“Great! In the meantime, keep the brownies, because they’re the best brownies in the world.” Leaning forward, she asks, “Do you know what the secret ingredient is?”
“No?”
“Love, silly,” she replies with a giggle. “Anyway, when you’re ready, let me know. I’ll bake you more brownies. Naked.” She throws in a wink.
I clear my throat, wishing this conversation were over. “I need to get back to work.”
She nods, the sadness returning to her eyes. “So long, Collin. Maybe our paths will cross again one day.”
Before I can reply, she goes up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine. “Goodbye.”
And then she’s gone, leaving me standing here, holding a box of brownies and wondering what in the hell just happened.
Spinning around, I find Gio there with a grin on his face. “That looked…”
I exhale deeply. “That was nuts.”
“She kissed you,” he states, walking forward and taking the box from my hands. “Gimme.” He practically dives into the box and steals the first one he can get his big paws on.
“Who was that?” he asks between bites.
“Remember the woman who dropped off the note at my sister’s work?”
His eyes widen almost comically. “Shut up, really? That was her?”
I nod. “That was her.”
He shovels half the brownie into his mouth. “What was her name again?”
“Cherie. Don’t eat those.”
“Why not?” he asks, reaching into the box for a second one. “They’re good.”
“They’re probably laced with something,” I mutter, closing the box and setting it aside.
“Like what? A woman trying to woo a man isn’t going to lace his brownies with Ex-Lax. There’s nothing sexy about shitting through a screen.” He takes another bite. “Viagra, maybe.”
I pause and look at the brownie my friend is consuming. “You think she’d do that?”
He shrugs. “We’ll see in a bit if I get an erection that lasts longer than four hours.”
I huff in exasperation. “Stop eating them.”
“Can’t. They really are good.” Another bite.
“Fine, I don’t want you crying to me if you get some weird side effect from them,” I state, watching as he takes the box and starts heading back to where the guys are gathered for breakfast.
Shaking my head, I take a moment to wrap my head around what in the hell just happened. I can’t believe she just droppedby here—with baked goods, no less—and thought I’d go out with her. A woman I only met once, more than six months ago, after we rescued her cat from a tree.
Talk about the weirdest firefighter story I’ve heard yet…
Pulling out my phone, I realize Lizzie will be getting up soon. More than anything, I want to talk to her as she starts her day. With a hint of a smile, I start typing.
Me
You won’t believe what just happened…
CHAPTER
