by Marie Carnay
He exhaled, rough and thick. “She’s never given another firefighter the time of day. Even Steve. What makes you think we’d be so different?”
Dave rolled his eyes. “Steve is a pompous ass.”
“Yeah, but he gets more of it than either of us.”
“Not together. You have to admit, we’ve got an unfair advantage. There’s two of us. That has to count for something, right?” Dave tossed his water bottle in the trash and walked toward Angie full of swagger. Although not close to Rich’s size, the man made up for it with bravado and well-deserved confidence. He was one of the toughest firefighters Rich knew.
With a shake of his head, Rich jogged to catch up with his friend. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t bring it up if I weren’t.”
Wow. Rich couldn’t believe it. He’d spent months convincing himself he needed to move on. Forget about another three-way relationship and try and settle down. Maybe he didn’t have to.
He punched Dave in the arm. “If you’re serious, how about we make it a bet? You win, you get to ask her out. I win, I do.”
“And if it’s a tie?”
Rich winked. “Then maybe it’ll be our lucky day.” They stopped in front of Angie as Dave bit back a chuckle.
“So are you boys finally done chit-chatting? Because last time I checked, we’ve got a test to finish.”
Rich straightened up and smoothed out his grin. “Yes, ma’am. One hundred percent ready. What’s next?”
“Ladder work. You’ll need to position four ladders, climb up and down each one as fast and safely as possible. First two are in gear, last two you’ll add the hose.”
Rich nodded. Same as last year. “Who goes first?”
Angie tilted her head. “How about Dave? You can watch while he beats your previous time.”
Ouch. Rich swatted Dave on the back. “Go slow enough so I can win this time, huh?”
“In your dreams, man.”
A handful of minutes later, Dave had pulled on the gear piled by the ladder—jacket, helmet, oxygen tank—and positioned himself at the start.
“On the count of three. One, two, three.” Angie clicked the stopwatch and Dave took off, climbing the ladder with skill and ease. It didn’t take long for Rich to figure out he’d better bring his A game. Dave wasn’t holding back.
“You guys take this test seriously, don’t you?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“So it is a pride thing? Or is it a dick-measuring contest?”
Rich choked on his own spit. “This year it’s more about the opportunity.”
“For what?”
Heat surged straight to Rich’s crotch. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. Kiss that brash little comment right off her lips and her breath along with it. Show her exactly what this test was about.
But with Dave hauling ass up and down the ladders, he needed to focus or he’d outright lose. And that couldn’t happen. They needed to tie.
He glanced at Angie and smiled. “Just wait. You’ll see.”
Angie knew becoming a firefighter meant long days and longer nights. The risk of serious injury, even death. Twenty-four-hour shifts surrounded by men with calendar-worthy abs. But in Seattle, it’d been easy. She wasn’t the only woman on the squad and by the looks of the dates who showed up at the station house, she wasn’t any guy’s type. Chocolate-layer-cake hips and her personality? No takers.
Mill Creek was a whole other story. She’d had to fend off more than one coworker looking for a quickie on a lonely night. Men who thought romance meant laying her down on a cot in the back room instead of going at in the hallway. She snorted as she thought of Steve’s latest attempt.
Hey, Angie. I’ve got the camper out back. We could break in the bed if you know what I mean. The hand motions had been such an added treat.
She’d expected the men in a small town to be gentlemen—not sex-starved boys playing dress-up. Hadn’t they ever heard of dates? Flowers? Chivalry? Single didn’t equal desperate. Not in her book.
The door above her clanged open and feet hit the stairs with a thud. Rich and Dave might be goofballs, but they were the only men in the whole house who hadn’t been douchebags. Two ripped, sweaty, sexy-as-hell male specimens who hadn’t tried to get in her pants once. She flicked her pen back and forth as another set of feet sounded on the stairs.
In a moment, Rich came into view. Sweat dripped off his face, his biceps bulged and if Angie hadn’t had a clipboard to press against her chest, she’d probably break into a pant. He flashed her a grin as his feet hit the floor. “How long?”
