Three dots appeared almost immediately.
BLAZE: Liar.
The audacity of this man truly needed regulation.
Johanna bit back a smile that threatened anyway.
Because the infuriating part was that Blaze knew she’d spend thirty minutes pretending to debate the invitation before showing up anyway.
Johanna stared at the message one more second before tossing her phone into her purse.
The February air outside would be cold enough for coats around the bonfire, which meant Blaze would probably wear hoodies or flannel or something equally masculine and entirely too attractive for her emotional stability.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
She grabbed her wool coat from the hook near the door and slipped it on slowly before taking one final glance around her apartment.
Everything looked exactly the same.
Meanwhile, her entire internal system behaved like she was heading toward a life-altering event instead of roasted hotdogs with firefighters.
Ridiculous.
Johanna reached for her keys and exhaled softly.
One bonfire.
That was all this was.
Just a few hours spent near the ocean with people she already knew.
Nothing life-changing.
Nothing dangerous.
But deep down she suspected Blaze Carter hadn’t invited her tonight just to sit around a fire. He invited her because he was slowly finding his way back into her life.
And the truly terrifying part… she was starting to let him in.
Chapter7
The beach near the marina glowed beneath string lights and bonfires by the time Johanna arrived.
Music drifted through the salty night air while waves rolled rhythmically against the shoreline beyond the dunes. Several fires burned across the sand surrounded by folding chairs, coolers, blankets, and groups of laughing people gathered beneath the stars.
The entire scene looked warm and alive in a way only Sheraton Beach could manage.
Of course, firefighters would somehow turn a casual beach gathering into something that felt suspiciously romantic.
Johanna stepped carefully through the sand, immediately recognizing familiar faces from around town.
Couples sat wrapped together beneath blankets.
Children roasted marshmallows while sugar and smoke scented the air.
A group of firefighters tossed a football near the dunes while music drifted softly from portable speakers planted beside coolers.
