February Burning: A Firefighter Secret Baby Romance

by Chase Jackson

  “Oh…” Joanna said.

  “So now he’s out of a date to the gala. I know you’ve been hearing about the upcoming gala, right?”

  Joanna nodded while I stood helplessly, not knowing what to say or do.

  “Do you wanna go? You can be his date. Do you have anything to do that day?” Tobias asked.

  Joanna stood there like a deer caught in headlights. She looked at me again, obvious questions that I couldn’t answer lurking beneath her gaze.

  I cleared my throat. “It was no big deal. I was just supposed to go with a co-worker. We had it set up months ago,” I said, emphasizing the word ‘months’ and hoping she would catch on to the fact that the date had been set up long before she and I had been together. “I’d almost forgotten about it, to tell you the truth.”

  “Yeah right,” Tobias said. “He just doesn’t want to admit that he’s being stood up.”

  “Shut up,” I muttered.

  “So what do you say, Jo?” Tobias said. “You wanna go? It should be fun.”

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I interjected. Tobias shot me a cross look, causing me to fall silent. In that moment though, I simply couldn’t fathom having Joanna as my date in front of him. It just seemed like asking for trouble. I had no faith in my ability to not incriminate myself in front of him. He would be able to read me like a book, and I feared he would quickly figure out that I had a thing for his sister. And then a whole drama would break out right there in the gala for all to see.

  I started to feel lightheaded just thinking about it. I gripped the chair at my desk and glanced at Joanna, hoping she would find a way to save us from the awkwardness. But she looked just as lost as I did.

  “You two are a mess,” Tobias said, shaking his head. “Don’t you think it’s time to get rid of the childhood grudges by now, for crying out loud?”

  “I don’t have a grudge…” Joanna said, her voice trailing off.

  “Then you’ll go with him?” Tobias said.

  “I…I mean… If I have to…I could… If he wants me to…”

  Tobias looked back toward me. “Well?”

  I sighed. “Okay. Whatever. Sure.”

  “Great,” Tobias said, clapping his hands together and hopping down from my desk. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see,” he said to Joanna.

  She forced a smile and then exchanged glances with me again.

  And I stood there, wondering how on earth I was going to be able to be in her presence for a whole evening and keep my hands off of her.

  The gala was going to be a very long night, that was for sure.

  CHAPTER 18

  Joanna

  “You’re going to love it here,” Libby said, pulling into the parking lot of the boutique she’d been promising to take me to all week.

  After I had essentially been assigned as Anderson’s date by Tobias, I had sought out Libby, asking her what she knew about the gala and what I should expect.

  “You’re going to the gala?” she had asked. I then explained the situation to her, subsequently causing her to eagerly start making plans for us to go dress shopping together. With the event being right around the corner, the day had arrived for us to go shopping. Libby had happily offered to pick me up from Tobias’s place so that we could ride together, and I had agreed.

  “This is going to be so much fun!” she had said, turning off her car engine. “And let me just say it again, you are sooo lucky!” She slapped me playfully on the arm and winked before we got out of the car.

  “Honestly, it’s no big deal,” I said. “I’m only going with Anderson because my brother is making him take me.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’re still going to the gala with the one and only Anderson Lawrence,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how you landed the gig, the important thing is that you did! He may not be all that important to you, but trust me—there are loads of women who would love to be in your shoes right about now.”

  “Sure,” I said. “So many that the last one stood him up.”

  Libby waved her hand dismissively as she headed toward the entrance of the boutique. “Lauren has always been a flake. She doesn’t count.”

  “Well, whatever. Like I said, it’s not that big of a deal.”

  Libby held the door of the boutique open for me and gave a jealous sigh. “Your brother should have forced someone more appreciative on Anderson as his date,” she said, shaking her head.

  “You may have a point,” I muttered, I honestly couldn’t tell how appreciative I was feeling about the circumstances. Things had been so ridiculously busy at work that Anderson and I hadn’t been able to talk much. I hadn’t gotten a chance to ask for elaboration regarding the woman who was supposed to be his date to the gala. Even though she had reportedly bailed on him, it still sent powerful waves of jealousy through me to simply think about him going on a date with another woman. It nagged the hell out of me to wonder if he would have even bothered to tell me about it. It rubbed me the wrong way to have found out through Tobias, all the while Anderson stood there, looking close to fainting.

  I had been hoping to get a chance to talk to Anderson about it after office hours, but he had been surprisingly distant with me lately. I just didn’t know what to think anymore.

  Yet seeing how excited Libby was, I didn’t want to spoil the fun for her. So I pushed my reservations aside and tried to focus on the task at hand. It had been a long time since I’d been dress shopping; I could hardly even remember the last time I’d needed a formal dress.

  Libby was excitedly droning on and on beside me, talking about the various new styles of dresses that were fashionable for the season. I looked around the store, instantly feeling overwhelmed. Perhaps seeing my distress, a saleswoman grinned as she made her way over to us.

  “Good afternoon, ladies. Can I help you with anything?” she said. She was rather fashionably dressed herself, and I knew she would have had plenty of suggestions for us.

