Yanking my arm free of her, I turn towards her, no longer listening to the auction. “Stop fucking around. What does that mean?”
“Oh, I’m probably not supposed to tell you this, but again, wing woman, you’re my girl, and I think you should know,” she says, pulling her gaze away from what’s going on, on stage, to look at me. “Wyatt told Ruby to save anything she was going to pay him and use it to bid on his date.”
My head jerks back in shock. “What? Why?”
Quinn laughs, slinging an arm over my shoulder to turn me back towards the stage. With her this close, it’s easy to whisper in my ear. “Because that man up there? I’m ninety-nine percent sure he’s in love with you. You’re blind if you think he’d go on a date with anyone but you, girl.”
Looking up at the stage, my eyes are immediately drawn to Wyatt. The man isn’t looking out over the crowd, or at the battle going on back and forth to win his date. He’s staring at me with a look of adoration I’ve never seen him wear, like his heart is truly being worn on his sleeve for everyone to witness.
My eyes prickle with emotion at what I can feel from him, even from this distance. Like he’s shed some kind of mask he’s been wearing all this time and is letting me see exactly how he feels without holding it back. It has my heart galloping as fast as one of our horses through a field after being spooked.
“Sold!” Liam yells to the crowd. “To the silver haired beauty with the purple scarf.”
Gran.
Or should I say, Wyatt.
Chapter 37
Wyatt
BumpingmyelbowintoBrody’s, I give him a side eye and say under my breath, “You good, man?”
He grunts in return. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to mean yes or no, so I give him another nudge, then half turn so I’m leaning against the bar, looking at him. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye, raising one shoulder before it drops.
It’s as much of an answer as I’m going to get.
Two minutes ago, we found out Nate and Savanna are trying for a baby, and while the man beside me is wearing what he probably thinks is a smile, it’s far more grimace than anything. One look at him and I could see it blatantly. The way his forehead wrinkled and his jaw tightened beneath whatever is going on with his lips—it ain’t a smile. For whatever reason, this news isn’t welcome, and he’s doing a shit job hiding it, which is unlike his typically stellar poker face.
“Fix your face,” I mutter for only his ears. “Someone else is going to notice.”
Immediately, his features soften and he pushes a smile onto his lips. One that doesn’t look quite as forced, though his look might still give little children nightmares.
A minute later, Bryn pours shots to celebrate the success of the night and news for our friends. We all grab one, sans Savanna, and lift them into the air, clinking against the ones to us.
“To the third annual Save a Firetruck, Date a Firefighter auction,” Nate says from his spot behind the bar.
Savanna holds up a glass with clear liquid—the water she’s been drinking all night. She eyes Brody and me. “To the most successful one yet.”
I give the big guy’s shoulder a playful shove. “Fucker had to beat me.”
“You gave him a run for your money, though,” Quinn pipes up.
It has my eyes darting to her, silently telling her to keep her mouth shut. Of everyone in this room, which consists of only our fire crew—Nate, Brody, Liam, and Luke—plus Savanna, Quinn, Jordan, Hailey, and Bryn, Quinn is the only one who knows the truth about the plan I devised with Ruby.
If she’s not careful with her words, I’m going to have to tell them all how I went to Ruby the day after saying yes to the auction and asked her to use every penny that she’d otherwise spend paying me—something I never actually wanted—to ensure I didn’t need to take anyone on a date that wasn’t Bryn. Ruby, being the meddling woman that she is, was more than happy to help.
Though after spending six grand on winning a date with myself, I’m hoping to hell that Ruby keeps breaking things around the house on purpose, so she’ll keep me around to pay off the enormous bill.
Half of us have our shots to our mouths, the other half already finished, when a loud metallic pop fills the air, followed by a hissing sound from the kitchen. None of us has time to react before the fire alarm is wailing like an angry banshee ready to rip our ears out, the strobe lights flashing like some kind of fucked up party.
“Everyone out!” Nate yells, taking off after Liam, who was two steps closer to the kitchen.
When he says everyone, we all know he means the non-firefighters. Like hell any of the crew is leaving. Bryn’s gaze crashes into mine as she moves past the bar and I towards the kitchen, her hands over her ears, wincing at the sound.
I’m a step behind Brody, who is a step behind Luke, the three of us going through the kitchen doors one after the other. Thick, black smoke swims near the ceiling. The rest of the place is covered in white residue, the suppression system having done its job to put the fire out. Despite being around fire and smoke for years, the smell is pungent, making me pull my t-shirt over my nose and mouth. Grease, chemicals, and smoke, mixing together.
“Gas line confirmed off,” Nate shouts.
