“This feels like public humiliation,” Johanna muttered.
Blaze stepped closer. Not enough to touch her. Just enough to disrupt her breathing.
“One date,” he said softly.
Johanna blinked. “The auction package is a date.”
“I’m not talking about the package.” His voice lowered slightly after that. “I’m talking about spending an evening catching up.”
The air shifted instantly and became more intimate and dangerous.
Blaze held her gaze steadily while the noise of the ballroom seemed to disappear around them.
“I just want one evening where we sit down and talk,” he said quietly. “If you decide afterward you’re completely done with me, I’ll leave it alone. Hell, I’ll donate the whole auction package to charity myself.”
Johanna’s chest tightened painfully. Because there it was again. That pull. That terrifying feeling that one night alone with Blaze could unravel every carefully stitched emotional defense she’d spent years building.
And maybe the worst part… some reckless piece of her wanted it to.
Blaze waited patiently while she battled herself silently. No pressure and no pushing.
Finally, Johanna exhaled slowly. “Fine,” she said carefully. “One date.”
The look that crossed Blaze’s face was pure, genuine relief. Like some part of him had been bracing for rejection. And for reasons she absolutely did not want to examine too closely… that affected her more than it should have.
Blaze held her gaze another second before nodding once. “I’ll pick you up Friday.”
Then he turned and walked away. No smooth final line. Just quiet confidence. Which somehow made him even harder to resist.
Johanna stared after him while her pulse completely ignored common sense.
Behind her, Bianca appeared silently like a wealthy matchmaking spirit. “That man is fine.”
Johanna jumped. “Why do you move like that?”
Bianca grinned unapologetically. “Because I was blessed with timing.” She leaned closer. “And because that firefighter was looking at you like he has feelings for you.”
Groaning, Johanna grabbed the nearest wedding binder and hugged it to her chest. “I suddenly understand why people elope.”
The dangerous part wasn't that Blaze wanted another chance.
The dangerous part was how badly she wanted to give himone.
Chapter4
By Friday afternoon, Blaze was dressed and ready nearly an hour early.
Not because he was nervous.
At least that’s what he kept telling himself.
The truth sat somewhere lower in his chest, heavier and harder to ignore. Anticipation had been stalking him all damn day, sharpening his focus until even the smallest things felt louder than usual.
A grown man should not be standing in front of a mirror debating shirts like his emotional stability depended on cotton blends.
Blaze Carter ran into burning buildings for a living.
He carried unconscious people down smoke-filled stairwells.