  “We’re just looking around for now,” I said, before Libby got the chance to answer her. I had a feeling that Libby would have welcomed the woman’s help, but I didn’t want it. I never liked when salespeople hung over my shoulder, determined to make a sale, but confusing me with too many options. I preferred just taking my time and finding what I wanted on my own.

  The saleswoman nodded her head. “Very well. Let me know if you need anything,” she said, and then headed toward another set of customers.

  Libby nudged with her elbow. “She could have helped us find the perfect dresses!”

  “We don’t need her. The perfect dresses will find us,” I said. “Come on.”

  We began wandering the racks, stopping here and there to admire different gowns, and gathering ones we wanted to try on.

  “I think I want something dark,” Libby mused. “You know, maybe like black, or navy blue, or forest green… Those colors aren’t necessarily in season, but they look good on me. I’ve always found dark colors to be more figure-flattering. How about you?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve always preferred brighter colors. I’ve always been on the small side, so I feel like I need something to help me stand out. Otherwise, I’ll get lost in the crowd.”

  Libby huffed. “Are you kidding me? Joanna, you are gorgeous. Nothing can make you get lost in the crowd!”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” I said. I had heard similar sentiments as Libby’s. However, most people didn’t know how plain and insignificant I’d felt for the majority of my life, particularly when I was growing up as an impressionable teenager. No matter how I had blossomed in adulthood, those feelings still lingered and were difficult to overcome.

  “I don’t mean to be a party pooper,” Libby said, “but how have things been going with you-know-who? I haven’t heard you say anything about him in a while.”

  “Zander?” I said.

  Libby nodded.

  I sighed. “That’s because I’ve been trying my damned best not to think about
him. He’s been… Well…”

  “What?” Libby asked. “He hasn’t called you again, has he?”

  I shook my head, knowing that what I’d been suspecting was a lot worse than a phone call. “No, but sometimes, I just get the feeling that I’m being watched.”

  Libby froze, the latest dress she’d been admiring slipping from her hand to the floor. “He’s here?” she asked.

  “No!” I said quickly. “He can’t be. He doesn’t know where I am.”

  “Are you sure about that, or are you just in denial?”

  “I’m positive,” I said, although it felt like an outright lie. I wanted to believe Zander couldn’t be anywhere nearby, but I could never lose sight of how unpredictable he was.

  Libby breathed a sigh of relief and picked the dress up from the floor, hanging it back on the rack. “Well, what makes you think you’re being watched? And who do you think is watching you?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I wish I knew.”

  “Anything strange happen lately?”

  I nodded. “I didn’t want to say anything, but yes. The other day here, when I was leaving the office, I could have sworn someone was watching me in the parking lot. It really freaked me out. So much, in fact, that I ended up telling Tobias.”

  “So he finally knows what’s going on? Good. What did he say about it?”

  “He freaked out nearly as bad as you did when I told you about Zander’s call. Started talking about how I needed to get a restraining order, just to be on the safe side.”

  “Your brother is a wise man then,” Libby said, nodding approvingly. “It would be nice if you listened to him…”

  “Just like I told you, I told him that a restraining order wasn’t necessary. Even if Zander lucked out and found my office phone number, he has no chance of finding where I actually am. I was just tired that day and imagining things.”

  However, a different thought began to occur to me.

  Now that I knew Anderson had been planning to take someone else to the gala, I wondered if there was a chance that one of his jealous women had been watching me? While I presumed no one knew about me and Anderson, I honestly couldn’t be sure.

  I frowned, weighing the possibility that perhaps it wasn’t my jealous ex that I needed to worry about. Maybe it was Anderson’s…

  “Okay, let’s change the subject. You look upset,” Libby said. She grinned and picked up another dress. It was a long and form-fitting beautiful purple number, laced with silver rhinestones. “Oh my goodness, Joanna, you would look amazing in this. Here, try it on!”

  Bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet, she practically shoved the dress at me.

  I couldn’t deny, it really was lovely. Looking at it, I actually started to feel slightly excited. “Well, I’ve got three here,” I said, looking at the dresses I had hung over my arm. “I guess it’s time to start trying some on, huh?”

  “I’d certainly say so,” Libby said. She had about four dresses of her own to try on.

  We headed to the fitting rooms, ready to have our own little fashion show.

  I stepped into my fitting room and began stripping off my clothes so that I could try on the first dress. Every wall of the room was lined in mirrors, suddenly making me feel self-conscious. Seeing my reflection from so many different angles, I felt pudgy. I also felt something else looked different about me, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. Something was just off…

  When I slid into the first dress, I stared at myself for a long time, trying to figure out why I didn’t like the dress’s color against my skin. It was pale-pink, a color that I typically liked. For some reason though, it looked all wrong.

  Not bothering to get Libby’s opinion on it, I shed the dress and moved on to the next one.

  Once again though, there was something about the dress that just wasn’t right. I sighed, seeing that this day of searching for the perfect dress was going to last a lot longer than I had anticipated if every dress I tried on was going to leave me feeling underwhelmed and looking washed out.

