by Weiss, Sonya
Her mental foray into the past was broken when some guy yelled a greeting across the park. Lincoln acknowledged the man, then turned back to Josie. “Your face paled a second ago.” He touched her cheek. “Are you sick?”
“Um…no. Maybe too much birthday cake.”
“It was rich, that’s for sure.”
He wouldn’t stop looking at her and Josie had to get out from under that scrutiny. She offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile as he helped her carry everything back to the car. At the trunk, she said, “I’ll drop by the station when you’re on duty tomorrow and we can try again to get strike one done.” What she’d thought about him being more than a friend unnerved her and increased her determination to get things between them over.
“Sounds good.”
She drove Lincoln home then headed to her own place, telling herself she was right to believe that the sooner the breakup was complete, the better. Her thoughts had scared her. She didn’t know if they were remnants of the crush she’d once had on him, or if this was something new.
Something with the potential to break her heart.
…
“I pick the movie this time!” Kevin yelled across the room where the crew often gathered to relax. Here, they watched television or movies, or played games like foosball, pool, or half a dozen card games that lined a shelf. Kevin vaulted over the back of the sofa to claim one end of it.
Lincoln tuned out the disagreement over what to watch that started between Kevin and Shelly. She was one of Casey’s friends and their newest hire.
Lincoln loved being at the station. He enjoyed the camaraderie and close bonds he’d developed with the men and women he worked with. When the bickering ended, the latest action movie began playing. Lincoln tried to get drawn into it, but it couldn’t hold his attention like thoughts of Josie could. He mentally cursed. Thinking about his soon-to-be ex was starting to interfere with his life. Her image invaded his head when he was trying to sleep, when he was doing chores, and when he— The alarm sounded, and everyone scrambled into action.
Lincoln and the rest of the crew geared up and jumped on the truck. Nothing indicated this would be more than a one alarm, but upon arrival, the chief would call for more help if it were warranted. They arrived at an area filled with strip malls and apartment complexes, and Lincoln could easily spot smoke, but no flames pouring from one window of a fifth-floor apartment.
People stood in the parking lot, some of them crying while others wore looks of shock that Lincoln had seen before at the scene of fires or accidents.
Because he had seniority over the rest of the crew, he lined up the positions and then entered the building with Kevin. He shook his head at the trio of teenagers standing on the second-floor landing talking excitedly about the fire and ordered them to get out of the building.
When they reached the apartment, the door was slightly open and smoke slid out through the crack. Inside, a back bedroom was already filled with smoke and flames were shooting up one corner of the room. Visibly shaking, a medium-size brown and white dog cowered by a dresser.
Lincoln grabbed the dog and hauled him up into his arms. He brought the dog outside to be examined, then went back inside to go door-to-door to check each apartment.
Later, once the fire was subdued and the day wound into evening, Kevin said, “The dog will be okay.” Lincoln looked across the parking lot at a young boy now reunited with his pet. “The boy’s uncle tossed a cigarette in the trash can. He thought it was out.”
“Wow,” Lincoln said as the adrenaline started to drain. He would check in on the boy and his family later to make sure they were okay. After a fire, families often struggled financially, and carried a heavy load of guilt over the events. He liked to talk to the families to make sure they got the help they needed to rebuild their lives.
He shared a look with Kent and knew his friend was probably thinking about the fire that had almost killed him. One of the first things he’d learned as a rookie was that no matter how much control you thought you had on the scene, fire never played by the rules.
By the time they arrived back at the station and returned everything to order, the stars were out in the clear sky. It made him think of nights spent lying in a field with Josie trying to count those stars.
He was headed toward the kitchen to grab something to eat when Kevin let him know he had a visitor. For a split second, he wondered who, then remembered that his pseudo girlfriend was coming to start the first step in their breakup.
He walked back outside. Josie wore jeans that hugged her body from the waist, down her long legs, all the way to her boot clad feet. He swallowed hard at the sight of her curves displayed even better than the dress had showcased them last night. She had on a denim jacket and her hair was down, causing him to have a brief, wild thought about tangling his fingers through it. In any getup, in any room, she always owned it. She was beautiful, funny, and would be lethal to his heart if he was stupid enough to let his guard down. Which he wasn’t.
“I heard about the fire. Are you okay?”
“Safe and sound,” he said.
She held up a pizza box. “I thought maybe you might be hungry. It’s the meat kind with the crust that you like.”
Right on cue, Lincoln’s stomach growled. “Thanks. You want to come inside so we can get started on the breakup?”
She grimaced. “Right. Me staging trouble between us right after you get back from a fire would make me look like a weasel of a girlfriend.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
She gave him a funny smile. “It might hurt my chances of any of your colleagues asking me out once you and I are through.”
Lincoln suddenly lost his appetite. He worked with great guys, but not a single one of them was worthy of Josie. They didn’t know her like he did.
“Yeah. Okay. I guess we’ll postpone.” For some reason, he didn’t want her to leave just yet. “Have you talked to your parents?”
Her lips twisted. “We went out for lunch.”
It was what she didn’t say that clued Lincoln in. “What happened?”
