want to ignore the buzzing of my phone. I already know who the text is from, and I have no desire to have my heart battered even more.
I must be a masochist because I read the text anyway.
Chase
Are you seriously going to be this petty? I told you I’m sorry. What more do you want from me?
I grit my teeth. Guilt punches me in the stomach while the crack in my broken heart widens a little further.
“Ooof.” My phone goes clattering to the floor as a hard wall of a chest hits me straight on.
“Oh, shit. My bad.”
I look up and freeze. Hazel eyes peer down at me, self-deprecating humor making them sparkle. His crooked nose gives him a devil-may-care look, and his lips are tipped up in a smirk. Add in his messy mop of blond hair, and I think I just found my kryptonite. Fuck, this guy is gorgeous.
And someone I’d never be able to land. He’s a firefighter with my brother-in-law, Tucker, and the few times I’ve seen him around, he hasn’t looked at me twice. That fact doesn’t stop my brain from imagining all the things I’d want to do with him if he were mine.
“You okay? I didn’t give you a concussion or anything, right?” he asks.
I shake my head, both in answer to his question and to pull myself out of my daze. “No, I don’t think that’s possible. You have to reach at least seventy Gs of force to sustain a concussion.” Oh, my god. I’m such an idiot. Why did I say that?
“I don’t know. You hit my chest pretty hard. It could happen,” he teases. He bends over to grab my phone and cringes. “Looks like I actually did do some damage. I’d offer to buy you a new one, but to be frank, I can’t really afford it. Small-town firefighter salaries don’t lend to brand-new, high-tech phones.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got another one I can use. In fact, you did me a favor. I had just received a text I didn’t want to reply to.” I hold my hand out to take my phone, and his hand slides across my palm when he gives it back. I watch with fascination as goose bumps spread across the skin of my arm. That’s certainly never happened before.
“This is going to sound creepy as fuck, but you’re related to Tucker James, right? I’ve seen you around the firehouse some.”
I grin at him. “Not creepy. Yeah, he’s my brother-in-law, for lack of a better word. His wife, Natalie, isn’t technically related to us, even though we claim her as an extra sibling. She was at our house so often growing up, we joke that we adopted her.” I clench my teeth together to stop the word vomit. Why am I the way that I am? I wish I could be as smooth as my younger brother, Nolan. He never seems to get flustered around a girl he likes, whereas I turn into a bumbling idiot around any guy I find attractive.
His smile is soft as he looks at me. “We love Natalie at the house. She’s a firecracker. I’m Sam, by the way.” He holds his hand out toward me.
I shake it and try to ignore how strong his hands feel. How amazing would his callouses feel sliding against my skin? “Carter.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’ve gotta go to the bathroom, but maybe I could buy you a drink when I get back out? It’s the least I owe you.”
“Um, okay?” It comes out more like a question than an acceptance. Why he’d want to continue talking to me doesn’t make a bit of sense, but I won’t turn down the opportunity to continue staring at his gorgeous face.
His wide grin is blinding, and I find myself smiling in return. He walks into the restroom, and I head back to the rowdy table filled with my three brothers. Nolan is currently telling an extravagant story, as usual. His arms are waving around him as he exaggerates the details. I don’t even need to hear him tell it to know half of what he says isn’t true. Adam, my oldest brother, is trying to keep his amusement off his face while Matthew, the second oldest, has a grin on his face despite his head shaking in disapproval.
“I shit you not, this dude pulled a freight train like ten feet. It was insane,” Nolan says.
I sit down at the table. “It is physically impossible to pull a train on your own. One car is doable. The whole train is not.”
Nolan shoves my arm. “Shut up, nerd. Maybe it was only one car, but it was still awesome.”
He’s three sheets to the wind at this point. I’m pretty sure he used my recent breakup as an excuse to drink at O’Malley’s, the bar he manages, on Adam’s dime. Not that Adam can’t afford it. He and Matthew run a very successful sports equipment company that provides high-end equipment at an affordable cost.
“You okay, Carter? You were gone a while,” Adam asks.
“I’m fine. Accidentally ran into someone and dropped my phone.” I assess the damage to my screen. The phone itself seems fine, but the glass has shattered to the point of making anything unreadable. Maybe I should buy Sam a drink instead of the other way around. Now, I don’t have to respond to Chase.
