Melt With You: Into The Fire Series

by J. H. Croix

  The emotion I thought I had gotten a handle on spun wildly inside. I hadn’t thought this part through, mostly because I’d only come to terms with facing my feelings for Max over the last few days. I certainly hadn’t expected him to make this part so easy for me.

  Tears pricked in my eyes again, and I didn’t realize one was rolling down my cheek until I felt his thumb brush it away. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  A giggle slipped out. “I think that was a happy tear, just one. I do like it here, but we’ll find a way to make it work. If that means moving to San Francisco, I’ll do that too. It happens to be a city I love.”

  “Now you’re making it complicated,” Max replied, his mouth curling in a grin.

  Epilogue

  Max

  Christmas, one year later

  * * *

  I looked across the room, watching as Harlow stepped through the archway into the restaurant at Last Frontier Lodge. Her glossy dark hair was loose, and she wore the same dress she’d been wearing the first time I saw her—a slip of cream silk that caressed her curves. It wasn’t quite suited for this weather, but she pointed out she didn’t have to go outside.

  A full year had passed since our first Christmas together, and Harlow had insisted we celebrate Christmas here again this year. Seeing as I said yes to anything she asked of me, I was happy to go along. The holiday lights glittered around the restaurant. Through the windows circling the lodge, one of the many surrounding spruce trees was decorated with lights, twinkling in the darkness and illuminating the snow drifting down.

  My eyes tracked Harlow as she approached, savoring the swing of her hips, and the graceful motion as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder. When she reached me where I was sitting on a stool at the bar, I didn’t bother being polite. I slipped my arm around her waist, letting it slide over the silk to cup her bottom as I pulled her in between my knees.

  She giggled, her breath coming out in a little puff. “Max, you know we’re in public, right?”

  “Of course I do. I still don’t give a damn,” I murmured, just as I brought my lips to her plump lips. Despite her minor protest, she kissed me, her tongue sliding against mine.

  I heeded her warning because I had enough sense to know that when Harlow kissed me, I lost sight of everything but her. I could only let myself have a tease, or we’d be in trouble. When I drew away, her cheeks were pink and her eyes dark.

  Garrett’s amused voice punctured our moment. “Need a drink, Harlow?” I glanced over, catching his wink. “Sorry to break things up.”

  “I’ll take a pomegranate martini,” Harlow said.

  “That’s the drink you had at the wedding.”

  “You remember that?” she asked, her eyes widening.

  “Of course I do. When it comes to you, I remember every detail.” I held her close, savoring the heat of her skin through the silk.

  Garrett handed over her drink, and she eventually stepped away, sliding onto the stool beside me when Ivy and Owen came over to join us. We had promised my parents we would be visiting for New Year’s, but I was fairly certain we would probably spend every Christmas here.

  It was one of Harlow’s favorite places, and because it reminded me of her, it happened to be one of mine as well. It didn’t hurt to have our respective best friends here.

  “Yo,” Owen’s voice said from my side.

  I’d zoned out, savoring the feel of Harlow’s hand in mind. “Yeah?” I asked, glancing to him.

  “Was it worth it?” he asked.

  I knew he was referring to our conversation just over a year ago, when he told me if I thought Harlow was worth it, I’d better do something about it.

  “Every fucking minute. Best thing I ever did was marry her as soon as she said yes.”

  That particular moment happened to have been entirely unplanned. As was always the case when it came to Harlow, my propensity for methodical planning fell by the wayside. We had gone out for coffee one morning early last spring. We were staying in Willow Brook, and I’d been about to leave that morning to take a plane down to San Francisco. Though I had gotten her engagement ring weeks prior, intending to ask her to marry me at exactly the right time, that time turned out to be over coffee at Firehouse Café.

  Conveniently, I learned that same morning that Janet James was ordained to marry people. As soon as Harlow said yes, I persuaded Janet to do the honors.

  Owen chuckled, his eyes shifting to Ivy, who sat beside him, and then back to Harlow on the other side of me. “Told you. It’s not hard when it’s the right thing.”

  “Hell no, easiest decision I ever made.”

  A lot had happened in the past year. For starters, I’d discovered Harlow could be quite indecisive. She hemmed and hawed about what to do and where we should live. I was so accustomed to travel and a brutal schedule that staying with her in Willow Brook and commuting to Anchorage wasn’t a hardship.

  I even scheduled my other travel around when she had to go out in the backcountry for fires. I didn’t love that, but it was part of who Harlow was, so I accepted it.

  A few weeks ago, she announced she wanted to try to get pregnant soon. I’d been prepared to make my case that I would’ve been concerned about her keeping her job. Blessedly, she saved me the battle.

  Now we just had to figure out what we wanted to do next. As far as her getting pregnant, I was nothing if not a planner. Not that we needed anything to motivate us, but it was fair to say I might’ve been wearing her out, even though she was still on birth control. I figured practice makes perfect.

  Just now, I caught her hand in mine and pulled her close. Dipping my head as she leaned forward, I pressed a kiss along that sweet spot on the side of her neck, savoring the hint of vanilla and honey she always carried. “How much longer do we have to stay to be polite?” I murmured.

