“You should get a dress today,” Ashley said.
“Yes,” Lydia agreed. “And if I have to wear heels, you have to wear heels.”
Half an hour later, Jamie stood in front of a mirror and frowned at the dark navy dress. It fit well and it was comfortable. It was made from some kind of jersey material that had a mock wrap waist and deep V-neck, with three-quarter sleeves she liked. Logically she knew it looked good on her and it certainly suited her more than the floral number Ashley made her try on or the red strapless number she’d vetoed while it was still on the hanger.
There was cleavage, though. And leg. A lot of leg.
She took a picture of her reflection with her phone and, after looking at it for a few seconds, texted it to her older sister, Carrie. Her younger sister, Tori, was probably the most fashionable of them, but Carrie was the most honest. Plus Tori and her family would probably be at church.
Yes or no?
Yes. The response was almost immediate. Definitely yes, but what’s the occasion?
A wedding. It’s not too fitted?
Enough time passed so she assumed Carrie gave the dress a second look. It looks perfect on you. Do you have a date for the wedding? If you don’t, you will once you get there.
I’m shopping with friends, so can’t talk now. I’ll call soon.
I see that you dodged the question. Have fun and talk later.
“I can see under the door and your feet aren’t moving, so I know you’ve got the dress on,” Lydia said. “Stop looking in the mirror and come out here so we can tell you if you should like it.”
Barely managing to keep from rolling her eyes, Jamie stepped out into the hall of the dressing room area. “Have I mentioned how much I hate dress shopping?”
“Oh, that’s totally the one,” Ashley said, and Lydia nodded. “You have the perfect body for that dress. You’re in great shape, but not too thin. And you’ve got the boobs for it.”
Jamie looked down at herself. “And everybody will know I have the boobs for it, too.”
“That’s the point. And I’m pretty sure everybody already knows you have breasts.”
“I don’t generally put them on display, though.”
“Of course not, but you won’t be at work,” Lydia said. “And they’re not really on display, since you only see a little bit of cleavage. I think it’s just that the cut is really flattering on you and you’re not used to that fit.”
“You have great legs, too,” Ashley added. “Scott would like that one on you.”
Jamie froze, not sure what to say to that. Almost any denial of Scott’s opinion being relevant would skirt too close to lying to them for her comfort. But as far she knew, Scott hadn’t told his sisters anything about their relationship and, if they were fishing, she didn’t want to take the bait.
“Stop, Ash,” Lydia said. “We’re all supposed to pretend we don’t know she and Scott have been sleeping together for three weeks.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Ashley looked at her, tilting her head as if giving the dress serious consideration. “That neckline means jewelry, though.”
“Are you wearing your hair up or down?” Lydia asked.
“Down,” Jamie said. She was confused, but she let them change the subject because it bought her time to figure out how she felt about Scott’s sisters knowing what they were up to.
It was probably stupid or naive for them to think Lydia and Ashley hadn’t caught on to their relationship. Even though they were rarely all together, they saw Scott often enough to guess he had somebody in his life he wasn’t talking about. And she was pretty sure Aidan knew—or at least had strong suspicions—but based on Lydia’s silence on the issue, Jamie had assumed he hadn’t shared them with her.
“Do you know what the mother of the groom is wearing?” she asked Lydia. “I know you’re not really doing colors, but I don’t want to step on anybody’s look.”
There was an awkward pause, and then Lydia waved off the question. “Aidan didn’t invite his family. We’re going to tell them we eloped and do a wedding brunch or something with them later.”
“Oh.” Jamie wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say to that. He was always so solid and laid-back that she’d never guessed Aidan might have family issues. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s nothing bad. They’re very...very white-collar and don’t understand why Aidan took the career path he did and they’re not shy about voicing their feelings. We don’t think they’d enjoy themselves.”
“They’re really snotty and treat him like crap,” Ashley said. “And his whole family would just sit in the corner of the bar all night and judge everybody Aidan loves.”
“That’s it in a nutshell,” Lydia said. “He gave it a lot of thought and decided it would be easier on everybody and better for their relationship in the long run if we fudge the truth just a little.”
Jamie couldn’t imagine getting married without her family, but they didn’t treat her like crap over a job, either. “And you’ll get a free brunch out of it, since it would be poor form of them not to pay the bill.”
Lydia laughed. “That’s what Scotty said, too. Free food.”
“I want free food. I’m starving,” Ashley said, putting an end to the conversation. “After you pay for that dress, because you’re totally buying it, we should have an early lunch before Lydia has to go back to work.”
“You’re always starving,” Lydia replied. “And don’t even tell me you’re eating for two. The only way that excuse works for your current appetite is if you’re having septuplets.”
They decided on a burger place in the food court for convenience’s sake, all of them laughing when Lydia pointed out they couldn’t do it often or they wouldn’t fit in the new dresses they’d run out to the cars.
“I’m not very hungry, anyway,” Jamie said, once they’d carried their trays to a nearby table. “I had the best seafood ever last night and I ate so much, I swear I’m still full.”