She shrugged. “Same old, same old. But it doesn’t matter. I take the things my mother says for what they are. She’s parroting how she was raised.”
“And hurting her daughter almost every time she opens her mouth,” Lincoln said.
“I don’t take it personally anymore. I think Mom believes she’s trying to be helpful.”
“I’ll bet she was thrilled to hear you and I are dating again. Or whatever,” he clarified when that sounded too real.
“She was more interested in telling me all the ways I was failing and that I needed to lock you down or I’ll never get married.”
He saw a shudder ripple through her. “I’m sorry.”
She grimaced. “Whatever. Anyway, I just wanted to drop off the pizza. I won’t keep you.”
He still wasn’t ready for her to leave but didn’t know what else to say to make her stay a little longer. “Okay. You’re coming to the hayride tomorrow night, right?”
“That’s a given,” she said.
Almost everyone in town showed up for the annual hayride thanks to the food, games, and live bands that were also part of the festivities. “Want to ride in together?”
She shook her head. “Can’t. I’m filming a wedding proposal at the lake.”
“Poor guy. He has my condolences.”
Josie pretended to sock him in the arm. “His girlfriend is the one doing the proposing.”
Lincoln shook his head. “Bad idea. If he hasn’t asked, he’s not ready.”
“Or maybe he’s just stuck in a rut and he’s too blind to realize what he could lose.”
Lincoln searched her eyes, which were saying something he couldn’t figure out. “I guess.”
“We’ll set the breakup in motion at the hayride if that works for you?”
Lincoln tightened his grip on the pizza box. “Of course.”
“I’ll meet y
ou by the funnel cake stand.”
He watched her fade into the night and after a few minutes heard the sound of her car starting. A weird sense of loss hit as Lincoln turned and carried the pizza into the station. Even though he knew it was for the best, he couldn’t help but wish tomorrow wouldn’t come.
Chapter Nine
The proposal at the lake was horrific. Josie’s client had been so sure her boyfriend was ready to take the next step but was just too shy, which was why she’d decided to propose. The woman had poured her heart out, exposing her vulnerabilities and her hopes for the future. While Josie had filmed, right in the middle of the woman’s profession of love and dreams, the guy had blurted out that he’d slept with his girlfriend’s best friend.
As he’d shared details she wished she didn’t now know, Josie had stood frozen, the camera still rolling while the girlfriend shoved him into the lake. She’d intervened when the humiliated woman had jumped in and held the jerk’s head under water. Josie had talked the woman away from the guy, then had helped him back to shore. As she’d lugged him onto land, he’d said how much he loved his girlfriend, and in the same breath asked Josie out. She’d been tempted to dunk him herself.
Cold and wet, she drove herself home. When she arrived, she was surprised to see Lincoln’s truck sitting in her driveway. The second she stepped out of her car, he was beside her.
“Shelly heard about the lake incident and called to let me know.” His gaze swept over her like he was looking for injuries. “Are you all right?”
“Nothing a hot shower and dry clothes won’t fix.” She unlocked the door and invited him inside.
“Why don’t you go ahead and shower, and I’ll make you something warm to drink.”
Josie nodded while trying to keep her teeth from knocking together. As soon as she showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved sweatshirt, she went to the kitchen where Lincoln waited. “Thank you.” She gratefully took the mug of warm coffee he handed her and breathed in the rich aroma. “I knew you were a great breakup boyfriend. It’ll be hard to let you go.” She winked to show she was just teasing, even though she was telling the truth.
“About that…”
She cautiously sipped the liquid and waited for him to continue.
“You know how there are sweetheart ambassadors at the hayride every year?”
“Yeah, it’s always a couple in love.” Still feeling the effects of her client’s botched proposal, Josie snorted at the thought of all that sugary-sweet relationship stuff. “Last year it was Carol and her boyfriend plastered to each other like they were sharing a pair of jeans.” She had more to say about that but stopped, not liking the expression on Lincoln’s face.
“We’re the sweetheart ambassadors this year.”
Josie set her mug down slowly. “We’re the ones who have to announce the bands, dance, and act like we’re crazy about each other the whole time?”
“Pretty much.”
No, no, no.
Josie put her hands on her hips. “Lincoln Bradford, you’d better be lying.” She waited for the “ha-ha, I am,” but it never came. “Who would have nominated us?” She paced back and forth for a second, then stopped and smacked her hand down on the counter. “It had to be your mom or grandmother.”
He started to speak, but Josie was on a roll. “Grayson’s not really the joke-playing kind. Casey wouldn’t do that to me.” Josie narrowed her eyes. “Rafferty!” Just wait until I get my hands on him. Or better yet, she’d tell all the single women in town that he was impotent. Or planning to become a monk.
“It was me.”
Josie opened her mouth but couldn’t get a word out.
He held his hands out, as though to calm her. Like that was happening. “I know what you’re thinking—”
“No, I don’t think you do,” she said as soon as she could speak. She was thinking he’d inhaled something a little more potent than smoke fumes at that fire to do something so out of character. They were supposed to be breaking up!
