Page 34 of Fire and Icing

“I’m game if you are, Emberleigh. But I’m only doing this to help you out. If you want to call it off, no harm, no foul.”

Emberleigh. The way he says my name—like it matters. LikeImatter. It scrambles my thoughts and steadies me all at once.

“Okay. Yes. I’m game,” I tell him. “Prepare yourself. I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but around here, people will talk. The idea of us dating will become the hottest topic in town. Trust me. So, get ready for all the teasing at the station, the questions from townspeople, and the stories.”

“The stories?”

“About me. You’re about to hear my life story, only in sound bites, and not all of them are accurate. In fact, don’t believe even half of what they tell you.”

“So we’re pulling this farce off here in town too?” he asks.

“I can’t see how we’d ever go on public television and pretend to be a couple and then go on in our usual lives as if we’re only …”What are we? Friends? Acquaintances?

“Friends?” he asks.

“Yes,” I concede. “Friends.”

“So, we’re friends?” Dustin smiles widely.

“Yes. I’d say we’re friends.” The least I can do is call him a friend. After all, he’s really going out of his way to help me right now.

Dustin shakes his head and lowers it as he does. When his eyes meet mine again, he says, “That’s all I wanted. Just a chance with you—a chance to prove to you I’m not such a manhandling oaf after all.”

“Well …” I smile at him. It might be my first full smile of the night. “Mission accomplished.”

Chapter 8

Dustin

I believe in rules. Sure I do.

If there weren't any rules, how could you break them?

~ Leo Durocher

Emberleigh smilesat me from across the table and I fight the urge to stare at her. I haven’t been the recipient of many of her smiles—yet. Can you blame a man for indulging just a little in the spoils of his efforts? All I wanted was this. A truce. To hear her say we could be friends. That and regular blueberry-lemon donuts. But I’d even give those up to see her like this—relaxed and happy.

She takes more bites of her pasta and I turn my focus to my food. We eat in silence, glancing at one another occasionally.

Don’t fall.

Where did that thought even come from? I’m not falling. Obviously. We just met.

But that statement,We aren’t dating. And we won’t ever… It’s just so final. Am I that repulsive to her that she could never imagine giving me a chance? I didn’t move to Waterford to finda girlfriend. Definitely not to fall in love. I took this job because I’ve always wanted to be a fireman. That, and I wanted to be in Tennessee—near Nashville. I won’t ever be a country music star, but at least I can live near the heartbeat of the music scene, get some gigs with crowds who love country tunes, and toss my hat in the ring if I ever have a chance.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks after she takes a sip of water and sets her cup on the table between us.

“Music.”

I’m about to say more when my phone rings.

“Excuse me,” I say, looking down at the screen. “Oh. It’s my mom. I’ll call her back.”

“You can take it.”

“You sure?”

Emberleigh nods, so I press the green icon.

---