Page 74 of Faking It with the Firefighter

We both looked over when a wail pierced the smoke-scented air.

Donny panted, trying his best to calm Blair, whose face was red and fuming behind the dry chemical powder that covered her. Blair stomped toward us. “I want to know who set my wedding on fire!”

TWENTY-FOUR

ABIGAIL

Blair’s hair was a mess.White chemical powder clung to what had once been perfect curls, and dirt and leaves and dry grass decorated the matted mess. Her makeup was melting off her tear-streaked and soot-stained face. Things from the neck down weren’t any better. I would’ve felt sorry for her, but she spun around and glared at me like she suspected I was the one who’d set her wedding on fire.

I reared back. “What are you looking at me like that for?”

Her head tilted sharply. “I don’t know, Abigail. Why am I?”

“You think I set my own back fence on fire?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you! You’ve had it out for me since I got here!”

I scoffed. “Excuse me? That’s rich?—”

“Ladies,” Donny cut in. “Blair, come on. Abigail saved your life.”

“Abigailruined my dress!”

“So I suppose I should’ve just let you burn?” I asked, planting my hands on my hips.

Blair glared at me, and Donny tried again. He reached for his fiancée. “Blair-bear?—”

She swatted his hand away. “You pushed me to the ground!” Blair yelled, turning her ire on him.

Donny threw his hands in the air. “That’s what you’re supposed to do. You weren’t stopping, dropping,orrolling, Blair!”

“Look at my dress, Donny! It’s ruined!” She grabbed at her gown, showing us the crispy edges of the white lace. Between the charring and the damage the extinguisher had done, she wasn’t wrong. The dress was toast.

Blair slapped her hands on her face. “This whole wedding is ruined. What are the sponsors going to say? And what about the live stream? How many people saw our wedding go up in flames today?”

“About two and a half million,” I said out of the side of my mouth.

Blair shot me a look. “Exactly. This is a disaster! What are we going to do now? Everyone we know is in New Elwood for a wedding, and there is no wedding!”

Her bottom lip wobbled, and something in my iron heart gave way. I sighed, glancing at Rex, then back at Donny and Blair. The air smelled like smoke, and the decorations were ruined messes of wet ash. The guests had mostly scattered, though some of them lingered around the edges of the area to watch the firefighters work.

Part of me felt vindicated by the karmic retribution Blair had just faced. It was pretty epic. But the other partof me, the part that had stars in my eyes and budding wedding dreams myself, wanted to be a cheerleader for happily-ever-afters. “You know, a wedding isn’t really about gowns and florals, it’s about love,” I said, taking Rex’s hand. We shared an adoring look, then I gestured to the charred and crumbled arbor. “The minister is still here. You and Donny could still get married.”

Blair scowled. “Like a JP wedding? Are you nuts? What would our followers think? What would they say about us at CreatorCon next year? No, I’ve worked way too hard planning this. We’re having this wedding. Right, Donny?”

“Um, yeah, Blair-bear,” Donny said, glancing around at the carnage. Well, that was good news. Now if only they could have it today so they could finally leave once and for all. Then Rex and I would have the house to ourselves.

I cleared my throat. “On the other hand, this isgreatcontent. People love disasters. Imagine the outpouring of sympathy! You’ll be able to milk this formonthsif you see it through. Think about the pictures of getting married around all this destruction!” I smiled and waved at the charred arbor.

The light in Blair’s eyes went from homicidal to contemplative. She clicked her fingers at Donny. “Phone.”

Donny sighed and did as he was told. While he navigated to his social media app, Blair squared her shoulders, then painted a pitiful expression on her face. When Donny gave her the nod, she gave her followers a rundown of the situation, overdramatizing what was already pretty dramatic.

“Now who in the hell started this fire?” she demanded again, this time taking off toward what used to be my fence. We followed behind, Donny holding the phone up tocontinue filming, as she called out to the firefighter ahead. “Hey, you there. Have the police made any arsonist arrests yet?”

The man in the yellow uniform wrinkled his brow. “Arsonists?”

“Yes, someone set this fire. And I want to know who it is.” She angled herself so Donny had a great view of her profile. The slanting sun shone on her cheekbones, and even the mess of hair and makeup looked artful instead of horrendous.

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