Page 53 of Fire and Icing

“I can’t wait.” I smile at her.

“It must be nice to be so unflappable.”

I take another bite of my muffin. “It’s who I am. I can’t say whether it’s nice or not.”

“It’s nice,” she says, avoiding my eyes.

I can feel my smile widen. “Well, I’d better get ready. I’m on shift in a few hours, but I’m meeting the crew for an early run—twelve miles.”

“Me too,” she says, and then her eyes go wide. “Not the twelve miles. Just work. If you ever see me running twelve miles, call the sheriff.”

I laugh.

We both approach the sink to rinse our cups and dishes at the same time. I turn on the water and step back. She rinses her dishes and turns to leave the kitchen.

“Have a nice day,” she says before leaving the room. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” I say. Then I count to five in my head, and when I know she’s far enough away, I add, “Muffins.”

She shouts my name from the stairway. “Dustin!”

I head down the basement stairs, laughing to myself.

Cody and I are inspecting and cleaning the SCBA masks and checking all our tools.

“You’re getting out of here for a few weeks?” he asks.

“Just for a week,” I say. “They film the whole contest in seven days, but it airs over two weeks.”

“Talk about a whirlwind,” Greyson says, setting the mop back in the bucket.

“What’s a whirlwind?” I ask.

“You and Emberleigh. She wouldn’t even talk to you a few weeks ago. Now you’re dating and heading off to do a baking contest with her?”

“Yep.” I shrug.

“Well, best of luck,” Patrick says, handing the equipment log over to me so I can check it off.

“Yeah. I’m happy for you, man,” Cody says. “Emberleigh’s the real deal. She’s special.”

“Yeah,” I admit. “She is.”

I look over at Greyson. He’s staring at me like I’m a puzzle he’s trying to solve.

Trust me, I’m as puzzled as the next guy as to how I got myself into this fake dating situation with a woman who’s sworn we’ll never actually date. And now I find myself thinking about her whenever my mind isn’t otherwise occupied. I feel like telling Greyson not to waste his time. I’m an unsolvable puzzle.

The station alarm rings.

Captain pops out the door into the bay. “Bride stuck in the elevator on the fourth floor of the Mayfair. No fire hazard.”

No one says another word. We grab helmets, run to the truck and hop in, skipping our bunker gear since this is a rescue.

Patrick turns on the siren, puts the truck into drive and we make our way to one of the two hotels in town. On the way, Patrick and Cody share updates through our headsets.

“Power is on in the building.”

“No known injuries or medical emergencies.”

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