Blaze settled back onto the pillow beside her, one hand still resting low against her waist while silence stretched comfortably between them.
The quiet didn’t feel awkward. It felt natural, which was exactly what made it so dangerous.
Johanna stared at the ceiling for a moment before finally speaking again.
“So, what now?”
Blaze looked over at her immediately. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” She hesitated slightly. “This.”
His expression never changed. He didn’t tense or pull away. Blaze simply studied her calmly for a long moment before answering.
“Now I buy you breakfast.”
Johanna blinked. “That’s your answer?”
A slow grin spread across his face.
“Baby, I’m a firefighter from Sheraton Beach, not a hedge fund manager from Manhattan. We had a good night, we shared something special, and now I feed you pancakes.”
The laugh that burst out of her came instantly.
Blaze’s face softened while watching her, and something about the desire in his dark expression unsettled her more than teasing ever could.
“I love that sound,” he murmured.
Johanna shook her head, still smiling. “You make everything sound simple.”
“No,” he corrected gently. “You just overcomplicate things.”
That observation landed a little too close to the truth.
Blaze reached up and brushed one curl away from her face before his expression turned serious again.
“I’m not confused about you, Jo.”
The room suddenly felt quieter after that.
“Heavy statement before coffee,” she murmured.
A faint smile touched his mouth. “Yeah, but it’s still true.”
Johanna lowered her eyes briefly to the blanket pooled across them both because that certainty frightened her more than anything else.
And being loved like that again meant risking everything all over again.
Before she could disappear too deeply into her thoughts, Blaze tilted her chin gently back toward him.
“You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“Thinking yourself out of being happy.”
Her chest tightened instantly because somehow this man still saw straight through her.
Blaze studied her for another quiet moment before leaning down and kissing her. There was no heat or urgency behind the kiss this time. Instead, he kissed her with affection, reassurance, and quiet promise, and somehow that tenderness felt even more intimate than everything that happened the night before.
