The Firefighter's Perfect Plan_Fire and Sparks

by Sonya Weiss

  Lincoln frowned. “How’d you know what she said?”

  “She was yelling loud enough for it to register on the Richter scale. I never thought that breakup was a mistake. I felt like you had a lucky escape there.” Rafferty shuddered. “But breaking up with Josie…”

  “I never loved Savannah the way that I love Josie,” Lincoln admitted.

  “Then why let her go?”

  Lincoln swallowed, finding it hard to admit his fear. “Because she deserves the best guy possible and I’m not him. Savannah wasn’t wrong when she said I screw up and that I say stupid stuff. I can be impatient, and I miss clues that women give out, you know? I’m not the best at knowing how to be the man I wish I were for Josie.”

  Rafferty cocked his head. “Blah, blah, blah is coming out of your mouth, but what I hear you saying is that you’re afraid.”

  “Maybe, but you’ve never been in a relationship long enough to know what’s at stake if you fail the woman you love.”

  “You’re right, but on the chance in a million that I did ever love a woman and we broke up, you can bet I wouldn’t be standing in an old theater thinking about things. I’d break speed records getting to her and I wouldn’t give up until she took me back.” Rafferty nodded toward the door. “I promised Grandma a game of poker. You done here?”

  “I think I’ll stay awhile.”

  Once Rafferty was gone, Lincoln made himself work harder and faster as the memories of Josie started to haunt him. He thought about her beauty, her laughter, her crazy sense of humor. He liked the way she bit her lip when she was thinking sometimes. The way she’d give him a look when she thought he was an idiot. He loved the curves of her body…

  Then he pictured some other guy walking through life beside her. Some other guy kissing her. Some other guy touching those curves…the thought turned his stomach.

  He couldn’t bear thinking like that. Lincoln pushed a pile of clothing from an upholstered chair and sat, then buried his head in his hands. He went back over his prior relationship with Savannah. She’d been right with some of the things she said. He did suck at communicating. He didn’t often know what a woman needed. But Savannah was wrong to say he didn’t know how to love a woman. He just hadn’t loved Savannah with the same all-in feelings that he had for Josie. Because she’d never been the woman for him and maybe his heart always knew that.

  Josie… He let out a groan. He’d royally screwed up. He wasn’t perfect and never would be. But he wanted to be with her and hoped she could forgive him, could see past his imperfections to the heart beating in his chest that cried out for her and her alone.

  He got up, intending to rush straight to her house and plead his case, but he stopped. No…she deserved for him to show her as best he could what she meant to him. He needed to put some effort into this. He looked around and his eyes landed on a backdrop Josie hadn’t seen because he’d dragged it down from the attic. Picking it up, he hoisted it onto his shoulder and strode outside to his truck. He had a lot of work to do before tomorrow morning to win back the woman he loved.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The news of Josie and Lincoln breaking up had zipped across town faster than a rocket heading to the moon. Josie ignored the pity-filled glances she’d received for days. She’d shut her mother down when she’d tried to give an I-told-you-so lecture. She’d smiled and pretended and gone on with her life. But it was hard. Oh, was it hard.

  Today was the day she’d volunteered to help with the annual sprucing up of Morganville. She hated the thought of leaving her house and being with people, but she didn’t have a choice. She’d given her word. And she was out of chocolate.

  Josie locked the front door and headed to her car, stopping when she noticed a gift-wrapped red box on the hood. Who in the… She pulled off the white bow and opened the lid. An antique mirror nestled in tissue paper. She lifted it out and looked at the note card. My love was scrawled across the card.

  “Okay…” she muttered, wondering if this was someone’s idea of a joke about the breakup. She put the box and mirror in the back seat and got into her car to find a note taped to the steering wheel. Glove box.

  How had someone gotten into her car? The only other person who had a spare key for emergencies was…Casey… Josie opened the glove box and pulled out another box. Inside was a miniature wooden bridge. The only wooden bridge in town was a small footbridge that crossed over a small creek not far from where the hayride festivities had been held. That bridge was where she’d first met Lincoln. He’d smiled when he’d seen her and Casey coming, and he’d handed her a dandelion. She still had that flower pressed between the pages of her tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice.

  That sunny day would forever be stuck in her brain as the beginning of everything with Lincoln. Heart thumping, she dug a small slip of paper from the bottom of the box.