Lincoln poured himself a cup of coffee, as if his announcement had no bearing on anything. “I ran into one of the council members. He told me that the couple nominated as the sweetheart ambassadors backed out, so I told him that we wanted to do it.”
“No, we don’t want to do it. I want us to stay on track with the breakup.” She didn’t like the way he crossed his arms or the obstinate expression on his face.
“We can’t. At least not yet.”
She could not, under any circumstances, be on display by Lincoln’s side as a woman in love for the duration of the hayride celebration. At some point, as sure as there were red apples, something would go wrong.
“You have to get us out of this because, one”—she held up a finger—“we’re supposed to be setting the stage for our breakup.” Lifting a second finger, she said, “Two, being sweetheart ambassadors gives people the idea that we’ve worked our relationship out.” Taking a breath, she raised a third finger. “Three, it’s a simple fix. Just go to the council member and tell them that you changed your mind.”
“No.”
“No?” Josie sputtered over the word. “This whole charade is my lie.”
“Yes, but now my lie supercedes yours.”
“According to what?”
“It’s a universal law. The fresh lie always triumphs the older lie.”
“Bull, and I’m not doing it.” Given her response to him at the party, if he kissed her again, she might end up clinging to him, and she’d look like an idiot when he pried her away from him. Things were getting too real.
“You have to—the lie is already out there. The script is written, so to speak.” His eyes were begging her to agree.
“I decline the part.”
“When the second party tells a lie that overrules the first lie, then you’re obligated to keep playing your part. It’s in the handbook.”
“What handbook?”
“The lying handbook.”
“No.” Why was he doing this to her? Before, he couldn’t stay far enough away from her, and now he was signing them up for romantic publicity stunts.
“C’mon, Josie. He has influence that can sway the other council members to help the station out financially. I need that. The station needs it. I saw an opportunity and I took it.”
She sighed. She couldn’t argue with that. “You’re right.”
Lincoln clutched his chest and pretended to stagger. “Did you just say that I’m right?”
“Ha-ha. I meant you’re right that the station needs it.”
“Exactly. So how can you refuse?”
She couldn’t. Not when it could help Lincoln and the other firefighters. “Okay. I’ll do it. One crazy-in-love girlfriend coming up. Should we practice?”
“Practice? We’ve ridden on that wagon every year since we were kids.”
She rolled her eyes and advanced on him, trying not to think about what she was about to do. Putting her hands at the waistband of his jeans, she dipped her fingers over the denim on either side of his waist, planning to pull him toward her.
He sucked in a breath and quickly moved her hands away. “You’re not talking about the hayride.”
“No, I’m not. This is something much more involved. We’ll be the center of attention for several hours. There is no way anyone is going to believe we’re in love if you freak out when I touch you like a lover would.”
“I didn’t freak out. You surprised me.”
“And proved my point.”
Lincoln backed up and motioned his fingers back and forth in a “come here” gesture. “Try again.”
“No, because now you’ll be ready for it. The idea is that the touching has to be spontaneous and the other person reacts like it’s happened before.”
“Then you shouldn’t have reached for the good stuff.”
Josie laughed. “My hands were at your sides.”
Without warning, Lincoln scooped her up into his arms and strode into the l
iving room, then dropped her onto the sofa. “Well? How’s that?”
Josie bounced on the cushions, trying to calm her speeding heart rate. “Spontaneous—you get an A for effort. Romantic—a C minus because you dropped me instead of lowering me.”
Lincoln sat on the ottoman. “Tough crowd.”
She shook her head. “No, I proved my point again. You and I are going to be the worst sweetheart ambassadors in the history of Morganville.” She just hoped she could keep her heart out of it. Her lie had spun out of control and she wasn’t sure how things were going to get back to normal. Pretending to be Lincoln’s sweetheart definitely wasn’t the answer.
…
Lincoln had never backed away from a challenge, even when that challenge had “bad idea” plastered all over it. He jerked his thumb toward himself. “I can be romantic.” For some reason, he thought she’d accept that as truth. But she was clearly not team “I believe Lincoln,” because her expression was the poster child for doubt.
She sat up on the sofa. “You’ve seen the sweetheart ambassadors at the hayride, and you think you can do that?”
“A kiss or two? Announce the bands and then dance before getting on the wagon? Easy as pie.” Well, not exactly. But if he kept telling himself that it’d make it true, right? He hadn’t really thought it through when he’d told Martin Hernandez that he and Josie could help out. He’d been focused on how the perfect opportunity to appeal to the council had fallen in his lap.
“While looking at me like you can’t wait to have me alone? Like I’m the greatest thing that ever happened to you? Like you look at me and see your future?”
Her voice sounded strange as she spoke the last word. Like it had cracked or something. “I can do that.”
“Prove it.”
Okay. He was up at bat. He could knock a homerun. No problem.
He used his feet to push the ottoman closer to the sofa. Taking both of her hands in his, he placed them on his thighs, ignoring the way it made his muscles contract. Her hands were cold and he felt that through his jeans, that was all. Angling his upper body toward hers, he put a hand at the back of her neck and gently pulled her head closer to his. He stroked the pad of his thumb across her lower lip.