Page 47 of Heating Up (Nugget)
Brady checked the coals on the grill. “Those aren’t hot enough.”
Aidan was too distracted scanning the area for Dana to pay attention to barbecue temperatures. “You got this for a few minutes? I’ve got to go do something.”
He went inside and found Dana sitting on the edge of her bed in her room. “What are you doing?”
“Uh . . . just waiting until people get here.”
“People are here . . . my sister and Brady. We’re outside.”
“I just thought maybe you wanted some time alone with them.”
“Why? She’s my sister. Come on.” He pulled her up, and she followed him outside.
By then, Hutch, and a woman Aidan presumed was his girlfriend, and Kurtis and his wife had arrived. They greeted everyone and made room in the cooler for the drinks they’d brought. Hutch treated Dana like they were long-lost friends.
“I brought fudge,” he said and put a white bakery box on the dessert table.
Dana pointed at a red glass bowl. “Stars.”
“Hot damn.” Hutch grabbed a handful.
Brady watched the exchange and said, “Calloway stars?”
“You bet. And Hutch’s family”—she nodded at the firefighter—“owns Oh Fudge! in Glory Junction. Have you tried it? They make amazing chocolate.”
“Are you kidding?” Sloane said. “That stuff is like crack. Every time we’re there we get a piece.”
Hutch beamed, undoubtedly proud of his family’s enterprise. It was generous of Dana to make such a big fuss over the small-town fudge shop—Aidan hadn’t been to a tourist place yet that didn’t have one—when it sounded like her family owned the Godiva of the West.
Brady took over the barbecue, flipping burgers and pouring beer over the dogs, getting a good steam going. When Aidan tried to take over, Brady brushed him away.
“It’s best to leave it to the pro.”
“I’ve got a news flash for you,” Aidan said. “It’s not that difficult.”
Brady laughed, and they both stood around the grill making small talk. Aidan thought his sister’s fiancé would make a fine addition to the McBride clan. The guy could hold his own in the smart-ass department against Aidan and his two brothers, and he loved Sloane. Like really loved her; it was written all over his face.
His family had loved Sue. She’d gone to Zumba, or whatever the hell you called it, with his mother every week, had taught his old man how to make the perfect Manhattan, and had generally classed up a house filled with roughnecks. His brothers all thought she was smoking hot, which had made Aidan feel like a stud. And Sloane, the toughest critic of the bunch, had embraced Sue like a sister. He didn’t think she or his mother would ever get over losing her from the family.
About three years ago, he’d met her at a Coats for Kids fundraiser in which CFD were big sponsors. She’d gone with her mother, who never met a charity she didn’t like, and he’d attended with a contingent of firefighters. One look at her in a strapless black gown and a mass of red corkscrew curls and he was a goner. Just dead.
The organizers made sure to put a firefighter at every table and Aidan made sure to sit at Sue’s. They talked so much, they barely touched their four-hundred-dollar plates of food. Hey, it was for a good cause. Kids got coats and he got Sue. He left with her phone number in his phone and a tentative date to meet for coffee. Soon, coffee turned into drinks and dinners and parties. The first time they’d slept together, she blew his mind, dancing for him under the stars on his balcony before they made love.
Those early weeks were like a dream, spending entire days in bed, wrapped in each other’s arms. Sometimes they’d go away, stay at a fancy hotel with a hot tub or camp in a tent under an awning of trees.
Eventually, real life intruded and the romance didn’t seem quite as shiny or as perfect. Sue began to complain that his work hours were preventing them from having a normal social life. Like her mother, she enjoyed attending charity events, the symphony, and the opera. Her father had left her a comfortable inheritance when he died, and although she wasn’t rich, she could afford to attend some of Chicago’s glitzier affairs. He attempted to explain to her that his job would never have banker’s hours. At first, she tried to be understanding, but his unpredictable schedule became a constant bone of contention between them. It got to the point where she threw crying fits when he had to leave for the fire station.
“What do you want me to do, Sue? This is my job.”
“Why can’t you do what Eddy did and become a consultant? It pays better and you’d have regular hours.”
“Because I don’t want to be a consultant. I love my job.”
“More than having a family?”
He didn’t see how they were mutually exclusive. His father had raised four kids while working for CFD. More than half the employees in the department had families.
“You’re being selfish,” she accused.
