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“Not about this, no. But that just goes double for you to snap her up. She glows like a sunflower in August, my boy. She won’t be single for long, with or without a baby.”
My chest tightened again. She deserved a guy way better than me, but I was selfish enough to own up to the fact that I wanted it to be me.
I scanned the fifty or so people who were left at the night shift of the party. It was mostly the younger set of cops, paramedics, firefighters, and their significant others. Bonnie was out-partying her daughters and flitting from group to group.
Bonnie Ramos knew everyone and liked to have a good time as much as any of the younger people.
Finally, I spotted Emma trying to hand Gillian a lighter. Instead of taking it, Gillian shoved the sparkler back at her and stalked off toward the barge, away from the partygoers.
Instead of being offended, Emma just rolled her eyes and stuck the sparkler in her bag, then she went on to the next cluster of people. This one was made up of off-duty paramedics still in their uniforms.
Gillian tossed a venomous look over her shoulder before she disappeared inside the boat. She was becoming a larger problem every damn day.
She wanted Emma’s job, but she couldn’t even fake pleasantries while doing her actual job. How was I supposed to trust her to deal with clients for a party? Unsupervised, no less?
Another reason why Emma was perfect for this job. She made everything easy. From gathering materials to calling on her endless wealth of ideas, there was no drama.
Andshewas the one who was an actual actress. If she had to deal with a difficult customer, she could fall back on her arsenal of acting skills to handle it with aplomb.
Lately, Gillian had absolutely no aplomb.
The first whistle of a firework shot into the sky just before a smattering of silvery sparks exploded.
It didn’t matter how old you were, or what kind of day at work you’d dealt with—fireworks made everyone happy.
Everyone turned toward the lake and watched the mini display of gold, silver, and a smattering of blue light up the night.
The first sparkler ignited as Jared and Gina started off the chain of gold through the crowd.
Laughter flowed with the glowing circles made by people writing in the air. My gaze landed on Emma as she slowly edged into the darkness, her sparkler a beacon in the night.
She ducked behind the tree with a smile just for me.
I didn’t think. I simply followed.
While everyone was distracted with the sparklers and desserts, I let myself be distracted by her.
“Emma?”
Her hand came out of the darkness and she dragged me close to her. Then her lips were against mine. I crushed her close.
She tasted of something fruity and cold and smelled of fire.
She lit something in me that had been dormant for so damned long. The last of the fireworks on the lake backlit her golden hair.
“You make me want to break every rule.”
“Rules are made to be broken,” she said against my mouth. “Now kiss me before someone finds us.”
And I did.
Again and again until both of us lost our breath.
Then her pocket went off.
She moaned. “No. Just a minute more.”
“Is that you buzzing or me?” I asked and kissed her between the words.
