Page 29 of Single Mom's Firemen

She smiles softly and plants a kiss on my lips. It’s enough to get my engine running once more. The effect that this woman has on me is downright incredible. I have already had my share of erections at work caused purely by her presence and her stolen glances.

“We kind of jumped the gun, didn’t we?” Halle says. “Skipped a few important steps.”

“We can catch up.”

“I agree,” she laughs lightly. “Okay, so you wanna take me out on a date.”

“I’d like that, ma’am. Very much.”

She thinks about it for a moment, pursing those sweet lips before raising an eyebrow at me. “Alright, then. What are you suggesting?”

“The classic dinner and a movie feels like the right choice, but if you think I’m moving too fast, I’m okay with a coffee date.”

That has both of us laughing.

The front door opens. I didn’t hear the key turning in the lock.

“I got the parmesan like you asked,” Wyatt says as he comes in, casual as ever with a bag of groceries in one arm and a bottle of wine in the other. “Since you’re making spaghetti and meatballs, I’m thinking red wine would…”

His voice trails off as he comes in and sees us frozen on the sofa. Still very much naked. Though I am nowhere near as mortified as Halle is. I feel her turn suddenly cold and stiff as a corpse.

Chase joins Wyatt under the living room’s wide entryway.

“Well, it didn’t take you as long as I thought it would,” Wyatt mutters, staring at me.

Chase can’t take his eyes off Halle.

“Sorry about this,” I decide to get the awkwardness out of the way and reach for one of the throw blankets on the sofa’s armrest. “Here,” I cover Halle with it. She is so quiet and practically shell-shocked. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“It’s anything but,” she manages, white as a ghost, her voice barely audible. She can’t even look me or my brothers in the eye. “I am so sorry.”

“Halle, it’s okay, I promise.”

“No, it’s not!” she snaps and jumps off the sofa.

Wyatt and Chase swiftly get out of the way as Halle bolts out of the living room and flies up the stairs. The three of us remain quiet for a second until we hear the bedroom door slam.

“This is going to make dinner a tad awkward,” Wyatt calmly concludes.

Chase glowers at me, arms crossing his chest. “What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t, actually. And neither was Halle,” I bluntly reply.

Wyatt can’t help but laugh lightly. “Well, at least we know where we stand. Are we gonna talk to her about it?”

“I’d give her a minute,” I shoot back with a wry smile. “Worst-case scenario, you’re in charge of cooking tonight.”

This thing with Halle will swallow us whole if we’re not careful.

I can already feel myself slipping deeper and deeper under her spell.

She almost died because somebody set fire to that diner knowing she and her children were inside. Whether Halle was the intended target or not is still a mystery, but I am becoming increasingly aware that the more I attach myself to her, the harder it’ll be to keep a clear head as we proceed with this investigation.

I wasn’t lying to her earlier, though.

She’ll never have to walk alone.

9

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