by Paige Tyler
Thank goodness Dane hadn’t seen her thirty minutes ago when she was running around like a crazy person putting away all the clothes she’d tried on so he wouldn’t know she was a complete mess. She’d seriously emptied her whole closet looking for the perfect thing to wear. As usual, she’d ended up going with the first thing she’d tried on. But not without a lot of second-guessing and panic-induced hyperventilation.
Crap, it really was like she hadn’t ever gone on a date.
She’d always been relaxed and confident when it came to dating and hanging out with the opposite sex. Heck, she had to be in her line of work. But, with Dane, that relaxed, confident feeling she was so used to having, seemed to have been lost somewhere in the back of her clothes closet. Maybe it was the fact he was so attractive. Or maybe it was the twinkle in his eyes when he laughed. Then again, maybe it was the fact she’d already seen him without his shirt. Whatever it was, the thought of spending the entire evening with him had her as giddy as a teenager. Probably because she really wanted this to work out with Dane. The guy—at least what she knew of him—seemed perfect in every way possible.
When she got to the door, she stopped to take a deep breath, wishing once again that Melinda was here to help keep her calm. But her roommate had to cover a double shift in the ER, so Lexi was on her own.
Showtime.
Lexi peeked through the peephole to make sure it was really Dane then took another deep breath and swung it open wide. For a moment, all she could do was stare. Damn, Dane looked even yummier than he did at the station. And that was saying something because he took the DF&R uniform to another whole level. But in faded jeans, loose casual button-down, and a little scruff on his jawline, he looked good enough to eat. She had a naughty thought about skipping dinner out and eating at her place instead, followed by dessert in bed, but told herself to chill out. It was way too early for anything like that.
Realizing she was staring, Lexi smiled. “Gotta love a man who’s on time.” She opened the door wider. “Come on in.”
Lexi couldn’t miss the sexy-as-sin cologne that mingled so deliciously with his own masculine scent as he entered the apartment. She had to resist the urge to step over and bury her face in the curve of his neck.
He turned to her as she closed the door, completely oblivious to her sudden interest in his scent. “I ran into your roommate, Melinda, when I stopped by the hospital today to visit Wayne. She gave me the third degree about my intentions toward you and a lecture on safe sex.”
Lexi groaned, knowing the answer to the question before she even asked it. “She didn’t really do that, did she?”
“Oh yeah.” Dane chuckled. “But don’t worry, I completely get it. She’s a friend and wants to make sure you’re not going out with a dirtbag. I must have passed inspection because she went out of her way to make sure I knew she wouldn’t be home until late.”
Lexi could imagine her roommate giving Dane a conspiratorial wink. “Melinda’s a lot of things, but subtle isn’t one of them.”
Dane’s mouth quirked. “Yeah, I picked up on that.”
She gave Dane a quick tour of the apartment she shared with her best friend. It didn’t take long since it wasn’t that big. But a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with an eat-in kitchen and small living room was enough for her and Melinda. They both spent more time at work than at home, so it didn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on a bigger place.
“How’s Wayne doing?” she asked as she showed off her bedroom. And yeah, she noticed him checking out the bed, though whether he was checking to see if they would both fit on it, or simply looking for bondage gear, she wasn’t sure.
“He’s doing well, all things considered,” he told her as they headed back for the living room. “He still has a headache from that concussion, but, overall, he’s in good spirits even though his apartment and most of his possessions are gone. He was really grateful to get the clothes and the other stuff I brought him.”
She picked up her purse from the couch. “Most of his possessions? Were Jax and the others able to save anything from his place at all?”
Dane shook his head. “Not much. A couple books, a photo album, and a small lockbox full of papers. I told him we’d hold onto the stuff for him at the station so he doesn’t have to worry about it.”
“Is there anything else he needs?” she asked as they headed for the door, thinking she could stop by and bring the man some more stuff tomorrow.
“I don’t think so,” Dane said. “I think he needs friends a lot more than he needs stuff. I ended up spending nearly three hours with him today. I barely made it out of there in time to go home and get changed so I could make it here on time to pick you up.”
They took the stairs down to the parking lot and Dane’s white Ford F150 pickup truck. As he helped her into the vehicle, Lexi couldn’t help thinking about how awesome it was that Dane had taken his off-time to sit with a man they’d rescued. It wasn’t something everyone would do. Yet one more thing to like about Dane.
As Dane drove, they chatted a bit more about Wayne, but also about all the other people they helped on an almost daily basis in their jobs. She was struck by how many names Dane seemed to remember from his calls. He laughed and talked about them like they were family. It was pretty amazing…and inspiring.
She’d expected Dane to take her to a traditional steak restaurant, or maybe a barbecue place—either of which would have been fine with her—so she was surprised when they pulled up in front of a place with an obvious Southwest feel to it. The building made her think of a Mexican hacienda, complete with arching windows and ivy vining all along the front of it.
“I guess I should have asked before we got here,” he said. “But are you okay with Mexican?”
She smiled. “Love it.”
