“How do you know it’s not six?” I asked with a quirked brow.
“Jameson doesn’t do anything halfway, plus you’ve mentioned it a time or two.”
“Yeah, well, the guy is obnoxiously toned; it’s hard not to notice when he’s constantly flaunting it around the station.”
“Maybe he’s just trying to make up for something else that’s notquiteup to par,” she said with a smirk.
I began violently coughing as I choked on my wine. “I seriously doubt that, but hey, wouldn’t that be poetic justice? Flawlessly perfect until he’s stripped down to his birthday suit, and you learn he’s got a micro-penis.”
But I knew that wasn’t the case—and that was one story that would never see the light of day.
Chapter Two
Jameson
“Okay, which one of you punks took my meatball sandwich?” I demanded, after looking through all the labeled containers inside the fridge.
“Weren’t you just complaining about the timing of the first responders’ calendar shoot? I assumed you’d be fasting,” Donaldson griped.
“Well, I’m not, and I want my sandwich.”
“There’s no need to get all ragey; you need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” I goaded him. “Cruz, there will be no calming down, my friend.” I drew in an exasperated breath, willing myself to chill the fuck out. “If I’m being punked right now, you got me, but please, I’m begging whoever it is in this room that took my sandwich to please put it back. No questions asked, no harm, no foul.” Everyone knew better than to mess with me when it came to my mom’s leftovers.
“Wasn’t me.” Donaldson held his hand up in defense, remnants of this pasta lunch in the empty Tupperware container on the table in front of him.
“Don’t look at me.” Roberts shook his head, shuffling a deck of cards.
“Dude, your precious sandwich isn’t coming anywhere near these abs.” Cruz rubbed his stomach. “I’ve got my photo shoot in two days with Arizona.”
As if I needed more accelerant added to an already burning fire where she was concerned.
“I’m going to take five and hope that when I return, my sandwich will be waiting where I left it.”
The guys looked at me like I had lost my ever-loving mind, and quite honestly, they weren’t wrong. While I used the excuse to head outside, away from the kitchen, it was really because I wanted to go and see if the ambulance rig was back. There was no rhyme or reason, but lately, whenever Arizona was on shift and out with her new trainee, Alex, away from the station on a call, I couldn’t ignore the anxiousness that crept into my thoughts.
Alex seemed like a good dude, and everyone around the station liked him. There were no red flags other than he was a guy, and I’d prefer he wasn’t attached to Ari’s hip every shift. But it wasn’t exactly my call or my business. Nor was she, as she took any opportunity that came up to remind me. The problem was my head and heart hadn’t reconciled that fact because my heart knew what it wanted.
It wanted Arizona.
It was a feeling that had been so deeply embedded in my soul since we were kids that it trumped any repugnance she aimed at me.
From the first time I saw Arizona skipping between the rows of her parents’ greenhouse, singing a song from theAnniesoundtrack, I was entranced by the aura of happiness around her. Her long, fiery-red hair, tied back in a ponytail, swung from side to side with just as much animated momentum as her steps. With a book in hand and not a care in the world, she was limitless.
That unrivaled light of hers dimmed when her mother passed unexpectedly from an aneurysm in her sleep. My twin brother, Jaxon, and I had just celebrated our eighth birthday the day before, and I’d never forget being on cloud nine and running downstairs to play with our new race car track only to find my dad consoling my mom at the kitchen table.
It was my first experience with death. Prior, I was naive and thought everyone was invincible. Seeing the town come together to support Arizona and her dad, from helping with their land and greenhouse, which supplied flowers to Sutton River and neighboring cities, to preparing meals, was a sobering, life-changing moment. It was also the first time I realized how life could change on a dime.
My parents were the foundation of our family. As a kid, I cringed whenever I saw them kiss or dance in the kitchen. But as I grew older, I began to understand how rare their bond was—and how much I longed for that same kind of connection in a life partner.
A genuine, heart-pumping love with an undeniable bond.
The ability to be completely in tune, so deeply in love that your hearts beat as one in perfect harmony.
I didn’t understand it at the time, but witnessing Arizona at the church that day truly made my heart ache within my chest. While I had no business understanding what it meant to love someone outside of my family, I felt a strong urge to do whatever it took to bring a smile to her face.
In fact, I made it my mission.
