Playing With Fire (Firehouse Fourteen Book 2) Read online

  Tonight was the first time that she had seen Jay since last week, and the memory of that whole catastrophe still brought a flush to her face. So yeah, she should have been happy that he barely acknowledged her when he walked in. She should be happy that he wasn’t paying any attention to her at all as he laughed and joked with his friends in the back corner.

  Yeah, that’s what she kept trying to tell herself.

  Angie reached into the cooler and grabbed four bottles, grateful for the momentary coolness that brushed her skin. She sat all four bottles on the bar and pulled the bottle opener from her back pocket, then quickly popped the tops on each. She reached behind her and grabbed two glasses and filled them with ice, then poured tea into them from the pitcher next to her.

  She made a quick note on the sales slip then turned and placed the glasses on the tray next to the bottles. “There you go.”

  Michaela Donaldson—Mike to her coworkers, which included both Dave and Jay—gave her a smile and tossed a bill on the bar next to the drinks. Angie nodded her thanks and tossed the ten into the tip jar, surprised that the woman made no move to take the drinks.

  But not surprised that it was anyone but Jay who had come up to get the drinks. In fact, Jay hadn’t even come close to the bar since walking in.

  So what did that tell her?

  Way too much.

  Angie looked back at Mike, wondering if maybe she had forgotten a drink because she didn’t understand why she would still be standing there, watching her. Especially since the band was on break. Mike’s boyfriend, Nick, was the band’s lead singer and guitarist and the woman generally spent the breaks with him. But Mike just stood there watching her, saying nothing. Angie couldn’t waste any more time worrying about it because there was a line of people still waiting to be served.

  Breaks were always hectic. Business was steady throughout the night, but she and Rick had to really hustle to keep up during breaks. And right now it was just her, because Rick had to run to the back to grab more cases for the cooler.

  So Angie ignored the woman watching her and waited on the next two customers, pouring drinks and taking money and moving on to the next two. She felt Rick push behind her and she stepped closer to the bar, moving out of his way so he could put the beer into the cooler.

  “He can be an ass sometimes, so don’t let him get to you.”

  Angie looked over in surprise, noticing that Mike was still standing there, now balancing the tray full of drinks in her hands. The woman gave her a friendly smile then turned away, disappearing into the crowd before Angie could say anything.

  What had that been about? She couldn’t have been talking about Rick. So did that mean she was talking about Jay? Who else would she mean? But why would she even say anything at all? Unless Jay had said something—and she didn’t even want to think about that possibility. It was entirely too embarrassing.

  Angie shook her head, refusing to think about it as she turned her attention to the next two customers. She had to keep focused and think about her job here tonight, not waste valuable time worrying about something that probably meant nothing.

  But the thought was there, waiting for her as she went through the motions for the next hour, fighting for attention she couldn’t spare. And the more she tried to push it away, the harder it fought to be given center stage. The frustration built inside her until she finally snapped and balled up the wet dishrag and threw it into the sink with a small curse.

  “You okay?” The question came from Rick and she looked over, noticed him watching her in curiosity. She blew out a deep breath and pushed the hair out of her face.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “You look frustrated. Why don’t you go outside for a quick break? I can handle it for a few.”

  A break suddenly sounded like a perfect idea so she nodded her thanks and made her way to the service door at the back of the bar. The door closed behind her, immediately muting the noise of the crowd. Angie took a deep breath and kept walking, finally pushing open the outside door and stepping into the night air.

  The noise from inside was noticeably less now, the air cooler than the stuffiness of so many bodies inside. She took another deep breath then lowered herself to the bench pushed against the wall and closed her eyes.

  Rick was right, this was just the break she needed. No noise, no crowds, nobody clamoring for attention. Yeah, she normally loved this job. But tonight, for some reason, things just weren’t clicking.

  For some reason? Angie laughed to herself. She knew exactly why, and she needed to just get over it.

  She reached behind her and grabbed the length of her hair, twisting it then pulling it off her neck, wishing briefly she could just pull it back in a ponytail. That’s how she generally wore her hair, anyway. But not here. For some reason, she always wore it down while she was bartending.

  Which was just one more thing she could add to the list of things she did that made no sense. Like throw herself at guys who had absolutely no interest in her.

  She waited a few more minutes, letting her body relax in the quiet of the night, then made her way back inside. Rick looked over at her and she gave him a thumbs-up, nodding her head in thanks for the break, then turned to the crowd at the bar.

  And immediately wished she hadn’t.

  Jay was leaning against the counter, his left arm resting against the varnished top as he chewed on a stir stick and watched her. Angie’s breath hitched in her chest as those gray eyes studied her, and she suddenly wished that she could call Rick over to take her place.

  But she couldn’t, because Rick was handling other customers. So Angie stood a little straighter and forced a smile on her face then closed the distance between her and Jay, hoping she at least looked calm on the outside.

  Her eyes briefly met his before she dropped her gaze, unable to focus under the watchfulness of those mesmerizing gray eyes. Now her eyes rested on his throat, dropping lower to the open collar of his linen shirt, unbuttoned just enough to expose the tanned skin of his broad chest.

