“Wow.” Feeling the nausea roll once more in my stomach, I squeezed Korbin’s hand for an extra-long moment, suddenly wary to let him go. I hated how dangerous this was, but I knew it’s what I signed up for. The danger of this job was the reason we had split to begin with. I could only ever hope, and never expect, that he would be safe when he wasn’t with me.
“I hope you don’t mind me riding along with Peyton to check out the high rise,” Rem said, leaning over my lap to look at Korbin. “It sounds pretty fancy.”
“You’re welcome any time,” he said with a smile, but there was something under that smile that I couldn’t put my finger on. He was distracted, and I didn’t know why. Something was bothering him.
“Hey,” I whispered as Korbin started to pull back from the window. “Are you okay?”
“I’ve been better,” he admitted honestly. “But I’ll tell you about it tonight. Are you spending the night with me?”
“I’ll try, but I have to work in the morning.”
Korbin nodded distractedly, and as much as I wanted to push him to find out what the problem was, I couldn’t do it. Now wasn’t the time, regardless of my concerns.
“Hey,” I murmured, grabbing hold of the collar on his jacket to bring his face closer to mine. I kissed him, expecting resistance, but Korbin’s body finally relaxed as he kissed me back, bringing one hand up to touch the side of my head. “Be safe,” I said when we parted. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said with a nod. “Drive carefully.”
I watched Korbin walk back to the scene, wanting more than anything to call out to him, to beg him to come back, and just quit, and ride home with me. But I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t. Despite my hesitations, he loved his job, and he was good at it. This town needed him.
“I don’t know how you do it, Peyton,” Remington said as we drove across town and towards the high rise. “I would go crazy not knowing what was happening every moment that he was at work.”
“I know,” I said softly. “I keep thinking it will be easier, but it’s not. I’m always terrified for him. Even when we weren’t together, I often wondered how often he was hurt out there.”
“Is it something you can live with now?” Rem asked, and I nodded.
“Yes. I have to, don’t I? I love him.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Remington rambled on the rest of the way to the high rise, only stopping briefly to gape at how marvelous Korbin’s building was.
“This is fancier than I expected,” he said, following me into the elevator. We had bags strung over our shoulders, ready to be dropped off. “Who knew that Eagle River firefighters made so much money?”
“They don’t,” I said with a giggle. “But if I know Korbin, it’s because he doesn’t frivolously spend his money. Savings, investments, bonds, whatever. This apartment is probably the nicest thing he has in his life.”
“Well lucky you, huh?” Remington said with a wink. “From one millionaire to another.”
“Yeah, right.” Laughing him off, I stuck the key in the door and opened it, hit at once with the familiarity of Korbin’s home. Well, soon to beourhome.
“Wow,” Rem said, stopping near the door as I closed it behind us. “This is—beautiful.”
“For an art museum,” I mumbled, dropping my bags at my feet. “I always found it kind of emotionless. He doesn’t have anything personal here.”
“Not yet, maybe,” said Rem. “But we both know that it’s the woman’s job to add those lovely, personal touches, isn’t it?” He dropped the rest of my bags at his feet and shuffled his way over to the kitchen to scout the cupboards and fridge—ever the nosy one, my friend.
“Whoa,” he said, pulling an expensive bottle of wine from the fridge. “This looks fancy.”
“It’s mine,” I said with a laugh. “Korbin prefers beer to fancy wine.”
“Shall we?” he asked, and I nodded, going to the cupboard for glasses.
“We can’t drink too much,” I scolded him. “I still have to get you home.”
“Forget about it,” he said. “Either I can crash here or get an Uber. Just focus on how exciting all of this is.”
And, God, he was right. As I went to the couch to sit down with my best friend, glasses of wine in hand, I felt content suddenly, thrilled to be here, over the moon that the conclusion we’d finally come to meant us being together. This was going to be my home soon, with Korbin, and I couldn’t have been happier.
“Have you told your mom you’re moving home yet?” Remington asked, swishing the red liquid around in his glass. I shook my head, sipping at the wine.
