Flames of Love

by Melissa Foster

  Frank’s eyes narrowed, his hand hovering over his pieces. He shot a look at Cash, then eyed the table again.

  “Check,” he said, his shoulders easing just a hair.

  Cash clenched his jaw repeatedly as he looked over the board. A few seconds later, he moved a piece, sat back, wrapped his arm around Siena’s waist, and pulled her down on the bench beside him.

  “Checkmate.” He kissed her cheek.

  Frank lifted narrow, angry eyes at Cash. He nodded as Cash slid the money off the table and Frank grabbed his hand. He held his stare, and Siena’s heartbeat sped up.

  “Well played,” Frank said.

  Cash’s lips lifted into a crooked smile. He nodded curtly, then guided Siena away from the table.

  “WHAT WAS THAT?” Siena asked in a hurried whisper. “Did you just use me as a setup? You’re some kind of chess whiz, too?”

  Cash waited until they were beneath the arched entrance of the park before answering. He gazed down at the pinched look on her face.

  “I’m not a chess whiz. We play at the firehouse,” he answered as they left the park.

  “Come on. You swindled that guy, and I was the bait, or whatever you call it.” She stopped walking and poked him in the side. “You could have let me in on that.”

  He caught her finger midpoke. “You’re always poking me.” He laced their fingers together. “I didn’t plan on playing, and I didn’t win much. I saw the chess games and thought it would be fun to see you play, and when you said you couldn’t, well, I had to do it then.”

  “Why?” She pulled her hand from his and crossed her arms.

  He smiled, trying hard not to laugh at her angry stance. He closed the distance between them and put his hands on her cheeks. “Because there is nothing that you can’t do, and I would be a horrible boyfriend if I let you walk away from things because you thought you couldn’t do them.”

  “But I couldn’t. I lost.” She pressed her lips into an angry line again.

  “Sure, you lost, but you made some good moves. If chess were something you were interested in, you would spend time playing it and I have no doubt you’d master it. I watched you figuring out the game when we first stood by the table. You were doing more than just watching.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like remembering how to play.”

  “Maybe, but I saw more than that. Like the gears in your mind were turning. And your moves were good.”

  “Why do you think I can do things? First skating, now this.” She tilted her head in his hands, and he felt the tension easing from her jaw and neck.

  “Because you’re smart and you’re stubborn as hell.” He pressed a kiss to her lips and shrugged.

  She reached for his hand as they walked down the sidewalk. “Boyfriend, huh? It’s been a long time since I’ve had a boyfriend.”

  “Yeah, I can tell.” He leaned away like he was escaping a poke.

  She swatted him and he pulled her close again.

  They walked and talked all afternoon, and telling Siena about his work weighed heavily on Cash’s mind. They’d had the most wonderful afternoon together. They laughed, they kissed, they talked. He now knew her favorite color was indigo, her favorite food was a brownie fresh from the oven with vanilla ice cream on the side, and the thing she hated most was seeing other people suffer—emotionally or physically. They stopped to have lunch and he made up his mind. He was going to tell her after lunch, before he walked her back home.

  The restaurant was cozy and quiet. Cash and Siena were taken to a booth near the back. Siena slid across the red vinyl seat, and Cash couldn’t stand the thought of not being right beside her when he told her about what he’d been going through. He slid in beside her instead of sitting across from her. He wanted to feel everything she felt.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I’ve never been with a guy who sat on the same side of a booth with me.” She snuggled against him again. “I like it. You’re like this swindling bad boy who keeps surprising me with romance.”

  “That’s as bad as calling me sweet.” Cash shook his head while secretly tucking away the compliment. “How hungry are you?”

  She shrugged. “Salad hungry. What about you?”

  “Full cow hungry.”

  “Great. Let’s see if they offer full cow with a salad on the side.”

  Siena poked at her salad while Cash downed a thick roast beef sandwich. It would be easier to tell her on a full stomach. Because if she dumped him, he knew it would take a while before he’d feel like eating again.

