Page 1 of Koa's Little Girl
CHAPTER 1
“Look, military hotshot, based on the height of those flames, I could charge you with arson. I don’t know if you’re dimwitted or totally incompetent, but you risked your home and the homes of the other hard-working people in the area,” the fire captain told him with anger radiating from her gaze.
Koa backtracked immediately, dropping his charming smile that usually smoothed over any disagreement with the opposite sex. She was not receptive to flirting at all. He switched to all business trying to dig himself out of the hole he found himself almost buried in. “Yes, ma’am. You are absolutely correct. I should have never started my teammate’s grill without him being here to clue me in about its operation. Thank you for coming to assist.”
“Assist? You mean put out the roof-high fire flare,” she corrected him, visibly bristling more at his use of that word.
Koa had regretted his wording immediately when he saw her react to it. He backtracked again. “You are totally correct. Our fire extinguishers did not faze the flames. Your firefighters saved the day.”
“You bet your ass they did. Don’t let it happen again or I will cite you.”
Replayingthe previous evening’s conversation with the fire captain on an endless loop had interrupted his sleep last night. By the morning, he’d already decided he needed to mend fences, or at least, apologize one more time. Not only did Koa know she was right, he needed to see her to double-check his reaction. He’d picked up something special about that woman.
Throwing on fatigues and a T-shirt for that day’s training, he headed to the fire station. He left his car in the parking lot and headed across the asphalt driveway. With luck, she would still be on duty. As he approached, a couple of guys paused from their chore of sweeping out the bay.
“Can we help you, sir?” one called.
“I’m looking for Giana Mancini. Is she working today?” Koa asked, glancing around.
“She’s here. Who are you?” the other said suspiciously.
Instantly, Koa knew they were interested in the stunning captain. “Would you tell her that the wingman last night wishes to see her?”
“Wingman? She’s not going to understand that,” the man said, glaring at Koa.
Something in his tone that made Koa take a hard look at him instead of a fleeting glance. Physically fit, of course, the blond firefighter’s expression was anything but welcoming to a visitor. The glare he leveled at Koa felt personal.
“Wait! Are you the guy who started a ten-foot-high flame in a gas grill last night?” the dark-haired one asked, drawing Koa’s attention away from the first man. This guy’s demeanor was completely different as he grinned and shook his head in disbelief.
“Yeah. My teammate’s grill. I should have waited for him to get home,” Koa admitted. The team had ribbed him all day about the wing fiasco. While it had been good-natured teasing, he was starting to bristle when they brought it up now.
“You think?” a woman’s voice mocked him from behind.
Koa turned to meet beautiful brown eyes. “Definitely. I’d hoped to talk to you. Can I steal a bit of your time?” When she hesitated and glanced at the men working in the outside bay, he suggested, “Let’s stand under that big oak tree on the edge of the drive.”
“Why?”
“I thought we got off to a rough start,” Koa said, walking forward. When she crossed her arms over her chest, he immediately halted, not wishing to push past her comfort zone.Damn! She’s even prettier without the heavy protective gear.He swallowed hard in reaction as something inside him clicked into place. Koa hadn’t imagined his attraction to her last night.
To his surprise, she nodded and walked past him to the spot he’d indicated. When they reached the shade, she turned to face him with a hard stare. “What do you want?”
“To apologize. I’m sorry for losing control of the fire. That could have had a bad ending.”
She stared at him as if assessing his honesty for several seconds before answering, “Mistakes happen. That’s what we’re here for.”
“I’m Koa,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand.
“I’m not interested,” Giana answered bluntly. She didn’t extend her hand. She glanced past Koa to the line of male firefighters who stood watching their exchange.
When Koa followed the line of her view, he noted their expressions ranged from casual interest to anger.That blond guy has judged me as competition.Koa was okay with that. He was here for a reason.
When he turned to Giana once again, her expression had hardened further to pure granite. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening here. She had very consciously separated business from pleasure. Some guys had accepted that. One had not.
“This doesn’t seem like a good place to talk. Where do you usually hang out when you’re not at the station?” Koa asked.
“Look. I accept your apology, Conan,” she told him. “Just don’t create any more charcoal wings.”
“Koa.”
