Page 14 of Hot & Bothered

It was really great.She messaged back.

Yeah? Did you go with the chowder or the chili?

I can’t believe you remembered that. Will you judge me if I say I had a bowl of both?

He grinned.I’d have probably had four bowls of each, so no. No judgment here.Did you have a nice Christmas with yourparents?

He wanted to call her, but worried that might be a little too forward. Yes, they’d spent the night together and had sex more than once and in many positions, but would calling be trying too hard? He hated all this new dating protocol bullshit. He hated dating in general.

Fuck it.

He hitdial.

“You’re one ofthosepeople, eh?” she answered.

“One of what people?”

“A person who actually calls on the phone and doesn’t just text.”

He chuckled, though a frisson of unease wormed through him that he’d overstepped. “Texting is so impersonal.”

“I agree.” There was a smile in her voice, and he let out a sigh of relief. “Christmas was so lovely. They were very curious about you.”

“You told your parents about me?”

Even though he couldn’t see her, he knew she was probably shrugging. “I’m very close with my parents. I just said that we hung out and met at the bachelor-bachelorette party and wedding. And that we’re having dinner tomorrow. That was it. Though, my mom wanted to see a picture of you, so I showed her one from your Instagram.”

He rolled onto his back, put his phone on speaker mode and tucked his hands behind his head, letting his phone rest on his bare chest. “Yeah, which picture did you show her?”

“Had to scroll for a bit to find one with your shirt on. You were in front of a waterfall.”

He snorted. “That’s from last fall. My ex took that. We were at Little Qualicum Falls.”

“Figured it was somewhere on the island. Did you have a nice Christmas with your family?”

“Sure did. Ate my weight in turkey and trimmings.”

“Only way to do it. And how was your first shift back?”

“Thankfully, uneventful. Nothing but some routine calls, which is surprising, because this time of year can bring out the worst in people.”

“It sure can.” Peyton was a social worker with the ministry, just like Rayma, and like Jace, he was sure she’d seen her fair share of disturbing shit. “Then you trained for a million hours after?”

“Not quite a million, but it sure felt like it.” His traps were tight, and he’d definitely be feeling them in the morning. A quick hop in the infrared sauna at the gym wasn’t enough. He needed to book a deep-tissue massage and get the knots properly untied. “But I’m going to hit the gym in the morning instead of after work so I can come have dinner with you.”

“Oh, I don’t mind if we eat late. Don’t kill yourself on my account. I was thinking about doing a yoga class after work, anyway.”

“You’re sure?” As much as he loved talking to her, his eyes were struggling to stay open and his brain fog grew thicker.

“Totally. What time would you be done your workout?”

“I’m off work at six, would be at the gym by six-thirty, and I can be out by eight-thirty, home and showered by nine.”

“That’s perfect. Let’s plan for you to come over here for nine.”

“That’s not too late?”

She made a noise of impatience. “I understand what you’re working toward, Jace, and I know that training comes first. So if nine o’clock is when I can see you, then that’s okay. I just want to see you.”

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