Page 8 of Just Our Secret

My knuckles and the back of my hand tingled even after she pulled away.

“Why are you opening my door?”

I huffed a laugh. “Trying to help?”

Trying to be an idiot, my conscience barked at me. Because really, was I trying to be close to her, trying to insert myself into her space? What the hell? At the same time, I couldn’t regret the contact. It only made me want more—not just an accidental brush of hands but so much more.

She shook her head, but the look on her face said she wasn’t annoyed, just perplexed. “That’s sweet,” she said.

“Uh, no, just making sure you get Liam on time,” I said, in an award-winning performance of nonchalance. Like her touching my hand, even accidentally, hadn’t made my day.

“Better go. See you Thursday!”

And off she zipped, cautious and responsible in her used Subaru Forester, the perfect, practical car for her.

As I walked back to my apartment, I batted away all thoughts of her legs, those eyes, and her hand on my hand. I couldn’t think about all that when I called Connor and told him about the schedule change and invited him to the station, too.

And I wouldn’t acknowledge how much I hoped he’d say he couldn’t come.

FIVE

ANDI

“Welcome to Firehouse 4,” Wade said as he walked toward Connor, Liam, and me where we stood in the driveway. “You ready for your tour, Liam?”

“Yes,” Liam replied, a megawatt smile on his small face.

Wade held up his hand for a high five. “That’s what I like to hear.”

We followed Wade through a side door and down a short interior hallway. “A firehouse is just like your new place with your mom, Liam. We’ve got a kitchen, dining room, living room, bathrooms, and bedrooms.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It’s so we’re comfortable here while we wait for someone to call us to come help them.”

“Wow.”

We stepped into the kitchen where a couple fireman were eating at a long table and scrolling on their phones. Wade jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Liam, do you see anything weird about this kitchen?”

Liam looked it over once, then again. But the second time, he jumped back and put his hands on his face. “Why do you have three refrigerators?”

“Good eye, buddy,” I said, rumpling his hair. “Because each shift gets its own fridge, just to keep things a little more organized.”

“Oh,” Liam said with a nod.

“Do you guys take turns cooking?” I asked.

Wade sighed and nodded. “We do. And it’s a lot of pressure. These guys are tough critics.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t decided to leave you out of the rotation,” Connor jabbed.

“Over here,” Wade went on, ignoring Connor’s dig and leading us away from the kitchen and into a small workout room, “is our gym. A big part of being a firefighter is being in shape. Do you work out, Liam?”

Liam shrugged, eyeing the treadmills in the corner. “I like to run. But on the ground, not one of those things.”

“Running is good,” Wade said. “Stick with us, and we’ll have you lifting weights soon. It’s a big thing around here.”

I swallowed, totally shocked at myself for wondering what otherbigthingsWade had. I fixed my eyes on the rack of weights in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror rather than the way Wade filled out his navy blue uniform. The guy working out without a shirt on in the corner didn’t even catch my eye, I was too focused on my fully-clothed tour guide.

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