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Stromberg’s speech was the kickoff event, followed by a cocktail hour, where hopefully I could talk to other photographers, mingle and network. Ignoring Eddy’s attempt to addle my brain, I dressed in a simple black dress that was comfortable and appropriate for the evening ahead, slipped on my favorite pair of shock red heels and grabbed my small digital camera.
“No thoughts of Rafe,” I told my reflection and left my hotel room, happy the event organizers had reserved a block of rooms in the same hotel for easy travel to and from the convention. “None at all,” I said again because now that Eddy was in my head, so was Rafe. I didn’t need to keep my eyes on the lookout for his dark mahogany hair or midnight blue eyes, or the way his jaw always seemed to sport a five o’clock shadow.
I wouldn’t think about Rafe, but maybe I did need to start looking for someone. Just because the man I fell for didn’t live in Tulip right now didn’t mean he wouldn’t someday. I could meet someone tonight, date him and fall in love. Then I could convince him move to Tulip.
When the elevator doors slid open I stepped out jauntily, feeling confident after my little pep talk and daydreaming session. After Stromberg’s speech I would be fired up enough to talk photography for hours with just about anyone. Armed with a plan, I squared my shoulders and walked across the lobby towards the big conference rooms, dodging what seemed like thousands of wide-shouldered, broad chested men. It would be heaven on any other occasion, but right now it was just an endless sea of obstacles.
“Whoa, what’s the hurry darlin’?”
I froze at that deep velvety voice. It was familiar, a little too familiar considering I was so far from home. Don’t look up, I told myself at least five times as my gaze crawled up his narrow waist that led to a wide chest and even wider shoulders, but if Rafe’s body was divine, his face was, well it was fallen angel gorgeous.
“Rafe.” My tone was breathless, though I couldn’t say why.
“That happy to see me?” His lips quirked into a smile, drawing my gaze to his soft lips, and especially that bottom lip that was just a little bit plumper. So dang enticing.
Oh God.
“Ecstatic,” I deadpanned. “Well, it was good to see you. Enjoy your weekend,” I told him and hurried towards the open conference doors, hoping that was my one and only interaction with him this weekend.RafeThe shock of seeing Janey last night hadn’t worn off by the time I woke up the next morning, leaving the hotel room with just enough time to make it to my skills panel with a cup of hot coffee in my hand. She hadn’t been surprised to see me though, well not that surprised. Like maybe she expected that I was around, but she didn’t expect to see me.
The look of shock on her face and that sexy little gasp she let out that was so low, only I could hear, it had me all twisted up in a way I couldn’t understand.
It was Janey. Pesky little Janey that I had known pretty much my whole life. She was a few years younger than me, a little too peppy and bubbly for my tastes, but she’d been a nice girl who turned into a nice woman. A nice looking woman, at that.
But I didn’t mess around with women from Tulip, and especially women like Janey with forever scrawled across their foreheads. Not that there was anything wrong with forever, but that wasn’t in my immediate plans and it seemed every woman over the age of twenty-five was hunting for a husband. Took all the fun out of dating and dancing, figuring out what would happen from one date to the next.
What fun was it when you already knew how everything would turn out in the end? No, I kept my affairs brief and confined to the bedroom, that kept things from getting too messy or complicated. And keeping those activities away from Tulip meant I could keep my life nice and tidy.
“That was a riveting presentation, Chief Montgomery.” Jessica Linwood was the deputy chief of fire at her house in Oklahoma, one of the few women around the country to rise in the all male ranks. She was smart and capable. She was also attractive. And aggressive. “Maybe you can give me some private tips for my panel? It’s later today.” Make that super aggressive.
I looked around in search of an escape, but three other firefighters, men I shared a meal with last night, looked on in amusement, offering smiles and thumbs up in encouragement. I didn’t need encouragement; I needed a crowbar to get out of Jessica’s grasp.
“Sorry Jess, I signed up for a few panels and since the department is paying for it…,” I finished the statement with a sorrowful expression that I didn’t feel.