Angie blinked and glanced at the stopwatch. “Two minutes.”
He spun around, grabbed the rail and hauled himself up two steps as Dave passed him on the way down. “Two minutes, man. Better hustle or you’ll lose.”
“Not a chance!” Dave tore up the stairs after Rich and Angie pressed her lips together. No way was she getting caught ogling during the exam. Every step showed off strong backs and veined arms. Confidence oozing out of every pore. Complete lack of fear. An in-the-flesh reminder why women the world over loved firemen.
Angie frowned and hugged the clipboard closer. They made responsible women want to do very naughty things.
The men reached the top and Angie’s voice rang out, loud and clear. “One minute!”
They spun around and tore down the stairs. Oh, my. Dave surged ahead of Rich. Chest heaving, arms bulging and flexing with every grasp of the rail. Sweat dripped off his smooth jaw and ran in rivulets down his neck. Mmm. She could lick it off him all night.
As she bit her lip and tried to stand still, Rich took the lead. He charged down two steps at a time and his enormous chest all but blocked her view of Dave. Thick, tree-trunk thighs, long hair pulled back off his face. Gorgeous, god-sized shoulders she could worship until dawn.
She held the stopwatch in a death grip as the men raced. Always in competition. Even on a county-mandated exam. It didn’t matter what it was, they turned it into a game. Who could perform more rescues, save more lives, make the better spaghetti? She had to admit, of all their little contests, this one was her favorite.
Rich jumped off the second to last step as Dave hit the ground. Another tie. Angie stopped the timer and wrote the time down as both men heaved and braced themselves against the stairs. “I’m beginning to think you two want to share first place this year.”
Dave raised an eyebrow and grabbed his shirt by the bottom. In one fluid tug, he peeled the soaked gray cotton off his body and used it to mop up his face. Oh. Wow. She’d seen him shirtless before. Changing before a shift. The run for charity last month. But never this close. Personal. She swallowed as Rich stood up.
With a grin a mile wide, he mimicked Dave, peeling off his shirt to show off the acres of pecs and trim waist fit for a damn Norse god. Where Dave was shredded and tight, Rich was thick and sturdy. Angie’s eyes ping-ponged back and forth until she closed them and shook her head. Get a hold of yourself, babe. They are so not into you.
“You all right, Angie?”
“What?” She blinked her eyes open to see Rich smirking. Her cheeks heated and she focused on the clipboard. “Oh, um, I’m fine.” Totally not staring at your chest. Nope. Not me. “So I’m just going to…um…run the numbers.”
She didn’t know how she’d ended up there. Blushing and staring at Rich and Dave like a schoolgirl with a crush. So unprofessional. Awkward. “I’ll meet you back outside? Ten minutes?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Angie gave them both a tight smile. I have to get out of here. Clear my head. Breathe in testosterone-free air. “Great. I’ll see you then.” Hopefully wearing new shirts.
CHAPTER TWO
“I THINK IT’S a tie.” Rich toweled his hair as Dave pulled on jeans and a clean t-shirt. After Angie had walked out, flustered and blushing from the stairwell, both men had headed straight to the showers. She might have turned down every other guy in the house, but Dave was right
, she seemed to be…interested. Maybe.
“Then we should ask her out. How about dinner at Marabelle’s?”
Rich stopped rubbing the towel back and forth. “That’s the nicest place in Mill Creek. You want to go there as a first date?”
“She’d know we’re serious. That we’re interested in more than just kinky sex.”
Rich raised an eyebrow.
Dave laughed. “I would like to hang out with her, too.”
“I still don’t get why the sudden change of heart.” Rich tossed the towel on the bench and grabbed his jeans. He’d spent months trying to put it all behind him. Move on without Dave. Now his best friend wanted it all back.
As Dave sat down on the bench, he shook his head. “To be honest? I don’t have a clue. But every time I look at her—it’s all I can think about. Angie’s got so much life hidden underneath that prim exterior. Like she’s just waiting for someone to pull it out.”
