“Because I like knowing where to find you.”
She exhales, slow and shaky. “Dax…”
“Yeah?”
She shakes her head, smiling like she’s annoyed with herself. “Nothing. See you tomorrow.”
I step outside into the cold, the bell chiming behind me, her warmth still burned into my hands.
As I walk back to the truck, one thought keeps looping, dangerous and intoxicating.
For the first time in years, I let myself wonder?—
What if she feels it too?
And what the hell am I going to do if she does?
Chapter 2
Rory
The espresso machine hisses like it’s mocking me. Steam clouds the air, fogging the windows, giving me something to hide behind. I grab a mug, my favorite one—the chipped red one withbean there, done thatprinted on the side—and tell myself I’m perfectly fine.
I am always perfectly fine.
So when he walks in the next morning, my mind falls back to the moment he caught me when I toppled off the ladder yesterday. My heart hammers out of my chest at just the thought of Dax’s hands warm on my waist—I can still feel the exact place his thumbs pressed against my hips like they belonged there.
Heat crawls up my neck when he catches my eyes.
I turn away before he can see it.
“Morning, Firefighter. You want the usual?” I ask over my shoulder.
“For the whole house,” he says. “But I want mine first.”
“Demanding today.”
I glance back at him. He’s leaning against the counter like he owns it, jacket unzipped, sleeves shoved up, that easy confidence rolling off him like heat from a fire pit. He looks unfairly good for someone who smells like smoke and winter air.
“Come here,” I say before I think better of it. “I’ll show you something.”
His brows lift. “That sounds dangerous.”
I pull a shot, steam the milk, then make a little design as I pour before sliding the cup toward him. A heart blooms on the surface, slightly crooked but intentional.
“Latte art,” I say. “That’s talent.”
He squints at it. “Fancy.”
“It’s a skill.”
“Prove it.”
I laugh. “You want a lesson?”
He nods once, shrugging off his Devil’s Peak Fire & Rescue coat. “Teach me.”
My skin prickles under his heated gaze.
