Page 23 of Deck the Fire Halls

“He was sorry he hadn’t caught me on my first day, but Katie told him, in no uncertain terms, that my standard was, and I quote, ‘Fine.’”

That made me chuckle. “Sounds like Katie.”

He smiled as he pulled the plug and wiped his hands on a dishtowel, and holy hell, that was sexy too.

How was this man so damned sexy when all he was doing was drying his hands?

I wanted to step over to him, take his face in my hands, and kiss him. Feel his tongue against mine, feel his body beneath me, his hands on me...

“Soren?”

“Huh?”

He laughed. “I asked how your day was.”

Oh. I was sure my face flamed as if he could somehow tell where my mind had gone.

“Oh, it wasfine.”

“No terrible fires to battle?”

“No, thankfully. There were fire hydrants to maintain and reports to fill out.”

His eyes shone as he smiled. “Sounds fun.”

“Not really.”

“So what do firemen do when they’re not fighting fires? When everything’s covered in snow.”

“Maintenance, fire prevention, education. Winter means more house fires, unfortunately. Wood fires, electric heaters, clothes drying in front of heaters, overloaded electric panels, circuits.”

“Oh, of course.”

“And we help clean up accidents and fallen trees, that kind of thing.”

His eyes met mine and there was a kindness there that made my heart thump. “I guess I’ve never thought about what firemen do. Apart from putting out fires.”

I chuckled. “And what do doctors do in quiet towns like Hartbridge?”

“Colds, immunizations, prenatal care, the cutest baby check-ups, and a sprained wrist from a horse-riding incident.”

“Ouch.”

“It’s a nice change of pace for me.”

“Don’t find it . . . boring?”

He shook his head. “Heavens, no. I mean, it’s only day two, but so far, I’m enjoying it.”

“I’m glad.”

Rob smiled and hung the dishtowel over the oven door handle. “So, are we heading out to the treelighting thing everyone in town was talking about today?”

I clapped my hands together. “Yes.” Then I checked my watch. “We have time, and it’ll be a nice walk.”

“Walk? It’s dark and there’s snow . . .”

I laughed. “Doesn’t it snow in Seattle?”

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