Burning Up: Firefighter Contemporary Romance Series Box Set

by K. C. Crowne

  Her strawberry blonde hair was longer, falling over her shoulders in soft, gentle waves. Her giant, blue eyes that seemed to take up most of her face, especially when she was surprised or annoyed. Oh, the looks she gave when she was annoyed…one of the reasons I liked to push her buttons. Yeah, it was wrong of me, but she just looked so damn cute when she was pissed off. Her cheeks turning bright red, the way she pursed her perfectly pink lips. Yeah, I was an asshole to her, I’ll admit it, but it was too much fun to pass up.

  “Justin, you with us, bro?” Jax asked, waving a hand in front of my face and pulling me back to reality.

  “Yeah, sorry, I was watching the news,” I said.

  Jax and Finn turned around to look at the television as if expecting some compelling news story. The story had shifted to some new rent-a-bike program expanding locations throughout the city.

  Jax raised his eyebrows at me and laughed. “Didn’t know you were a biker.”

  “I’m not,” I said. “But I like them better than I do kids and diapers and shit.” I cracked a smile, letting him know I was joking.

  “Ah, you’ll change your tune one day,” Logan said, punching me playfully in the arm. “Once you meet the right girl.”

  I laughed. “No girl will ever convince me to settle down.”

  I knew, deep down, that was a lie. One day, I hoped to settle down, even if the idea scared me a bit as well. The guys knew me as the type to sleep around, to party it up and take a new girl home every night. I didn’t want to disappoint them, but I was growing tired of that life. I hadn’t taken anyone home in a while. Too long, which was probably why I couldn't stop thinking about Hannah in her short black skirt and white blouse that was almost too small for her chest. She’d also worn tall, black boots with her skirt, and God, I was a sucker for women in boots.

  The guys dropped it. They knew me well enough to know when to fold - or at least give up on arguing with me. I never would admit that I might settle down, not out loud. Even though almost all of my friends were married with kids, I felt like the moment I admitted I might want the same life, they’d see me differently. Besides, none of them had really wanted it either - except for Logan, perhaps. They fell into it. They met the right woman, and having kids just sort of happened. Besides, I wasn’t ready for that to happen. I had time. I was in my late twenties. I still had plenty of time. No need to rush.

  Finn smirked at Logan, changing the subject somewhat. “So when’s the bachelor party?”

  Being best man, it was my job to plan these things, so my ears perked up. Logan had avoided the question before, but now with the others, he might actually have to answer.

  Logan chuckled. “The night before the wedding, of course.”

  That was news to me. Considering the wedding was only three weeks away, we had some planning to do.

  Jax cringed. “Do you think that’s wise?”

  “Why not?” Logan asked with a shrug, dealing the cards for another game.

  “Well, I mean, these things can get pretty wild,” Jax said with a grin.

  “Nah,” Logan said, brushing him off. “It won’t be too wild.”

  “Oh?” I said, cocking my eyebrows. “I’m in charge here. It’s going to be wild.”

  Logan shot me a look, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he was about to say. He cleared his throat and said, “Well, we’ve decided to do things a bit differently than most couples. We’re going to have a combined bachelor and bachelorette party. Something low key, maybe a competition between the ladies and the guys, that sort of thing. Something fun without all the debauchery.”

  I laughed, shaking my head, but keeping my thoughts to myself. Ultimately, it was Logan’s night. I was a bit disappointed, but not nearly as much as I’d have thought. The idea of a low key evening instead of strippers sounded better to me. Damn, I was getting old.

  Logan patted me on the back. “Don’t worry, there will still be booze. We’re looking at Tilted Tavern and doing a trivia night for just our group.”

  The Tilted Tavern was a pretty cool bar known for some of the most fun and rowdy trivia nights this side of Manhattan. I’d been a few times and didn’t like to brag, but I had a wealth of random knowledge in my head and often rocked trivia - especially with Logan and the other guys on my team.

