When Dane asked for a quiet booth somewhere in the back, the hostess gave them a knowing smile and said she had the perfect table. Lexi hadn’t sat in a booth on a date with a guy since she was a teenager, but as Dane slid into the curved seat beside her, she remembered why she liked it. It was sexy to sit so close to a guy their hips and thighs touched.
Lexi looked around the restaurant as she sipped her sangria. “How did you find this place?”
“It was one night after I pulled a partial on another shift.” Dane tipped back his bottle of beer, taking a long drink. “We had a big residential fire that night, and everything ran late. Considering I hadn’t slept in twenty-four hours, I probably should have gone straight home and collapsed into bed, but I was too wired. I was driving around burning off extra energy when I saw this place. Maybe it was simply the adrenaline from the fire, or maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten in twelve hours, but whatever the reason, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Since then, I come here at least once a week.”
“Do you cover other people’s shifts for them a lot?”
“Sometimes.” He shrugged. “I love the job and I figured out a long time ago that I don’t need as much sleep as other people, so I pull extra shifts now and then, especially for the married firefighters.”
Yet another thing about Dane that was special. Seriously, could she find a better guy? He was like a saint—with washboard abs.
Lexi opened her mouth to commend him for pulling extra shifts for the married firefighters, but their server showed up at their table to take their orders. Crap, she hadn’t even looked at her menu.
“What do you recommend?” she asked Dane.
“Their soft shell beef and chicken burritos are their signature dish, so you can’t go wrong with those. Usually, I get one of each when I order them.”
Lexi handed the server her menu with a smile. “Exactly what he said.”
“Make that two,” Dane said, handing the woman his menu, too.
Their server laughed and jotted something down on her order pad. “I do like people who know what they want.”
After the woman left, Lexi caught Dane regarding her out of the corner of her eye, blatant interest on his face. Like he knew exactly what he wanted—and it had nothing to do with food.
“So,” she said softly, trying not to think too much about how close they were sitting to each other, or how nice his leg felt pressed up against her. “How long have you been a firefighter, and have you been at Station 58 the whole time?”
Dane’s mouth curved into a sexy little smile, making her wonder if he was aware of how easily he put her off balance. Hopefully not. She was doing her best to come off cool and casual. She picked up her glass and was surprised to see her hand shaking a little. What the heck was it about this guy that had her so spun up?
She took her time sipping her drink, praying she didn’t spill it. That would be perfect.
He took another swig of beer before answering. “I joined DF&R a couple months out of high school. I was one of the youngest recruits at the fire academy and wasn’t even twenty by the time I came off of probationary status. Stewart had pull even back then and got me assigned to the five-eight. I’ve been there ever since—almost fourteen years.”
Lexi blinked. In her experience, very few people walked right out of high school and into the fire academy. The firefighting profession was something of a calling, and most of the firefighters she knew had spent a few years doing other things—college, the military, even odd jobs—before they realized what they wanted to do with their life. For someone Dane’s age to have fourteen years of experience was unusual.
“Do you come from a family of firefighters?” she asked.
She figured that had to be the case, since it was about the only thing that would explain joining the department at such a young age. But Dane shook his head.
“No, nothing like that,” he said quietly, rubbing his thumb absently back and forth over the label on his beer bottle.
The way he said the words made her think he’d rather not get into the reasons he’d become a firefighter, and she felt like crap for bringing it up.
She reached out and placed her hand on top of his much larger one, giving it a squeeze. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
He frowned, clearly struggling with the decision. She got the sense that while part of Dane wanted to tell her about it, the other part didn’t want to relive whatever it was.
Before either of them could say anything else, their server showed up with two plates of tortilla wrapped goodness smothered in melted cheese. Lexi was forced to slide over a little so she wouldn’t poke Dane with her elbows as she cut her burritos. She immediately missed the warmth of his body and found herself scooting closer again when she was done.
“It was the summer after I graduated from high school,” Dane said suddenly. He was staring down at his plate, lost in memories of a time long ago. “I was heading to Texas A&M in the fall and decided to take the summer off so I could hang out with my friends before going to college. I was down in the bonus room in my parents’ house, playing video games when the fire started.”
Lexi’s stomach clenched. She already knew how this was going to end.
“I thought my mom had burned something in the oven, so I didn’t pay attention. I didn’t know the house was on fire until it was too late. The wiring was faulty and…” He swallowed hard, still not looking at her. “By the time I ran up to the first floor, it was engulfed in flames. I couldn’t get upstairs to my parents’ room, so I shouted as loud as I could then ran outside, sure they were right behind me. I was young and stupid and didn’t know any of the stuff about fire that I know now. I couldn’t save them.”
Lexi blinked back tears. “What happened wasn’t your fault, Dane.”
He nodded, clearing his throat. “I know that now.”
