I drank in the sight of her in a short silky romper thing that could have been a dress or it could have been shorts, either way it was beautiful. She looked sexy and playful. Her eyes were lined dramatically and that only offset her sun kissed skin and pale pink lips. Janey.
Then her green gaze landed on Shannon. On how close Shannon was to me. It looked bad, I knew it and I knew the whole story. Her green gaze, widened but she quickly shielded her emotions from me and turned away, giving me no time to appreciate the way the fabric dipped into a low, sexy vee lower than the small of her back. “Janey, wait!” I extricated myself from Shannon as best as I could and went after her.
“Where are you going?” Shannon put a hand on my forearm, a dark frown on her face. “I came all this way to meet you.”
My southern bred manners warred with my need to set Janey straight and I let out a long, annoyed sigh. “Well I wasn’t expecting to meet you so it was nice to meet ya, but I need to go.” I flashed a defiant look at the meddling matchmakers and took off after my woman.
She could run, but Tulip was small which meant she couldn’t hide.
Not forever, anyway.
Janey
Looking around the Black Thumb I couldn’t deny I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. One year ago when I approached the mayor, who is also my uncle, and the rest of the town council about a way to help pay for Tulip’s Tribute without letting Sabrina Worthington get her hands all over it, I had no idea how much it would take over my life. But now, twelve months later I couldn’t be prouder of what we all achieved.
Of course we wouldn’t know until later if we’d come close to reaching our goal, or if Uncle Leland would have to go to Sabrina Worthington, hat in hand, and ask for the balance. That would be awful. Unthinkable. That’s why I’d gone all out for the calendar release party. With the help of Buddy and The Black Thumb, Nina in hosting the Hometown Heroes trivia night and Ginger for blasting social media with images of the heroes, the night was shaping up to be a flat out success.
“Damn girl, you’re looking H-O-T tonight,” Ginger said with a wink and hip bump. “That romper is somehow cute and sexy at the same time. Rafe isn’t gonna know what hit him when he sees you.”
I rolled my eyes even as pleasure stole over me and wrapped me in warmth. I’d stopped at Mikki’s shop for a last minute outfit and this little clearance rack number had called to me like a siren, I only hoped tonight wouldn’t end in my death by drowning. Or heartache.
I spotted the matchmakers with several different women throughout the evening. Some had showed up to take photos and flirt with hot guys. Some had come for the story. Most had showed up however in hopes that not all the heroes had found their love match, and they would be right.
Not all of them had.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“Oh come on, honey! This isn’t the time to play coy, not when there are vipers all around looking to sink their fangs into your man.”
That was the thing, though. “He isn’t my man.” He was a man that I slept with sometimes. Okay, often, but that didn’t give me any real claim on him, despite his whole dead wrong speech.
“Not yet. And not ever if you don’t go over there,” she flung her arm carelessly behind her, nearly taking out Scott’s eye in the process, “and make sure those snakes know that he’s spoken for. And then speak. Loudly.”
I rolled my eyes at her and slid a glance to where she’d pointed, an act I immediately regretted. Rafe stood by the bar, half flanked by Betty Kemp and Helen Landon, with a beaming smile on his face. It took less than a second to see exactly what, or who, had his high beams on. It had to be the doctor because the woman was tall and very blond, and when she turned she was even more gorgeous than I imagined she would be. It was as if a pop star and a porn star had a baby and she became a doctor.
Oh and of course she was confident enough to press her impressive cleavage up against him, flashing a seductive smile that I couldn’t master in ten lifetimes. And the worst part? Rafe didn’t seem put out at all by the attention, because what red blooded male would be?
My heart sank at the realization that they looked perfect together. Totally perfect.
On the heels of that realization came another, that I was an idiot. A first class idiot to allow myself to even imagine, for one damn second, that there could be more than just sex between me and Rafe. I knew better. Hell, I’d warned myself against this before every encounter and still, it hadn’t done a damn bit of good.