  Harlow

  I felt my cheeks heat, and a shiver run through me at Max’s words. I had wondered if the effect he had on me would wear off; if anything, the opposite seemed to be true. The longer we were together, the more I wanted him.

  I drew away, catching the slight gleam in his eye. “I just got here a few minutes ago.”

  He shrugged unabashedly. “I’ll wait.”

  He slipped his arm around my waist, tugging the stool I was sitting on closer to his. We passed the time, laughing and chatting with friends as Christmas lights glittered around us. For two Christmases in a row, I’d been surrounded by people who loved me and who I loved in return.

  I doubted Max could ever know what a gift that was. My father and I still had a slightly distant relationship, but the fact that we spoke at all was a win, given his feelings about me refusing to work for him.

  I didn’t make Max wait too long, if only because I didn’t want to wait either. Later that night, after he’d once again left me satiated, I stood by the windows in the lodge, looking out into the night sky. The snow had lightened with only a few flakes drifting down, sparkling in the holiday lights surrounding the lodge.

  A shimmer of the Northern Lights glimmered faintly in the distance. “Look,” I said softly, pointing to the subtle shades of pink and purple.

  Max came up behind me, sliding his hands around my waist, and dipped his head to drop a kiss on my neck. “At you?” he asked.

  “Oh my God, you’re ridiculous. The Northern Lights,” I murmured, gasping when his stubble scraped my neck.

  “Ah, I didn’t notice. You’re too distracting.”

  And just like that, my heart melted.

  Thank you for reading Melt With You - I hope you loved Max & Harlow’s story!

  * * *

  Up next in the Into the Fire Series is Burn For You - Holly & Nate’s story. Friends to lovers, second chance & more! Holly’s all about giving to a good cause. Until Nate wins a date with her at a charity date auction. F*ck. Nate drives Holly crazy, in all the wrong ways. Oh, and he’s her brothers’ best friend. Talk about complicated.

  * * *

&n
bsp; Keep reading for a sneak peek!

  * * *

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  Excerpt: Burn For You

  Holly

  PSA: Dating sucks.

  I was staring down thirty—two years away was too close, as far as I was concerned—and not really looking forward to it. I was additionally annoyed with myself for actually caring about the fact that I was turning thirty. I didn’t like to think of myself as one of those women who obsessed over her age.

  Apparently, I was. Or at least, lately. You see, all my friends kept falling in love. I was happy for them. I truly was. Cross my heart and hope to die, I was not exaggerating about that. But, well, I was starting to feel left behind. My friends were even having babies. Babies! And I’d yet to even find a man, or woman, or mythical creature, much less procreate. I refused to let myself become one of those bitter spinsters.

  That said, trying to date in a small town in Alaska had its challenges. I loved Willow Brook. It was my hometown, and I’d never been the kind of person who needed to leave to remember how much I loved it. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I had tons of friends and family, and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. But you try meeting someone new when most everybody in town has known you since you were in preschool.

  Correction: since you were a baby. But I didn’t remember the baby stuff, so I sure as hell hoped nobody else did either. All of this led to a point. Or rather, a place and an event, and the reason why I was there.

  I adjusted my rather tight nurse costume. In real life, nurses like myself wore scrubs and practical shoes. Not so sexy. In fact, comfort and getting bloodstains out was more important than looking good. The whole nurse costume thing was considered sexy, which had always cracked me up. Trust me, when you dealt with bodily fluids and seeing people often at their most vulnerable, there was very little about it that was sexy.

  I loved my job, though. I was one of the head Emergency Department nurses at Willow Brook Hospital. I was living in my favorite place, doing work I loved. Even helping random tourists get fishing hooks out of God knows where on their body felt worthy.

  Great job, great town, great friends and family … and a whopping zero dating prospects for me. That was what probably landed me in my current situation. Somehow, I’d gotten roped into offering myself up for a date for a hospital fundraiser in Anchorage. The only reason I agreed was because I thought it’d be funny as hell. No one here would know me, and maybe, just maybe, I’d actually meet someone.

  With Anchorage close to an hour away from Willow Brook, the possibility of meeting someone new shimmered on the invisible horizon. Plus, Anchorage was an actual city.

  Standing backstage, I was a little nervous. Not only was this an auctioned date function, but it was for Halloween. Hence, why I was wearing a costume. For the first time since I’d become a nurse, I was dressed sexy.

  Damn, even I had to admit I looked good. My rather annoyingly generous breasts were squished into this nurse costume, practically spilling out the top.

  I’m sure you can imagine it. One of those tight little white numbers, with buttons up the middle of the fitted blouse, like no nurse would ever wear. It was snug at my waist and then flared out into a short little skirt, which barely covered my too-big ass. I was feeling slightly self-conscious.

  My old friend from nursing school, Megan, had not informed me just how suggestive these costumes would be. I felt like a stripper.

  “Oh my God, you look great,” Megan said, as if she’d managed to read my mind from the other room. She closed the door behind her as she stepped into the small dressing room behind the stage.

