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He yelled something at Charlie, who was hooking up the hose to the fire hydrant. Charlie gave Luke the go-ahead wave, and Luke and his men disappeared behind the crowd, charging toward the fire.
Toward danger, she realized.
It hit her all at once that this wasn’t a movie, and this wasn’t just a bunch of hot guys worthy of being on a calendar.
Without a word, she and Simon ditched the rest of their sandwiches to join the crowd outside, although Jordan remembered to toss a few bills on the table, tip included. The grilled cheese had warranted it, even if the girl who’d brought it to her hadn’t.
The group was even bigger by the time Jordan and Simon joined the periphery, everyone straining to see the smoking house in front of them.
“That’s Magda’s house,” said a woman with a toddler on her hip. “You don’t think she’s in there…?”
“Her car’s not parked outside.”
Jordan didn’t know Magda, but her heart pounded anyway. Partially for the woman who lived there, partially for anyone else who might be inside.
Partially for the firefighters who’d disappeared inside the house.
The crowd was silent as they waited. The small stream of smoke from the back of the home persisted, but it didn’t seem to be getting worse, and Jordan couldn’t see any flames.
Simon reached down and squeezed her hand. She squeezed back. Five minutes passed. Then ten. The smoke seemed to be diminishing—that was a good sign, right? A moment later, a figure came out of the front door. Too short to b
e Luke…The firefighter raised both hands to the crowd. “All clear.”
She felt the sag of relief; Simon squeezed her hand once more, then released it.
The firefighter turned his head, and she recognized Charlie, even with his helmet. He was making back-up motions at the crowd. “Go home, kids. We’ve got it under control, and if we hadn’t, your gawking would have made it worse.”
“What caused the fire?” someone shouted. “Was Magda home?”
“Not your business, and, no, the house was clear,” Charlie said. He turned his head slightly, caught sight of Jordan, and gave a small blink of surprise before winking. She couldn’t bring herself to wink or smile back. She was too busy watching the front door, waiting for Luke to come out….
A second later he did, his broad shoulders unmistakable even beneath the heavy uniform. He turned his head toward one of the other guys, smiling at something his friend said, and finally, finally, Jordan could let herself breathe.
Which was ridiculous. She had no reason to care more about him than about any of the others, but…Nope. There was no denying it. Though she was glad everyone was safe, it was Luke she was the most aware of.
As though sensing her stare, his gaze swung around until it locked on hers. He gave the same jolt of surprise as Charlie had, but there was no friendly wink, just an angry glare.
“Oh, honey,” Simon muttered. “You are in so much trouble, and I mean that in the best way possible.”
She barely registered her friend’s words. She was too busy focusing on Luke. The angry firefighter marched toward her, wrapping fingers around her arm before dragging her away from the dwindling group of gawkers.
She was acutely aware of his grip on her arm, of the way it took him a second too long to release her.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his hand falling away from her arm slowly, almost reluctantly.
“Same thing as everyone else,” she said, crossing her arms. “I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
He shook his head. “They get to do that. They live here. Know Magda. You, on the other hand—”
“Still care about people,” she snapped. “I was across the street having a heavenly grilled cheese; we saw the commotion and came over, because that’s what decent people do when there’s a fire truck. We worry.”
“We?” he asked.
“Simon and I.” Was it just her imagination, or did his eyes flicker in relief? “What, you thought I’d somehow found a boyfriend in the few days that I’ve been in town? Seduced one of your own with my city wiles?”
“I didn’t say that,” he grumbled. Neither did he say that she’d seduced him. Which she hadn’t. Nor did she want to. It was just…
“Nobody was inside?” she asked.
