He glanced at the smoldering dumpster, eyebrows raised. “This is my literal job.”
“I meanhere.” She pointed to the asphalt. “This isn’t your station,” she clarified.
He shook his head like he always did when he didn’t want to answer her. An outright, not-worth-the-time dismissal.
That. Sucked.
She may as well have disappeared into the dark of night. Unnecessary, and all—
“Em, tell me you did not start this,” James said, with substantially more criticism in his tone than was entirely necessary.
Oh,nowhe looked at her like she existed.
“Knock it off, James.” His assumption got her hackles raised right up. “It’s not like I’m a serial arsonist.”
He guffawed.
“It’s only happened a few times,” she assured.
Yes, she accidentally lit fires, and all of those times she’d been much younger. Not one of them involved sex toys.
James made wide eyes at her. “A few times? That’s not giving you full credit. Should I go through them all?”
“Only if you want to get kicked in the nuts by your sister,” Em countered.
“Not her fault, mate,” Hot Blond Guy said with that really yummy accent. He pointed to himself. “My bad.”
Was Hot Blond Guy seriously taking responsibility?
“Your bad?” James raised his eyebrows toward the guy.
“Yeah, the fire’s my bad.” Hot Blond Guy lifted his hand. “Name’s Ethan.”
Yes, yes, he did take responsibility. Em’s mouth fell open the slightest bit.
Okay, so, whoa. Coming to her rescue made him even sexier. Too bad he was so handsome, and probably super good at upstaging everyone in his vicinity.
“Ethan,” James confirmed, shaking the wonderful man’s hand.
She was going to make Ethan Rice Krispies Treats—her personal specialty. James, however, had practically called her a serial arsonist, so he was getting MiraLAX in his treats.Don’t eat the ones with the pink wrappers! Ha.
James did that thing again. The one where he seemed to forget she existed because his entire focus turned to Ethan. Yeah, this was the problem with charisma-soaked hotties.
“James,” one of the other firefighter guys called. “Check this out.”
As her brother walked away, she seriously hoped they found a crapload of drugs that would distract everyone from the real culprit.
Chapter Two
ETHAN
“Em,”Ethan said her name, taking his cue from James’s use of her nickname and savoring that syllable on his tongue like his favorite taste of watermelon and mint.
“Emmaline,” she said. “Officially, I’m Emmaline, but most people call me Em.”
“These would be those delicate family politics?” Ethan asked, low and only for her.
“You have no idea.” She took a massive breath and then firmed her spine, seeming to prepare herself for whatever James was going to toss her way next.
