Page 15 of A Very Grumpy Firefighter

I squeeze her to my side, and she snuggles closer to me.

“He’ll be okay,” she reassures me, and I nod against the top of her head.

“Yeah. He might move out here. It would be nice to be closer to him and not just see him like once a year.”

“I’d like to meet him.”

“He’s going to love you.”

“You’ve told him about me?” She asks, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, he’s heard all about you.”

She ducks her head into my chest, and I can tell without looking that she’s blushing right now.

We stay wrapped around each other for a few moments, and then she pulls back.

“Are you hungry? I can make something, or we can order takeout.”

“What do you want to do? What are you hungry for?” I ask her.

“A burger,” she says, sighing almost dreamily, and I grin.

“Burgers it is. You want yours medium and with everything except onions, right?” I ask as I pull out my phone to place our order.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You want a milkshake or a coke?”

“How do you know my order?” She asks, and I look up at her.

“I know a lot about you.”

“How?”

“I pay attention.”

“What else do you know about me?” She asks, and I have a moment of doubt.

Am I about to scare her off? Am I coming on too strong?

“I know that you love plants and to read, especially romance books. I know that your favorite color is purple, you love Christmas, hate anything peach flavored, and you love sweets, especially sour gummy worms. I know that you love your grandpa and that your mom sucks. That you’re scared. I know that you’ve been alone for a while, and I think that you’re getting sick of it. You want what your friends have. You want someone who loves you.”

And that someone is me.

I keep that last part to myself because I can see that I’ve thrown her off. Lilou is staring at me wide-eyed, and I smile, reaching out and squeezing her hand.

“You like people watching? I used to do it all of the time when I was younger,” she says with a smile.

I want to growl. I’m pouring my heart out to her, and she’s still being oblivious. I want to shake her and scream that I love her, but I know that I can’t.

That’s okay. She’s mine now. I’ve got time to get through to her and show her that we’re meant to be.

We sit back against the couch cushions as we wait for the food to be delivered, and I take a deep breath.

I’ll get through to her.

Soon.

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