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“I know.” He shakes his head. “But I’ve been collecting since I was 12 years old.”
“And you could have been dead, which you’ve been growing for 13 years longer than that.”
“Right. Right.” He raises his hands in defense. “I need to call my wife.” He raises his phone to his ear as images of his charred body on his living room floor smack me in the face. I’ve known Owen and his wife since I was in middle school. We played football together back then.
When my cell rings, I open my coat and drag it out of my pocket. A San Francisco number. Shit. My heart drops to my feet as every muscle in my body jolts to full alert. I don’t know anyone from there except for Harbor, but this isn’t her cell or work number.
“Hello?” My voice cracks as I brace myself for bad news.
“Hello, is this Cole Thornburg?”
My throat closes even tighter. “Yes?”
“This is Chief Ortega with Fire Station 3. We reviewed your application. When would be a good time for you to come for an interview? Of course, it’s more of a formality than anything else. You sound like the perfect fit for our team.”
Thank God. The fire department near Harbor’s neighborhood. I pop my neck. This is for Harbor. “How about next week?”
Kameron races down the ladder and heads toward me with a wide grin on his face.
“Let’s go for the next Tuesday. It’s a little longer, but I’m out of the office for vacation next week.”
“That’s fine.”
“You look like Paul Bunyan out here.” Kameron chuckles as he pats me on the shoulder.
I grin while stuffing my phone back into my shirt pocket as the guys pile out of the house, joking and smacking each other on the back. Damn it. I can’t imagine not working with these guys.
Chapter Forty-One
Harbor
The second Cole sees me getting out of the car, he’s strolling down the stairs and making a beeline toward me. And the look in his eyes makes the butterflies in my stomach flip. He’s gorgeous, and he’s all mine. It’s impossible to believe that a few weeks ago, I thought he’d never noticed me. That all those years of pining for something I desperately wanted was out of my grasp.
“Hey, beautiful.” He surveys me up and down.
“I’m wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.” With my frequent trips back and forth, I’ve discovered the secrets to making the travels as painless as possible–comfortable clothes, audiobooks, and fruit gummies. And I’ve only missed my turnoff once when a chapter was so good I lost track of where I was. It only took me ten minutes to loop back around after I realized my mistake.
“Babe.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. “I don’t care what you’re wearing; you’re beautiful to me.”
“Thank you.” I lace my arms around his neck. “And you look delicious.” I arch upward on my tiptoes. “Good enough to eat.”
“I’d love that.” His eyes twinkle, but he stays straight rather than enveloping me against him.
I arch my eyebrows. “What?” It’s not like we’re keeping this a secret anymore, so why isn’t he ravishing me like usual.
“I’d love that.” One corner of his mouth arches upward. “But both our parents are inside.”
“Oh….” I wrinkle my nose. “That puts a damper on what I was planning.”
“I wanted to tell you before you got too excited and couldn’t control yourself anymore. I realize I’m hard to resist.”
I laugh at his irresistible charm as warmth settles deep inside me. “I’ll put forth a Herculean effort to keep from jumping your bones.” I tip my head sideways. “For….?”
“Four hours tops.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“They wanted to make sure I wasn’t screwing this up, and your mom and mine are cooking dinner.”