Rich dropped the towel and pulled out his clothes. He’d thought at first maybe Dave only wanted a quickie. A one-night-stand to bring the old times back. But now…
He tugged on his jeans and a pale blue t-shirt and sat down on the bench. “You think we’re the guys to bring it out of her? Both of us?”
“It’s worth a shot.”
“I don’t know, Dave.”
“Come on. Angie said she left the big city to come here. She’s looking for something, she just doesn’t know what it is. Besides, I don’t think she’s the type to wake up one morning and decide to move to Hollywood.”
Now that, he could agree on. The first night they’d met Monica, she’d talked about L.A. How she’d be a movie star one day with a house in Beverly Hills and her name on everyone’s lips. But Angie?
All she ever talked about was how she wanted to settle down. Plant roots. Stay. Could they be the men to make that happen?
Rich shoved his stuff in his locker. “What if she thinks we’re a pair of freaks?”
“You mean because we’re both interested?”
“News flash, man. Most people freak out when you mention a threesome.”
Dave pushed himself off the bench. “Does it matter? So she turns us down with a horrified look on her face. How’s that any different than ignoring us?”
Rich frowned. Part of him wanted to go for it and see what she’d say. But they’d been the brunt of some nasty criticism before. Called some awful things. Could Angie handle that? Would she cast the first stone?
At the same time, the current situation sucked. He turned to his best friend. “I guess we don’t have a whole lot to lose.”
“Nothing except lonely nights and an empty bed.” Dave stepped over the bench and headed for the door. “I’ll meet you out back?”
Rich nodded. “Be there in five.”
Dave walked out the door and Rich leaned against the row of lockers. They’d been best friends for years. Shared books, secrets, an apartment in college. Monica. The last few months had been brutal. Lonely. If Angie was a chance to turn that all around, he’d take it.
Angie flipped the pages of her clipboard and wrote down the numbers in two columns. Despite leaving the two men in the stairwell, she couldn't shake the memory. The way her body responded to the pair of them. Nipples tightening, core throbbing. She squirmed in her seat and flipped another page.
It was so unlike her. To get worked up by guys working out. Fellow firefighters no less. She’d always been able to turn that off in Seattle. Focus on the job responsibilities. Even for the last few months in Mill Creek, it'd been easy. Today? Not so much.
She wrote the last number down on the paper and pulled out her calculator. Click, click, click. Just what she thought. A tie. She tapped her pencil against her lips. What was it Rich had said? A tie was…an opportunity? It made no sense. There were no awards, no accolades for getting the best score.
Staring at the two columns, her brow furrowed as she thought it over. Try as she might, Angie couldn’t begin to figure Rich out.
“You taxing that pretty head of yours with all those numbers?”
Great. The one guy Angie had figured out from day one. Resident asshole. She closed her eyes and took a breath. “No, Steve, just doing my job.”
He walked up behind her and braced his palms on the back of her chair. Musk and arrogance assaulted her nose and she snorted. Hmph. No amount of cologne could hide the jerk underneath.
“Need me to lend a hand? I’m always ready to help a fellow firefighter in need.” He leaned over and his necklace brushed against her shoulder. Angie grimaced.
Don’t engage. Just don’t engage. With a forced exhale, she opened her eyes and scooted forward on her chair. “Thanks, but I’m almost done.”
“Oh, come on. I could get that brain of yours all warmed up.” He brushed her hair off her shoulder and Angie resisted the urge to elbow him in the gut.
“Lay off, Steve. She said she wasn’t interested.”
Dave stepped into the room, hair spiky and wet from a shower. Thank God. Arms crossed, legs braced, he glared at Steve like he wanted to rip him limb from limb. Damn. Even his back-off face was sexy.
Thankfully, Steve got the hint and pushed off.
On any other day, she’d be pissed someone was jumping in to rescue her—she could fight her own battles, thank you very much. But Angie was so sick of Steve and his unwelcome advances, she’d take the help. Next time, she’d remember Rich’s advice from that morning and knee him in the balls. This time, though? Dave could handle him.
