Stayed calm during emergencies.
Made decisions under pressure.
Yet somehow one evening with Johanna Bennett had him questioning denim choices like a fool.
“Ridiculous,” he muttered.
His reflection looked entirely unimpressed by the situation.
The navy button-down made him look too serious.
The fitted black T-shirt looked dangerous in ways that would absolutely distract him from his original goal of behaving like a mature adult.
The charcoal sweater made him resemble a man who owned expensive wine opinions.
Blaze dragged one hand down his face.
This was exactly why he loved uniforms. They never asked him to be vulnerable. They told him exactly who he was and what he needed to do.
His phone buzzed across the dresser.
RYAN: If you wear the black shirt, that woman will rethink her decision.
Blaze frowned and glanced toward the bedroom window because Ryan was exactly the kind of nosy fool who would absolutely drive past his house to spy.
Another message appeared.
MACKENZIE: Ignore Ryan. Wear dark jeans. Women notice dark jeans.
Blaze snorted softly and tossed the phone onto the bed.
Sheraton Beach was too small.
That was the real problem.
Nothing stayed private here. A man couldn’t even prepare for a date without half the town acting emotionally invested.
Eventually, he settled on a crisp rust-colored button-down rolled at the sleeves, dark jeans fitted perfectly through the hips and thighs, and brown Timberland boots. Clean. Masculine. Simple enough not to look like he was trying too hard.
Even though he absolutely was.
When he fastened his watch, his eyes landed on the framed photo sitting on the dresser beside the bed.
Him and his mother were pictured together at his fire academy graduation.
His mother had cried that day. Not because she doubted him. Because she understood what it cost him to become the kind of man people could rely on. Blaze had spent most of his life trying to become everything his father wasn’t. Reliable. Steady. Present.
The exact opposite of a man who disappeared before his son’s second birthday and never looked back.
Four months ago, Blaze had come back to Sheraton Beach telling himself it was temporary. Just a reset before he figured out his next move.
Blaze exhaled slowly.
No.
He wasn’t carrying that baggage tonight.
Johanna deserved better than sitting across from a man trapped in old regrets.
