Page 35 of Collision

“I’ve been in Sonoma for six years. Right after high school, I became an EMT. After working closely with the fire department in Greensboro, I was encouraged to get the proper training to become a firefighter. So, I guess it’s been almost ten years now.”

“Damn, I can’t imagine being in the same career for that long.”

“How long have you managed O’Malley’s?” Sam asks.

“I’ve worked there off and on since I was eighteen. When I went to college, I worked there over breaks and even some weekends. Jimmy, the owner, took a liking to me and gave me any and every job he had available until I was old enough to bartend. It took me a couple of years to realize I was happier doing shitty jobs at O’Malley’s than I was at school, so I finally came back to Westlake and worked at the bar full time. Last year, Jimmy told me he was ready to take a step back from doing the day-to-day shit and asked me if I wanted the job. I jumped on it.”

“He’s made that bar even more successful than Jimmy did,” I tell Sam. Nolan looks down at the counter with a small, embarrassed smile.

“I just implemented some of the things Jimmy always wanted to try but never had time for.”

“Sure, if you want to be modest about it, that’s all you did.” I wink at him. He rolls his eyes but smiles at me, regardless.

“As much as I don’t want to leave, I need to get home to prep for my shift in the morning,” Sam says as he stands from the stool. I move around the counter and walk with him to the front door. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Nolan disappearing down the hallway to give us a little privacy.

I palm Sam’s face and lean in to kiss him. His soft lips mold perfectly to mine. Then his tongue sneaks out to tease my lower lip, and I groan. It’s like lightning forks through my body every time.

I wrap my arms around his waist to pull him closer. His hard length presses into my hip, and all I want to do is take him back to my bedroom.

“Fuck, Carter,” he breathes.

“Call me later?” I raise an eyebrow at him, hoping he gets my message.

“I’ll do you one better and FaceTime with you.”

I shiver at the idea. “Deal. Text me when you get home, please.”

“I will.” He presses another kiss to my lips before lifting his duffle from the floor and leaving.

I blow out a breath to gather my bearings. I’m pretty sure he’s a wizard. At the very least, he’s got to be magical in some way because it’s the only thing that explains what he does to me.

Whatever it is… I’m hooked.

CHAPTER 16

Sam

“Who’s rattling the pans today?” Rodney asks from his favorite recliner. At this point, I’m pretty sure it has a permanent indentation of his ass on it.

“Taylor and I are. Why?” I ask.

“Please, for the love of God, tell me you’re making lasagna,” he whines.

“I’m making lasagna,” I deadpan.

Rodney narrows his eyes at me. “If you’re shitting me right now, I will knock your nose holes in.”

“That’s physically impossible,” Charlie pipes up from the table where she’s playing solitaire with an actual deck of cards. The weirdo.

Rodney ignores her and holds his fist up in a threatening gesture. I hold my hands up in surrender and stand from my chair.

I search for Taylor but don’t see him, so I decide to go ahead and start on lunch. Of course, I’m making lasagna. It’s the one meal I’m good at, and it feeds the lot of us for a minimal amount of money.

I get it into the oven quickly and set a timer on my phone. Let’s hope I don’t burn this one like I did with the one I made Carter.

I smile. Just the thought of him makes me happy. I’m a sappy asshole today, but I can’t help it. I spent the best two days with a man I’m starting to fall for. It doesn’t make any sense that I could feel this way about him so quickly.

I’m chalking it up to the fact that I know his family to a certain degree and trust that he truly is a good guy. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of dating Carter. I don’t have to wonder if he’s being genuine or if he’s lying to me for some unknown purpose. Which has happened to me.

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