“Man, that was such a commotion. Seriously. One would think women were incapable of everything.”
“Right? I remember when Vancouver got their first female firefighter. Now, there are plenty.”
“I’ve heard there’s a lot of nepotism in Vancouver.”
“There might also be a lot in Mission City as well.” I wasn’t going to throw Vancouver’s fire department under the bus—even if they did deserve it a little bit. Misogyny existed everywhere.
“We’re getting better—at least with gender parity. Nepotism is a whole other can of worms.”
“Oh?” I cocked my head.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve met Chief McInerny, right?”
“I have.”
“And Marlon?”
“I have.”
“Well, I suspect you can put two and two together to make a kid riding on coat tails rather than being worth his pay.”
“That bad?”
She arched an eyebrow.
“Finn didn’t elaborate.”
“Finn? Finnegan O’Sullivan?”
I nodded.
She straightened so fast that she nearly spilled her coffee. “Holy shit.”
“What?” I widened my eyes in alarm.
“You’restillshagging Finn O’Sullivan?” Her voice took on a note of incredulity.
“I didn’t say that. Did I say that? No, I did not.”
“Well, with an answer like that, it’s pretty damn obvious. Shit. I thought that was a one-off.”
“Yeah—” I scratched my chin. “You know…”
“Right.” She sipped her coffee. “Still, there’s some logic.”
“What? That he’s gay and I’m gay?”
She rolled her eyes. “Plenty of gay men in Mission City. And enbies. And lesbians. Even have one of those in my family.”
Before I had a chance to query if she meant a sister or some other relative, she barreled on. “So like, man, Finn. I sort of had a crush on him when we were younger. He’s older than me—obviously. But he went to school with Sunshine? I got glimpses of him and thoughtyeah, he’s yummy. And such a good guy to boot. Hometown hero and all that. So you’re shagging him.”
“I’d prefer we not talk about my sex life—or at least use a word other thanshag. You sound British.”
She laughed. “Well, I’m not that. You’re so prudish.”
“Not so much. Just, well, we haven’t—to the best of my knowledge—told anyone.”
“Do you have anyone other than me to tell?”
