There was nothing soft or romantic about his brusque word or tone. And yet, when he slipped the jacket on over her shoulders before she could refuse it, she couldn’t help but be warmed by the gesture, both inside and out. She loved the smell of him, the way a little bit of smoke always seemed to cling to him, a scent that was utterly unique to him.
“What do you need to speak with me about?”
“Fighting fires is my job, Megan,” he began with no preamble, no small talk whatsoever. “I’m trained to deal with dangerous, possibly deadly situations. When firefighters get hurt, it’s either their own fault for not taking the proper precautions, or it’s a natural force of the fire that no one can control.” He searched her face and when he clearly didn’t see what he was looking for, he said, “You shouldn’t be apologizing to my mother about what happened to me.”
She couldn’t mask her surprise. “But it’s true. If I could have—”
He cut her off. “I should have had two dead weights to carry out of there, but you never let go for a second. Not for one goddamned second until you knew your daughter was safe.”
There was enough outdoor lighting from the decorative lanterns hanging from the oak’s branches for her to see the expression on his face.
Out-and-out respect.
For her.
“You were amazing, Megan. And I don’t want you to feel guilty about my part in the fire. Not ever again.”
Beyond surprised, she finally said, “Thank you for saying that, although I don’t think I can help the way I feel.”
“Neither can I.”
They stared at each other, the air between them doing that thing with the sparks and the electricity. Suddenly she didn’t know if they were talking about the fire anymore...or the sensual tension in the air.
“I shouldn’t have brought you out here,” he suddenly said. “It’s too cold without a fire. I’ll see you inside in a bit after I get something going in the fire pit.”
Clearly, that was his way of dismissing her. And Megan knew she would be wise to leave before any of the sparks ignited between them. But, darn it, she didn’t like leaving on his terms. And she definitely didn’t like it when he turned away as if she was already gone, and started piling his arms with nearby firewood.
No woman wanted to think that she could be forgotten that quickly. Even one who had sworn not to want the attention of the man in question.
Knowing she was often too stubborn for her own good, she headed to the woodpile and picked up several good-looking pieces of firewood.
Gabe didn’t look happy to see that she was still there. “Weren’t you going inside?”
Quickly guessing that most women Gabe dealt with probably jumped at every command out of that gorgeous mouth, she knelt by the built-in fire pit he was uncovering. “I figured I’d help you get the bonfire going.” She admired the brickwork. “This is fantastic. Summer is going to beg me for one just like it in our backyard. She’s a huge s’mores fan.”
“Your apartment has a yard?”
She shook her head. “Not the temporary apartment we’re in now. But once we find the perfect new place, I might put one in.” Although, even as she said it, she knew she wouldn’t, knew she would be too worried about fire spreading from the fire pit to her building.
“I hope you find the perfect house soon, Megan.” He was silent for a moment before adding, “I’ve been to a thousand fires in a thousand people’s homes, but it’s not the same as having it happen to me. I’m sorry about what you must have lost.”
She didn’t look up from where she was positioning the logs into a perfect pyramid. “I am, too.”
She hadn’t wanted to say as much to Summer, believing instead that her daughter needed her to be strong. She hadn’t wanted her clients to worry that she couldn’t handle their workloads, so she’d simply reminded each of them that she had backup records in a secure, fire-safe location. Her parents were bound to worry no matter what she said, so of course she’d been tight-lipped about her feelings to them, too. And as for her girlfriends, well, the truth was she hadn’t had a lot of time for going out with the girls between working and taking care of Summer. Some of the other mothers at school were friendly, but she hadn’t felt a strong connection with any of them. That’s why it had been so nice to run into Sophie again.
“Fortunately, most of our pictures were all still on my hard drive, but the things I saved from when Summer was a baby, from her first day at school, her first lost tooth...I wish all of those things weren’t gone.” She made herself shrug and pull her lips up at the corners as she took the matches he handed her. “But they are and we’re doing pretty great, all in all. I got lucky with that kid of mine.”
He was nodding and looking into the fire that she’d just Nookd as he said, “You sure did.” The flames took off and he grinned at her. “Nice job with that fire, by the way.”
He’d grinned at Summer plenty of times, but never directly at her. The force of that smile, so utterly genuine, without any of the knowing charm that his brothers Ryan and Zach laid on, had her wanting to take two steps closer to him and kiss him.
As if he could hear her silent yearnings, in an instant his smile fell away and his eyes darkened, filling with that heat that she couldn’t help but be drawn to, heat she was dying to get closer to, to see if it could warm all those places inside her that had been cold for so long.