  “Sounds like a good time,” Finn said, studying my face with a smirk on his. “No strippers, but there’s plenty of attractive women for our singleton here.”

  “Yeah, sounds good to me,” I said, folding on my hand and leaning back in my chair. It would be fun, especially since it would be my first time kicking Hannah’s ass at trivia. Not sure why it mattered so much to me, but it did. The very idea of friendly competition with her - knowing she would get flustered - turned me on, and I had to adjust myself to hide the erection growing in my pants.

  Before we could talk about it any further, an alarm sounded. We all hopped up from our chairs within a second of the sound. Our card game was forgotten; it no longer mattered who won or lost - duty called.

  Our fire chief, Tim, was already at the truck as we suited up.

  “Apartment fire on the west side,” he called as we piled in. He gave us the details as the truck pulled out from the fire station. My heart nearly stopped when he said, “There’s a family inside, with at least one young child.”

  God, please, let them get out, I pleaded. It would take us a few minutes to get there, and every second mattered in a house fire.

  The ride there felt like an eternity. Before the truck was even parked alongside the street, I was hopping out, ready to get to work. Tim shouted orders at us.

  The building wasn’t a high-rise, which was both good and bad. Many high-rises are built in a way that control a fire, keep it to one unit or floor. The building was a bit older than most, and while it should have fire sprinklers, that didn’t appear to be the case. Either that or they weren’t working.

  Smoke billowed from the broken windows.

  “Elevators aren’t operational. Family in unit 305 are unable to get out. The fire is in the hallway in front of their unit,” Tim said. “The rest of the floor has been evacuated already.”

  That was good at least. But there was one family stuck inside. A family, including a child.

  Jax and Finn took the hose kit, while Logan and I made our way inside the building. I took the steps two at a time, the smoke getting thicker with each level. If it weren’t for our masks and oxygen, we wouldn’t have been able to breathe by the time we got to the third floor. I feared for the family inside their apartment and hoped they had a strong door to hold back the fire and smoke.

  As suspected, no fire sprinklers had gone off on the third floor. Shitty landlords weren’t uncommon, sadly. The hallway was filled with smoke and made it hard to see anything. Finn and Jax were hooking up the hose to the central water system while I searched for apartment 305.

  I walked down the hallway. 301, 303… But I couldn’t see the numbers on the next door. Couldn’t even get close enough because the flames shot higher and higher. Everyone expects it to be hard to see in a fire, but it’s also hard to hear anything - a fire is actually pretty loud. Crackling flames, wood splintering and crashing down, and eventually the sound of the fire hose doing its job. Gushing water followed by the sizzling of a fire going out was such a nice sound. It was like music to my ears.

  I searched for a way around the blaze but found my path blocked. The ceiling overhead cracked as part of it crashed down onto the fire, only adding to the flames.

  The doors were heavy metal, I noted, which was good. Thick, solid, and fireproof. It helped, even if the ceiling wasn't fireproof. The walls seemed to be covered in fireproof materials. Still shitty landlords, but at least they half-assed the job. It would likely save these people’s lives.

  Finn called out to me, let me know the hose was ready. I took a few steps back and heard the familiar sound of water rushing. White smoke billowed around, making it even harder to see, but it was a good sign.
The blaze had turned to smoke and ash, nothing more. As soon as the fire was under control in front of the apartment, Logan and I rushed to the door. I pounded on it, and Logan reached for the knob. It turned.

  “Fire department,” I called out. “Coming in.”

  The door opened, and we closed it behind us, blocking out the smoke. The apartment looked untouched, with only a bit of smoke filling the air. On the couch was a woman and a little boy, curled up together, both with tears in their eyes. They looked up at us with fear on their faces and a glimmer of hope.

  “Is it out?” the woman asked, her voice cracking.

  “It is,” I said. “You’re safe.”

