Chapter14
By the following Thursday, Blaze had officially become a problem.
Not in the casual sense.
Not even in the fun, flirtatious sense.
He had become the kind of problem that slipped quietly into Johanna’s daily life until suddenly he was everywhere.
Morning texts waited before she even opened her eyes, lunch deliveries arrived because Blaze insisted she forgot to eat, and late-night phone calls somehow stretched for hours without either of them noticing.
And there were the nights that they lay in each other’s arms after making love until the wee hours of the morning. Both of them too sated to care about sleep.
But best of all… Blaze didn’t look uncertain. He looked genuinely happy. As if loving her again came naturally to him.
That was the part beginning to scare Johanna most.
Because she was starting to believe him.
The Beaumont Hotel buzzed with activity by lunchtime when Johanna stepped into the lobby carrying event folders against her chest. Employees hurried across polished marble floors while guests wandered slowly through the oceanfront property admiring floral displays, towering windows, and views of the water beyond the terrace.
Johanna had spent the entire morning navigating Sedona Beaumont’s carefully curated chaos. What had started as a temporary favor was beginning to feel like a long-term assignment, especially after yet another wedding planner quit. It was only the first week of March, and with the wedding still months away in July, Johanna was slowly coming to terms with an unfortunate reality: she was probably going to be trapped inthis logistical nightmare until Sedona finally walked down the aisle and said, "I do."
She turned the corner and found Bianca near the concierge desk arguing with a florist while simultaneously answering emails on her iPhone.
“Absolutely not,” Bianca snapped into her headset. “I am literally looking at the flower arrangement you sent over. The bride requested ivory roses, not winter white. Those are two completely different shades.”
Johanna smiled despite herself.
Bianca looked up, spotted her instantly, and pointed across the lobby. “Your man went upstairs looking for you.”
Heat warmed Johanna’s face. She was still getting used to hearing those words.
Your man.
She turned around and was heading back upstairs when the elevator doors opened and Blaze stepped out.
“That man is going to be the death of me,” she muttered at the sight of him.
He was wearing dark gray sweatpants, sneakers, and a matching hooded sweatshirt layered beneath a black jacket. The casual outfit somehow made him look even more masculine, like he’d walked straight out of a firefighter fantasy without realizing the effect he had on women.
Johanna honestly didn’t think the man understood how distracting he was.
Blaze crossed the marble floor toward her with confident strides while Bianca openly watched him like she’d purchased front-row tickets to a romantic movie, and she fully intended to enjoy.
“Hey, baby.”
The deep affection in his voice curled through Johanna instantly.
She smiled despite herself. “Hey.”
Blaze leaned down and kissed her in the middle of the hotel lobby like he’d been doing it for years.
Like she belonged to him.
Bianca clutched her chest dramatically. “Jesus. The two of you are making the hospitality staff uncomfortable.”
Blaze grinned without looking away from Johanna. “Hello, Bianca.”