He spotted me and instead of the guilty look I expected, Rafe smiled. He smiled. As if he hadn’t been caught red handed with his gaze down some woman’s cleavage. That smile, the one that I loved, I now hated. Because I knew it would be that smile he flashed when he gave me the old, it’s not you, it’it'ss me, speech. “Janey!”
I blinked at the sound of my name, realizing he’d seen me staring and called out to me. Probably so he could take porn star barbie home without feeling guilty about it. Screw that! I turned away from that ridiculously beautiful smile and looked for a way out, a temporary way out because the night wasn’t over and I had obligations to fulfill, whether or not my heart was slowly breaking inside my chest.
“Where are you going,” Ginger asked, barely missing me as she reached out for me.
“Be back soon,” I called out and dashed down the hall where the bathrooms were located and beyond so I could slip outside the emergency exit for a bit of privacy. And fresh air.
It was just past ten and the night was warm but cooler than expected, which I appreciated. The soft breeze went straight through the silky romper and cooled my skin immediately. I let out a sigh and turned my gaze up to the starry night sky, oblivious to everything but the twinkling lights and the ache in my chest.
“What, or who, are you hiding from?” I didn’t need to look away from the stars to recognize Nina’s voice.
“Not hiding, just enjoying some fresh air. And this view,” I added lamely because Nina was a pusher. She didn’t let anyone suffer in silence, especially if she could help.
“Yeah right,” she snorted. “Nobody has fresher trash air than Black Thumb. I’ll let Buddy know you said so, maybe we can put that on the Trip Advisor page.” I didn’t even dignify that with a response, though if it had been aimed at someone else I might have laughed. A little. “Well? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I told her honestly. “I’m just being stupid.” Maybe naïve was the more accurate word. Of course I fell for the first man I shared my body with, most girls did. They just usually did it when they were sixteen.
Nina let out another laugh that was amused and slightly commiserative. “Even the best of us are stupid when it comes to love and I’m talking about me.”
I barked out a laugh and shook my head, finally tearing my gaze from the sky to look at her. “Love. Everyone keeps tossing that word around like it means something, but I think you girls are just drink on the getting laid on a regular basis Kool-Aid.”
“Maybe so. Getting laid on a regular basis does help one’s outlook but this isn’t love blinders Janey. You forget I’ve seen the photos of you two and I’ve seen you together. You’re not just hot for each other, you’re into each other. Seriously into each other in a way that could mean everything, at least if you’re not stupid enough to screw it up.”
I didn’t want to be rude but I also didn’t want to listen to another person tell me that the lust they saw in Rafe’s eyes was something else. I wanted it to be something else, even more than they did. It took me a while to figure it out, but it was true. “There’s nothing to screw up Nina. In case you missed it, Rafe is inside flirting with a doctor who moonlights as a supermodel.”
She brushed off my words and shook her head. “That’s not Rafe. That’s those damn matchmakers, they are all determined to be the one who matches the last Hometown Hero standing, and to make sure it happens, they’ve brought women in from as far away as Dallas. At least that’s why I overheard.” She looked so proud of he
rself I didn’t have the heart to tell her she was wrong.
So I shrugged it off and turned back to the sky.
“I guess you missed him stretching his neck like a giraffe all night waiting for you to arrive?”
“Nina, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but seriously it’s a lost cause.”
“Janey I swear you are determined to make me forget that this town and Preston have turned me into a good person.” She pushed off the wall and invaded my personal space just to make her point clear. “He’s already been tried and convicted in your eyes, I suppose?”
“No. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He is being exactly who he has always been. The problem is that I shouldn’t have started anything with him in the first place because I knew how it would end.” With me heartbroken and the whole damn town pitying me.
“Just remember that this release party and this calendar were your idea Janey, and then think about what you actually saw.”
“Are you actually taking his side?”
