“Annie,” she whispered.“Keep your voice down.It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“You don’t understand,” she said, her eyes round.“We needed that car.”
Annie stared at her as understanding threatened to break through the emotional storm in her head.“What?”
She hadn’t been accusing her of anything, but Lauren was ready with a confession.
“I’m not against the firefighters.I’m against weak cases.”
“Weak cases,” Annie repeated slowly.
A shout rang out, and both Annie and Lauren looked to the crowd.
Lauren let out a groan.“Oh, no.It’s Alex.”
“Who is that?”Annie asked.
“My brother,” she said with a sigh.
Annie didn’t even know Lauren had a brother.Apparently, there was a lot she didn’t know about her friend.
“He was in a relationship with Clarissa, one of the firefighters.They ended things a few months ago, and he hasn’t taken it well.I mean,he’snot well.I’m surprised he showed up here.”
By the looks of it, no one else seemed terribly shocked.Hank already had the unruly sweatpant-clad man by the arm, spinning him around and walking him out like a perp.
Miles appeared at Hank’s side, his broad shoulders filling out a sleek black tuxedo.He stood tall and handsome, like something out of a dream.
Annie watched, mesmerized, as he spoke to Hank and Alex.When Hank disappeared, Miles turned.He caught her eye, a broad smile crossing his face.
Her heart, the traitor, fluttered against her ribcage.
Twenty-four
He could still hear Alex yelling as Hank dragged him away.
“You ripped us apart for nothing, Miles!”
The words barely registered.He wasn’t the first firefighter Alex had accused of seducing Clarissa, and he wouldn’t be the last.A few months prior, Alex had broken into the fire station, climbing through a window after seeing Clarissa eating chili with Miles and Sam.
They had all been stunned to see him, cut off mid-laugh a discussion about a call for a water rescue that ended up being a large coat that had blown into the ocean.
Any thought of the jealous man disappeared from Miles’ mind the moment he saw Annie.He’d been looking for her since arriving at the fundraiser – late, due to a disaster with Bella’s hair.
She’d gone into town to get it done with a friend, bringing along pictures of a complicated updo.An hour later, she came home sobbing and said she would not attend the fundraiser.
“What if Noah sees me like this?”she had wailed.
Miles had shrugged, narrowing his eyes on the curls and pins in her dark hair.“Honestly, he probably isn’t going to notice.”
That wasn’t the comfort he thought it would be.Bella had cried out and thrown herself onto the couch.
He had been at a loss.The only thing he could think of was a story Annie had told him about her mom doing her hair for all the school dances when she was growing up.It took a lot of coaxing, but he convinced her to go down the street and show Clara the damage.
An hour and a lot of tears later, Clara was able to carefully disassemble the hairdo and put in its place an intricate and swooping braid.Bella cried again – tears of joy this time – and they rushed home so she could finish getting ready.
They were nearly two hours late to the fundraiser.He thought about texting Annie to let her know, but it seemed presumptuous.Why would Annie be waiting on him?
