Page 9 of Just Our Secret

Even though I hadn’t seen him without a shirt in years, I could tell he worked out a lot by the way his biceps strained against the fabric of his sleeves. Also by his broad, muscular shoulders that led to his strong neck, making the collar of his blue uniform shirt look like a frame around a perfect sculpture of a man.

He turned to lead us to the next room, and I averted my eyes from how round and glorious his ass looked in those tight blue slacks they all wore. Why the hell did he have to look so good in that uniform?

“Remember how I said we had a living room?” Wade asked Liam as he gazed around the room full of recliners with a huge flat screen on one end. A few firemen in station uniforms lounged there, greeting us with friendly smiles. “This is our day room. Any time we’re not on a call or busy with our chores, we can hang out in there and watch movies or play video games.”

Liam’s eyes lit up at that, and he ran over to the console table stocked with three different gaming systems and tons of games. Connor chuckled, but I rolled my eyes. “Liam, we’re not here for video games. Come on.”

“Okay,” he whined.

We moved through the rest of the house, passing by the laundry room and bathroom, ending up in front of a large bunk room with windows along one wall and lockers along another. Wade stepped inside, throwing himself down on one of the single beds against the wall. He tucked his arms behind his head and crossed his ankles.

“Is this your bedroom?” Liam asked, holding his arms out like an airplane and running around the room, zooming through the maze of beds before jumping into the swivel chair at the desk and spinning around.

“Yep,” Wade replied. “Just like in the kitchen, each shift has their own set of lockers where we keep our stuff. When I’m on shift, I use this bed and that locker over there.”

This tour was supposed to be all about showing Liam a real-life firehouse. And instead, it was like a window into Wade’s life that I’d never had before, and it made me infinitely more attracted to him.

“What’s next?” I asked, clapping my hands together. I needed this tour to move along so he’d get off that bed. The image of us being alone here so I could join him on those crisp white sheets was just way too clear in my mind. And even though it was impossible, when his eyes met mine, I could have sworn he could read my mind.

Wade rose from the bed with a quirk of his lips and looked at Liam. “I think your mom’s ready to see the trucks. Are you?”

“Yes!” Liam exclaimed, jumping out of the spinning chair and running for the door.

Connor chased after him, and Wade stopped to let me go out ahead of him. “He seems really into this.”

“Definitely,” I replied. And he wasn’t the only one.

We moved through another short hallway that led back to the massive garage that held their rucks, but at the opposite end from where we’d come in. Wade pointed to the first vehicle. “Okay, Liam, this one’s our engine and that one’s the truck.”

“Cool,” Liam said, spinning in a circle to survey the vehicles.

“Do you know what the difference is between a fire engine and a fire truck?” Wade asked him.

Liam started to answer, but Connor raised his hand. “I know, I know.”

“Hush, you.” I elbowed my brother, loving the way Wade was engaging my son. It was adorable.

“No,” Liam answered.

“The truck has the big ladder on the top, see?” Wade said, pointing. “And there’s a bucket on the front so we can stand in there when we need to reach someone way up high.”

“Wow, can I go up there?” Liam asked with a hopeful expression.

“Maybe someday.” Wade grinned. “Wanna see me put on my turnout gear?”

Yes. Yes, sir, I do.

Liam nodded emphatically, so Wade crossed to a set of turnout gear laid out by the side of the truck. He unzipped the black boots he wore with his uniform, setting them to the side.

“First, I have to take off my station boots, because they won’t fit in these steel-toed boots. Then I just step in and I pull up these fire-resistant pants over my clothes.”

I watched him do so, securing them at the top with black suspenders. Was it me, or was he doing it in slow-motion while “Pony” fromMagic Mikeplayed in the background? Oh wait, that was the song I’d want to hear while he took it alloff.

Ugh, get a grip, Andrea.

“Cool,” Liam said, looking Wade up and down. “You look like a real firefighter now.”

A couple of Wade’s fellow firemen joined us then, and before I knew it, they were loading Liam into the cab of the truck and showing him how it all worked. Connor had gone with them, leaving Wade and me to stand outside the truck, watching them dazzle and delight him.

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