They both paused in the act of putting condiments on their burgers to stare at her. Jamie replayed the words in her head, but she didn’t think she’d said anything remotely stareworthy. She’d had seafood for dinner. So what?
Ashley replaced her top bun, but didn’t pick up her burger. “Nice little place? South Shore? On the water?”
She should have known spending half the day with Scott’s sisters wasn’t going to end well. But she’d hoped they’d be so wrapped up in dresses and wedding plans that they’d barely pay attention to her. “I... Crap. Please don’t make this a thing.”
“It could be a thing,” Lydia said. “In fact, we can’t figure out why it’s not a thing.”
“Because sometimes there’s chemistry between two people who, number one, shouldn’t have a relationship for professional reasons and, number two, have different ideas of what their futures will hold.”
“You don’t want a family?” Ashley asked. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I guess we just make assumptions, you know.”
“I do want a family. But I don’t intend to give up my career when I have kids.” She shrugged and dipped a French fry in the small paper cup of ketchup on her tray. “Other people think mothers shouldn’t risk themselves in dangerous jobs, even though it’s okay for fathers to do it.”
“You already know he mostly grew up without our mother,” Lydia said. “That’s probably a big part of it. But it’s kind of a pervasive way of thinking in the neighborhood, too, you know? It’s old-fashioned and tightly knit. He was raised in a community of alpha guys, really, where the wives and children kept the home fires burning.”
“That’s not a great metaphor,” Ashley said, and they all laughed. “I do agree with it, though. He probably has certain expectations of his future wife, but expectations change. He respects the hell out of you, Ja
mie. All the guys do.”
“We can be a stubborn family,” Lydia said, “but we come around.”
“Danny getting hurt hit all the guys pretty hard, but Scott was the worst. It’s all tangled up, you know? The brotherhood, the friendship and the family ties.” Ashley paused, running her finger around the rim of her water glass. “You wouldn’t believe how happy and excited he was when we told him I was pregnant. Seriously, it’s like being an uncle is going to be the best thing that ever happened to him.”
Jamie smiled, not having any trouble imagining his joy. He lit up whenever he talked about his sisters, and whenever he mentioned his future niece or nephew, he practically beamed. She’d seen it last night at the restaurant, and she would have loved to have seen his reaction when he first heard the news.
“I think that’s why he had such a hard time,” Ashley continued. “Because the fire was so soon after we told him. When he realized Danny hadn’t come out of the structure with the rest of the company, I guess it was pretty bad and it stuck with him for a while. I mean, he’s Scotty, so he tried to hide it and crack jokes and stuff, but it was there. He didn’t want my baby coming into the world without a dad, I guess.”
“It weighed on his mind a lot,” Lydia agreed. “Losing Mom and the possibility of that little peanut losing its daddy before he or she’s even born shook him up. Hell, it shook all of us up, but Scotty’s a smart guy. When push comes to shove, he’s not going to walk away from something he wants because of the risk. If that was in his nature, he wouldn’t be a firefighter.”
“We haven’t seen you guys together as a couple, obviously,” Ashley said. “But we like you. And we like how Scotty is right now. As his oldest sister, it’s a big deal when I say I’d really like to see you guys be a thing.”
But how hard was Jamie willing to push? And did he want a future with her enough to compromise, or was she simply a spill he’d taken off the no-dating bandwagon?
Her phone chimed, saving her from having to respond to Ashley. But she sighed when she saw the message from Scott. The guy had seriously bad timing. Are you done shopping yet?
God, she hoped so. If she didn’t get out of here soon, she was going to end up spilling her guts to his sisters and then things would get messy. We found dresses. Refueling now. You?
We didn’t have to shop because Lydia picked our suits. But we’ve been measured in uncomfortable places and won’t look like ragamuffins at the wedding.
She laughed, belatedly realizing Scott’s sisters were both watching her. “Sorry.”
“If that’s my brother, ask him if they’re done with the suits,” Lydia said.
“Uh.” Jamie hesitated before the realization sunk in that it would be nothing short of stupid to even try to pretend at this point. With them, anyway. “He said they won’t look like ragamuffins, so I assume they’re all set.”
“Tell him they need ties, too. They’re going to try to sneak parts of their uniform past me because they’re lazy.”
Your sister said to get a tie. No uniform ties.
There was a long pause before the response came through. She knows I’m texting you?
Please. Have you met your sisters? She appreciated that the two women had obviously gone out of their way to play along and give them space, but the gig was up.
Fine. We’ll get ties. Call me later. Oh, and don’t forget the cake.
Smiling, she tucked her phone away. “So, Lydia, have you done any cake tastings?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, carrot cake is not a vegetable.” She pointed a French fry at Jamie. “You might be part of the whole firefighter brotherhood thing, but don’t let those two yahoos drag you onto their side.”
“Can I ask why you just don’t have a chocolate groom’s cake?”
She blew out an exasperated breath. “Because that will be the groom’s cake, not my wedding cake. I want my husband to share our wedding cake with me, but he’s not going to if there’s a chocolate cake sitting next to it.”
