“Both.” She’d never feared Chance. Not like genuine fear he’d hurt her or even be mean.
“You talked to him though back then, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“Because you don’t follow any rules but your own when it comes to those things. I’m willing to bet you would have liked to know more about him but then deep down feared your parents or brothers wouldn’t approve.”
She tapped her finger to her nose. “Bullseye.”
“And now you’ve run into him again? Has he changed or is he someone else?”
“I’m not sure his personality’s changed all that much. Hard to say. We’ve all grown up, got a little life behind us. But his looks? Oh yeah, those definitely aged well. He’s bigger now, a little darker, in the best kind of way. That whole ‘bad boy’ vibe? If anything, it’s gotten hotter.”
“It’s getting warm in here,” Elise said, bouncing on the couch.
“It is,” she said. “Fast forward. I lose a bet with Gabe and get stuck picking up lunch. I walk into Rhea’s Chance Pub, and there he is behind the bar. Same cocky smirk, same swagger he had back in high school. We recognized each other instantly. Tradeda few sarcastic jabs, just like old times. And then I walked out… totally blown away by a trip down memory lane.”
“So as if time hadn’t really gone by.”
“Something like that. I’ll admit I thought of him over the years, but not much more than wondered what he did with his life. It could have gone either way. For all I knew, he could have landed in jail or become a millionaire CEO. He had that type of personality.”
“The ‘I don’t give a fuck’ kind where he’s going to do what he wants in this world. His way or no way?”
“That’s him,” she said, pointing. “But he’s bartending. Come to find out, he had bought the place a year ago. For him and his grandmother, who worked there most of her life.”
“Awww. Sounds pretty family-oriented and considerate of him.”
“It is.” And not something she would have imagined. Which just went to show you couldn’t judge people without getting to know them. “You know the fire alarms have been going off at my building.”
“I heard. Did they figure out who or what was causing them?”
“Not yet, but there’s been nothing for a few days so hopefully it stopped. But the last one, I’m waiting outside like everyone else. I turn to watch the firetrucks and firemen around it. There were two in gear waiting outside and in no rush. Before they get ready to leave, the shield lifts.”
“Is it him?” Elise asked, her voice rising. “Tell me it is!” Her sister-in-law was vibrating on the couch in excitement. “I love these fate things.”
“Yep. He’s a fireman. I’m like, holy cow. I can see that for sure. I can picture him doing both jobs. So that’s twice now I’ve seen him. But it’s more than that. I mean you talk about fate and someone has an arrow pointing me in the right direction. Earlier in the week, I went to the second building with Gabe.”
“He told me. And that the Fierce men were there and all but drooling that you made an appearance.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Figures. It’s not what I wanted, but I know I’ve got to be part of that end of the business too. We are waiting for the code enforcer to show up.”
“Oh, my God. I know who you’re talking about. Royce and my father have mentioned him along with Gabe. I didn’t put it together.”
“What have they said about him?” she asked.
“Nothing horrible,” Elise said. “Nothing that would make me think someone in your family wouldn’t approve of him.”
“Because they didn’t know him in school,” she said.
“I don’t think they’d really care. Gabe wouldn’t. Sounds like Chance has a good job and owns another business. A hard worker who puts his grandmother first.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I thought that too. If I hadn’t known him in high school, I’d think nothing of the rest.”
“There you go,” Elise said. “Now what?”
“I decided to take my mother’s advice and not plan things out or overthink them. I went to the bar last night alone,” she said, then sipped her coffee to see what her sister-in-law’s reaction was.
“You go, you.”
