Adam squirmed in his seat. “I just don’t think he can offer you much. He’s a firefighter. Probably didn’t go to college. Everyone knows they don’t make a lot of money…and they get hurt. Then what?”
She felt her ire rise. Fortunately, she remembered who was talking and caught herself before she went off on her boss. When she could be civil, she simply said, “And?”
“And…” He glanced over with a mixture of trepidation and hope. “And I know I could offer you more. I’m not always going to be just a branch manager. I finished my MBA last summer.”
Online,Misty added to herself.
“Anyway, you’re a girl with a good head on her shoulders. I think you’re classy as hell too. You’d be much happier as a bank president’s wife than some woman who barely exists above poverty level and whose main goal is to get all the soot out of her husband’s clothes.”
“That’s it!” Misty shouted. “Stop the car.”
“What? Why?” Adam glanced over at her with genuine astonishment and kept right on driving.
“Because I said so. Now stop! If you want to fire me, go ahead. I’m not going to let you insult me, my boyfriend, and every other brave firefighter in the city. Hell, in the world! Where would people like you be without people like him? Even if your house never catches fire, other things can and do happen, every day. These are the brave first responders who runintodanger while you’re running away.”
“Now, Misty—”
Just his patronizing tone of voice was enough to refuel her fire. “If you’re so concerned about the families of first responders not having enough money to live on, why don’t you do something about that?”
He snorted. “Like what? What could I possibly do?”
“Write to the mayor! Start a petition! Sheesh, you could even be an example to others by collecting funds for the widows and orphans of firefighters who are no longer with us.”
“A drop in the bucket,” he muttered.
“Yeah, with an attitude like that. Listen, my relationship with Gabe is none of your business. None!”
“I realize that. And I was afraid of a reaction like this, but what kind of friend would I be if I said nothing?”
“And that’s another thing.”In for a penny, in for a pound.“Since when are we friends? I haven’t encouraged your ‘friendship’ in the least.”
“I know you haven’t. And I admire that about you. I know I can trust you around other men.”
Misty couldn’t stand it any longer. She burst out laughing.
He frowned at her, then focused on the road, his lips compressed into a thin line. When her laughter had bubbled down to tiny titters, he glared at her.
“Look, Adam, it’s not that I’m not flattered. I am. But you don’t have the full picture. It’s not a matter of money or prestige.”
“Oh, you mean because you’re pregnant?”
He delivered the line with a tiny lift to the corner of his mouth. LikeI know something you don’t know I know.
“How did you… What makes you think…” she sputtered.
“You think I’m stupid? A guy shows up who obviously wants you all to himself, so much that he locks you in a vault with him, which I will address later—”
“Please don’t.”
“Fine. Anyway, a couple months later, you start taking time off for doctor’s appointments, then he shows up with flowers and a proposal? Seriously? I mean, some relationships are quick, but that’s a little too quick—especially for a playboy like him.”
“Playboy?” Misty was too confused to laugh.
“Yeah. You know what they say about firefighters, don’t you?”
She leaned away from him and studied his face. Smug. Arrogant. Whatever he had to say, it was going to be nasty. “You know what, Adam? I don’t care what ‘they’ say. I know my boyfriend and his whole family. Every one of them is above reproach. And every one of them is a firefighter. Well, except his mom and one sister-in-law. But his father was a captain, his oldest brother is a captain, and the next one down is a lieutenant. The rest will get there soon enough. They make good salaries. They live in nice homes. They go on vacations. Yup, the whole nine yards. I resent whatever you’re implying.”
“Fine. Fine. It’s your life,” he muttered.
“Damn right it is.” She was fuming. She had to shut up before she said anything about Adam’s character. She was apt to take nasty to a whole new level.