Nina shrugged. “Since I had to watch nearly a dozen different floozies drool all over my own man, yeah I am. Preston smiled and flirted a little while he signed autographs and took photos and I hated every fucking minute of it. But like I said, I’m a good person now and this is all for a good cause. Remember?”
It was for a good cause and if Nina and all thee other women hooked up with a Hometown Hero could deal with it, so could I. “The difference is that Preston loves you and everyone knows that. Those women pose no risk to your relationship.” Realizing I said too much, I shook my head. “Never mind. You’re right. I’m being crazy.” I pasted a smile on my face and shrugged. “No big deal.”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed the door handle to signal she was done with this conversation. “Just do me a favor, will ya?”
“What’s that Nina?”
“Don’t be an idiot.” With a sympathetic smile she pulled the door open and disappeared inside, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Those thoughts made me want to cry because I jumped into a situation I wasn’t equipped to deal with, had no way of knowing I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I let myself be swayed by lust and a pretty face. Then the first tear fell and I swiped it away with a promise to let myself indulge in a good old-fashioned cry session. Later.
Right now I had responsibilities.
After twelve months of hard work there was no way I would drop the ball now, so I straightened my spine and squared my shoulders, ready to go back inside and face…whatever.
Except when I pulled on the emergency door, the first face I saw belonged to Rafe. “We need to talk.”
I shook my head and blinked back tears. “No, we really don’t.”
“Janey. Dammit, Janey listen to me.”
I couldn’t. I was too weak right now. If I gave in now, I’d never get over him. “There’s no need, Rafe. I know what I saw and honestly, I’m not all that surprised. I guess I just thought you’d end things with me first but I guess I was dead wrong,” I told him, throwing his words back in his face.
His blue gaze darkened and his jaws clenched in anger as he grabbed me by the shoulders. “You are so damn determined to be stubborn about this, aren’t you? I want you Janey. Badly. More than I’ve ever wanted or craved a woman but you’ve already decided who I am and what I want, haven’t you?” His tone was harsh abut there was a hurt swimming in his eyes I didn’t think him capable of.
It shocked me, honestly. “I’m just being realistic Rafe.” And trying to protect myself.
“Bullshit,” he spat. “Realistic would have been at least considering that I might actually like you Janey. That I might be falling for you, if you’d give me a damn chance.” He shrugged. “Of course that never occurred to you. I actually thought there was something here to fight for. Guess I was the one who was dead wrong.” He shook his head in resignation and walked away.
I watched him leave as tears streaked down my cheek, realizing that a few moments ago there was still hope. Now, there was nothing.
No hope.
No future.
No other options but to slip into the bathroom and touch up my makeup. The night was almost over.
Then I would cry and bury my sorrows in cheap wine and Netflix.
Rafe
It was a dick move to commandeer the big booth in the back of Big Mama’s Diner but I didn’t give a damn, right now I felt like being a dick. I was mad at the world in general. Mad at Janey specifically, not to mention those damn meddling matchmakers. If not for them, none of this would have happened.
Sitting there staring down at the giant Hero’s Breakfast that Big Mama had insisted on which I’d mostly been stabbing with my fork for the past thirty minutes, I could see it all so clearly now. The way they’d manipulated things, specifically me and Janey. All that damn talk about finding me a match and how she was all wrong for me. It was all a big damn trap.
And I fell for it. Hook. Line. And sinker.
“Damn he looks worse than I thought.” The amusement in Jase’s voice took my gaze away from my uneaten breakfast to where he and Nate stood. Staring. Smiling. “Ten bucks says he hasn’t touched that delicious looking breakfast.”
“Twenty,” Nate said and slid into the booth, grabbing a slice of bacon from my plate. “Damn that’s good. Big Mama, another Hero breakfast please?”
She flashed a smile at Nate and nodded. “And you Jase?”
“Same please. With a big carafe of orange juice, Big Mama?”