  She let go of the little boy, who couldn’t have been more than five. The little guy’s eyes were bright, and while he was still nervous, he looked calmer than his mother did. He likely had no idea what was really happening. He looked up at us with a look of awe in his eyes, and it hit me that this might be the first time the kid has seen firefighters up close and personal.

  I went over to him, knelt on the floor, and stared into his big, blue eyes. He stared back at me for a minute, then whispered something into his mother’s ear.

  His mom smiled. “His name is Sam,” she said. “And he wants to know if he can see your firetruck.”

  “Of course, Sam,” I said, ruffling his curly, blonde locks with a smile. “I’ll even let you wear one of our hats, if you’d like.”

  Little Sam beamed at me and nodded his head, all memories of the scary fire behind him. Thankfully, it wasn’t as serious as we thought and everyone was fine. His home was fine too. His mother might forever wonder what if, but Sam probably wouldn’t ever know the danger they were in. At least I hoped so.

  Sam got down off the couch and took my hand in his. His little bitty fingers curled against mine as he said, “Let’s go!”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Give us a few minutes, okay? We have some work to do first.”

  We had to make sure the hallway was safe and let the smoke dissipate before anyone could walk in it. Now that we knew the people inside were safe, I could get back to work, making sure Sam and his mother could eventually leave their apartment.

  Sam nodded, and his mother called him to her. My face hurt from smiling so much as we walked out of the apartment.

  Logan punched me in the arm, catching me off guard. “What was that for?”

  “How come you’re suddenly so good with kids, huh?” he asked.

  “I’m not,” I said, though the compliment was nice. No one had ever told me I was good with kids. Not that I ever had much to do with them, outside of my work. I had no siblings of my own, no nieces or nephews. My friends had kids, but except for Logan, I rarely saw their significant others or families outside of work events.

  “Yeah, you are,” Logan said, chuckling. “I guess Melody and I have a babysitter, huh?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Hell no,” I said. “Chances are you’d come home to the kid hanging from the ceiling or some shit. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “Maybe,” Logan said. “Or maybe that’s what you keep telling yourself.”

  Hannah

  “What do you mean you’re out of Madagascar Vanilla?” I stammered. I stood at the counter of the coffee shop, my eyes pleading with the barista for a miracle. “How can you be out of vanilla?”

  “We have vanilla,” the barista named Valerie said. “Just not Madagascar Vanille.”

  “Ugh, this is a disaster,” I said, slamming my fist onto the counter.

  “I can still make you a vanilla rose latte, just with regular vanilla--”

  I cut her off, shaking my head. “That won’t do, I’m sorry,” I said. I felt like a real snob and wanted to explain myself so I didn’t look like an asshole. “It’s not for me, you see. It’s for my boss. She’s really picky and specifically requested a Madagascar vanilla bean and rose latte. If I bring her just a regular vanilla and rose latte, she will know the difference, trust me.”

  It sounded ridiculous even to me, but I knew Elizabeth well. I’d made the mistake once or twice before, where I substituted something, thinking it would be simple, and she wasn’t happy. She could always tell when something was different, even if that difference was minor, as I assumed this whole debacle was. I didn’t even know if there was a difference in flavors or just a marketing gimmick, but if I took the latte back to Elizabeth without consulting with her first, she’d give me a lecture and I’d know all about the different taste profiles of plain old, boring vanilla and the vanilla bean from Madagascar.

  There was a line forming behind me, and Valerie was clearly eager to get things moving. I stepped to the side with a sigh, typing on my phone, sending Elizabeth a message to let her know that she’d have to find a substitution for her beloved latte.

  “Trouble in paradise?” a familiar voice spoke up from the line.

  My entire body tensed at hearing Justin’s voice. It wasn’t the time for arguing and bickering, not with him. I didn’t have it in me.

  My phone buzzed, but the message was from Melody.

  Where are you? The appointment is thirty minutes, we just finished lunch and missed you!

