TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1)

by Kallypso Masters

At least when he was diving forty to sixty feet under, he didn’t have to deal with emergencies, ghosts, or anybody telling him he’d screwed up.

  Carm’s nerves were shot by Sunday morning. Not about Angelina’s birthday party, which was completely under control, but about seeing Tony for the first time since he’d seen her coming out of Marc and Angelina’s hot tub naked. That scene had fueled many a fantasy over the past few nights, which probably accounted for why she was a wreck about seeing him again.

  Had he had erotic dreams about her?

  Tony had certainly claimed her interest. Among the many fantasies flitting through her mind, she’d imagined them together in the Caribbean scuba diving, taking strolls on the beach, swimming nude in the pool. And he wasn’t even coming to the islands with her.

  Diving together locally might be a possibility sometime. The thought of being able to scuba dive anytime she wanted without taking a trip to the Caribbean thrilled her. How had she not known about this sooner? She’d always equated scuba diving with tropical locales.

  But tomorrow afternoon she’d be digging her toes into sand and tropical waters while on Turks and Caicos, and couldn’t wait to get there.

  Sharing her trip with Tony might have been fun, but it was a moot point. Tony had to work this week; firefighters couldn’t take off on a whim.

  A quick glance at the clock told her she’d better get a move on with the wrapping if she was going to get to the hotel in time to supervise the setup. Her manager and staff would have everything done to perfection, but she still liked to check everything out before an event. All occasions at the resort were important to her, but even more so when it involved her family.

  Carm silenced her phone, wanting no further distractions. Tony had texted that he was on his way more than two hours ago, and she’d texted back for him to meet her in the Piñon Room where the party would start in another two hours. He’d offered to help her with decorations and game setup and, while she didn’t really need him, she looked forward to having a little time alone with him before everyone else showed up.

  Careful, girl. Tony isn’t as interested in you as you are in him.

  He’d tried to warn her that he wasn’t a long-term kind of guy. While her biological clock had begun ticking, it wasn’t like she’d be ready for the altar and motherhood for a few years. So then why not spend time with someone she enjoyed being with, someone who made her laugh, someone who could keep up with her hiking and climbing activities? She could have a little fun before settling down, couldn’t she? After all, she’d deprived herself of too many years of dating by focusing solely on her career.

  But Tony seemed to have an aversion to pursuing anything with her. Was it because of their family connections? Sure, it might be awkward seeing each other after they broke up, but if they kept the relationship from their families, who’d be the wiser?

  After wrapping the gift for her sister-in-law, she filled a box with the other things she needed to bring to the hotel. Picking it up to carry to her car, Carm was surprised to see Tony parking his truck in the guest spot for her unit as she left the condo. Her heart fluttered as he exited his truck, then she saw his expression. Bleak would be a good word for it. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he didn’t appear to be in a partying mood whatsoever. What had happened since they’d flirted with each other in the kitchen at Angelina’s Thursday night?

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. “I was going to meet you at the hotel.”

  “Well, hello to you, too,” he snapped, his forced smile not reaching his eyes. “Didn’t you get my text?” He took the box full of party decorations and prizes and the wrapped gift sitting on top of it from her. “Let me carry that.”

  With her hands freed, she pulled out her phone. Sure enough, there was a text from Tony saying he’d meet her at the condo to help take over anything she needed to get to the hotel.

  “Sorry. I had my phone silenced.”

  He cocked his head. “That’s unusual for you.”

  She shrugged, surprised he’d noticed that about her. She had to admit she did usually have one eye on her phone so as not to miss an emergency or something important. “Yeah, well, my phone has been blowing up lately, and I needed a little peace and quiet to get ready for the party. Besides, they’re going to have to get used to going to Sandro when things go wrong.”

  He cocked his head in confusion.

  “I leave on vacation tomorrow.”

  “Oh, right. You’re headed to the Caribbean.” He seemed a little envious, and she couldn’t blame him. “Let me put this in my truck then we can head over.”

  “You’re sure? It’s no trouble for me to drive myself over.”

  “My truck’s warmed up. I’ll bring you home after the party.”

  “It is a little chilly for August.” It was barely 60 degrees this morning, unseasonably cool but nothing like it would be in a couple of months. The thought of another goodnight kiss warmed her in places she dared not acknowledge, not that she was certain there would be one. “My body is so ready for the warm Caribbean beaches and tropical waters.”

  His gaze skimmed over her, and suddenly she was no longer cold.

  They crossed the lot, and Tony placed the box in the extended cab behind the passenger seat. Then he took her by the elbow to give her a boost onto the high seat. He walked around the front of the truck and settled in beside her before starting up the truck. “When do you leave tomorrow?”

