Page 26 of The Heat Between Us

Lewis chuckles, the sound rumbling pleasantly under my ear. "Me neither. I'm usually much more... cautious."

"Is that the polite way of saying you don't usually sleep with women you just pulled from burning buildings?" I tease.

"Well, you're the first woman I've pulled from a burning building that I actually wanted to know more about, so technically..." He grins down at me.

"Lucky me," I say, and mean it.

His expression softens, becoming more serious. "I don't want you to think this is... I mean, this isn't just..." He struggles to find the right words.

I place my finger against his lips, stopping his fumbling explanation. "I know. This isn't just sex for me either."

The relief in his eyes is palpable. "Good. Because I'd really like to see where this goes, Chloe. Whatever this is between us."

The simple honesty of his statement touches me deeply. "I'd like that too."

"Even though you've got a law practice to rebuild and I've got two weeks of desk duty ahead of me?" he asks.

"Of course," I confirm. "Maybe especially because of that. I came to Cedar Falls for a fresh start, and while a fire wasn't exactly part of the plan..."

"It did bring us together," Lewis finishes. "Silver lining and all that."

I laugh, tracing the line of his jaw with my fingertip. "Exactly. Though maybe we can find less dramatic ways to spend time together going forward."

"I don't know," he says thoughtfully. "I kind of liked carrying you out of danger. Very heroic."

"You were very heroic," I agree, pressing a kiss to his chest, right over his heart. "But I think I prefer you like this. Safe. With me."

His arms tighten around me at that, and something passes between us—an understanding, a promise. Whatever the future holds—rebuilding my law practice, his return to active duty, figuring out how two people with such different approaches to life can fit together—we'll face it together.

"What happens now?" I ask, not just referring to the immediate future.

Lewis considers this, his hand still making those soothing patterns on my skin. "Well, first, we should probably get dressed before Ollis and Evelyn show up with lasagna."

The thought of his brother finding us like this makes me laugh despite the slight embarrassment it provokes. "Definitely. And then?"

"And then," Lewis says thoughtfully, "we take it one day at a time. Find you a new office space. Get you settled in Cedar Falls properly." He pauses, then adds with a smile I can hear in his voice, "Introduce you to Miller's Pond at sunrise. Test out which restaurant really does have the best burgers in town."

It sounds so simple when he puts it that way. Just life, unfolding day by day, but with him beside me. Not a carefully plotted five-year plan, but something more organic, more real.

"I like the sound of that," I say, snuggling closer against him.

"Me too," Lewis murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

Outside, the sun continues its slow descent, painting the room in deepening gold. In a couple of hours, Ollis and Evelyn will arrive with dinner, and we'll need to face the outside world again. But for now, in this quiet, golden moment, there's just us—two people who found each other in the most unlikely of circumstances, somehow exactly where we're meant to be.

And as I lie there in Lewis's arms, I find myself thinking that maybe sometimes the best things in life aren't planned at all. Sometimes they find you, even amid flames and fear. Sometimes they rescue you when you didn't even know you needed saving.

Epilogue - Lewis

Two years later

I pull into the driveway at 6:15, right on schedule. No matter how hectic things get at the station, I make it a point to be home for dinner on my regular shifts. It's a promise I made to myself—and silently to Chloe—when Emma was born six months ago: be present, be consistent, be there.

Shutting off the truck's engine, I take a moment to breathe, transitioning from firefighter to husband and father. It's a switch that gets easier every day, though the responsibility of it still amazes me sometimes. Two years ago, I was just living day to day, content but aimless. Now I have a purpose that goes beyond even the satisfaction of saving lives.

I have a family to come home to.

The thought brings a smile to my face as I grab the small envelope Mrs. Finch dropped off at the station earlier. Our anniversary is tomorrow—two years since Chloe and I went on our first official date, though we both count the day of the fire as when our story really began.

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