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Lucy’s heart squeezed. Sure, Sam was brash, and okay, yes, his ego was sometimes big enough to need its own sidecar. But he was an excellent firefighter, never hesitating to run into danger in order to help people out of it. He was funny and brave, and he was kind to people like Hazel, who needed it most. She knew if she said any of these things to him, he’d brush her off, just as he had earlier, so she said the only thing he’d let her get away with.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but your family is a bunch of asshats.”
His laugh burst out of him, rich and velvety and so, so good. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“Thanks for trusting me with your story,” Lucy said, her eyes meeting his in the soft glow of the kitchen lights.
“I told you, it’s not a big secret,” he said, then tacked on, “but thanks for listening. And for staying.”
Nudging his knee with her own, she grinned. “You fed me pizza and told me your family drama. I hate to break it to you, but you’re stuck with me now.”
“Oh, good.” Sam nudged her back, and it felt better than it should. “Because I was going to watch a bunch of firefighter shows and pick them apart for inaccuracies. You in?”
Lucy slid off her bar stool with a laugh. “Thought you’d never ask.”
14
Sam collapsed against the bright red mats in the academy gymnasium in a sweaty heap. His muscles burned as if someone had lit them on fire, his breath arriving in short bursts that made talking impossible, so he didn’t bother. The eye roll that Lucy gave up as Captain Nolan had called “time!” told Sam he’d been well within the threshold for push-ups performed in two minutes, and he rolled to his back and grinned up at her expectantly.
“Well?” he gasped, and she sighed.
“Forty-two. You freaking show-off.”
“Ha! Bet that’s an academy record.”
Lucy hummed. “Right. Becausethatwon’t go straight to your head.”
“Aw, it’s like you know me,” Sam said, and there—therewas the tiny little smile he’d bet she was doing her best to squash.
“Stop gloating and hydrate so I don’t have to listen to you complain about how sore you are later.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sitting up to grab his water bottle, Sam took a long draw and waited for Captain Nolan to come by with his clipboard to record his push-ups. After the night of their ridiculously hot kiss, which Sam wouldnotthink about right now, because hard-on + Lucy nearby = very bad things, he and Lucy had settled into an unspoken routine. They’d spent most of the weekend together, going to the gym or Daisy’s or his place to watch TV, talking and laughing until their sides hurt. Once Monday had rolled around, they’d shifted to accommodate their schedule at the academy, meeting up in the evenings to grab takeout and study, and their routine had lasted all week. Neither one of them had mentioned their kiss again, and even though Sam had relived it in his head no less than a billion times, he’d meant what he said. If Lucy didn’t want to take things further, they wouldn’t.
No matter how badly he still wanted her.
The sound of a throat clearing snapped Sam back to the here and now of the gym, where—shit—Captain Nolan stood in front of him expectantly. “Faurier. de Costa. Your presence is required in the office.”
Sam’s heart pounded for a reason that had nothing to do with push-ups. The sight of Lucy’s eyes, round and wide and loaded with worry, didn’t help. She knew better than to question the man, simply responding “yes, sir,” and handing over the clipboard she’d been recording Sam’s fitness test results on.
Sam, however? Had no such restraint. “Sir? Is something wrong?”
“Yes, Faurier. Something is wrong. You’re not moving.” Nolan’s eyes shifted to the door, then back to Sam. “You’re dismissed.”
Fuck. “Yes, sir.”
Jumping off the mat, he fell into step beside Lucy, waiting until they were well out of Nolan’s earshot before whispering, “Do you have any idea what this is about?”
“No. But I don’t get the feeling it’s anything good.”
Sam couldn’t argue. He measured his breaths, grateful as hell for the fact that they had to walk to the office so he could at least take the edge off the burst of energy that would’ve forced him to fidget if they’d been sitting still. But the trip ended far too soon, and a minute later, they were crossing the threshold to the academy’s main office.
“Faurier and de Costa?” the woman behind the desk asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Lucy said, and Sam echoed the response.
“Right this way,” the woman said. She led them to a small conference room, and his heart beat triple-time at the sight of Nat, Captain Bridges, and Detective Isabella Walker sitting next to each other at the table in the center of the room. Lucy stiffened beside him, clearly having the same oh-shit reaction to the fact that Bridges obviously knew they’d asked to help investigate the warehouse fire, and he had to salvage this, fast.