  “It’s three o’clock. I’m afraid I have to go after I walk you back to your place. I want to stop by Vetta’s before work.” Cash put his arm around Siena and noticed she hadn’t eaten much of her salad. “Wasn’t it good?”

  “Yeah. It’s really good. I’m just not that hungry.” She stared at the plate with hooded, sad eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Maybe she was as bummed as he was that their day together was ending. Or maybe he’d totally misread her and she just realized she’d had the most boring day of her life.

  Siena turned in the booth and faced him with a scowl.

  “Uh-oh.” He wiped his face and set his napkin down on the table. “What’d I do?”

  She touched his thigh and shook her head. “Nothing. You’re great. I loved our day together and our night together.”

  “Then why do you look like I just killed your kitten?” He pulled his shoulders back, bracing himself for the Dear Cash conversation. A million thoughts ran through his mind at once—none of them good. You realized I’m not model boyfriend material. I’m boring. I’m too aggressive. God, I am gruff. That could be it.

  She dropped her eyes and licked her lips. When she looked up again, it was guilt he saw in her eyes. Plain as day. He’d recognize that look anywhere, because it was the same one he saw every morning when he looked in the mirror.

  “Jesus, tell me what it is, Siena. It can’t be that bad. Even if you don’t want to see me anymore, it can’t be as bad as what I see in your eyes.” He took her hand in his, his heart pounding against his ribs.

  “Not see you anymore? Cash, I want to see you more. I haven’t enjoyed a date this much in forever.” Her lips were pouty, but her forehead was creased, worried.

  “Then what is it?”

  She blew out a fast breath. “Okay. Please don’t hate me.”

  Great. Anything that starts with Don’t hate me never ends well. “No promises.”

  She looked down at their hands. “I’m not supposed to tell this to anyone. Not even you.” She met his gaze again. “Especially you,” she corrected herself.

  “Why especially not me?”

  “Because if anyone was going to rat on me, it’d be you. I need you to promise me that what I tell you will never go further than you and me. No matter what. Even if we break up.” She clung tightly to his hand and pressed her lips together as she searched his eyes.

  “Come here.” He pulled her into a hug with absolutely no idea what could possibly have gotten her this worried. “Whatever it is, if you ask me not to tell anyone, I promise you, I won’t tell anyone.”

  She drew back and looked at him again. Her big baby blues opened wide, full of hope. “Even if I…” She leaned in close and whispered, “Killed someone.”

  “Come on. You’re going to make me lose my mind.” He shook his head. His gut was tied in such a knot that he wished he hadn’t eaten that sandwich.

  “Okay. But you really can’t tell anyone, and I mean it.” She scooted closer to him. “I trust you, Cash.”

  “Good. You should.”

  “Okay. God, this is hard. I’ve never done anything like this before, and the timing is really bad. I mean, I’ve really never done anything like this, and I don’t like that I have to do it now.”

  Cash’s muscles tensed. His chest tightened. “Spit it out. Please. You’re killing me.”

  “My agent is making me go on a date with an athlete tonight. I don’t want to,
and I tried to get out of it, but it’s for exposure, and nothing more. I don’t like the guy. I’ve actually never met him. And I—” She shook her head and spoke fast, her eyes trained on his chest.

  “Hold on. Slow down. Let me get this straight. Your agent is making you date someone.” He looked away and ran his hand through his hair. What the hell? Was she making this shit up?

  “Yes. Gunner Gibson.”

  “Gunner…the quarterback? The guy who gets thrown out of strip clubs every week? Seriously?” He pulled away and scooted over on the bench. “Siena, if you want to date other guys, and what you said this morning was just said in a moment of passion, that’s cool. Just tell me.” I’ll fucking hate it, but at least I’ll know.

  She reached for his hand and he pulled it out of her reach. Her eyes filled with sadness. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

  Christ. He had to man up and let her off the hook, no matter how much it hurt. He made a mental note that women sucked ass. “Listen, we had a good time.” He started to move out of the booth, and she grabbed his hand. He looked down at her grip on his wrist. Her knuckles went white.

