Page 38 of Fall at Once

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. Tate, I believed, was a total ham. But Pace?

“I’m totally persuasive,” Kenzie insisted. “Okay, fine. It’s probably the sprinkle cakes I bribed them all with. And the friendly reminder that it was for charity. I didn’t say anything untoward, not really.” She shrugged. “Strong-arm tactics, what? Threatening to cut off their breakfast sandwich and protein smoothie supply, who? Not this girl. Oh, and they’re doing us a solid, and some of the crew that are off will swing by. We might be able to get the whole year today.” She took a bow. “You’re welcome, Madi. Tell me I’m the best assistant ever.”

“What can I say?” Madi grinned at her. “I couldn’t do it without you. You’re the best ever.”

“I see.” I chuckled. “Threatening to cut them off at Gigi’s, blackmail, and bribery; I respect your tactics, Kenzie. It makescomplete sense now. I’ll change and round up the guys. Be right back.”

“Girl, I heard almost everything he said to you,” Kenzie whisper-shouted once I’d turned my back. “He cooks. I should have known. That was a complete and total failure of a question. Find a way to ask him about books when you have dinner at his place. Or spill something and see if he knows how to clean it. I don’t know. He might be the perfect man. Like, look at him. Look at all of them. Damn. Today is going to be fun. Helping out friends is so worth it sometimes.”

“Right. You’re so freaking helpful,” Madi whisper-shouted beneath her breath. “Jeez, Kenzie.” Her voice oozed with sarcasm. “You were supposed to be my flirtation prevention buffer. But instead, you accused me of perving out at the thought of shirtless firefighters, then ran off. Thanks for making this so much easier.”

“Hey, I came back as fast as I could. I made a few threats and got the job done. We’ll get six pics today. What more do you want?”

“Fine, you’re right. Thank you.”

I couldn’t help but eavesdrop as I walked away.Did she have feelings for me?It sounded like she did.Flirtation buffer?

I wanted to stop and listen to the rest of their conversation, but I was already being too obvious with how slow I was walking, so I forced myself to go into the station instead.

Tate was already shirtless and rubbing lotion on his chest when I found him by his locker. “I need to wash my hands beforeI head out. Don’t want to slip off the pole, bro.”

“You’re—”

“Oiled up and ready to rock?” He flexed in the mirror.

“Not the words I would choose, but all right.”

“I want to be Mr. January, or maybe February—Valentine’s Day. This could be good for me.”

“I’m glad you’re excited, but I’m not sure I’m up for this, to be honest. And a bachelor auction too?—”

“You don’t want the attention. Yeah, I get it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ve been lying low since the divorce. This will put you back out there. Then there’s the whole Madi situation.”

“Yeah. That. I mean, her. The situation.”

His eyes flicked to mine in surprise. “You’re admitting there’s a situation now. Wow. That’s good. You’re making progress. I’m proud of you.”

“Well, I can’t stop fucking thinking about her. Does that mean there’s a situation?”

He shrugged lightly as he grinned at me. “Pretty much.”

“She’s young,” I grumbled. “Too young for me.”

“She’s thirty years old, Cole. She’s hardly a kid. You had a wife and two kids by the time you were her age.”

“Fine, point taken. But she’s eight years younger than me. Isn’t that creepy?”

“Ask her and see what she says about it. Eight years means nothing when you’re both in your thirties. Besides, I’ve seen how she looks at you.”

I didn’t want to ask, but I had to know. “Uh, how does she look at me?” He was going to give me so much shit for this. I knew it.

He leaned in conspiratorially, relishing being in the older brother role. Usually, I was the one giving all the advice. “Well, it’s not so much thehow. It’s the fact that she doesn’t stop looking once she catches sight of you. The second you step into the Confectionery, you’re like a hunk of metal, and her eyeballs become magnets. It’s cute watching her try to look away, though. Pay attention next time you see her.”

My heart went into orbit at his words. This felt like—I didn’t even know what it felt like. I tried to recall how I’d felt when I had asked Sherry out for the first time and couldn’t.

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