The Last of The Red Hot Firefighters (Red Hot Reunions Book 1) (12 page)

He chuckled as he pulled away, capturing Naomi’s hand in his while his other hand reached for the door. “Come on. Let’s get turkey before they run out.”

Naomi followed him out of the closet, elation overshadowing her disappointment over no more kisses. Once she proved to Jake that she would do nothing but treasure every moment with him from here on out, there would be time for kisses, time for all the Jake kisses she could handle.

The rest of the evening passed in a blissful haze. Naomi was so happy, so hopeful, so thrilled to the tips of her toes, that she couldn’t seem to focus on anything except Jake’s smile, his hand warm in hers, his lips kissing her good-bye on her parents’ front porch before he backed down the steps and disappeared into the darkness with a promise to see her tomorrow.

She was so over-the-moon it didn’t occur to her that she might have already violated her and Jake’s “no more secrets” policy their very first night back together.

Whether it was an old secret or a new secret, she hadn’t told Jake about what had happened between her and Jamison her last night in Summerville. It probably should have been the first thing out of her mouth when Jake mentioned second chances, but she’d been so dizzy from his kiss that the thought didn’t hit until she was brushing her teeth long after he’d said good night.

“Shit,” Naomi mumbled around a mouth full of foam, heart sinking as she realized she’d have to come clean first thing tomorrow.

No matter how much she wanted to dive into her second chance with Jake and leave the past behind them, she owed him the truth. She owed him the chance to change his mind about giving her another shot at his heart once he knew what a lousy leaver she’d been the first time around.

As she curled under her covers, stomach as unsettled as it had been at the start of the night, she clasped her fingers tight, praying that this time tomorrow there would still be a future with Jake on her horizon.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jake

“Hey, boss, catch!”

Jake glanced up from his desk, catching the bag of burritos Faith threw his way with one hand, while hitting send on an email to the head of the fire board with the other, the grin on his face never slipping for a second.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Jake shut down his computer and bounced out of his chair, humming beneath his breath as he reached for his jacket and started to shrug it on, then glanced out the window at the picture-perfect Saturday afternoon and thought better of it.

It was almost sixty-five degrees out and the temp was still climbing. Summerville was enjoying a freakishly warm winter afternoon—maybe the last one of its kind until spring rolled around in a few months. It would be a sin not to get out and take advantage of the gorgeous weather, and Jake didn’t intend to do any sinning today.

“I’m out, Faith,” Jake said, throwing his jacket over his arm. “Tell Jamison to page me if any more urgent email comes in. If not, I’ll see you Tuesday.”

“Got it,” Faith said, then muttered beneath her breath. “The fundraisers are fun and all, but I’m going to be glad when work hours go back to normal.”

“I hear ya,” Jake said, heading for the door. “Thanks for the burritos.”

“You’re welcome, but you’re not eating both of those yourself, are you? Do I smell a lunch date?” Faith asked, watching him cross the room as she unloaded chips and salsa near the coffee station, getting them ready for the rest of the staff when they were dismissed from the arson detection course currently in progress in the cramped classroom at the rear of the station.

“Maybe, maybe not.” Jake didn’t try to hide his smile, but he didn’t offer any further information, either.

This thing with Naomi was too new. Even if he were the kind to kiss and tell, he didn’t feel ready to talk about the fact that he was dating his high school sweetheart. He didn’t want to talk about it; he just wanted to enjoy it, to enjoy
her—
her laugh, her smile, the way she stuttered when she was nervous, the way she sighed his name when he kissed her.

As he stepped out the front door into the unusually warm day, Jake pushed the last thought gently from his mind. He couldn’t think too much about kissing Naomi. It had taken him half an hour to talk his cock down his pant leg after their encounter in the janitor’s closet last night. It was safer to imagine other things, like the way she would smile when he announced he was kidnapping her for a surprise picnic. She had changed from the girl he’d known in many ways—good ways that had him falling for her even faster than he had the first time—but he had a feeling that an impromptu picnic would still be right up Naomi’s alley.

He paused on the sidewalk, waiting for a break in the line of passing vehicles so he could cross over to
Icing
, but when the last pickup truck eased past, he saw Naomi, already on her way across the street toward him.

She was wearing a long, peach-colored dress made of something filmy that billowed around her legs as she moved and a ring of daisies in her hair. She looked so damned cute it was all Jake could do to keep from swooping her into his arms and kissing her senseless right there on the sidewalk, in full view of the station and Faith, who was no doubt spying from the second-story window.

“I was just coming to see you,” Jake said, smiling as Naomi stopped beside him, unable to resist the urge to reach out and tuck a stray curl behind her ear. “You look like summertime.”

“Oh, this?” Naomi laughed and gestured nervously to the flowers in her hair. “Maddie made us all put them on this morning after the sink broke for the third time. It’s something she and her friends used to do on the island. She says flowers in your hair bring good fortune.”

“Well, they certainly brought a beautiful day, and I think we should go enjoy it.” Jake held up the white bag. “I’ve got burritos for two and picnic blankets in the car.”

“You do?” Naomi glanced uncertainly down at the bag, temptation and regret warring on her features. “That sounds amazing, but I-I probably shouldn’t. Everything’s falling apart in there, and I think Maddie is close to a nervous breakdown, which is ridiculous considering she’s the one who refuses to let me hire a crew to help with the renovation.”

Naomi flapped one arm in the general direction of the bakery as she rolled her eyes. “I mean, even Aria is on board with letting me foot the bill at this point, and she’s not even my sister, so I don’t—”

“You’re nervous,” Jake said, cutting her off mid-rant, capturing her hand in his and giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. “Why?”

