He brushes his lips across mine. “Is this moving too fast?”
“You kissing me?” I tease.
“No. Talking about whether you want kids.”
I don’t tell him I’ve been thinking of having his children for years.
“It’s not too fast. I think we might want to come out about our relationship first, though. We might freak everyone out if we just show up with kids one day—especially with those names.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” he says with a smile.
He shifts a little, tugging me close. I settle in, wrapping my arm loosely across him.
“Have you thought about the captain position any further?” I ask.
“The application is due this week,” he says.
“Are you applying? Did you decide?”
“Yeah. I am.” He smiles at me and I stare into his eyes, a warmth trickling through me.
“You talked me into it,” he says.
“Me?”
“Yeah. I thought a lot about what you said. I think this is the right move.”
It’s a heady feeling, being the one who nudged him toward a decision this big. I hope I pointed him toward what’s best—for him.
“You’ll be Captain Lawson,” I say.
“While you’re Inspector Buckner.”
“We probably shouldn’t sneak kisses behind the firehouse at that point,” I say. The memory flashes, and the hum of his nearness buzzes through me.
“Hmmm,” he says, running his hand down his jawline. “Maybe I won’t apply after all.”
Then he leans in and kisses me. I snuggle more deeply into his embrace and wrap my arms around his waist. The crunch of gravel startles me. I pull back, quickly ducking low into the truck bed. Cody shields his eyes against the beams of light aiming in our direction.
My heart beats so rapidly I can feel it in my throat.
“Duck down!” I whisper, my hands shaking as I tug at the back of his jacket.
He joins me, laying flat in the bed of the truck, shielding me with his body while the light moves across the truck and then dims and disappears. The sound of tires on the road grows quieter until there’s nothing but tree frogs and owls again.
“Just someone turning around,” Cody says, sitting up and pulling me toward him again.
“I didn’t think anyone came out this way,” I say.
“Yeah. Me neither.”
“Do you think they saw our trucks?”
“Saw them? Maybe. But I doubt they could tell whose they were. It’s pretty dark out here and they just pulled in, backed out and went back the way they came.”
My heart’s still racing. I place his hand over it.
“They scared the bejeebers out of me.”
