“Already?” Lacey asked, surprising herself.
Jake had scooted to the edge of the couch, but at her question his eyebrows went up, like he was surprised she wasn’t already ushering him out the door. “Do you want me to stay?”
What was she doing? She shouldn’t encourage the poor man. She knew she wasn’t interested in any kind of a relationship, so she should just tell him good-bye and let him be on his way.
“Yes,” she heard herself say. What was she doing?
She watched him as he sat back against the cushions and tried not to get distracted by his steady gaze on her. Those eyes!
“I can stay for a few more minutes,” he said, “but I have that appointment.”
“Oh. Right.” Yeah, right. He had a life to live. Tons of things to do. She was just holding him back.
Encouraged that she had actually suggested he stay, he put Plan A back into action. “So,” he began, “I guess you won’t be working for the next couple of weeks. Right?”
She nodded, a glum look settling over her. “With my hands out of commission, I can’t exactly do my job.”
“That’s what I thought.” He paused a beat. “I imagine you’ll have a lot of free time on your hands.” He grinned. “No pun intended.”
That earned him a smile. “Right.”
“Well,” he said. “I was wondering if, when you’re feeling better, maybe you’d like to come to my house for dinner.” He smiled. “You know, for a change of scenery.” Then he added. “I make a pretty mean lasagna.”
“You cook?” Lacey hadn’t meant to sound so surprised, but she couldn’t remember a single time that Eric had made dinner.
He laughed. “Oh, yeah. At the firehouse we take turns making dinner.”
“Oh.” Feeling kind of stupid for not thinking of that, Lacey felt a blush climb her face. “Right.”
“I know you’re not feeling great right now, but maybe in a few days?”
The idea of getting out of the house and away from her self-pity was enticing. Then she imagined spending more time with Jake and a sense of unease rippled through her. She took a moment to analyze it.
Was she afraid if she got to know him she would become attracted to him? Scratch that. More attracted to him?
Knowing that was it, she faced her fear head-on. She told herself to look at it as an evening away from boredom. That’s all.
“Sure,” she finally said. “I’d love to get a taste of this lasagna you make.”
His smile grew. “Okay. I’ll check with you in a few days to see how you’re feeling.”
Excitement surged through her, but she immediately tamped it down. “Sounds good.”
He smiled. “Great.” Then he paused. “What’s your number?” He chuckled. “That way I can call or text instead of just stopping by.”
What would it hurt? He wasn’t like Eric. He wouldn’t text her all the time to check up on her. “Sure.”
She told him her number and he typed it into his phone, and after sending her a text so that she would have his number too, he stood. “I’d better get going so you can rest.”
She stood as well. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re really beautiful.”
“You’re welcome.”
She followed him to the door, his broad shoulders and narrow waist drawing her attention. Forcing her mind away from how attractive she found him, when he opened the door and paused on the threshold, she met his gaze and tried not to be pulled in by his clear green eyes.
“I’ll talk to you in a few days,” he said.
Was this really a good idea?
Smiling despite herself, she said, “Okay.” But she found she was looking forward to not only talking to him when he called, but to having dinner with him as well.
After he left, she pushed the door closed with her forearm before going into the bathroom to see what she looked like. She hadn’t paid much attention to her appearance when she’d gotten up—not with how much trouble it was to do her basic morning routine. But when she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she grimaced.
It was a wonder he’d invited her over for dinner with her hair looking like a small family of birds was ready to take residence. And no make-up? Good thing he’d given her time to get better before their date.
Her eyes widened in the mirror.
Wait. Was it a date? Did she want it to be a date? She vigorously shook her head.
No, she didn’t. And no, it wasn’t. He was just trying to cheer her up. And that was fine. She could deal with that. But no date. Uh-uh. She wasn’t ready for that.
As Jake pulled away from Lacey’s apartment, he silently congratulated himself for getting her to agree to a date. Especially after she’d turned him down when he’d asked her before.
Not sure what it was about Lacey Porter that drew him in and made him want to get to know her, all Jake knew was that every time he had been around her he hadn’t wanted to leave. Then he reminded himself that he wasn’t looking for a relationship—he was much too busy for that. Not to mention that his last relationship hadn’t worked out very well.
That was fine. He could still get to know her. That wasn’t the same as having an actual relationship. Just have a good time. That was what it was all about, right?
Satisfied that his priorities were straight, he headed to his appointment.
Lacey took up residence on the couch, but this time as she stared at the TV, her mind kept going to Jake Davis and how much she had enjoyed visiting with him, even though it wasn’t for very long. He seemed like a nice guy. Then again, Eric had seemed nice at first. But Jake wasn’t Eric and she knew she should give him a chance.
But deep inside she worried that he was too good to be true.
Eight
“I can’t believe you didn’t call me,” Amber said as she paced the living room floor in front of Lacey, who had just finished explaining why her hands were wrapped in gauze.
“Come on, Amber,” Lacey said with a hint of exasperation. “I wasn’t about to have you end your trip early. I’ve been managing okay. But man, I’m so bummed they had to cut off my grandmother’s wedding ring.”