  “Don’t. Please.” Her eyes pleaded with him. “Listen to me, Cash. I don’t lie. Please. Talk to me.”

  He settled back into the seat, jaws clenched, biceps twitching.

  “Cash.” She spoke in a harsh whisper. “I know how it sounds, but I’m not lying.” She ran her hand down his arm, then held his hand in hers. “I’m not that kind of girl, Cash.”

  One look in her eyes was all it took to see that she was telling the truth. He felt it in her touch—she couldn’t be faking that, the way she clung to him like he was life itself.

  “Why are you telling me? Why didn’t you just let me go to work? You could have gone out with him and I’d never have known.”

  She dropped her eyes and his muscles clenched.

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to keep anything from you. I really like you.”

  She sighed, and he knew there was something more. Every second he waited felt interminable.

  “The reason she’s making me do it is for exposure, which means that pictures will be all over the Internet and the papers. They alert the press for these things.” She gripped his hand tighter. “It’s one date.”

  “Right now. Right now it’s one, but what if that goes well? Then it’s two, or…” I sound like a jealous ass. He rubbed the back of his neck where an ache was needling his nerves. “Fuck it.”

  “What does that mean?” Her angry tone drew his eyes to hers.

  “It means that I’m not interested in competing, Siena, but I’m also not a child. If you have to do this for your career, fine. I trust you. You know, you always hear about this shit, but I never thought it was real.” Jealousy clutched his heart, and he rolled his shoulder back to try to disengage from it. She didn’t have to tell him. Sure, he’d see the papers eventually, but if she didn’t care about him, she wouldn’t have said a word.

  “Oh, it’s real, all right. I’ve just never been told I had to do it before. And, Cash, believe me, I tried to get out of it. I tried everything, but Jewel, my agent, thinks if I don’t up my exposure, I’ll start losing jobs.” She touched his cheek. “It’s dinner. One dinner at a fancy restaurant. Nothing more.”

  He nodded, gritting his teeth through the anger and jealousy that was eating him alive. “So I should prepare myself for what? To see pictures of you and him walking arm in arm?”

  She shrugged and nodded. “I guess.”

  He envisioned so many other things. Gunner Gibson was a burly, handsome millionaire, with dark hair, blue eyes, and rock-hard muscles that women crooned over. He thought of her being one of those women, and it sickened him. He breathed harder, thinking of seeing pictures of her kissing him, holding his hand, like they’d held hands all afternoon. Shit. Goddamn it. What choice did he have? End things here and now based on jealousy, or trust her and be man enough to weather the storm of photographs? He thought of the pictures he’d seen online of her with various handsome men and the loneliness he’d seen in her eyes. The loneliness that wasn’t there when they were together. That gave him a modicum of comfort.

  “You told me not to tell anyone, but it’ll be in the papers? I don’t get that at all.”

  “The date’s not real. I’m not going out with him because I like him. So if you tell the wrong person that I’m doing it for press, I’ll get bad publicity, and that would be a nightmare.” Her eyes still pleaded with him.

  “And what about us? We pretend we aren’t going out?” He felt his nostrils flaring. This was a nightmare.

  “I’ve never done this before, so I don’t really know how to navigate it all, but I think we can still go out. I mean…I guess I need to talk to Jewel, because the press is sure to be all over me.” She turned and faced the table. “Oh God. Cash, I have no idea.” Her voice shook, and when she met his gaze again, her eyes were damp. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Shit. Come here, baby.” He cupped the back of her head and drew her to his chest. He had no idea what to do. He sure as hell wasn’t going to have a secret relationship. That was bullshit. But with Siena clinging to his shirt, her cheek pressed against his chest, his vehemence fell away.

  “We weren’t going out when Jewel told me I had to do it. I’ll call her now. Let me call her.” She pulled out of his hands and dug her phone out of her purse.

