“Hey, you!”Tilly came up and planted a kiss on his lips in front of those remaining in the room.She went to pull away, but he wasn’t having any of that.He hooked an arm around her waist and deepened the kiss.Her sigh was everything.She clutched his shirt, and he wished they were back at his place.Or hers.He wasn’t fussy.
Whistles sounded and Zach pulled away, laughing at the good-natured teasing they were getting from the few people still hanging around.“Nothing to see here,” he shouted.
“Right!”
“Didn’t look like it!”
“You keep telling yourself that!”
Tilly groaned at the smart-ass comments and buried her face in his chest.“What was I thinking?”
Zach tightened his hold on her.He didn’t care that they’d basically announced that they were seeing each other to the whole town.“I don’t mind.”
The remaining cast members left, and then it was just them.Tilly was still tucked against his chest, but he’d felt her hand leave his back when the goodbyes had been called out.
“Is it safe now?”she asked, her question muffled.
He laughed and kissed the top of her head.“Yep, it is.”
She went to step away from him, but he kept his arms circled loosely around her waist.Now that he was able to touch her in public, he had no plans to let her go anytime soon.
“Are you good?”she asked.
“I am now.”
Immediately her brows scrunched together in a look of concern.“What happened?Do you need to talk?”
After one particularly bad call-out, Zach had reached for his phone, not paying attention to the time, and had called her.Her sleepy voice was the only indication that he’d woken her.She’d assured him that it was fine, and they’d talked for an hour before they’d had another call-out and he had to go.But talking to her had helped him get himself into a better mental space, and he was able to handle the next emergency without any issues.
She was becoming more and more important to him, and he didn’t think Tilly even realized it.
“I’m good.Just glad that my shift is over, and I can see you in person, instead of texting or calling.”
“We could always video chat.It’s kind of like talking in person.”
“And have the rest of my team hear our conversation—not happening.”
“Couldn’t you take my call outside or in your sleeping quarters?”She plucked at his shirt and looked up at him from beneath her lashes.The action was alluring, making him want to change the plans he had for the evening.
“There’s not as much privacy at the station as you may think.During our downtime, guys are trying to sleep while they can.Or they’re talking to their families or significant others.”
“Do they talk with their phones on speaker?”Her eyes shone with mirth.
“Some do.”
Tilly laughed.“Does that annoy you?”
“Who doesn’t get annoyed with speaker calls?”he said wryly.“I tolerate it because these guys are my family, and they put their lives on the line for me, like I do for them.”
“I’m glad they’re looking out for you.”
“It’s what we do.Now, are you done here?”He didn’t want to get into the heavy aspects of his job.Not tonight.Tilly knew some of it, but there was still more she didn’t know.That was a conversation for another time.
“I am.Do you want to come to my place?”
Yes, but later.
“I’ve got a better idea.Do you trust me?”
