Chapter One
The heat was gettingto her.
“This one’s for you, Amber,” Jake said with a cute grin on his baby face. The adorable blond regular’s arms strained the Northfield Fire Department T-shirt when he held out the shot glass she had just poured him.
Amber Hart’s wild streak, the one her family had been warning her about for years, butted against her good sense and came out victorious, and she tossed the shot back with a flourish.
She didn’t drink often, but the unseasonably warm June heat was making her edgy tonight. Oh, and stress too. Yeah, she had plenty of that.
The too-sweet butterscotch schnapps hit the back of her throat hard, and she sputtered. Everyone in Northfield knew she made killer drinks, but she didn’t drink often enough to take the shot without grimacing. She just hoped her boss didn’t see her.
“Stop drinking my liquor, woman.”
Busted. Killian Kennedy had the face of a dark angel, so beautiful it could make you weep, but right now he looked moreannoyed than anything as he stared pointedly at her through the pass-through window. Oops.
“Sorry, boss. I didn’t want Jake to drink alone,” she said cheekily. Killian was no stranger to her impulsive decisions, but he loved her anyway.
“Jake,” Killian yelled back.
“Yes, sir?” Jake ducked his head to see Killian.
“Give any more shots to my bartender, and you’re cut off.”
“You got it, sir.” Jake winked. He was adorable, really, but oh-so-young. She was inching a little too close to thirty to think about dating the rookie or anyone else, really. She couldn’t remember the last man she’d gone out with. She dismissed that depressing thought quickly.
“Your scallops are burning, Killian,” she said, knowing that would get Killian to leave the bartending to her. The man took great pride in his food. Good thing his shift was ending soon, and he was leaving her in charge.
She turned back toward the sea of uniforms crowding the bar. The pub was the unofficial hangout of the off-duty Northfield Fire and Police Departments. The men and a few women all ribbed her like a little sister and tipped her generously for putting up with their nonsense. She knew most of their families too, at least the ones that were from Northfield. Perks of working at a small-town bar in your hometown.
“Cute outfit, Am,” said Allie. Her sister sat next to her husband Davis on the other side of the bar poking her straw around the lemon drop martini Amber had made her.
Amber did a little spin behind the bar to show off the sequins on her new Jean Paul Gaultier skirt she bought last year on Poshmark for a steal. “Thanks. Want to borrow it?”
Allie snuggled into Davis’s side. “Should I borrow Amber’s skirt?” Amber made a mental note to get her sister water. Allie was a lightweight, and she rarely got out since she had the twins.
Savannah and Tessa were almost three, and the apples of Allie and Davis’s eyes. If ever there was a more perfect family to be born into, it was Allie and Davis’s. They were crazy about each other for one, and their little blended family of Allie’s son and Davis’s kids from their previous marriages doted on the little girls’ every whim.
Davis leaned in and whispered something in Allie’s ear that made her turn bright red. Allie and Davis had been married four years now, and they still acted like newlyweds. It was kind of cute, but Amber would never admit it.
“Get a room, you two,” Ford said, scooting onto the barstool. “Hey, Amber.” Ford Clairmont flashed his all-American grin at her, and Amber wondered again if she was broken. Ford was handsome, successful, wealthy, and all she wanted to do was ask him to rub the tight knot between her shoulders. What a waste.
“Hey, Ford.” She expertly tossed a coaster in front of him with a flick of her wrist. “I think they’re trying to make more babies.”
Allie’s head whipped around. “Take that back, Amber Hart, or you’re going to do an overnight at our house. Davis, did you hear that?”
Davis raised his head from nuzzling Allie’s neck and grinned wolfishly. “I wouldn’t mind making more babies.”
“Are they for real?” Amber asked.
“I know. It’s disgusting.” Ford smiled. “Kind of makes you want to settle down and make some cute babies, though.”
“Not for me.” Amber shuddered. She loved her nephews and nieces more than anything, but kids were an automatic no for anyone she dated, no matter how sexy their dad was.
Kids, puppies, plants. No, thank you. She didn’t trust herself to keep any of them alive.
“Good. Don’t. I need all the free babysitters I can get,” Allie said.
“It’s busy tonight,” Ford said, checking out the packed bar.