  I groaned. I expected it to be difficult to balance work with wedding planning, but this was damn near impossible.

  Another message, from Elizabeth - before I sent her the one about the vanilla situation.

  Oh, and when you drop off the coffee, I need you to run Tiffany to the groomers for me. I won’t be able to make it, I’ll be in meetings all day.

  It was a Saturday, and while I worked my ass off on the weekends, I really didn’t think Elizabeth did. She usually talked to me about spa appointments or trips she’d take over the weekend while I ran her errands.

  Justin cleared his throat, clearly trying to get my attention. I rolled my eyes upward to let him know I’d noticed him. We weren’t too far from the firehouse, so it was no surprise he was there, even if the place seemed a bit fancy for a guy like him.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him. “Isn’t this place a little snobby for you?”

  Justin shrugged and smiled, his hands deep in his pockets. “Just got off work, needed a caffeine fix before heading home.”

  My phone buzzed again. Another message from Melody. We were supposed to be picking out her dress today, along with looking at the bridesmaid gowns. Everyone was there already, including my little sister, Izzy. Everyone but me.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you had dress shopping with the girls or some shit,” he said.

  “I do,” I said, finishing my message to Elizabeth about the vanilla mixup. I quickly switched over to Melody’s messages and tried to type a response to her, but without knowing what how long all this would take - the groomer for Elizabeth’s dog was on the other end of the city. It was beginning to look like I wouldn’t make it at all.

  “I have to run some errands for my boss,” I said grumpily. “I may not make it to the shopping. Not at this rate.”

  Justin stared at me with a look of disbelief and disappointment.

  “What? It’s not like I have a choice. I need this job, Justin,” I defended.

  “And your best friend needs you right now,” he replied. “But whatever, don’t listen to me. Continue devoting your life to a boss who doesn’t give a shit about you.”

  “Some of us don’t have a choice to do what we love,” I muttered. Justin’s family was fairly well off, and being the only child… Well, he never had to worry about money or having to take care of others. His mom had died a few years back, and his father was retired in Florida, leaving Justin with a nice little nest egg.

  Justin moved up in the line just as Elizabeth responded to me. She told me the regular vanilla would be fine, but she wasn’t happy about it and to let the barista know she’d be calling the manager to complain. We both knew I’d be the one making the call.

  “You know, Izzy and Mason are grown up now. You don’t have to support them anymore,�
�� he said.

  “Who do you think pays for Izzy’s books each semester? Or gives money to Mason each month to help with his bills?” I questioned hotly.

  Melody messaged me, again. I let out a muffled scream, causing everyone in the cafe to turn and stare at me.

  “When is the dress appointment?” Justin asked me.

  “In thirty minutes,” I said, staring down at my phone and dreading the text I was about to send to Melody.

  “Ah, hell, you have plenty of time. It’s nearby, right?”

  “I have to get this coffee to Elizabeth while it’s still hot, and then pick up her dog and take her to the groomers across town,” I said. “No way I’ll make it.”

  “What kind of dog does she have?” he asked.

  “A Maltese,” I grumbled in answer to his weird question.

  He seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded. “Not my favorite breed, but I think I could handle it. What if I ran the dog to the groomers, dropped her off, and you picked her up after?”

  I cackled. “You?”

  “Uh, yeah, I love dogs.”

  I knew that. Justin always had a dog growing up and was one of those people who stopped to pet every dog he ran into on the street. I always found it a bit charming and sweet. One good trait of his that was actually endearing.

  “Elizabeth is very particular about Tiffany,” I said, shaking my head,

  We moved up to the front of the line again, and Justin let me order first. I told the barista what Elizabeth had told me, as she tried hard not to roll her eyes. Hell, I felt for her; I wanted to roll mine too. I followed up my explanation with, “I’m sorry.”

  Justin let out a low whistle, bringing my focus back to him. He placed his order and we stepped to the side.