  She swallowed and looked away, hoping she hadn’t just been caught staring. “Another round?” She didn’t bother looking back at him, just moved to the side to reach the cooler so she could grab the beer. His hand closed over her arm, stopping her. She tried to ignore the excitement his touch caused, the involuntary shiver that radiated through her arm to her chest, making her heart beat a little harder.

  She knew she should shake off his hand but she couldn’t, not when the warmth of his palm against her flesh held her imprisoned, as much as the steady gaze of his eyes held her immobile.

  He watched her for a few seconds that seemed so much longer, time slowing around them, his presence and steady gaze pushing everyone around them from her mind. Angie swallowed, not sure what to say, then lowered her eyes to where his hand still rested on her arm, branding her.

  “No, don’t worry about another round. I just want…” His voice drifted off and Angie held her breath, watching, waiting. Jay looked down at his hand then quickly pulled it away, breaking the contact as if he had just realized he was touching her. He cleared his throat then pulled the stirrer from his mouth, no longer looking at her.

  “Uh, I’ll just have one this time.”

  Angie nodded, swallowing her disappointment, then reached down and pulled a bottle from the cooler. She popped the top, slid it toward him, turned to leave.

  “You okay?”

  She paused, half-tempted to just ignore him, then shook her head with a weary sigh. She turned back, not quite facing him, and busied herself with straightening the stack of coasters at the edge of the bar.

  “Yup, I’m fine.” Angie looked up at him, then quickly away. “And thanks. For fixing my car, I mean. You didn’t have to do that.”

  Jay brought the bottle to his lips and took a long swallow, his eyes never leaving hers. She watched his strong throat work and felt butterflies take wing in her stomach. “No problem.”

  “You’ll hav
e to let me know how much I owe you.”

  “My treat.”

  “Jay, I can’t let you do that. I know it wasn’t cheap.”

  “I said, no problem. I told you I’d look out for you.”

  Angie clenched her jaw, knowing he had said no such thing, and knowing that the comment was supposed to remind her that he thought she was a kid. That she was someone who needed looking after. She glanced around to make sure there were no waiting customers, then leaned forward. “No, you didn’t. And I told you already, I’m not some kid who needs watching after. Let me know how much I owe you.”

  Jay watched her for a long minute, the expression in his eyes unreadable. Angie straightened, suddenly needing to put more distance between them. She was ready to turn and walk away, to start the nightly process of cleaning up, when his next words stopped her.

  “Fine. Have dinner with me next week.”

  “Uh—”

  “I’ll let you know when.” He looked at her for another second then turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

  Angie was frozen in place, wondering if she had heard correctly. Had Jay just asked her out on a date? No, surely she had heard wrong. Or she was reading too much into it. Why would he have asked her out, after letting her know, repeatedly, that he only saw her as Dave’s kid sister? It didn’t make sense.

  A customer stepped into her line of vision, pulling her from the confusing tumble of thoughts threatening to drown her. So she forced a smile on her face and greeted the customer, telling herself it was time to get back to work.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “On my count.”

  “All set?”

  “I’m right behind you, Jay.”

  “And three.”

  Jay grunted as he lifted the bottom rail of the chair, feeling the brunt of three hundred pounds of humanity bear straight down into his arms. He stepped back with his left foot, feeling air beneath it before it finding the next stair. Mike had a tight grip on the back of his pants, leading him down each step, guiding him by word and touch, one by one.

  Above him, he could hear labored breathing: the heavy wet sound of the patient’s gasping, the steady breathing of Dave’s exertion as they made the descent step by agonizing step.

  Dammit, why were the heavy ones always on the top floor?

  They reached the landing and righted the chair, quickly transferring the patient to the stretcher then wheeling him to the medic unit. Jay jumped in behind Dave, helping him get the monitor back in place while Jimmy Hughes, Dave’s partner, switched the patient to the onboard oxygen.

  “Need anything else?” Jay asked as he stepped out of the medic.

  “Nope, we’re good. Save us some lunch.” Dave grinned then motioned for Jimmy to get going. Jay slammed the back doors shut and watched as the medic pulled away. He groaned and stretched his back, then wrapped his arms around himself to stretch his shoulders.

  “What’s the matter, Jay? Getting old?” Mike nudged him as they walked back to the engine and he shot her a dirty look.

  “Ha ha, very funny. You can carry him down next time.” This was the third time this month they had been called to the patient’s apartment, and Jay had drawn short straw all three times when it came time to carry him down the stairs. He didn’t want to think how much worse it would be in a few weeks, when summer finally arrived.

  “Nope. You lost, fair and square. Deal with it.”

  Jay ignored her and climbed into the engine, propping his foot on the seat in front of him and strapping himself in before the engine took off. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back in the seat, wishing the roar of the engine was loud enough to drown out his thoughts.

  Tonight was the night he was supposed to meet Angie for dinner, and he still had no idea what he was going to do about it. Hell, he still didn’t know what had possessed him to even bring it up. To ask her out. And he hadn’t even really asked her—he’d pretty much just told her. It had not been one of his finest moments.

