Page 40 of Five Alarm Love
“Sometimes you’re really irritating, Tuli.”Saying anything remotely aggressive made her stomach churn.
“Throw me a bone here, Lou.You caught me flat-footed with that opening statement.”He shot her a half smile that soothed the sting of his words and caused a slow, warm swirl in her belly.“I need you to be more specific in your criticism.I’m cool with providing you with a blanketI’m sorrystatement, but I’d like to know what I’m apologizing for.”
That was just it.She didn’t have any substantial criticism of him.
Which was the whole problem.
Aargh.
Even when she struggled to get the right words out, he patiently waited.He had consistently had her back over all those years.He worked hard at his jobs and tried to help people.He was friendly to everyone.
He posted videos of Yukon Valley and its citizens online.
He was considerate and never overstepped her boundaries.
She rocked back on her heels.
Maybe she wanted him to overstep a boundary or two.
But… she’d experienced that before, and it resulted in a disaster.
No buts.
Damn it.He wasn’t her ex.
He was her childhood friend.
She paused, really took a moment to view him in a rare moment of both stillness and silence.His broad shoulders slowly rose and fell.He’d bulked up.She thought back over the past six months since his accident.
The injury had been to his leg, not his upper body.
He rolled and released a fist, rubbing his right leg.Sinews and muscle shifted under the dark, button-down fire department uniform shirt.
The material strained over his chest.
She hadn’t truly seen the transformation for what it was.Until now.
Yes, it was a change.Was it also overcompensation?
He shifted his weight to his left side with a low grunt and a forehead-furrowing wince.
He’d been hiding from her like she had been hiding from him.
Before she could work through this realization further, his voice reached her, low and soft like a stroke of his finger against her cheek.“You know I want the best of everything for you, Lou.Always have.”
For some reason she said, “You have no idea what that is or whether you can provide it.The best, I mean.”
He flinched.“I would if you’d ever talk to me.Like we used to.”
“We talk.We see each other a lot.Just this morning at Three Bears, I told you about starting the paramedic program next week.”
“Which is great.I’m proud of you.But for real, we haven’t talked in weeks.Months.Longer.Not really talked in a way that matters.Not like we used to.Ever since you started dating Ryan.And then afterwards.”
Now it was Lou’s turn to flinch.The breakup with Ryan had exposed her in a way that still felt raw.Vulnerable.Nowadays, when someone paid her attention, it felt like alcohol getting rubbed over open wounds.Instead of saying that, she took a few steps farther away from the laughter and music of the gathering, stopping at several vendor trucks filled with boxes of supplies.
Next to a rusted chrome bumper, she turned around and rested her hand on the tailgate.“Mav and I drop by the deli all the time.”Like that was adequate.
Tuli dipped his head.“You’re not wrong.You guys do come over and we chat.As three good friends.”