  “Do you have one on yet? Let me see!” Libby said, knocking on the door of my dressing room.

  Reluctantly, I opened the door to let her see the second dress I had put on.

  She was standing there in one of her dresses, which looked wonderful on her. “Wow,” I said. “That looks great on you.”

  “Thank you!” she said, giving a little twirl. The skirt swayed when she moved. “It’s a little too prom-like for me though. My old butt needs something more sophisticated than this. I don’t want to look like I’m trying to hard!”

  “You don’t look that way at all,” I said. “Me, on the other hand, I think I need to keep trying.”

  Libby looked me up and down. “That one is nice. You don’t like it?”

  I frowned. “Something about the color doesn’t work for me.”

  “Well, go try on the one I picked out!”

  I nodded, and returned to the fitting room. While the dress Libby picked out looked great on the hanger, I wasn’t so sure it looked as good on me. I stepped out of the dressing room, shaking my head. “I just don’t know what’s going on with me today.”

  Libby cocked her head to the side. “Now that you mention it, there does seem to be something different about you. Have you been out in the sun lately?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “Hmm,” Libby said and then shrugged her shoulders. “Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re still beautiful, and that dress looks like a winner to me.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m sure Anderson would like it.”

  “I’ll put this one in the ‘maybe’ section then,” I said. “Just let me try on a few more first.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Anderson

  The night of the gala arrived. As I left my apartment and headed to Tobias’s to pick up Joanna, I couldn’t believe how nervous I felt. With the way my stomach twisted in knots, I may as well have been seventeen years old again, picking up my prom date and hoping the night went the way I wanted it to.

  I guess part of my nerves was due to the fact that I hadn’t had the opportunity to speak with Joanna in a while, although it was partially my own fault. I hadn’t been avoiding her exactly; things had just been too busy at work to sneak any time alone with her. As for outside of work, every time I wanted to invite her over to my apartment, I got cold feet and changed my mind.

  It was hard to fathom that after all these years, as a self-defined playboy, someone was close to making me want to throw in the towel and settle down.

  On some level, I wasn’t ready to face that realization yet. When I pulled up to Tobias’s mansion and saw Joanna walk out the door though, I began to seriously consider if the time to face it had finally come.

  She was literally the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Granted, she had always been pretty, even as a kid when I couldn’t stand her. But to see her in her ball gown, with her curls elegantly pinned up and putting her gorgeous face of full display, she practically took my breath away.

  I got out of the car so that I could open the passenger’s door for her.

  “Hi…” she said.

  “Hi,” I said and then paused for a second to admire her. “Joanna, you look beautiful.”

  A slight flush spread across her cheeks. “Thank you.”

  I held the door open and helped her into the passenger’s seat, and then got back behind the driver’s wheel. A somewhat awkward silence filled the car as we drove off. Joanna cleared her throat, breaking the silence. “Thank you for agreeing to take me,” she said.

  I nodded and took a deep breath, knowing the dreaded conversation was on the horizon. “Look,” I said, deciding to tackle it head-on, “there’s nothing going on between me and Lauren. We had a few flings in the past, which was why I had asked her to go with me to the gala a long time ago—way before you were in town. But I’ve hardly even spoken to her since. And the only reason I hadn’t thought of taking you to the gala befor
e was because I didn’t trust being able to hide how I feel about you in front of your brother. In fact—I get a feeling this is going to be a long night. We’re going to have to be very careful if we don’t want him to suspect anything.”

  Joanna remained silent for a long time, but then I saw her nod from the corner of my eye. “I understand,” she said, and then smiled.

  I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the tension between us had subsided.

  * * *

  The night had proven to be just as difficult as I expected it to be. The moment Joanna and I stepped inside the ballroom, it felt like virtually all eyes were on us. Joanna looked so gorgeous though, I couldn’t blame everyone for looking.

  One of our co-workers, Libby, rushed up to us, hugging Joanna. “You guys are at my table! Come on!” she said excitedly.

  And then Joanna and I set on the arduous task of hiding our attraction to each other.

  There was no way I could help stealing adoring glances at her throughout dinner, and I felt beyond paranoid that everyone noticed.

  After dinner, I slid my hand onto her knee under the table. She rested her hand on top of mine and glanced at me from the corner of her eye.

  “Do you want to dance?” I asked, after much internal debate. I knew it would look suspicious if we spent the entire night sitting and doing nothing. Furthermore, I was desperate to touch her. Dancing seemed like the perfect solution, as long as I could control myself and not try to steal a kiss during the process.

  Joanna hesitated at first, seeming to exchange glances with Libby, who was sitting across from us with a sly grin on her face. Ultimately though, she nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

  Hand in hand, we made our way onto the dance floor. I scanned the room in search of Tobias. He only looked our way briefly, giving me an appreciative nod and then turning back to the important executives he’d been talking to throughout the night.

  Unable to stop myself, I smiled at Joanna and slid my hand around her waist. She placed her hands on my shoulders, and we began to sway to the music.