“I’m saying we need time. We skipped a ton of steps. What happens when we share a scene together and you order me in a burning building? Or a floor collapses? Or when you review my application for promotion? Or if Williams disciplines me for buying too much refined flour?” Erin’s words came out faster and faster with every question.
“I could resign,” he said quietly, twirling one of her curls that had escaped from her satin sleep hair scarf. “Rescue Alpha is safe, and our women and minority recruitment are way up. McClunis is handling it.”
“Or you’d resent me because being with me destroyed your years of hard work. Or I’d hate myself for messing up your very much needed programs.” Erin ran a hand through his soft grey-gold locks, different from hers, but now so familiar. “I don’t want to lose my firehouse family, but I can’t let you sacrifice your career.”
“I made a list of actionable career related points that we could work on.” Noah took out a folded piece of paper with scribbles in the margins.
“How logical of you.” Erin tilted her head sideways. “Is that your boring speech?”
“It was the only paper I had on me after I faked a family emergency to Fitzpatrick. I kept pulling over on the way over to add more action points.”
“Such a rebel. Too much thinking.” Erin plucked the papers away and threw them on the floor. “Noah Baker, do you want to get to know me better, like really know me? The good parts, the bad parts, the ugly parts.”
“I do,” he said, glancing down at the floor where his paper had landed. “Action point six. We can go public. There is one HR form we can fill out but there’s also another option of—”
“We are not going public.” Erin kissed him on the lips briefly and then made a bold move while he was stunned. “How about moving in together? Get to know each other and figure out the job thing. Step by step, together, no hiding. Figure out what it means to be us. Figure out how to balance the department. It’s like a tryout for forever.”
“Forever? Like ‘have my babies, marry me’ forever?” he blinked, still stunned.
“Ring first. And not get fired before that, but, yes. The soulmate, I-love-you, forever.” For Erin, saying it again made the idea seem slightly more sane.
“Are you certain this is what you want? This is going to work?” He cradled her chin carefully. His eyes much softer and more tender, the blue swallowing her.
“Not a clue. I’ve never gotten this far in any relationship ever. My parents were not a good example. Divorced. Dad’s back in Haiti with his new family, and my firehouse is not a good place for advice. I’m pretty much making this up as I go along. So let’s give this a try.”
“‘Do or do not, there is no try.’”
“See? I’m rubbing off on you, inappropriate humor in an otherwise very serious situation. Does this mean ‘yes’ to the moving in. You could move in with me, but I don’t think your stuff is going to fit in my rowhouse. And Theo’ll notice if the Chief Car is always parked out front.”
“We’re tabling our job problems?”
“It’s not tabling. It’s regrouping to assess the actionable points later.”
He grinned, and the glow in his eyes took her breath away. “It won’t be easy. The department, my responsibilities. This could get very messy.”
“But it will be our mess. And you can handle it. You watchedStar Trek 5on purpose. No one likes that one because it’s a hot mess.”
Noah must have decided she was done talking because he started kissing her hair, her cheeks, her face. He might have been talking, but it was difficult to understand between the kissing and getting her T-shirt halfway off.
“So you agree?” Erin moaned because her hands were tangled in the buttons of his tuxedo. It took most of her will to extricate herself.
“Of course, I do.” He made to embrace her again, but she danced out of his reach toward her bedroom.
“Come on,” she beckoned.
“Where are you going?” he said with the cute, befuddled face he got when she jumped from one topic to another.
“Packing. We have another hour till midnight. I think we can leave just enough stuff here in case I need to crash after a bad shift. While we work, you can tell me embarrassing stories of you and Williams.”
“What happens at midnight?”
“We welcome the New Year by saying goodbye to my bed.” Erin turned back and took his hand.
Noah pressed a gentle kiss into her palm, and Erin made the fatal mistake of staring into his eyes. The Chief was gone, and only Noah remained.
The logical part of her brain, long ignored, gave up shouting because she never listened anyway. She was a satellite trapped in the inexorable gravitational pull of her orbit around him. Invisible and inescapable and powerful. So powerful if she got too close, she could get crushed.
But she wasn’t alone. Not now.
