Page 32 of When We Burn

“You do have a good backyard,” she says with a nod. “Holden hated that I moved into my place. Hated it.”

“Why?” I sip my iced tea, watching her.

“Because it’s old and shabby, but it’s cheap, and it’s clean, and I have some projects planned for it. Some paint and stuff, nothing too crazy. But I like the neighborhood, and I’m not too far from work. In fact, I usually walk.”

I blink at her. “Wait, youwalk? Dani, that’s more than a mile each way.”

“I won’t do it after it gets cold, but it’s been nice out lately.” She shrugs and sips her Coke. “I like to be outside, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

That’s true. I find her outside often.

“Any particular reason for that?”

She sighs. “You know we don’t have to talk about my crappy childhood all the time.”

“I didn’t ask about your shitty childhood.”

“No, but most of my quirks circle back to that. The house I grew up in was horrible, so I liked to be outside, and I still do.” She shrugs. “It’s not a sad thing; it’s just a thing.”

“You don’t look sad to me,” I admit, shaking my head as I watch her. “I don’t see you that way.”

“Good. Because it would suck if you were only hanging out with me because you felt sorry for me.” She frowns and presses her lips together, as if she didn’t mean to say that, and I decide to put that shit out of her headright nowand reach for her hand, linking our fingers.

“I don’t see anything to feel sorry for, Dani. You’re beautiful, a successful teacher, you have your own place, and you’ve carved out a life for yourself that you love. I admire that you take such good care of your students, especially since my daughter is one of them. She has nothing but amazing things to say about you and being in your classroom. Yeah, you came from a pretty shitty situation, but you’re thrivingdespiteit, and you’re absolutely someone that I want to spend a lot of time with. Not because I think Ishould, but because staying away from you isn’t a fucking option for me.”

“Here you go,” Sandy says as she places our food on the table, and I have to pull back, releasing Dani’s hand. When we’ve confirmed that we don’t need anything else, Sandy bustles away.

“Okay,” Dani says, obviously in response to what I said before the food arrived.

“So, why areyouhere?” I ask her as I slide a slice onto her plate. “My good looks? My charm? My cool truck?”

She doesn’t laugh the way I expect her to. Her eyes widen, and then she licks her lips. “Bridger, I don’t know if anyone has ever told you this before, and if they haven’t, well, shame on them, but you’re hot.”

I bust up laughing, and that makes her laugh, immediately lightening the mood.

“You’re just here because I’m a piece of meat?”

“No. I don’t just mean physically, although, yeah.” She waves her hand around, indicating all of me, and I can’t help but grin at her because she’s adorable, and my dick has decided to join in on this conversation. “You have that going for you, but it’s in the things you say and the way you just are. You’re…yeah. You do it for me.”

Now I’m fascinated, and I lean in, ignoring the food on my plate.

“I dowhatfor you, sweetheart?”

She blushes again and pulls a piece of pineapple off her pizza, popping it into her mouth.

“I am not having this conversation here.” She glances around nervously, looking shy. “We know half the people in this restaurant, Bridger.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Let them see.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “This conversation is to be continued, Chief.”

My stomach jolts the same way it did the first time she called me that.

“No.”

Her eyes are full of mischief as she takes a bite of her pizza. “No?”

“Absolutely fucking not.”

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