Amber ran a hand through her hair, then stopped pacing and sat beside Lacey on the couch. “I feel so guilty knowing how much fun I was having while you were here, all alone, in pain.”
Lacey thought about Jake’s visit the day before. She hadn’t been completely alone. At least for a little while.
“What?” Amber said, obviously noticing a change in Lacey’s expression.
Trying to suppress the smile that pushed at the corners of her mouth, Lacey shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Come on. It’s not nothing. I know you too well, and I can tell there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Lacey laughed. “Okay. You’re right.” Then she told Amber how Jake had come over to check on her. And how he was the same guy who had helped her on the side of the road.
“So the same guy who got gas for you turns out to be a firefighter and paramedic? And then the day after he takes you to the hospital he comes here to check on you? And brings you flowers?”
When she put it like that… “Yeah.” Lacey drew out the word.
“What did you say his name is?”
Jake’s handsome face filled Lacey’s mind. “Jake.”
“Jake,” Amber echoed. “Sounds like a nice guy.” Her lips compressed like she was trying to hold back a grin.
“What?”
“Are you telling me that’s all he wanted? To see how you’re doing? I mean, he did bring you flowers.”
“Well.” This time Lacey couldn’t hold back a grin. “He also invited me to come to his house for dinner when I’m feeling better.”
“Really?” Amber’s eyebrows rose. “What did you say?”
“I said yes.”
Amber’s face lit up. “That’s great! I’m so glad to see you back in the dating pool. I mean, it’s been two months since you broke up with Eric, so I’m glad to se
e you getting out there again.”
“Wait a sec, Amber. It’s not like it would be a date.”
Amber’s eyes narrowed as she tilted her head. “If it’s not a date, what would it be?”
“It would just be a way to help me with my boredom.”
Amber made a scoffing sound. “Is that really what you believe?”
Annoyed that her friend was casting doubt on her reasoning, Lacey frowned. “Yeah. Because that’s what it would be.”
“Is that what Jake said? That he just wants to help you with your boredom?”
Lacey tried to recall the exact words from their conversation. “He said he thought I might want a change of scenery.”
“Uh-huh.” Amber pursed her lips. “If that’s all it is, why do you seem so happy about it?”
“What? It’s wrong that I would want a change of scenery?”
Smiling, Amber shook her head. “Look, if you want to call this a change of scenery rather than a date, that’s fine with me. I’m just glad to see you moving on with your life and going out again.”
Somewhat annoyed, Lacey sighed audibly. “We’re not going out, okay? It would just be dinner between two…” She let her words trail off. She couldn’t say dinner between two friends because she barely knew him—not exactly the definition of friendship.
“Between two…?” Amber’s eyebrows had risen in question.
“Between a…a paramedic and his patient.” Even to her it sounded like a desperate attempt at denial.
Amber stared at her a moment. “I’m curious, Lace. Why can’t you admit it’s a date?”
Why couldn’t she? She pondered the question for a moment. Maybe it was because dates led to relationships and she had no desire to get into one of those. But Jake was a nice guy. She mentally shook her head. Didn’t matter. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. A friendship was okay, but that was it.
She met Amber’s inquiring eyes. “It’s not a date, okay? Would you just leave it alone?”
“Fine.” Amber jumped up from the couch. “What do you want to do for dinner?”
Inordinately relieved for the change in subject, Lacey grinned at her friend. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Caty’s going to bring dinner to us every night until I’m better.”
Plopping onto the couch, a look of disbelief in her eyes, Amber said, “Nuh-uh.”
“Yeah. I tried to tell her we’d be fine, but she insisted.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” Her eyes twinkled. “Except for the news that you have a date with a smoking hot firefighter.” She smirked. “No pun intended.”
Despite her irritation, Lacey smiled and shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”
Amber just laughed.
Nine
It had been three days since Jake had stopped by to see Lacey, and since then he’d found it hard to get her out of his mind. He didn’t know what that was all about—in the past he’d been too focused on all the other aspects of his life to let a woman take up so much time in his head.
He’d told her he would check back with her to see if she felt well enough to have dinner with him. It had been long enough. He needed to either get this set up, or move on.
Settling on his couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table, Jake took his phone out of his pocket and dialed Lacey’s number.
Lacey’s cell phone rang, and when she saw Jake’s name on the Caller ID, her heart began to pound. Conflicting thoughts raced through her head as the tip of her finger hovered over the screen. He was going to ask her to have dinner with him. He’d said he would be checking back with her, and she had already told him yes. But was she really ready?
Biting her lip in indecision, she swiped her screen to answer and pressed the button to turn on the speakerphone. Although she’d taken the gauze off of her fingertips earlier, holding the phone for a conversation was still awkward.
“Hello?” She spoke as if she had no clue who was on the other end.
“Hey, Lacey. It’s Jake.”
