Blaze sat in his truck long after Johanna disappeared inside her apartment building.
At some point the engine settled into a quiet idle beneath him, but he barely noticed. Main Street glowed outside in soft streaks of gold and neon while pedestrians drifted between restaurants and bars wrapped in coats against the Februarychill. Somewhere down the block, laughter spilled out of Spanky’s each time the front door opened.
None of it held his attention.
All he could see was Johanna standing beneath moonlight with her hands twisted in the front of his shirt while kissing him back like some part of her had never stopped belonging there.
Jesus Christ.
Blaze dragged one hand across his chin and leaned his head back against the seat.
That kiss had messed with his head in ways he hadn’t fully prepared for. Physical attraction between them had never disappeared, so Blaze wasn’t shocked by how quickly heat sparked between them again. What caught him off guard was the familiarity of it all. Years and distance vanished the moment her mouth touched his. Blaze still knew exactly how she sighed when emotion caught her off guard. He recognized the tiny tremble in her breathing whenever she stopped pretending she wasn’t affected by him.
And he knew her well enough to recognize fear too.
Johanna had been afraid because she felt every bit of it.
Blaze stared toward the warm glow of her apartment windows upstairs while emotion pressed low and heavy inside his chest.
One date. That was all she agreed to. But tonight changed something between them.
He felt it with absolute certainty.
The walls Johanna spent years building around herself didn’t fully collapse tonight, but cracks had formed. Small ones. Enough for Blaze to finally see glimpses of the woman he remembered beneath all that careful control.
And that woman still loved him.
A rough laugh escaped him before he shook his head.
Ryan was going to be unbearable tomorrow.
Hell, the entire station probably already knew Blaze took Johanna Bennett to Harbor & Wine. News moved through Sheraton Beach faster than wildfire and twice as recklessly.
By morning, Mrs. Adele Jenkins would probably have an engagement prediction timeline drafted somewhere.
The thought pulled a reluctant smile out of him.
Then the smile faded. Because the second the truck pulled away from the curb, reality crept back in.
His phone buzzed against the center console.
Blaze glanced down immediately.
Seattle Fire Department.
Again.
For several seconds he simply stared at the screen while old dreams rose hard enough to ache.
Five months ago, when he came back to Sheraton Beach planning to stay only long enough to catch his breath, he would've answered on the first ring.
Seattle represented every ambition he used to chase when he was younger. Bigger city. Better pay. Better opportunities. Blaze used to sit beside Johanna on the beach at seventeen talking about high-rise rescues, elite training programs, mountains, rain, and a life larger than Sheraton Beach could offer them.
Back then, Seattle sounded like freedom.
Like proof he could become something more than the boy whose father disappeared before he learned how to say his name.
Johanna used to believe it too.