I groaned at the sickly sweet tone of Jase’s voice. For some reason he was buttering up Big Mama and that made me suspicious. “What’s going on?”
Jase dropped down beside me, a look of innocence on his face as he smiled. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” I growled at him and glared at Nate, “why the hell is everyone staring at me like I’ve just lost my job and my home?” I’d felt it all morning, well on the walk to the diner and the entire forty minutes I’d been inside working on my breakfast. People stared but no one said anything. “The damn looks of sympathy. You both showing up here when you have women waiting for you at home. What the hell?”
Nate snorted a laugh, flipping his mug over when Big Mama approached with her ever present coffee pot. “Heard about the fight between you and Janey. You good?”
My shoulders sank at his words. Of course the town already knew. I look to Jase. “Bo?” The sheepish expression on his face and Nate’s inability to look me in the eyes told me everything I needed to know. “Damn Facebook.”
“Looked pretty intense,” Jase said. “So what did you do?”
“Asshole,” I mumbled and smacked Nate’s hand from my sausage patty. “Wait for your own damn food, and why do you assume I did anything wrong?” I shook my head and stabbed the crispy home fries that were Big Mama’s specialty, actually scooping a forkful in my mouth with a satisfied groan. “Thanks for the faith guys. Really, it means so much.” My sarcasm wasn’t lost on them but I’d known these guys my whole life and they didn’t pull any punches.
Nate snorted and shook his head as he pulled his phone from the front pocket of the flannel that he wore to protect against the early morning breeze. “This is why we assume you did something smartass.” He handed over the phone with an angry look that got my attention.
When I looked down at the screen, my heart sank. The potatoes turned to ash in my throat, somehow morphing into a brick by the time it sank to my gut. “Hell.” Janey stood there just inside the emergency door at Black Thumb with both arms wrapped tight around her, looking so small and fragile in that sexy green jumper that should have ended up on my bedroom floor last night, instead of what actually happened. “She looks sad, like she’s been crying.”
“Figured that out all on your own, did you?” Jase shook his head and poured another glass of juice with a smile. “So…what did you do?”
“I didn’t do a damn thing!” All the busy sounds inside the diner stopped at my outburst and I sank down in
the booth to avoid any further eyes. Or gossip. “Dammit I didn’t do a damn thing, it was the matchmakers!”
Big Mama smacked her lips and shook her head. “Don’t you go blaming them for your own mistake, Rafe. Own up to what you did and she’ll forgive you.” She kept her gaze on me as she unloaded almost a dozen plates for two more Hero breakfast platters. “Just say you’re sorry and all will be well.”
“I didn’t do anything to be sorry about. If those damned matchmakers hadn’t put it in Janey’s head how wrong we were for each other, I wouldn’t even be here right now.” I’d be in my bed or Janey’s with my arms wrapped around her naked, sleeping form. “They’re the ones who invited all those damn women down to the release party, so tell me how is any of that my fault?”
Big Mama sighed and shook her head. “Maybe they did go overboard but they meant well.”
“Doesn’t look like it from where I’m sitting. Seems like good old-fashioned sabotage as far as I’m concerned.” I turned my attention back to Nate’s phone and my anger stirred all over again. “Look at that,” I shoved the phone at Big Mama even though I was sure she’d already seen them, like the rest of Tulip had by now. “That’s what they did. She saw me chatting with one of the matchmakers’ vipers and that’s what started all this. Not me.”
Big Mama frowned, leading me to believe maybe she hadn’t seem the photos, or at least not all of them. “Damn those ol’ girls. I’ll have a talk with them Rafe, don’t you worry.”
“Don’t bother,” I growled. If it hadn’t been one of the women last night, it would’ve been something else since Janey was convinced we weren’t right for each other.
“Looks like I showed up just in time,” Jackson’s deep voice growled beside Big Mama, his expression said he’d rather be anywhere but there.
That Hot Night: A Firefighter Romance Page 14