As the two men faced off, Angie grabbed her things. A quick exit, a hustle through the hall, and she’d be out the back with the asshole left in the dust.
She stood up and headed toward the door when Steve spoke up. “Sorry to ruffle your feathers, Angie. I just thought I’d offer to help you out. Everybody knows chicks don’t do math.”
Oh no you didn’t. No gold-chain-wearing pretty boy with more hair gel than brains was going to put her down over math skills. She dropped her stuff on the desk, clenched her fist, and stepped toward him when Dave beat her to it.
Instead of decking him, Dave pointed and laughed. “Is that why you keep getting laid? All those bimbos you date don’t know ten inches is the size of your biceps and not your dick?”
Oooh. Dave hit him right where it hurts—a vain man’s appearance. Good one.
Steve’s face clouded over for a second and Angie hoped he’s just slink away. But the swagger roared in. “At least I don’t have to scrounge around for the scraps Rich leaves behind.”
Angie blinked. What? Was there some history there she didn’t know about? She turned to Dave, but he was already on the move, stalking around the table. He stopped inches away from Steve.
“You keep talking and soon enough you’ll be out of here. You think the ladies will go for you when the only job you can get is at the quickie mart?”
Steve rolled his eyes. “Whatever, man. If she can’t take a joke, maybe she’s the one who needs a new job.” He glanced over at Angie and she fought the urge to flip him off. “See you later, babe. You change your mind, you know where to find me.”
He sauntered out of the room and Angie let out a trapped breath. Damn him. Her heart hammered, her fingers shook and if she didn’t get ahold of herself she might even cry. All of which pissed her off. She kicked at the table leg. “God, he is such a jerk.”
Dave stepped over. “You okay?”
Angie sniffed. “Yeah. I just—I’ve told him I don’t know how many times. I am not interested. He doesn’t get the hint.”
“He’s not used to being turned down.”
“For the life of me I can’t figure out why.”
Dave laughed. “Neither can I.”
Angie glanced up. Dave’s blue eyes sparkled in the light and the genuineness of his laugh brought out her smile. Dating firemen had been a strict no-no in her mind since day one. But a man like Dave? She might make an exception.
She bit her lip and glanced down at the clipboard s
till sitting on the desk. Was there some truth to Steve’s nasty comment? Did Rich and Dave share more than just friendship?
Angie thought back to the stairwell—how they both turned her hot and nervous. Combine that with Rich’s vague hints at something more and gone were the sniffles. Hello heat. She couldn’t let it go.
With a deep breath, she picked up her things and glanced back up. Dave was staring. Intense. Sexy. She swallowed. “So, um, do you two have some history?”
He cocked his head.
“Um—” Come on Angie, just spit it out. She tried again. “What Steve said about you and Rich—it seemed pretty personal.”
As soon as the words came out, the light in his eyes went out. He frowned and looked away. Damn. She shouldn’t have asked. “Sorry, Dave—I didn’t mean—”
He waved her off. “No, it’s okay. Steve’s not the most eloquent, but…”
“But what?”
He gave her a tight smile. “Let’s find Rich. He’s pretty eager to hear the results of the test.”
“Oh.” Okay. Way to change the subject. “Sure, let’s go.” Angie let Dave escort her out of the room and down the hall. She didn’t know if asking about Steve’s comment pissed him off, or if what the jerk said had struck a nerve. Either way, she wasn’t finding out anything more. Not from Dave.
Rich cracked his knuckles as the back door opened. Finally. He’d been outside waiting for at least ten minutes. Pacing around the picnic table. Staring at the wooded lot behind the station house. He’d been about to give up and hunt them down when Dave popped into view.
Ooh. From the look on his friend’s face, he’d missed something. Something bad.
“Everything alright?”
Dave nodded as they walked up. “Yeah.”
Angie let out a sigh. “Dave saved me from Steve the jerk. That’s all. Just another day at the station house.”
What? Rich frowned. Angie shouldn’t have to put up with shit like that. Not from a guy like Steve. “If he’s giving you trouble, I’ll talk to the chief. Get his ass canned.”