Naomi’s breath rushed out. “I don’t know,” she said, gaze falling to the concrete. “I felt like I should come talk to you. About some…stuff. But this morning has been awful—everything is breaking, Maddie and Mick are fighting, and Aria is freaked out that we’re not going to be open by Christmas Eve Day the way we planned and now you have burritos and I just…I don’t want to talk.”

“Then don’t,” Jake said. “We talked last night. I feel good about what we decided. Don’t you?”

Naomi nodded and her fingers curled around his hand, even that simple caress enough to make his heart do funny things in his chest. Things that made him so damned happy and hopeful he wasn’t about to let Naomi’s nerves get in the way of what they’d started.

“Then we’re good,” he said. “Just relax. You always did think too much.”

“I know,” Naomi said, her blue eyes still vaguely troubled. “I just don’t want to do anything to mess this up.”

“Then you won’t,” Jake said, stepping closer.

He leaned down to press a soft kiss to the top of her head, catching a whiff of that smell that would always remind him of Naomi—a mix of her perfume and coconut shampoo and the sweet smell of her skin that was enough to get him hard all over again. Waiting to be together was going to be torture, but it was the right thing to do. He didn’t want to sleep with Naomi until they were both sure this was going to last because once he had her in his bed, Jake had a feeling he would never let her go.

“Come on,” he said, starting for his truck, Naomi’s hand still held tight in his. “Let me kidnap you for an hour.”

Naomi hesitated, casting a glance across the street.

A moment later, her sister—wearing a matching flower chain in her hair that made Jake smile—stuck her head out the front door.

“Go wherever he wants you to go,” Maddie called out. “We’ll see you whenever you get back.”

“Are you sure?” Naomi asked. “I don’t want to leave if you need me.”

“Mick got the water shut off. Aria is mopping up the mess, and I’m making three dozen cookies to make everyone feel better.” Maddie made a shooing gesture. “Go, have fun, and come back ready to sign checks because I’m hiring a plumber and an electrician.”

Naomi’s shoulders relaxed. “Hallelujah!” She turned back to Jake with a smile brighter than the sun reflecting off the gold streaks in her hair. “Let’s go. Hurry, before something else falls apart.”

She skipped past him toward his truck, tugging him along by the hand before Jake laughed and broke into a jog with her, deciding instantly that running away
with
Naomi was so much better than running away
from
her.

So much damned better.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Jake

“I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.” Naomi moaned as she fell onto her back on the thick, Mexican blanket Jake had spread down for their picnic.

“I’m proud of you. A lesser woman would have quit halfway through,” Jake said, smiling as Naomi laughed.

“I wish I had. I think I’m going into a food coma.”

“All part of the fun.” He glanced down at her pretty face, so content he was sure he could stay here on this blanket with Naomi for the rest of his life and be perfectly happy.

With the last of the winter wheat waving gently around them, it felt like they were in their own little world, adrift on a golden sea in a ship made for two. The sun was giving off enough heat that Jake had stripped down to his undershirt and Naomi had lifted her gauzy dress to sun her legs as they ate.

And now, with her lying beside him, her arms up over her head and her eyes closed to soak in the warm rays, she looked good enough to eat. All he wanted was to cover her body with his own, let his lips play down her throat to the top of her sleeveless dress and use his teeth to tug away the thin fabric, baring those gorgeous breasts he hadn’t seen in far too long…

He could almost feel the way her nipple would tighten beneath his lips before her drew the tip into his mouth and trapped it there, teasing her with his tongue until her breath came faster and her fingers fisted in his hair. He could imagine the way she’d moan and spread her legs, inviting him to slide his hand beneath her skirt, up her bare thigh to where she would be as hot and wet as she was last night.

Jake took a deep breath, stifling the groan seconds away from escaping his throat. If he didn’t stop thinking about the way Naomi’s body had gripped his fingers, the way she’d clutched his shoulders and cried out as her head fell back, he was going to roll over and take her right here, within sight of County Road Fifty-Six, where a dozen people they both knew could drive by at any moment.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said, coming to his feet, ignoring the tight feeling in his jeans. “It will help work through the food coma.”

Not to mention his raging case of mid-afternoon lust.

“Don’t you need to get back to work soon?” Naomi asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as she reached a hand up toward him.

Jake helped her up, waiting as she slid her bare feet back into her silver flats, even that innocent flash of skin making him want to pull her back down to the blanket and kiss every one of her toes.

“Probably not. I usually get off at noon on Saturdays,” he said, clearing his throat, willing himself to get a grip. “I’ve been sticking around later the past two weeks because our schedules are messed up to accommodate the fundraisers, but unless some unexpected emails come in, I shouldn’t have to go back. The rest of the crew can handle the emergencies, the chief is only vital for dealing with the fire board and the city council.”

Naomi smiled at him as she took his hand again, letting him lead the way across the field. “That’s pretty impressive. I’m proud of you.”

“For wrangling email?” Jake asked with a wink.

“For making chief so young,” she said. “Aren’t there a lot of older guys still with the department?”

Jake shrugged. “There are a couple, but once my dad retired, a lot of the guys he worked with followed not long after. Kevin and Harry are the only ones left from the old guard, and they didn’t have much interest in the promotion. They preferred to go on volunteer status and let someone else step up to chief.”

“I get it,” Naomi said, nodding. “Some people would rather follow. I’m like that.”

Jake laughed and shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m not kidding,” she said, grinning. “I know I can be bossy, but only when I have to be. I honestly prefer to be told what to do, as long as the person in charge knows what they’re doing. By the third year of my show, my assistant, Li, was managing almost everything. All I had to do was come up with menus, give her an ingredient list a week before, and show up on set.” She sighed as she turned to stare out at the gently waving wheat. “It was nice.”