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I’m going down.
Warm arms caught me, and I peeked through one open eye.
Justin was holding me in his arms with a very confused look on his face.
“Do I want to know why you were standing on a chair?”
Slowly shaking my head, I replied, “Probably not.”
The bouncers finally got everyone to settle down.
“Why do I have a feeling you were the start of all of that?” Justin asked with a wide grin.
Scrunching up my nose, I made a face and replied, “No comment.”
With a heavy sigh, I shook my head. “This isn’t my scene anymore.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why you were flailing your arms about on top of a chair.”
“Temporary moment of insanity.” With a giggle, I added, “Actually I thought I saw a friend.”
His brow lifted. “A friend?”
With a quick nod, I replied, “Yep. Listen, I think I’m going to let the girls know I’m taking off.”
A look of disappointment washed over his face. “Yeah, if they find out you were the one who yelled out ‘Fire’ you’ll need a good lawyer. Oh wait…I happen to know one.”
“His name wouldn’t happen to be Justin, would it?” I asked with a lighthearted chuckle.
He winked and replied, “Why yes! Yes it is.”
Catching site of Clare and Autumn, I said, “I see them. It was really great seeing you again, Justin.”
“Yeah, you, too. Um, hey listen, do you want to share a cab, or maybe you’d like someone to escort you home?”
My cheeks heated under his intense stare. Something told me he wanted to do more than escort me home. “I appreciate it, but I’ll manage fine. I have a stop to make before I head home.”
He nodded. “Well, at any rate, it was great seeing you again.” The awkwardness that now quickly formed between us was exactly why I hadn’t dated anyone. If you weren’t into them, you ended up having to be the one to break things off, and then they would stare at you like Justin was right now.
Ugh.
“You too, Justin.”
Quickly slipping my heels back on, I searched out Clare and Autumn again after losing sight of them while talking to Justin. I needed to let them know I was going home.
Finding them, I made my way over to the bar. “Hey, guys, I think I’m calling it a night.”
“What? So soon? We just got here!” Clare said with a pout.
Kissing them both on the cheek, I made myself smile. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“Damn straight you will!” Autumn replied. They walked me outside and waited with me for a cab. Once I was safely stowed away, they turned and headed back into the club. It’s not like this wasn’t new for them. It usually went this way when I went out with them. I needed a shirt that read “I’m the party pooper.”
My heart felt heavy as I mumbled my address to the cabdriver. I wasn’t sure if it was from letting down my friends again, or seeing my mystery firefighter with another woman.
Chapter 3
Finn
Playing detective
“You wouldn’t happen to know the lawyer that was at the union meeting a few days ago, would you?”
John Penley stared at me with a blank expression. “Why?”
With a shrug, I responded, “Just wondering.”
“I’d stay far away from that, Ward. Far. Far. Away.”
I wasn’t getting anywhere with the guys at the station. No one knew her, and if they did, they kept warning me to stop asking.
Nikki Evans walked by, whistling. “Nik! Wait up.”
She kept walking. “Whatever you want, Ward, I’m not interested, I can’t help you, and no, I’m not going to sneak away with you for a quick fuck.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Oh come on, Nik. I asked you one time to sneak off. I get that you have a boyfriend and I haven’t hit on you since, have I?”
She stopped and looked at me. “No. You haven’t. What do you want?”
Lacing my fingers through my hair, I asked, “At the union meeting last week, who was the new lawyer?”
“Rory?”
Rory.
“The one sitting on the end, next to the other suit I’ve never seen before.”
“Yeah, Captain introduced them when he was talking. They’re the new counsel who’ll be handling cases for the fire department.”
“Shit. That must have been when I fell asleep.”
Her mouth dropped open while her eyes widened. “Dude, Cap already has something against you; you’re lucky he didn’t catch ya sleeping and fire your ass.”
With a halfhearted chuckle, I shook my head. “I don’t know why he doesn’t like me.”
Titling her head and giving me a really look, she said, “Oh I don’t know. It might have something to do with you hooking up with that EMS chick in the back alley. You remember, his first day, when he caught y’all?”
I pointed to her and stated my defense. “Hey! We were off duty when he caught us.”
She laughed. “Still, I’d keep your nose as clean as you can.”
