Before she could recover emotionally, Ryan suddenly appeared beside them carrying beers.
“Well, look who finally showed up.”
Johanna pointed immediately. “Don’t start.”
Ryan looked offended. “I’m being welcoming.”
Blaze laughed. “You’ve never been welcoming a day in your life.”
“That’s fair,” Ryan admitted calmly. He handed him a beer before looking toward Johanna with suspicious innocence.
“You know this dude ironed his jeans tonight?”
Blaze looked ready to commit violence instantly.
Johanna burst out laughing.
Blaze looked at her like hearing that sound physically affected him.
The teasing around them faded after that.
The fire crackled nearby while conversations and music blurred into the background because suddenly Blaze focused on only one thing.
Her.
Blaze lifted the beer slowly to his mouth without taking his eyes off her.
Ryan looked between them once and immediately started backing away.
“Alright,” he announced, “I can physically feel sexual tension in the air, so I’m leaving.”
Johanna nearly choked laughing again.
Blaze shook his head. “Ignore him.”
“Hard to do when he announces things like a town crier.”
The fire popped nearby while music shifted into a slow old-school beat through the speakers.
Couples danced in the sand farther down the beach. Laughter drifted through the night air while firefighters argued loudly over football statistics near another bonfire.
Everything about the atmosphere felt intimate.
Blaze leaned slightly closer.
“Walk with me.”
Not demanding.
Not pushy.
Just quiet masculine confidence.
She absolutely should have said no.
Instead, she found herself falling into step beside him before common sense could organize a proper argument.
The shoreline stretched darker and quieter away from the crowd while moonlight spilled silver across the water. Waves rolled steadily against wet sand beneath the stars.