“Okay.” Jamie nodded slowly. “So this is one of those stubborn Kincaid things and Aidan’s going to eat his vegetables and like it.”
“Yes.” Lydia shrugged. “He knew what he was getting into.”
Ashley laughed, and then waved her hand at them. “I love this. This dynamic, I guess you could say. Jamie’s our perfect third.”
Below the warm feeling that came from being so openly accepted was a cold jangle of nerves. The genie was out of the bottle now, and she wasn’t going to be able to shove him back in. Her and Scott’s time of quietly, privately enjoying each other’s company with no expectations was over.
She had no doubt his sisters were going to try to make it a thing.
* * *
MY DAD’S OFF with Fitz somewhere until late. Want to come to my place for a change?
Scott sent the text and tried not to hold his breath as he waited for Jamie’s answer. He knew she’d had an exhausting morning with his sisters, and they’d just seen each other the night before, but he really wanted to see her again. And he wanted to see her in his apartment for some reason he didn’t care to analyze too closely.
Sounds good. It’ll be about an hour, though, if that works.
Perfect. See you then.
He exhaled and then looked around. Luckily, the place didn’t look too bad since he didn’t have a lot of clutter and he’d learned over the years of sharing a small space with a lot of guys to pick up after himself. But he did change the sheets because it seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do.
Then he dropped onto the couch and started flipping through channels so when she did show up, she wouldn’t catch him with his face pressed to the glass sliding door, waiting for her. Even when he heard her footsteps on the wooden deck, he kept his eyes on the screen until she knocked on the glass.
He wasn’t sure what he trying to prove to himself by acting casual, because on the inside he was jumping up and down like a black Lab whose human had finally come home.
“Hey, come on in,” he said, pulling open the slider for her. Before closing it, he peeked down into the driveway. “You didn’t walk, did you?”
“You walk all the time. But no, I drove. Unlike your jacked-up truck with the fancy chrome and firefighter plate, my car’s just another gray compact job parked on the street. It blends in with the crowd.”
After he closed the slider, he took her hand and pulled her close. “My truck is not jacked up.”
“It came that way?”
“It’s a stock three-quarter-ton pickup and the chrome came with the package that included the heated seats and remote start.”
“Okay, so you’re not one of those macho truck guys. Just spoiled a little bit.”
He laughed. “Macho truck guys? No, I’m not. And as for being spoiled, I spend enough time freezing my ass off on the job. When I get in my truck, my ass is warm.”
She ran her hands down his back and then tucked her fingers into the back pockets of his jeans. “It’s definitely an ass worth pampering a little.”
He kissed her, feeling the curve of her smile against his lips. Her hair was up in a ponytail, but without taking his mouth off hers, he pulled the fabric-covered elastic free so he could bury his hand in the soft strands. He loved her hair and it would probably have been the hardest part of her to resist touching at work if she didn’t keep it braided whenever they were on duty.
When the kiss was over, she sidestepped him and looked around the apartment. “You don’t really have a lot of knickknack-type stuff, do you?”
“No, but neither do you.”
She ran her hand over the granite bar, looking at the kitchen. “I’ve moved so many times, I’ve learned to travel light. But you’ve lived in this house for your entire life. Maybe not on this floor, but still.”
“Trust me, there are
boxes and boxes with my name written on them down in the cellar. You want a drink?”
“I’ll have a soda. Whatever you’ve got.”
He took out a couple of cans and popped the top on hers before holding it out to her. “How was dress shopping?”
“It was more fun than I thought it would be, actually. I’m not big on shopping, but Lydia and Ashley are a lot of fun.”
He winced. “I guess they’re also more intuitive than I gave them credit for.”
“There wasn’t much point in denying anything, although I did manage to avoid being pinned down too much, conversationally.”
Scott really wanted to know what they’d said, but then again a part of him didn’t. If they’d done a full-court press on her and wanted to talk love and marriage, pushing her for details might get awkward. He didn’t want her first time in his apartment to go sideways on him.
“I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever successfully kept a secret from those two,” he said.
“So everybody must know, then, if they do. At the station, I mean.”
“I don’t think so. Aidan and Danny, probably.” He paused. “Okay, Aidan almost definitely, though he’s never asked and I’ve never confirmed or denied. But if you’re worried they’re all talking about us, don’t. Family loyalty still comes first.”
“Do you think Tommy knows? He’s family.”
“I doubt it. He’d have to figure it out on his own because he’s the last person my sisters would talk to about my personal life. He can be a bit of a bull in a china shop when it comes to shit like that, and Lydia and Ashley don’t usually throw me under the bus with him.”
She sighed, and then gave a little shrug. “It doesn’t matter. People can say what they want.”
Wanting to bring the mood back to where it had started, Scott set his soda on the counter and moved closer to her. She took a long sip of hers, and after she put down the can, he pulled her hard up against his body.
“You gonna dance with me at the wedding?”
She smiled at him, and he felt the familiar rush of pleasure he got every time she looked at him like that. “I don’t know. What do you think the chances are you can keep your hands where they’re supposed to be?”
Fully Ignited (Boston Fire #3) Page 15