Page 28 of Single Mom's Firemen

But I ride the wave anyway.

8

Eric

Ididn’t plan for this to happen so quickly. Neither did Halle.

I only wanted to comfort her. She looked like she was going through some rough stuff and if there’s one thing I swore I would never stop doing, it’s being there for her. Halle needs more than just the basic help of a roof over her head and a job to pay the bills.

She needs more than a handful of friends to support her in raising those wonderful kids. Halle needs a man—or three—to look out for her, to keep her safe and happy and always sated.

She looks so beautiful right now, half-asleep in my arms.

We’re still on the sofa, naked and basking in the afterglow of something extraordinary and completely unexpected. I could get used to this, to Halle in my arms, soft and coming down from the clouds. That throaty sound she makes when she comes… holy hell, I will never get tired of hearing it. Whatever it is that Halle went through, it left a mark on her soul, and I am compelled to heal it with everything I have to give her.

There is so much kindness in her heart. So much strength and resilience. It makes her more beautiful and more enticing than any other women I’ve ever met. The more I look at her, asleep in my arms, the harder the tug between my heart and hers.

There is an invisible string connecting our souls. I feel it, and I have no choice but to protect it, to make it so strong that nothing will ever make it snap.

Her dark hair falls over my chest in a cascade of silky curls. Her grey-blue eyes open, ever so slowly, while her breathing remains even. I glance at the wall clock in the living room, fully aware that we’ve got maybe another fifteen minutes before my brothers come home and Mom drops the kids off.

It’ll be a full house soon enough but I can’t bring myself to disturb this perfect slice of paradise we’ve got going here.

I like the sound of a full house. When my brothers and I bought this place and rebuilt it from the ground up, I wasn’t sure we’d find someone to make a home with here. Then Halle came along, Sammy and Luna with her, wide-eyed and scared of yet another new beginning.

And everything changed.

“You know, I liked you from the moment you walked into the diner,” Halle confesses, her voice low and raspy. I’m surprised by the ease with which she’s opening up, given that she is usually so cautious and guarded with what she chooses to tells us. Something is different between us now, and I think it has to do with this newfound degree of intimacy. “I said to myself, ‘wow. That’s a man’s man, right there.’”

I can’t help but chuckle. “A man’s man?”

“Yeah. All big and brawny, wearing that uniform and that confident smile that comes so naturally to you,” Halle says, looking up at me. “You commanded the room, and you definitely had my full attention. I don’t even remember what you had for lunch that day. I only remember making sure you had everything you wanted.”

“Well, you kind of failed me there,” I reply.

Halle gives me a troubled look. “Huh. I knew it. I mucked up the order but you were too nice to say anything. In my defense, it was my first week on the job.”

“The order was fine. I wanted you, Halle.”

She stills in my arms, her eyes widening with genuine yet glimmering surprise. “Really?”

“The moment I looked at you, I knew. I knew you were one of a kind. I wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone, to be honest. I’m not sure what came over me,” I say. “I think we can both agree at this point that we’ve got a lot of chemistry between us.”

“Oh, no argument there,” Halle giggles, briefly hiding her face in my neck.

“But there was something else. Maybe it was that hopeful look in your eyes.”

“Hopeful?”

I nod slowly. “Your scars were visible, Halle. It was obvious you’ve been hurt but I could also tell that you want to love again. You’ve been steadily on my mind ever since. There really are good guys out there. The world isn’t filled with just monsters and assholes, you know.”

“My boss did mention at one point that you three were coming in more often than usual,” Halle replies.

I was looking for every opportunity, no matter how small, to get close to her. To see her again. To watch her curvy figure wrapped in that diner uniform. That thing looked awful on every other waitress yet it somehow managed to always compliment Halle.

My fingers itched whenever she walked past our table. Who knew I’d end up being a happy man lying here beside her. All I have to do is reach down and grab a handful of this glorious ass of hers, and everything is right with the world again.

“Where do we go from here?” I ask her after a moment of silence. “I still want to take you out on a date. Dates, actually, plural.”

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