“Good. I’ve eaten at this place a couple of times, and the food is really good,” he said when he came around to open her door. “It’s also quiet enough that we can still talk without having to shout.”
The interior of the restaurant matched the outside with lots of wood, brick, and low lighting. And the aroma coming from the kitchen was delicious. There weren’t a lot of people around, but that was probably normal for a Thursday night. Some people might feel weird going out on a date in the middle of the week like this, but when you worked twenty-four hours on and forty-eight off, you got used to having weekends twice a week and going out for dinner whenever you could.
When Dane asked for a quiet booth somewhere in the back, the hostess gave them a knowing smile and said she had the perfect table. Lexi hadn’t sat in a booth on a date with a guy since she was a teenager, but as Dane slid into the curved seat beside her, she remembered why she liked it. It was sexy to sit so close to a guy their hips and thighs touched.
Lexi looked around the restaurant as she sipped her sangria. “How did you find this place?”
“It was one night after I pulled a partial on another shift.” Dane tipped back his bottle of beer, taking a long drink. “We had a big residential fire that night, and everything ran late. Considering I hadn’t slept in twenty-four hours, I probably should have gone straight home and collapsed into bed, but I was too wired. I was driving around burning off extra energy when I saw this place. Maybe it was simply the adrenaline from the fire, or maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten in twelve hours, but whatever the reason, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Since then, I come here at least once a week.”
“Do you cover other people’s shifts for them a lot?”
“Sometimes.” He shrugged. “I love the job and I figured out a long time ago that I don’t need as much sleep as other people, so I pull extra shifts now and then, especially for the married firefighters.”
Yet another thing about Dane that was special. Seriously, could she find a better guy? He was like a saint—with washboard abs.
Lexi opened her mouth to commend him for pulling extra shifts for the married firefighters, but their server showed up at their table
to take their orders. Crap, she hadn’t even looked at her menu.
“What do you recommend?” she asked Dane.
“Their soft shell beef and chicken burritos are their signature dish, so you can’t go wrong with those. Usually, I get one of each when I order them.”
Lexi handed the server her menu with a smile. “Exactly what he said.”
“Make that two,” Dane said, handing the woman his menu, too.
Their server laughed and jotted something down on her order pad. “I do like people who know what they want.”
After the woman left, Lexi caught Dane regarding her out of the corner of her eye, blatant interest on his face. Like he knew exactly what he wanted—and it had nothing to do with food.
“So,” she said softly, trying not to think too much about how close they were sitting to each other, or how nice his leg felt pressed up against her. “How long have you been a firefighter, and have you been at Station 58 the whole time?”
Dane’s mouth curved into a sexy little smile, making her wonder if he was aware of how easily he put her off balance. Hopefully not. She was doing her best to come off cool and casual. She picked up her glass and was surprised to see her hand shaking a little. What the heck was it about this guy that had her so spun up?
She took her time sipping her drink, praying she didn’t spill it. That would be perfect.
He took another swig of beer before answering. “I joined DF&R a couple months out of high school. I was one of the youngest recruits at the fire academy and wasn’t even twenty by the time I came off of probationary status. Stewart had pull even back then and got me assigned to the five-eight. I’ve been there ever since—almost fourteen years.”
Lexi blinked. In her experience, very few people walked right out of high school and into the fire academy. The firefighting profession was something of a calling, and most of the firefighters she knew had spent a few years doing other things—college, the military, even odd jobs—before they realized what they wanted to do with their life. For someone Dane’s age to have fourteen years of experience was unusual.
“Do you come from a family of firefighters?” she asked.
She figured that had to be the case, since it was about the only thing that would explain joining the department at such a young age. But Dane shook his head.
“No, nothing like that,” he said quietly, rubbing his thumb absently back and forth over the label on his beer bottle.
The way he said the words made her think he’d rather not get into the reasons he’d become a firefighter, and she felt like crap for bringing it up.
She reached out and placed her hand on top of his much larger one, giving it a squeeze. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
He frowned, clearly struggling with the decision. She got the sense that while part of Dane wanted to tell her about it, the other part didn’t want to relive whatever it was.
Before either of them could say anything else, their server showed up with two plates of tortilla wrapped goodness smothered in melted cheese. Lexi was forced to slide over a little so she wouldn’t poke Dane with her elbows as she cut her burritos. She immediately missed the warmth of his body and found herself scooting closer again when she was done.
“It was the summer after I graduated from high school,” Dane said suddenly. He was staring down at his plate, lost in memories of a time long ago. “I was heading to Texas A&M in the fall and decided to take the summer off so I could hang out with my friends before going to college. I was down in the bonus room in my parents’ house, playing video games when the fire started.”
Lexi’s stomach clenched. She already knew how this was going to end.
“I thought my mom had burned something in the oven, so I didn’t pay attention. I didn’t know the house was on fire until it was too late. The wiring was faulty and…” He swallowed hard, still not looking at her. “By the time I ran up to the first floor, it was engulfed in flames. I couldn’t get upstairs to my parents’ room, so I shouted as loud as I could then ran outside, sure they were right behind me. I was young and stupid and didn’t know any of the stuff about fire that I know now. I couldn’t save them.”
