Page 33 of Shortcake
“Youput the fire out?” Conrad asked, whipping around to face me. I hated the way he saidyou. Like it was unbelievable that I had the wherewithal to cook myself breakfast, let alone put out a fire.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes.”
“How?” he challenged.
“I beat it out with my extra tampons,” I joked. He didn’t react. Not even a cracked smile, unlike Warren who covered his chuckle with a cough into his fist. I rolled my eyes. “I’mobviouslykidding. Tampons are highly flammable.”
Still, nothing. His mouth tightened into a blanched line. “I used a fire extinguisher; what do you think I did?”
“Do you think this is a fucking joke? My garage was on fire. You could have been hurt. Harper and I could have been hur—”
“Calm down,” I snapped.
His brows twitched, mouth arcing deeper into a frown. “What happened to cause the fire?”
“Hell if I know. There must be something wrong with the wiring up there.”
“There’snothingwrong with the wiring,” he said. “I had this place checked from top to bottom before I closed on it.”
“Well, then your guy missed something in my apartment. How else do you explain a random electrical fire behind the fridge.”
“If you put the fire out with a fire extinguisher, then it probably wasn’t wiring.” His head snapped to look up at the kitchen window. “Most fire extinguishers don’t work on electrical fires. In fact, you may have made it wor—”
“You’re right. Not all do. But a class C-rated fire extinguisherdoes. And that’s what I keep beneath my sink.”
Thank God for Liam’s incessant nagging about safety standards. Otherwise, I would have gotten rid of that thing years ago in order to have more storage.
Conrad stared at me, shock resonating across his annoyingly handsome features. “Most people don’t know the difference between fire extinguishers.”
“Yeah, wellIdo. So don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot who left a curling iron on.”
Conrad paused, eyes sweeping across my wavy hair before he shook his head. “I’m not trying to be insulting, but I have a right to ask questions. To learn why my garage was on fire.”
“Fine. ThenIhave a right to be snarky in return.”
He shoved a large hand through his damp, dark hair. “That’s not the same thing.”
“Potato, potahto.”
He let loose a frustrated sigh. “Are you sure you weren’t burning candles or incense or something?”
“You think I burn candlesbehindthe fridge?” I sneered.
“I don’t know! Maybe you were burning incense and the stick thing fell behind the fridge, catching some old food or something on fire.”
A gush of air escaped from my parted lips that was part cough, part laugh. “That’s a stretch. If anything, you should be on your kneesthankingme. Twice in less than 12 hours, I’ve saved your ass.”
“Saved my ass? You nearly burned my garage down!” I wasn’t sure if he was yelling to be heard over the sirens or because he was actually yelling at me.
I also didn’t care. No one fucking yelled at me. Not when it wasn’t my goddamn fault and definitely not when I hadn’t even finished my coffee.
“It’s because of me that your garagedidn’tburn down!”
Warren stepped forward, coming between Conrad and me. “Okay, why don’t we all take a breath. It’s a stressful situation—”
“Stay out of it, Warren,” Conrad barked.
“For once, we agree on something,” I said.
