Page 4 of Code Red Chemistry

Levi chuckles, the sound low and rich. “Oh, I remember exactly what I was wearing. Funny, though… I have norecollection of your dress that night. You naked… Now, that’s a different story.”

I narrow my eyes. “You really are begging for a half-glass of warm champagne in your face, aren’t you?”

He holds up both hands, as if surrendering. “And here I was, thinking we were on our way to a repeat.”

“A repeat! A repeat?” How in the world he’d made the leap from, ‘I haven’t seen you in five years’ to proposing we hop into the nearest coat closet together is beyond me.

But also a teensy bit…appealing. I mean, that night was one of the best ever in my book. But I’m not about to give him the satisfaction.

He laughs at my outburst, the rich, honeyed rumble filling the air between us. The corners of his dark eyes crinkle, and I glimpse the devilish balance of swagger and sincerity that drew me in all those years ago.

And heck, if his amusement isn’t infectious. Within seconds, the stress and tension I’ve carried for months melts away like cotton candy dissolving on my tongue. The warmth of it seeps into my bones, pooling in my chest and spreading outward until my fingertips tingle.

And then, with a voice still husky with laughter, he murmurs, “God, I missed you, Zoe Meyer.”

Levi

The crisp spring nightair hits my face like a splash of cold water as we spill out of The Flatiron onto the sidewalk, but it does nothing to cool the burning in my chest.

Zoe Meyer.

Dr. Zoe Meyer.

Hell, five years of trying to get over that woman was blown to hell in the span of twenty minutes.

“Damn, Reyes.” Mack claps me on the shoulder hard enough to make me stumble. “Never seen you crash and burn quite that spectacularly.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, as a car horn blares, but there’s no heat behind my words. Because he’s right. I handled seeing Zoe about as smoothly as a probie on their first call. Just like the last time I saw her, the morning after Alex and Kristina’s wedding, which is probably why she’s still so salty.

Never one to miss a chance to give me a hard time, Jake chimes in from behind. “She sure handed back your ego inpieces. ‘It’sDr. Zoe Meyerto you,’” he mimics in a high-pitched voice that sounds nothing like her. Though, to be fair, nothing could capture the way her voice wrapped around those words, managing to be both ice-cold and scorching hot at the same time.

“Fuck off,” I mutter, even though they’re not wrong. I got my ass handed to me back there. But the thing is, they don’t understand why it matters. To them, she’s just another woman I’ve fucked who shot me down. To me… Christ, I don’t even know how to explain what Zoe is to me.

“Seriously, though,” Jake continues, nudging Mack with an elbow as we skirt a couple heading to the bar. “Usually, the ladies are eager to jump on the Levi train. That one looked like she’d rather get a root canal than go on another date with him.”

“I don’t know how you convinced her before,” Mack says, opening the passenger cab door of our ladder truck. “But that woman is way out of your league, brother.”

I run a hand through my hair because he’s right. Zoe’s always been out of my league. She’s smart as hell, driven, beautiful enough to stop traffic—and now, a doctor on top of it all. Meanwhile, I’m the guy who barely finished high school before joining the fire academy. A man who’s spent the last five years treating relationships like disposable paper coffee cups, chasing something elusive. A spark that’s always been missing since…her.

I climb up into my crew seat in the truck, trying to get my head straight. But all I can think about is the way Zoe looked tonight. That little black dress hugged curves that have starred in way too many of my dreams. Her honey-blonde hair had fallen in waves around her face, those hazel eyes flashing every time she looked at me.

“I’ve gotta see her again.” Before her brother’s dinner, where we’d have an audience.

“What?” three voices chorus in disbelief.

“You heard me.” I straighten, squaring my shoulders against their incredulous stares.

“Didn’t she say you’re her brother’s best friend?” Jake asks.

“Yeah,” Mack adds, “And a player to boot.”

The two of them are giggling like schoolgirls as we buckle up and Brock fires up the engine.

I ignore them and steal a glance back toward the bar. “Look, I screwed up with her. Bad. I need a chance to explain why I acted like such a dick after we….”

Brock flicks a glance over his shoulder at me. “Fucked?”

Bastard.

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