Lexi blinked back tears. “What happened wasn’t your fault, Dane.”
He nodded, clearing his throat. “I know that now.”
“So instead of going to college, you became a firefighter.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I blamed myself for my parents’ death. Becoming a firefighter and saving others was my way to make things right.”
The knowledge that Dane had carried the weight of his parents’ death since he was eighteen broke Lexi’s heart.
“Did it?” she asked softly.
“I’ve gotten to the point where I realized there was nothing I could have done for my parents even if I’d had the training and the equipment with me at the time,” he admitted. “Now, I simply do what I do hoping to keep another kid out there from losing their parents like I did.”
Lexi wiped a stray tear away from her cheek. “I have no doubt you’ve done that for a lot more than one kid.”
“I like to think so.” He looked at her, his mouth edging up. “Enough about me and my depressing past. How about you? Do you come from a family of paramedics?”
Despite how heavy the conversation had been, Lexi couldn’t help laughing. “In the category of the world being a really small place after all, I enrolled at Texas A&M, too.”
“Seriously?” Dane scooped up a forkful of beef burrito. “You’re an Aggie? What was your major?”
She finished chewing before she answered. Dane was right. The food was delicious. “I was planning to go to medical school, so my major was biomedical science.”
Dane did a double take. “You were going to be a doctor? Not that I’m complaining you decided to become a paramedic instead, since I got to meet you, but how the heck did that happen?”
She waved her fork. “College advisors are constantly on pre-med students to do activities outside the school environment to improve their resume for medical school. For me, that activity turned out to be EMT work. During the summer semester of my sophomore year, I completed an intensive nineteen-day training course to get certified as an EMT-Basic then took the Registry Exam so I could work with DF&R during the summers of my junior and senior years.”
“Wow. That sounds like an insane workload. I can’t believe you didn’t burn out.”
She shrugged. “I was young, and it was all about getting into medical school, which is what I always wanted. Or at least, that’s what I thought I wanted. But getting to ride on a rescue truck gave me a chance to see and do things I never would have otherwise. Not only did I realize I liked being a first responder, I also figured out I’d glamorized the work doctors did every day. As an EMS worker, I got to know a lot of doctors and nurses from the hospitals, especially those who work in the ERs. They were brutally honest about what they liked and didn’t like about the profession. It helped me see things differently.”
He glanced at her as he started in on his chicken burrito. “So you decided to not go to medical school?”
She nodded. “In the end, I realized I’d rather do a job I liked, even if I made less money doing it, than to do a job I disliked, where I made more.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“My mom and dad weren’t as thrilled with my decision,” she said. “They were over the moon about having a doctor in the family. More than anything, though, they wanted me to be happy.” She sipped her wine. “Luckily, all that pre-med made it easy to get licensed as a full paramedic, and the work I did during the two previous summers was enough to get me hired full-time at DR&F right away.”
Dane picked up his beer. “I’m guessing you still get a lot of people calling you crazy for walking away from the chance to be a doctor and make all that money, huh?”
She smiled. “A few people. But I usually don’t value their opinion very much, so I rarely listen
to them.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Because I have it on good authority it’s always better to go with your heart on stuff like this and ignore people who try to convince you otherwise.”
“What do you mean?”
“My sister Skye used to work on Wall Street making butt loads of money. She walked away from it all for a chance to move back to Dallas and bake cupcakes. I thought she was out of her mind and told her so. She promptly told me what I could do with that opinion.” He finished the last of his burritos. “It’s a long story, but ultimately it turned out that she was right, and I’ve learned my lesson about following your heart.”
Lexi laughed. “She sounds like someone I’d like to meet.”
“She usually stops by the station regularly, but since she and Jax are getting married next week, she’s been too busy with the wedding. She’s already said she wants to meet you, too.”
Lexi lifted a brow. “You told her about us?”
Dane chuckled. “I didn’t have to. According to Jax, everyone in the station already knows. Apparently, our coworkers noticed something going on between us before either of us did.”
Lexi supposed she could believe that. She’d gone out of her way to ask the other female firefighters and paramedics at the station about Dane’s relationship status before transferring.
Dane pushed away his empty plate then rested his arm on top of the booth in back of her. “By the way, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
She wiggled a little closer, resting her hand on his jean-clad thigh and tilting her head to look at him. “What’s that?”
He returned her gaze, his dark eyes curious. “You’d been working at Station 44 since joining DF&R, right? What made you decide to come to the five-eight?”
Lexi felt her face heat. Okay, how was she going to get out of this one? It probably wasn’t a good out idea to come out and admit to stalking him. Then again, he might already have a pretty good idea why she’d requested a transfer, so she didn’t want him to catch her in a fib.
“Oh, I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I heard there were a lot of interesting things to see and do at Station 58. I decided to follow my heart and go for it.”