Visualizing his gorgeous smile and incredible eyes, Lacey could not deny her attraction to him. “Hey.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Okay, I guess.” It had been four days since the fire, and though she was feeling better day by day, she still had a ways to go before she would be back to her normal self—before she could draw again. The reminder immediately sent a wave of despair crashing over her, and an audible sigh slipped from her lips.
“Every day you’re healing a little more, Lacey. Remember that.”
It was just what she needed to hear, and as comfort washed over her, tears filled her eyes. “I know, but thank you for reminding me.”
“Of course.” He paused a beat. “All caught up on your shows?”
She laughed, because she had been watching a lot of TV over the last couple of days. “Uh, I don’t want to say.”
He chuckled. “I see how it is. You don’t want to admit how involved you’ve gotten in those shows. Now you’re not going to want to go back to work at all, are you?”
As she stared at the phone beside her on the couch, she realized this was one of the few times she had smiled since the fire. Amber had done her best to cheer Lacey up, but she’d had to go to work, so most of the time Lacey had been on her own. “Darn it. Now you’ve got me figured out. And here I was hoping to hide the truth.”
“Nah, I can always see the truth.”
Could he see the truth that she was more attracted to him than she was willing to admit, even to herself? Startled by the idea that he could somehow know how she was feeling, she tensed.
“So,” Jake said after a moment. “Are you ready for that lasagna?”
Sudden panic engulfed her. “Uh…” She wasn’t ready to date and she knew that was what it would be. She admitted it. “I’m…I’m not sure I’m feeling up to it quite yet.” Lie. She could totally do it. She was just too chicken.
Frowning at the phone, Lacey felt like a failure for being too scared to accept his offer of a simple dinner date.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, and Lacey could picture the disappointment on his face.
She opened her mouth to tell him that she felt okay after all, but the words just wouldn’t come.
“My shift at the firehouse starts in the morning,” Jake said, “but I’m off on Friday. I’ll check with you then, okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, proud she had managed to at least accept that offer.
“Great. Well, you take care.”
She realized he was about to hang up. Well, yeah. She’d told him she wasn’t feeling well. What did she expect him to do? Then a fresh realization hit her. He was going to be working at the fire station the next day. She thought about the fire at the restaurant and the sheer panic she’d felt when she’d spotted the flames on the cook’s arm. Then she imagined Jake going into a burning building to save someone and getting burned or crushed by a falling roof or choked by smoke. “Wait!”
“What’s wrong?”
She had just yelled at the man. She had to calm down. “Uh, just…just be careful, okay?”
“I always am.” When she didn’t say anything more, he said, “Good-bye, Lacey.”
“Bye, Jake.”
A moment later she pressed the button to end the call and realized her feelings for him were growing deeper every time she talked to him. She had to get control of herself. Especially if she wasn’t ready for a relationship, because this could quickly get out of hand.
Jake tucked his phone into his back pocket. That call hadn’t exactly resolved anything. But if she wasn’t feeling well, he would just have to wait until she was.
He thought about the way she’d told him to be careful and he smiled. Sure, there might be times he got nervous when he was in a dangerous situation, but that’s what he had trained for, and the truth of the matter was that he liked the rush of adrenaline he got when the tones went off at the firehouse and he had to go on a
call.
Ten
When Jake arrived at the firehouse first thing the next morning, he went through his usual start of the shift routine—talking to the paramedics going off-shift, signing off on the narcotics, checking out the rig and the equipment, and basically getting settled in for his two-day shift. When he was done, he headed toward the kitchen and ran in to Damon—aka Boston—one of the other firefighters on A crew.
“Hey,” Jake said. “Do you want to do some more training?” The night before he’d run Boston through some drills to prepare him for a firefighter versus cop boxing match that was coming up. Using the makeshift boxing ring in the back of Pineapple’s, the sports bar where the firefighters liked to hang out, they had spent a good hour going through the moves Jake had learned after watching all five Rocky movies the night before.
“No,” Boston said with a smirk. “I’m good.”
Jake laughed. “What? You don’t want to take advantage of my, literally, hours of expertise?”
“I might.” He grinned. “I’ll let you know.”
“Cool.”
They went their separate ways.
Later that day Jake worked out in the firehouse gym with Tyler, the other firefighter/paramedic on A crew.
“So what was up with you and that brunette we took to the hospital the other day?” Tyler asked as he ran on the treadmill.
Caught off-guard to be called out on his interest in Lacey, Jake felt heat flood his face. Trying to play it cool, he continued pumping iron. “What do you mean?”
Tyler laughed. “Come on, Davis. When have you ever sat at the bedside of a patient after we’ve given the ER staff our report?” His smile turned to a grin. “And you should’ve seen your face when I told you it was time to roll.”
Knowing he was caught, but not about to admit he had feelings for Lacey, Jake took a moment before replying. “She’s just someone I ran into a few days earlier. She seemed scared, you know? So I wanted to make sure she was okay.” Which was all true. It’s just that on top of that he was definitely interested in her.
Rescue My Heart: Park City Firefighter Romance Page 5
