Page 1 of Hothead

CHAPTER ONE

Of all the times Lukecould have walked into a door, it had to happen now, didn’t it? At the fire station. And he didn’t even care that it was in front of all his fellow firefighters. Or that he’d spend the rest of his shift getting the piss taken out of him. No. What mattered was thatshewas there to witness his humiliation. The angel who had just entered the room. The most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on.

Way to go, Cappelli.

“Luke Cappelli?” the woman in question repeated, finally pulling him out of his head.

“Uh, yeah,” Luke rasped, his hand shooting up to his forehead to rub what was most likely going to be a big ass bump. “How can I help?”

He watched her take a wary step forward, trying his hardest to keep his expression neutral. The closer she got, the better she looked. And when her silver eyes flashed, he knew he was in trouble.

An errant strand of dirty blonde hair fell to her face as she took her time perusing him. “I’m a friend of your brothers ... Well, Iwasa friend.”

Wait. What?

“I’m sorry, darlin’, you’ve got the wrong man. I don’t have a brother.” His eyes began to narrow now. Suspicion not just pulling at his brow. “What did you say your name was?”

She didn’t flinch at his denial. Or his tone. It was almost as if she’d expected him to say just that.

Who the hell is this girl?

“My name’s Bella.” A faint smile began to curve her lips. “I worked with your brother. Well, half brother, I guess. Marco. Marco Cappelli.”

He didn’t know what was making his stomach churn more, those glittering eyes, that smile, or hearing that name again. After all this time.

Then something clicked. “You saidwas...was a friend—what does that mean?”

He immediately regretted asking as he witnessed her spark slowly dull and anguish seep into every pore.

Chatter in the background came to a stop. The whole main floor was eerily quiet. So quiet he heard the footsteps of his friends as they began to scatter, pretending to busy themselves. He didn’t miss that they were all still very much within earshot.

Nosy bastards.

Another step closer and something that smelled a lot like wild berries hit the back of his throat.

“Marco died. Two months ago,” she announced.

His stomach was no longer churning. It was spasming from the punch to the gut he’d just received. Marco was fucking dead? How the hell could he be dead?

You have an audience. Get your shit together.

It was getting harder and harder to think straight. He needed to get out of there before he asked the questions he didn’t even know that he wanted answers to. This time his facial expressions weren’t neutral, they were blanked as he took another step toward the heavenly being before him, ignoring the berries and closing what little distance was left between them.

“Why are you here?”

Her chin lifted while his dipped. Holy hell. How was it possible that a woman who had the face of an angel could inspire so much fucking sin? Especially now. Corrupting her is the last thing he should be thinking about.

Talk about not the fucking time. Maybe concentrate on the pounding in your ears first, man?

“Your brother sent me.”

“Mydeadbrother sent you?” He felt one eyebrow quirk up. “No. Wait. Don’t tell me ... you’re here to bridge the gap between the living and the dead. Relay a message to me from beyond the grave? All for the bargain price of ninety-nine ninety-five.”

His sarcastic reply didn’t exactly elicit the reaction he was expecting. Bella’s mouth stretched so wide in response that he got his first glimpse of straight white teeth.

Her teeth had to be perfect too, didn’t they?

“Marco was right about you.”

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