  The minute you stepped your bare foot onto this bridge, I knew you were going to change my life.

  Lincoln was leaving her clues? For what? He’d made it clear he wanted nothing to do with a relationship. Josie bit her lip, pondering what to do, then decided she owed it to her heart to see what was going on. If nothing else, whatever it was might give her closure.

  She drove to the bridge, then parked and glanced toward the trees. From where she stood, she could see the first railing of the bridge. Muttering to herself to get it over with, she walked determinedly toward it.

  When the bridge came into view, she stopped. It was covered in rose petals. Lincoln was standing in the middle of it. Behind him, a large sheet was strung across a line hanging between two trees. She stared at him. He held a box in his hand, but she didn’t care what it was. He was so handsome it made her breathless, and she knew it had been a mistake to come. This was Lincoln trying to apologize, hoping they could at least be friends. Probably so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable around his family, but she couldn’t take it. Couldn’t be near him without hurting. She was leaving. The minute she swung around, he called her name.

  Putting her hands on her hips, she faced him. “What?”

  “Can we talk?”

  “You said everything you needed to say. Trust me, I got the message.”

  “Please.”

  Calling herself ten kinds of a fool for caving to that deep-voiced plea, she marched forward.

  When she neared, he held his hands out.

  She glanced at the object in his hands. “It’s a box. I don’t get it.”

  “Open it.”

  Though she wanted to go back to her car so she could nurse her heartbreak in peace, Josie took the box and opened the flaps.

  Inside was an old picture of her. She took it out. “I don’t get it.”

  “I kept that picture through the years. I always knew where it was at because I took care of it. I protected it. What I didn’t protect was you from me being an idiot. And I didn’t protect me from falling in love with you.”

  Josie heard him but kept her guard up. “You say that now, but you’ll get scared and run again.” She chewed on her lower lip and tried to push back the flood of emotions trying to drown her.

  Lincoln shook his head. “No. Because I know now that I loved you long before today. It happened over the years and my stupid plan, my perfect plan to guard my heart and not fall in love, never even had a chance. My heart was yours from the moment I saw you.”

  Josie blinked rapidly and looked away, willing herself not to cry. She was still hurting over the way he’d walked out of her life.

  “Josie, I remember you. I remember thinking how blue your eyes were.”

  “Lincoln—” Josie didn’t want to walk down memory lane. Not when she knew how it had ended in the awful moment when he’d said she wasn’t going to be in his future.

  He walked closer. “I remember the first time I saw you cry. The first time you hugged me. The first time I held your hand.”

  “Lincoln…”

  “I know that I messed up, and it scares me that I don’t know how to fi
x it. I was afraid, before. I didn’t think I was good enough for you. I thought I’d fail you. And maybe I still will, but I’ll try my hardest not to. I love you, and I’ll do anything to win you back. All I need is a chance to prove it.”

  Josie could only stare at him as emotions overwhelmed her.

  He held up his hand. “Wait.” Jogging back to the other side of the bridge, he pulled the sheet down.

  Josie gasped at the backdrop of the night sky. Thousands of stars dotted the canvas. She put her hand over her mouth.

  “I’d give you real stars if I could, but this is all I had to work with. And I may not be the handsome prince you imagined in the past, but I’d like the part from here on out.”

  Josie couldn’t stop the tears. “You really love me?”

  “Yes. With all my yesterdays and all my todays and tomorrows.” He rushed to her and knelt on one knee, taking her hands in his. “Marry me, Josie.”

  She couldn’t stop the small sob that burst from her lips. “You would really want to make that mistake with me?”

  Lincoln gently squeezed her hands. “I was an idiot. Loving you, marrying you, could never be a mistake. Run away with me. Or marry me in a big ceremony. I don’t care as long as your answer is yes.”

  “But what about your perfect plan?”

  “Overrated. You’re my plan now.”

  “Oh? You have a plan for me?”

  He grinned. “I have a lot of plans for you, but you haven’t said you’d marry me yet.”

  Her heart full, Josie said, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  Lincoln took the diamond from the box, stood, and slid it onto her finger. Then he kissed her until her head swam. When he pulled away, Josie pressed her hand against his heart. “I can hardly believe this is mine.”

  “It always has been and always will be.”

