Not that the gala with the captain went badly. And not that I find Hale’s stoic demeanor off-putting. In fact, despite the cold shoulder I’ve received since our kiss, I still find him insanely sexy.
But Evan is sexy, too. Sweet and polite, and clearly very willing to make everything as easy as possible for me. If Hale is the stern leader, then Evan is the measured diplomat.
“That’s amazing.” I smile up at him, and there’s a softness in his gaze that makes my skin tingle. “So, tell me, what’s your favorite thing about being a paramedic?”
“Nice one, buddy!” comes a shout from behind Mick.
Leo has managed to get two rings around the same glass bottleneck, and Noah has appeared out of nowhere to witness it. He’s dressed in full gear, including his helmet, but the face shield is lifted up. Hale assigned him to one of the exciting backdraft demonstration on the far end of the street.
“Noah!” exclaims Leo.
“Leo!” he cheers back.
“You look like an astronaut,” Leo informs him.
“Andyoulook like a ringtoss champion, little dude!”
I clear my throat loudly. This is nice and everything, but now isnotsupposed to be about Noah.
Noah locks eyes with me from the other side of the table and, miraculously, takes the cue. He claps Mick on the shoulder, winks at Evan, and carries on his way.
“Hey, kiddo, do you mind if we get a close-up of your next shot?” Jake asks Leo directly.
With wide eyes, he stares up at the strange man behind the camera for a long moment, gaping slightly. Evan ruffles his hair.
“Come on, buddy,” he chuckles. “It’s your time to shine.”
Leo nods, and the camera crew steps in closer. Evan and I move aside to give them room, smiling and nodding at Leo when he glances over at us uncertainly.
Except, when I step backwards, I misjudge how close behind me the edge of the curb is. A sharp gasp rips out of me and I clutch the closest thing I can reach, which happens to be Evan’s bicep.
He twists, realizing what’s about to happen, and quickly slips an arm around my waist to haul me back up onto the sidewalk.
The entire thing occurs within the span of a few seconds, and nobody else even noticed, but suddenly I’m standing so close to Evan that I can count each individual lash fluttering around his ridiculously pretty hazel eyes.
Time slows, my breath catching in my throat, and even though there are hundreds of people around, Evan’s hand on my hip tightens instead of letting me go.
I watch his gaze drop automatically to my lips. I note the subtle darkening of his eyes as his pupils dilate.
“You have freckles,” he murmurs. “I didn’t notice.”
“I…”I do have freckles. Yes. Many of them. I actually have a whole constellation of them across my stomach and thighs, too. You can kiss them if you want…“I do?”
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Evan laughs, his breath fanning across my cheek. My fingers tighten where I’d instinctively grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “You didn’t notice either?”
I blink at him like a dumbstruck idiot. God, he’s gorgeous. And he smells so good. And he’s still kind of holding me upright, cradling me against his side like we’re the only two people in this city.
“I’m…”
Mick and the camera crew burst out cheering.
We leap apart as if given an electric shock, turning just in time to see Leo jumping up and down as he gets another ring around a bottle. Evan immediately shifts into father-mode and rushes over to scoop him up for a victory lift, leaving me standing at the edge of the sidewalk still trying to catch my breath.
While the crew captures the happy moment, I fumble for my phone and type out a desperate text to Lou.
I’m so horny that it’s starting to become a serious issue.