  “Wait.” He lowered her hand that held the phone. “This is your career. Before you call, whatever you have to do, it’s fine. We’ll figure it out.” Fuck. Where the hell did that come from?

  “Oh, Cash.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so sorry. Thank you.”

  They left the restaurant, and Siena called Jewel as they walked back to her place. Cash purposely walked a few feet behind her, to give her space as much as to give himself time to think. He was a simple guy with a simple life. The last thing he needed was to be part of some high-profile love triangle, but when she ended the call and looped her hand in his arm and looked up at him with eyes full of hope, he was no longer sure of anything at all. Except that he wanted to be with Siena.

  “That’s a relief. I’m so glad I called.” They entered her building and rode the elevator upstairs. “She doesn’t know that I told you. I just said I was dating someone and needed to know the game plan.”

  “Yeah? And?” He needed her to cut to the chase. The whole afternoon had thrown him off-kilter. First their closeness had sent his heart reeling and filled him with hope for more, and now this conversation had knocked the wind right out of him.

  “She said that since the press hasn’t been following me around, that they probably wouldn’t start now, so I can just live my life as normal, and if that means we go out together, then we do. She’s going to tip off the press when I meet up with Gunner, so it’s not like they’re actively seeking me out. Jewel said she just needs enough to get us into the rag mags. You know, Are these two the hot new couple kind of thing.”

  “Oh, is that all?” He was sure she could see steam coming out of his ears. He clenched and unclenched his hands as she opened the door to her loft.

  She pressed her hand lightly to his chest. “Is that anger or jealousy? Because you sound like you’re ready to kill someone.”

  Her seductive tone wrapped around his thoughts. Gunner would be hearing that voice tonight. “Both.”

  “Then you’ll be glad to know that I told her to change the date. If all they need is us to be spotted together, why go to dinner? I hate going to fancy restaurants with people I don’t know.” She hung up her coat, eyeing him as he stood rigid, feet planted hip distance apart, muscles tense, his hands shoved deep in his coat pockets. “We’re meeting at a bookstore instead.”

  “Better.” Bookstore. Christ. At least a bookstore didn’t require a sexy dress and six-inch heels.

  “Were you telling me the truth about him and strip clubs?” She drew her brows together and went to her bedroom. “
I’m going to get my iPad.” She came back a minute later, and he hadn’t moved. He couldn’t move. He was too angry.

  She searched Gunner’s name and her eyes widened. “Holy crap. Why would she do this to me? I’m Googling the other guys she wanted me to go out with.” She searched, and a few seconds later she said, “Oh my God. Cash, all three of the guys she wanted me to go out with have really bad reps. My reputation is totally clean. I’ve never been caught doing anything bad. Goddamn it.” She paced, her arms crossed.

  “Maybe that’s it. You’re too squeaky clean.” He pulled her into his arms, his muscles still tied in knots. “Hell, I could have helped you dirty up your reputation.” He rested his cheek on her head and closed his eyes, feeling his heart swell. How the hell had she become so important to him so quickly? There was no way he’d tell her what he was going through now, not knowing she had all this shit going on in her life.

  “So we’re cleaning up his act and I’m making mine more controversial?”

  “Sounds like it.”

  “Thanks for not bailing on me,” she said.

  “I said I’d try. No promises.” He might not be making verbal promises, but he was tossing out silent prayers to the powers that be and hoping he could keep from falling into jealousy hell and ruining what was quickly becoming the most important relationship he’d ever had.

  Chapter Fourteen

  WHEN THE ALARM sounded that night, Cash suited up with the rest of the men. He climbed onto the truck, muscles burning, adrenaline searing through his veins.

  “Dude, don’t pull any shit today,” Tommy yelled into his ear.

  Cash could barely hear past the sirens and the rumbling of the engine as it sped out of the firehouse. He’d stewed all evening over Siena’s date with Gunner, and as much as he wanted to be understanding, he was having a hell of a time letting go of the fact that she was spending time with a cretin like Gunner. If that jackass laid one finger on her, he’d kill him.