Page 92 of Falling for the Grinchy Bad Boy

34

COOPER

The cheese fries at the diner were perfectly crispy yet greasy with just enough soggy mixed in to be amazing.

“What do you think?” I asked Joy.

I had decided I needed to see her. It was an unusually slow shift. Sitting around the station thinking about her made me crazy. And now that I was sitting with her, I was seriously considering taking her back to my place for an evening of slow lovemaking. I had my radio. If I got a call, I could be back at the station in five minutes.

I shook my head. No, I couldn’t do that. I was not that irresponsible.

I had to settle for dinner. We were across the street from the station. If we got a call, I could be on the rig in less than a minute.

“So, how did last night go with Katrina? Did you two get completely drunk and eat too much chocolate?”

Joy laughed. “I can’t tell you that. Girl code.”

“Girl code?” I raised an eyebrow. “That’s a real thing?”

“Very real. Sacred, even.” She took a sip of her Coke, her eyes dancing with mischief. “What happens during girls’ night stays in girls’ night.”

“Come on,” I pressed, though I was grinning. “I’m her twin brother. Doesn’t that grant me some kind of special clearance?”

“Especially not to her twin brother,” Joy said firmly. “You’re probably the primary subject we’re not supposed to discuss with you.”

My stomach did a little flip at that. “I was the primary subject?”

“I didn’t say that.” But her cheeks were turning pink, which was answer enough.

I leaned back in the booth, studying her face. “Should I be worried about what she told you? Because Katrina has an entire arsenal of embarrassing childhood stories, and she’s not above using them for entertainment.”

“Your secrets are safe,” Joy said, but she was fighting back a smile. “Though I have to say, the story about you and the fake snake was pretty hilarious.”

I groaned. “She told you about that? I was twelve!”

“And apparently traumatized half the camping trip.”

“It was a very convincing snake,” I said defensively.

Joy laughed again. This was what I’d been missing. It was the way she made everything feel lighter.

“Did you at least have fun?” I asked.

“We had a great time. Your sister knows how to throw a proper girls’ night.” Joy’s expression softened. “It was nice, actually. I haven’t had a friend to just hang out with in, well, in a long time.”

Something in her tone made me look at her more carefully. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. In New York, I had colleagues and people I’d go out with occasionally, but not really friends. Not the kind you can sit around in your pajamas with, eating too much sugar and talking about everything and nothing.” She shrugged. “I forgot how much I missed that.”

I was about to ask her more questions about her life in New York when my radio crackled to life. The familiar tones cut through the diner.

“Structure fire reported at 2847 County Road 15. Respond Code 3.”

The address sent a chill down my spine that had nothing to do with the December weather. County Road 15. I knew exactly where that was, and the knowledge sat in my stomach like a lead weight.

“I have to go,” I said, already standing and pulling money from my wallet for our barely touched meal.

“Of course,” she said, rising with me. “Go. Be careful.”