  Epilogue

  A brand-new year. A brand-new life. Josie paced back and forth in the wedding dress that had once belonged to Lincoln’s mom. She was anxious for the ceremony to start. The days had flown by until her wedding day and then it seemed like time had slowed to a crawl. Her parents had taken off on a vacation to Switzerland and had sent their regards. Josie sighed. The relationship between her parents and herself would probably never achieve the warmth she’d found with the Bradfords. She was okay with that because she had everything in life she could imagine and her heart was full. Though she’d wished her father would walk her down the aisle, it wasn’t happening. She’d walk herself down the aisle. Exhaling, she fluffed out the veil and dabbed the corners of her eyes.

  A soft knock sounded on the door, then it opened and Jean swept in. “What a day to get married. January first and cold enough outside to freeze the twins off.” She tipped her head to one side and then smiled. “You look perfect.”

  Beverly walked in and carefully hugged Josie, followed by Casey, then Grayson and Rafferty. There were so many people squeezed into the room outside the small country church’s auditorium that Josie had to take a few steps backward. She frowned at everyone, then focused her attention on Grayson and Rafferty. “Why aren’t you at the altar with Lincoln?”

  “Because we’re all walking you down the aisle.”

  Josie’s lower lip trembled. “You…”

  “We’re your family,” Grayson said with a gentle smile. “And we stick together.”

  “Now you made her cry.” Jean elbowed Grayson.

  Josie fanned her face. “These are happy tears. It’s okay.”

  Rafferty bent his arm. “Shall we?”

  Josie walked out of the room and waited outside the double wooden doors for a second. When the wedding music started, she moved forward slowly, never taking her eyes off of Lincoln.

  When she reached the altar, Lincoln took her hand, and minutes later, the minister linked their lives as husband and wife. Maybe she was walking on air but everything about the ceremony and the kiss seemed like it was filled with magic to Josie.

  She could hardly wait to begin the rest of their lives together.

  As she and Lincoln shared the first dance together as husband and wife, he kissed her forehead. “I am the luckiest man in the world.”

  “You are,” Josie teased. “And I’ll never let you forget it.”

  “How could I? Every time I look at you, I’m reminded of that.”

  When they swung around the floor, Josie said, “Uh-oh, looks like your grandmother has her matchmaking sights set on Rafferty. She nagged him to dance with Harper.”

  “And Harper just refused. Smart woman,” Lincoln said.

  Josie smiled. “Poor Rafferty. He’ll get what’s coming to him in the end. You and I will dance at his wedding someday.”

  “Probably. Especially if he has a foolproof plan like mine.” Lincoln laughed.

  “He wouldn’t believe either of us if we told him that he’s missing out.”

  “Some things a man has to learn for himself. Like being with the woman you love…life doesn’t get any better than that.”

  “I agree,” Josie said and kissed him as they both lost themselves in the moment.

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  Acknowledgments

  It was a thrill to be able to write Lincoln and Josie’s story. I knew from the first book in the series, Wedding Date Rescue, that these two were destined to end up together. At the start of the series, I delved into the lives of firefighters through research and interviewing these brave heroes. The stories these men and women shared were fascinating. It gave me a deeper appreciation for all that they do.

  Writing a book is never a completely solo project. Entangled Publishing is the company filled with amazingly smart and savvy people that helped build this book. I am always thrilled to have a book published with them.

  I appreciate Riki Cleveland and Holly Bryant-Simpson for their hard work with publicity. Heather Riccio for everything she takes care of behind the scenes, Katie Clapsadl, who has the patience of a saint, all the production editors, copyeditors, and cover artists who worked on the book—thank you!

  And a huge shout out to Alycia Tornetta, who takes a bunch of tangled sentences and polishes them into a story. I am so lucky that you’re my editor. I think that often but don’t say it enough.

  For all the people who rooted for the story, thank you, you know who you are and how you helped me. Finally, for my sister Toni for all the long distance talks and the never-ending laughs—we’ll always have that trip to Graceland! You are my hero.

  About the Author

  From the time she was a child, Sonya knew she was destined to be a writer. If she didn’t like the ending of a book or movie, she would write her own ending. When her children were young, she often wrote stories to entertain them. At the urging of one of her daughters, she submitted a short story and to her surprise and delight, it sold. Sonya loves writing all things romance whether it’s writing contemporary adult or teen fiction and still hasn’t lost the wonder that she gets to do what she loves. She enjoys reading, movies, chocolate, and laughter and credits her daughters as being the sweetest blessings in her life.

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