Page 11 of Wrong Number, Right Grumpy Firefighter

“Have you eaten?”

“No,” she says, shaking her head. A few tendrils of her reddish brown hair fall from her messy bun in the process. “Didn’t really feel like leftover spaghetti for breakfast.”

“There’s eggs,” I say.

“I didn’t think you’d appreciate having to put out a fire on your day off.”

“That bad in the kitchen, huh?”

She looks over her shoulder at me, those emerald eyes locking with mine. “That bad.”

“Then I’ll cook.”

“Breakfast? It’s almost two o’clock.”

“Is there a bad time for breakfast.”

“Good point.”

I move around the couch, no longer able to resist touching her. I sit on the couch behind her, hands on her shoulders, and lean forward. “This is really good.”

“Thanks. I’m hoping someday this’ll be my full time gig. But for now, I’m just having fun with it.”

“I didn’t know you wanted to be a cartographer.”

“Not a real one. The book maps are way cooler than regular maps. And this is just a tablet drawing. You should see some of the ones I’ve commissioned from charcoal.”

“I feel like I don’t even know you,” I tease, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Well, we have sort of avoided each other like the plague since Christmas.”

“I hope we’ve cleared that up by now.”

She looks back at me. “If you’re expecting me to call last night a mistake, you’re going to be disappointed. That was the best orgasm I’ve had in a long time.”

“Hmm,” I say, pretending to be serious. “Guess I’ll have to try harder next time.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m determined to give you the best orgasm you’veeverhad.” I wrap my arms around her shoulders, kissing her neck. It would be so easy to pull her into my lap and start that mission right now. But I don’t want to ruin what this is finally becoming. I’ve waited twenty years for this woman to see me as more than her best friend’s annoying brother. I can wait a little longer to get her naked if it preserves what we’re finally starting to build.

She turns her head back, offering me her lips. I slip a hand down the front of her shirt, cupping a breast because I’m only a fucking man.

Aries pounces onto the couch, using my thigh as a scratching post. “Okay, okay. Breakfast for everyone.” I hop up from the couch, the sound of Heather’s laughter melting the layers of ice I’ve kept around my heart for far too long.

“What do you want to do today?” I ask as I head to the kitchen.

“What are my options?” she calls to me.

“Sky’s the limit, sweetheart.”

“Really?” she says, understandable skepticism in her tone.

“Try me.”

“I want to go to the county fair,” she says. “But is that a good idea with Jonathan the Jackass on the loose?”

I nearly tell her that he’s been sitting in a jail cell since last night, but I can’t quite get the words out. What if I tell her he’s been arrested and she uses that as an excuse to run away again?No. I won’t risk messing this up now that we finally seem to be on the same page. I’ll tell her tonight, once we get home.