Page 20 of A Very Grumpy Firefighter

“I can kind of help,” she amends, and I laugh.

“I know. It surprised me too.”

“Lilou…” she starts, and I sigh.

“I know. This isn’t how I envisioned my life, but it’s happening. Besides, Milo is great. He’s so sweet and thoughtful.”

“And hot,” she adds, and I giggle.

“Yeah, he’s really hot.”

“Have you two…consummated the marriage yet?” She asks, and I can picture her wiggling her eyebrows at me.

“No, not yet.”

“But you want to.”

“Yeah,” I admit softly.

“Girl! Go get him!”

“It’s an arranged marriage, Lym. It’s not really real.”

“Pretty sure that marriage license and stuff is going to be real,” she points out. “I say go for it. Try to make it a realmarriage. We both know that deep down, you want it to be real. And if not, then just enjoy some of the benefits of being married to a sexy firefighter.”

“I’ll think about it,” I tell her. “I’ve got to go. I’m at work, about to start my shift.”

“Okay, talk to you later! I’ll send you the dates now. Let me know if that interferes with your honeymoon.”

“Oh my gosh!” I groan, and she laughs before she ends the call.

I head into Wet and Wild and smile at Maple, my boss.

“Hey! Inventory is done! The girls are meeting at the bar downtown. You want to come with me?” She asks, and I hesitate.

I should head home to have dinner with Milo, but it’s still early. Besides, I love Maple and her sisters, and it has been a while since we’ve all hung out.

“Sure, I can come for a little bit.”

“Great! Help me close up?” She asks, and I nod and get to work.

It doesn’t take us long to get the store cleaned up and gather all of our things.

“I’ll drive us,” Maple says, and I nod gratefully.

The bar isn’t that far away, but I’m glad that I don’t have to make the walk. I’ve been on my feet all day, and I’m exhausted.

I climb into Maple’s car, and we make the short drive over to Murphy’s Bar. She parks, and I wave when I see Vera, Lilliana, and Cameron heading across the parking lot toward us.

“Hey! It’s been too long,” Vera says as she wraps me up in a tight hug.

“I know! How are the wolves?” I ask her.

Vera runs the wolf sanctuary that this town was named after. She grew up on the sanctuary and is braver than I am, because I haven’t set foot on that place. I’ve seen how big those wolves can get and keep a healthy distance between me and them.

“They’re great. A few are pregnant, so we should have some pups in a few months!” She tells me excitedly.

“Aw, I bet they’ll be so cute,” I say as we start to make our way to the bar.

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