Page 30 of My Grumpy Fire Chief Next Door
Emily leans in. “And we like you with her.”
I say nothing. The mug in my hand is empty, but I bring it to my lips anyway. Just to have something to do.
Emily hums, rocking Maddox gently. “What was her name again?”
I sneak a look in her direction. She already knows. “Kate,” I bite out.
She lifts her brows innocently. “Just checking.” I know they probably won’t rest unless I give them something.
“The cottage didn’t seem safe last night with the storm going on,” I say finally, voice flat.
Knox leans his forearms on the table, eyes on me now. Really dissecting. “It makes sense that you offered up the main house, yes?”
“I’m telling you, she was here because of the storm. That’s all.”
Emily smirks, unconvinced. “Right. And that storm just happened to knock her into your T-shirt drawer.”
I rub the back of my neck, trying to work out the knot forming there. “It’s not like that.”
“Mm.” Knox tips his mug back, eyes still locked on me. “Then what’s it like?”
Emily leans forward and keeps her voice casual. “So… where’s she from?”
I hesitate. My fingers tighten around the coffee mug.
“I mean, before Porthaven,” she prompts, slicing into the flaky crust. “She got family? Friends? A job?”
“Don’t know.”
Emily’s knife pauses halfway through a slice.
Knox whistles low. “You’re kidding.”
I shake my head once, jaw set.
“What about her kid?” Knox asks. “Parker, right? What happened to the dad? Is he in the picture?”
I breathe in sharply.Was that why she stopped me last night?I set the mug down harder than I meant to. “She didn’t say.”
Emily’s brows lift. “And you didn’t ask?”
“There’s no reason for me to interrogate her.”Except for the fact that I’m very much interested in her,I add to myself silently
Knox leans back in his chair and folds his arms behind his head like he’s watching a movie. “So, let me get this straight. You invite a woman you barely know and let her sleep in your house? From the way things appear, something happened between you two, and you haven’t asked her a single personal question?”
I look away, unable to deny the fact that something did happen and, more importantly, that things would have gone out of control if she hadn’t stopped me. My shoulders are tense, and heat is crawling up the back of my neck. “It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like?” Emily’s voice is gentle. No teasing, no push. Just soft curiosity.
I swallow. My mouth tastes like ash.
I could tell them the truth—that I had been so close to making love to her, I had only come to my senses when she stopped me.
That for the first time in years I was wanting something. Someone. Her.
I barely slept through the night because my brain wouldn’t shut off; how I couldn’t stop sneaking out of bed to stare at her sleeping face lit up by the flickering candle and storm light, and keep the fire going so she would stay warm.
The way I peeked in on Parker and tucked him in again during the night.
