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“Having three irresistible firemen around you,” he replied.
Jack barked a laugh. “I’ve never heard you make a joke like that, Mateo.”
The Cuban-American shrugged and hunched over the pie. “It is Alyssa. She brings out the best in me.”
“Me too,” Liam said. “So. What do we do about it?”
All three of them looked at me.
“I… I don’t know,” I admitted. “I like all three of you. I really do. But I have a life in New York. Maybe I can stay here an extra week, but…”
The silence around the table became uncomfortable. The unspoken part might as well have been screamed: but then I’m leaving.
Liam scooped a bit of whipped cream off the pie with his finger, then tapped me on the nose. I glared playfully, and wiped the cream away with a finger and licked it off. But the gesture only delayed the uncomfortable discussion by a few seconds.
We had to face the reality of the situation: there was no way for this to work.
Jack’s phone rang, and he glanced at it. “I, uh, need to take this.” Mateo slid out of the booth so Jack could go outside to answer the call.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Liam said, voice quiet and serious. “But I always sort of knew this had an expiration date. It sucks, but I intend to enjoy every minute I have with you while you’re here.”
“And I, as well,” Mateo said. “Someone needs to teach you to surf, after all.”
“That’s right,” I said, blinking away the tears that were welling in my eyes. “You need to teach me to surf, and we have the fourth Alien movie to watch, not to mention the prequels…”
“You probably want to skip those,” Liam said.
I shook my head emphatically. “I’ll watch them if it means more time with you.” I reached across the table and held Mateo’s hand. “Both of you.”
‘And Jack,” Liam pointed out.
“Yes. And Jack.” I laughed and wiped a tear away. “This is crazy, isn’t it? The three of you, and me?”
Liam and Mateo glanced at each other.
“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things as a fireman,” Liam said. “But this, Alyssa?” He spun his finger in a circle to encompass all of us. “This is the only thing in my life that makes perfect sense.”
Mateo scowled while nodding. He looked ready to swear his life upon that fact.
Jack hobbled back to the table on one crutch. “That was the fire inspector. They’re officially ruling your fire arson.”
“What!” Mateo and Liam both said at the same time.
I gasped. “No. Does that mean they’re going to charge me? Do I… do I need to go down to the police station? How does this work?”
Jack shook his head slowly. He looked afraid to tell me the next part.
“What?” I demanded. “What is it? Am I under arrest or not?”
“You aren’t the person they’re charging with arson,” Jack said. “It’s your sister. Brandi.”
37
Alyssa
I was in a small room in the Clearwater Police Station. A window of one-way glass gave a view into an adjacent room that held only a metal table and four chairs. Every surface looked like it had been designed with spartan sterility in mind. Brandi sat in one of the chairs. Her posture was guilty, hunched forward and eyes cast downward.
“I don’t understand,” I said for what must have been the hundredth time. “You’re making a mistake.”
