Chapter One
ADAM
“And then hepissed all over the tire.” I chuckled, thinking back to the fiasco from earlier that week. “The look on Logan’s face was priceless.”
I shook my head as three kids bolted past me. It was still hard to believe the Half Moon Lake Fire Department had gone from five single guys—well six if you included Seth, who’d just joined the crew in April—to this. I looked around at all the couples and kids filling Jay and Sarah Mitchell’s backyard for their daughter’s third birthday party. Technically, Nora wasn’t Jay’s biological daughter, but he’d claimed her as his own after meeting his now wife, Nora’s mother, two years ago.
“I struggled to keep a straight face when he explained it was what his parents always had him do when he needed to pee.”Sarah’s eyes twinkled with humor. She was the kindergarten assistant at the school we’d visited and didn’t seem at all shocked by the kid’s behavior.
“Kind of surprised Logan’s head didn’t explode.” Jay smirked. “I’m almost sad I wasn’t there to witness it.” He was home that day with a sick Nora, or he would have been with us laughing his ass off too. With a nod at the almost empty bottle in my hand, he asked, “Need another beer?”
“Sure.”
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Sarah’s cheek. “Need anything?”
She shook her head, placing her hand on her newly obvious baby bump. Jay had been over the moon since finding out his wife was pregnant. His excitement bubbled over when he’d recently brought in ultrasound pictures to show all of us.
At nearly thirty, I never thought I’d want this life. Had always been good with casual relationships. Women I dated thought they’d be able to change me. Fix me. Make me want that. But there was nothing wrong with me. No tragic back story. I just didn’t think I wanted marriage and kids.
Until recently.
Maybe it was watching all the guys around me settle down over the last two years, starting with our Lieutenant, Owen McKinley. I glanced over at where he stood with his wife Cece and their little girl, Grace. Luckily, sleeping with the chief’s daughter hadn’t ended in a complete clusterfuck for him.
After Owen was Jay. And then recently our driver, Logan Murray—who had an almost unhealthy obsession with our rig, but even more of an obsession with Jay’s sister, Izzy—fell to the lure of family life. Izzy had gone from nanny to his twin girls to a permanent addition to their household.
I scanned the people in the backyard. Even the grumpy-ass new guy, Seth, had found someone. Only single guys left were me and Zack.
Speaking of my best friend since we were old enough to causetrouble together… Zack headed my way just as Sarah turned to talk to Jay’s sister Angie and her fiancé, Wyatt. Like I said, lots and lots of couples.
Zack wrapped his arm around my neck. “Guess what I just found out?”
I sighed. Who knew what nugget of information he was going to tell me. I never understood how he was always the first one to hear shit. It was like he was a gossip and rumor magnet. “I don’t know, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“Lyla broke up with the guy she was dating.”
Oh. That. Did he think it was shocking news? The guy was an utter tool bag. Frankly, I didn’t understand what took her so long to end it. “Yeah, I know.”
“So what’s your plan?”
“My plan?” If he was about to ask me if I was finally going to make my move, I seriously might punch him. I wasn’t sure how many times I needed to tell these guys we were just friends.
“Yeah, to get your girl.”
I shrugged away from him. “I’ve told you before we’re just friends.”
“Bullshit,” Jay spat out as he stepped up next to me, holding out a beer. “None of us are buying that crap.”
I didn’t need them to believe it. Maybe when Lyla and I first met I wanted something to happen between us. But at the time, she was my student in the EMT class I was teaching. Then, as luck would have it, she was placed at our station as soon as her training was completed. She considered me a coworker and I had been officially friend zoned. Which was fine. I wasn’t planning to mess that up and make things awkward at work.
It wasn’t like we could avoid each other either. I had my EMT certification in addition to being a firefighter and was paired with her multiple times a month. We had to work in close quarters and together as a team. There was no way I would jeopardize that. Or our friendship, for that matter.
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around thebackyard, seeking out the girl in question. Her dark brown hair that held a strong hint of red to it fell in tight curls down her back, a striking contrast to the royal blue dress she wore. In certain lighting, especially sunlight, her hair looked almost completely red.
Zack chuckled. “Exactly.” He lowered his voice before adding, “We all see how you look at her when she’s not paying attention. Time to help you come up with a plan.”
“Drop it,” I snapped, narrowing my eyes. “I mean it, dude. Let it go.”
Zack stared at me for a beat before finally crossing his arms with a pout. “Fine.” The word came out like a kid who’d just been told no. “But,” he added, pointing a finger in my face, “when you stop drifting down the river of denial, I have ideas for your grand gesture.”