  But he had been watching her all night last Saturday, trying not to be obvious because he didn’t want Dave to catch him. Christ, he could just imagine what would happen then. She had looked frazzled for a good part of the evening, and he hoped it hadn’t been because of him.

  And every damn time he tried to come up with a way to distract himself, something else happened and he found himself looking back at the bar, his eyes automatically finding Angie. Watching her.

  It was like he was suddenly obsessed and couldn’t get her off his mind, and he had no idea why. Couldn’t stop thinking about her. In fact, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking of her since the morning he dropped her off at the vet clinic.

  The morning after his truly shining moment, when he had damn near slept with her. When he had damn near fucked his friend’s little sister.

  To make matters worse, he was pretty sure Mike had caught him watching Angie and figured out something was going on, if the look she had given him was any indication. That was when he had finally gone to the bar, just to get away from Mike. Yeah, sure it was. Then Angie had made that stupid comment, saying she’d pay him back for the alternator. Yeah, something had short-circuited in his brain.

  So tonight, he was meeting Angie for dinner.

  Jay rubbed his hands over his face and looked over at Mike, wondering if maybe he should talk to her about all of this. Surely she’d have some advice for him.

  Or maybe knock some sense into him.

  Which was exactly what he needed, because he still couldn’t believe he was meeting his friend’s sister. For a date.

  No. It was not a date. It was just dinner. So she wouldn’t feel the need to pay him back.

  Yeah, he just needed to keep telling himself that. Maybe he’d finally believe it by the time tonight rolled around.

  His radio squealed and he leaned down to turn it up at the same time Pete turned around in the seat up front and banged on the cab window. He raised his index finger, holding it up and twirling it in a circle.

  Jay unbuckled his harness and grabbed his gear, jumping into the turnout pants as the engine’s siren began its long wail. He shrugged into the coat and quickly snapped it closed then sat back down, pulling the straps of the breathing apparatus over his shoulders and fastening them. Mike banged on the engine hood to get his attention, giving him the thumbs-up when he looked at her.

  Perfect. They were headed to a working fire, which was the next best thing to getting his mind off the situation he had gotten himself mixed up in.

  The best thing would be if he didn’t have to show up at all.

  **

  Angie glanced at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes and tried convincing herself that she really wasn’t a fool. Her argument fell flat, though, because only a fool would wait more than an hour before admitting they had been stood up.

  So yeah, as painful as it was, Angie had to admit she was a fool, because it was past seven o’clock and there was still no sign of Jay.

  And she was still waiting.

  She propped her chin in one hand and idly drew circles in the puddle of condensation left by her drink. A flare of painful disappointment shot through her chest and she ruthlessly pushed it away, thinking that it wasn’t worth wasting the time, effort, or even energy in being disappointed.

  No, it was better to be thankful that she had decided to sit at the bar instead of getting a table, because wouldn’t that have been an even more pathetic picture? She shook her head and admonished herself for entertaining the idea that this was going to be an actual date.

  It was a little tough having a date by yourself.

  Angie signaled the bartender and asked for her check, then handed him her credit card as soon as he brought it over. Now that she had decided to finally leave, something she should have done an hour ago, she didn’t want to wait a minute longer than she had to.

  And she had no one else to blame but herself for her foolishness. From embarrassing herself by throwing herself at
Jay that night at his apartment, to getting excited when he suggested they meet for dinner, to waiting entirely too long for him to show up. It was her own fault, all of it. And it was no more than she deserved for spinning some stupid fantasy around a silly crush. No wonder all of Dave’s friends thought of her as some kid—she had been acting as silly as some love-struck teenaged girl.

  The bartender came back with her receipt and she quickly signed her name, leaving a generous tip before sliding the receipt to the edge of the bar. She finished the last of her drink, grabbed her bag from the back of the stool, then stood up.

  It was time to push all thoughts of Jay from her mind. She had studying to do and work to finish, things she had let fall behind because of some stupid adolescent crush on her brother’s friend. Well, no more.

  She pushed through the door of the restaurant and into the warm evening air, ignoring the patrons that were still waiting on tables to open up. She turned down the sidewalk and crossed into the parking lot, already making a mental list of things she had to do, when she heard someone call her name. Her steps faltered and she looked around, wondering who would be calling her when a car horn blared behind her, followed by the squeal of rubber against asphalt.

  A force knocked into her, pushing her out of the way and startling her more than the car she had inadvertently walked in front of. Her pulse rate jumped frantically as the car went by, the driver shouting an obscenity at her. Angie ignored it, more concerned about the solid body so close to hers. She reached up and pushed against the chest that was mere inches from her nose, trying to escape her would-be rescuer.

  “Holy shit, Ang. Did you not see that car? You almost got hit!”

  Angie stopped struggling and looked up as her mind slowly started registering what happened.

  Someone had called her name, distracting her, and she had nearly stepped into the path of an oncoming car.

  Only to be rescued by the same person who had distracted her in the first place.

  Jay.

  She pushed away from him with enough force to break the hold of his arms around her and stepped back, surprised at the look of concern on his face. Instead of reassuring her, his expression fueled her sudden anger. If he hadn’t called out to her, if he had bothered showing up on time, she wouldn’t have nearly walked in front of the car.