  The fundraiser was being held in a large auditorium in downtown Anchorage, frequently used for local performances and the like.

  “You neglected to mention how small this was,” I said, pinning her with a glare.

  Megan shrugged. “You look totally hot. I’m doing it too. See?” she said, gesturing up and down her body.

  “How come you got the fisher-girl outfit?” I asked as I scanned her costume.

  She was wearing bright red fishing waders and a silky fitted tank top. Don’t get me wrong, it was revealing, but it wasn’t nearly as revealing as what I was wearing.

  Megan grinned. “You’re way sexier than me. I’ve got no ass to speak of, and you’ve got curves for days. I’m not back here to debate your costume, though. You’re up in about ten minutes. I’m so glad you agreed to do this! I think you’re gonna make the most money for us tonight.”

  “You sound like my pimp. I’m honored.”

  Megan was unmoved. She simply winked. “I’m happy to be your pimp. If you want me to find your man, I’m all over that shit. Come on,” she said, gesturing for me to follow her. “I wish we’d saved you for last because you’re definitely the hottest.”

  Seeing as most of my best friends were married, engaged, pregnant, or on the way to being pregnant, Megan was one of the few friends I confided in lately about my man troubles. Like me, she was still single. Unlike me, she wasn’t really looking.

  As I walked through the hallway, which was crowded with people prepping for the fundraiser, my belly started to coil with anxiety, and I felt flushed with heat. I suddenly realized this was an absolutely insane thing to do. The idea of it had seemed amusing and cute from a distance. But now, with my boobs nearly bursting out of my nurse costume, my butt just barely covered, and my bright red high heels, I was feeling just a teensy bit self-conscious.

  Conveniently, there was alcohol backstage. I stopped by the bar, which was nothing more than a plastic table set up in the back, and smiled at the man behind it. He flashed a grin.

  “What can I get you, dear? You look gorgeous, and you’re going to make us a ton of money.”

  Inhaling a gulp of air, I let it out with a sigh. This man wasn’t looking at me like he was going to eat me up, so I felt okay. “I’ll take two shots of tequila,” I replied.

  The man’s smile softened. “I would reconsider and stick with one. I’m Ethan, by the way.”

  “I’m Holly,” I returned. “I still think I need two shots. How did you get roped into being a backstage bartender?”

  Ethan chuckled as he poured me a single shot—generous, but just one. “My partner Jack and I own the Midnight Sun Arts galleries here in Anchorage and a few other locations. We help run a number of fundraisers. This is a good one. Absolutely all of the money raised goes into a funding pool to cover uninsured patients at hospitals all over Alaska. That’s why we do so much on this one. Everybody you see here is volunteering.”

  He handed me my first shot. “Let’s start with one.”

  “Oh no,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’ve got ten minutes. I need two.”

  I gulped down the first shot, the burn of it quick and satisfying. Ethan eyed me and poured another shot. After my second one, I felt like I might have enough liquid courage to get me through this madness.

  Ethan chatted with me while I waited, his easygoing manner calming me. Within a few minutes, Megan was ushering me out onto the stage.

  As soon as I stepped out, I relaxed. It helped that I was just tipsy enough not to give much of a damn. I did my thing as instructed, walking across the stage and spinning in a circle, almost losing my balance in the process. Thank God I couldn’t really see the crowd with the bright lights, seeing as my wobble got a laugh.

  The auctioneer handled the bidding. Before I knew it, someone had “bought” a date with me for five thousand dollars. You heard me right—five thousand dollars.

  Dizzy and more than a little buzzed by the time I got off the stage, I walked backstage. Megan flashed me a wink and a giant thumbs-up. Ethan, who I decided was my new best friend, shepherded me to a room where I was allegedly going to meet whoever the hell purchased a charity date with me. He paused outside the door, offering a warm smile.

  “Well, dear, th
is man definitely wanted you. You just beat the last highest bid we’ve ever had by two grand.”

  All I could manage was a nod. With the tequila hitting me harder, I didn’t care anymore. Crazy as this had been, at least I raised five thousand dollars for the hospital program. Ethan ushered me into a small room in the back where there was a table with a few bottles of alcohol and two chairs. They seemed to think if they scattered alcohol everywhere, people would be stupid enough to do this. I supposed I was the example of why they were right. I didn’t really know how this thing worked. Apparently, my date could either have the date with me tonight, or later. I was thinking tonight was not the best plan, considering my tipsy state.

  Within a minute, the door opened again. The moment my eyes landed on the man in question, my mouth fell open. Instead of my date, Nate Fox stepped into the room—all six-feet-four-inches of him with shaggy brown curls, flashing brown eyes, and a body made for sin.

  Nate Fox was also my twin brother’s best friend and the younger brother of my best friend’s husband.

  Even worse, I totally had a thing for Nate. In fact, one drunken night, about a year ago, we’d come dangerously close to fucking each other in the coat closet at a friend’s party.

  My twin brother had conveniently interrupted us. Alex was so oblivious, he didn’t even pick up on the cues. Or perhaps he did and preferred to ignore my hastily yanked together blouse, which I later discovered had been buttoned lopsided.