Page 56 of With Every Breath

I took a shaky breath. Adrenaline was pumping through my system, and I was relieved and energized at the same time. We heard the bell chime, indicating someone had entered the waiting area.

Tiffany leaped up. “Get ready for—” She lifted the clipboard resting on the table. She said she liked to jot down the daily schedule because physically writing it was helpful for her. “Baxter,” she announced, looking up with a grin. “Apparently, he’s an elderly dog and very sweet.”

Laying down by my feet the entire time, Honey sat up, wagging her tail and looking at me expectantly. I stroked my hands down over her ears and rested my forehead against hers for a moment. She licked my cheek and then stood to go curl up on her bed in the break room. She had fallen into her own schedule here. She liked to spend the mornings in the reception area under Tiffany’s desk, occasionally checking on me between appointments. In the afternoon, she liked to hang out in the break room.

I was relieved I had a busy afternoon. As I drove home, I realized I had completely forgotten to go to the grocery store. I tapped my dashboard to call Jonah.

He picked up immediately. “Hey, what’s up?”

At the mere sound of his voice, low with that subtle rasp, flutters spun in my belly, and my pulse started to race.

“Hey, I just realized I forgot to go to the grocery store, and I’m tired. What do you think about pizza for dinner?”

“You must’ve read my mind,” he teased. “I’m actually at the pizza place right now. I figured even if you went to the store, I forgot to text you about it. I’m getting enough for both of us. They’ve got a pepperoni ready to go and mushroom. What’s your preference?”

“Get both. I love both, and I love leftover pizza.”

He chuckled, the sound spinning into the sensations already humming through my body. “You think like me. Need anything else? They’ve got breadsticks and some kind of dessert pizza.”

“Dessert pizza sounds weird, but I’ll take some breadsticks.”

“Got it. I’ll see you in a bit.”

ChapterThirty

Jonah

A week passed by. I was staying with Alice, ostensibly as her roommate, but in her bed every night. We couldn’t get enough of each other.

She told me that she had filed a report with the police about that guy. Nothing had happened since. I sensed Alice was anxious.

We were going over to my grandmother’s house for dinner tonight. Not an official date, but my grandmother had insisted that we both come. I wasn’t ready for her or my parents to catch wind of what was happening with Alice and me. I supposed that was because I didn’t know how to define it myself. Alice was rapidly unraveling the defenses around my heart. She was doing what I’d believed impossible.

Every time I thought too hard about it, uncertainty slid through me, just like now. I turned the radio up, ordering myself not to dwell on Alice. There was no need to define what we were.

Except I wanted to define it. That was the most terrifying part.

I parked beside Alice’s SUV, climbed out, and walked down the path that led to her house. My knee was fully healed up, and I was back at work. We hadn’t gotten called out to another fire in the backcountry yet. With winter close, fire season was winding down. Work, for now, consisted of checking in at the station on a rotating schedule, working out, doing training exercises, and helping out with any local calls on occasion. Here and there, I still felt like my knee was a little looser than it had been before, but Charlie told me it would probably feel like that for a while and had given me some exercises to strengthen it.

When the trees opened up to a clearing with Alice’s house just ahead, I saw Honey sniffing along the edge of the field. She lifted her head when my footsteps crunched on the leaves and dashed in my direction. For a three-legged dog, she was speedy.

I knelt beside her when she reached me, murmuring, “Hey, girl,” as I stroked over her head and down her sides. I straightened, and she danced excitedly around me in a circle, walking at my side into the house.

I heard the shower running and knew exactly where I wanted to be.

I tossed Honey one of her favorite chew toys and stripped off my clothes in the bedroom in a hurry. I wanted to get in the shower before Alice was out.

“Hey there,” I said as I walked into the bathroom.

“Hey,” she replied, her voice muffled by the water.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Of course not.”

I could see her silhouette through the glass door. Opening the door, my heart kicked faster, and I was instantly aroused. Alice’s skin was rosy, and bubbles were rolling over her as she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair.

I stepped closer, leaning down to press a kiss to the side of her neck. She trembled slightly in my arms. “Hey,” she repeated, her lips curving against my cheek as I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind.

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