  “Late tomorrow morning.” Carm laughed. “Which is not soon enough. I began planning this trip right after Marc and Angelina’s wedding. July and August can be a slower time at the resort, but I had to wait until after Angelina’s birthday party since I’d already offered to help. It worked out, though. The rental house I’m staying at wasn’t available until tomorrow anyway.”

  He remained quiet for the rest of the short drive to the hotel, his mood growing somber again. She wondered what had happened to change his mood so much in three days. Had there been another bad call? Or was he still suffering the post-traumatic effects of the drowning accident in June? She knew from Marc’s healing period after his time in Iraq that triggers could set off all kinds of aftershocks from such experiences.

  But she didn’t know Tony well enough to pry or ask probing questions. Maybe the party would lighten his spirits.

  Chapter Nineteen

  At the hotel, Tony carried the box to the room where the party would be held. It was one of their smaller banquet rooms, but she’d chosen one big enough for the twenty or thirty guests they expected for the sit-down meal, with plenty of room to move around when they played games after dinner. She quickly surveyed the room. The tables had already been set. Everything looked wonderful.

  “What kind of story did Marc concoct to get Angelina here?” Tony asked as they blew up the balloons for one of the games they’d play later on.

  Carm gestured to let her finish that one and while tying it off replied, “He just told her Mama and Papa wanted to have them over to celebrate a late birthday dinner. Not far from the truth, except they didn’t mention the rest of us would also be joining them.”

  After the balloons were blown up, they hung birthday signs and set up a signature frame on which guests would write messages to the birthday girl. Megan had offered to take photos so Angelina would be able to choose one or a collage of several to fill the frame later on.

  “Well,” Carm said, surveying the room, “we did that in record time. Thanks for coming early to help me set up.” She glanced at the open bar and the bartender appeared to have everything ready, so they might as well enjoy a drink before the guests arrived. “Would you like to grab a beer while we wait?” The attendees had been told to arrive thirty minutes before the time Angelina and Marc would show up so everyone would be inside the room and wouldn’t tip her off if she saw any of them in the lobby of the hotel.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  She decided to have a beer like Tony rather than ask the bartender t
o mix a cocktail before the party was in full swing. They sat at one of the tables on the edge of the room to chat while they waited.

  “Gotten in any more dives since Friday’s?” she asked him.

  He shook his head, his mood turning sullen as he scraped at the bottle label with his thumbnail. She wondered what was wrong and decided to give him an opening, in case he wanted to talk. “Everything okay at work?”

  He shrugged with a grunt and raised the bottle to his lips for a long draw. Well, so much for talking about whatever happened. Maybe the party would lift his spirits. She hoped so!

  “Carmella! You’ve done a fabulous job!” Mama said as she and Papa entered the room. Leaving Tony to drown his sorrows, she stood and crossed the room to give each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  Tony joined them fairly quickly, extending his hand to her father. “Great to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. D’Alessio.” When he tried doing the same to Mama, she waved away his hand and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Please, call me Mama D.”

  That was Angelina’s nickname for her mother-in-law too. Marc’s mama must have grown to like it.

  Within ten minutes, the room had filled with most of the expected guests, including all of the women who had been at Angelina’s Thursday night. Seeing them so happy with their husbands, Carm was overtaken by a moment of envy, but quickly pushed the negative emotion away.

  Karla and Megan came toward her and Tony. “Hey, you two! What a great job you’ve done!”

  “Carm deserves all the credit.”

  “My staff does, actually. We just hung some decorations.”

  “I think you’re being modest,” Megan said, “but I can’t wait to see Angelina’s face when she sees what you’ve done for her.”

  “It was a lot of fun to plan,” Carm said. Getting to see Tony a couple of times during the planning was nice too.

  “Oh! Adam looks like he needs some help with the triplets,” Karla said. “We’ll talk later, Carmella.” She hurried off.

  “Rafe’s motioning for me,” Tony said. “I’ll just be a minute.” He looked as though he was headed to the gallows.

  Ryder joined them and kissed Megan on the cheek before greeting Carm. That Ryder had come today at all was a testament to how he was regaining control of his PTSD. He hadn’t been able to come to Marc and Angelina’s wedding reception barely two months ago. Of course, that was a much larger gathering. Still, what they were doing at their ranch must be aiding with his healing as much as with their clients’.

  “We’re trying to get Tony to help out this week,” Ryder said to Carm, “now that he has some time off. Might take his mind off things.”

  Tony had vacation coming? Why hadn’t he said anything to her? Maybe she could learn something from them. “What’s going on with Tony?” Carm probably shouldn’t have asked, but she was worried about him.

  “He didn’t tell you about yesterday?” Megan asked.

  Carm shook her head. Megan glanced at Ryder who almost imperceptibly shook his head. Megan returned her gaze to Carm. “I’d better let him tell you.”

  She really needed to seek out Tony and find out what had happened, but before she could, a loud whoop went up from the party guests, and she turned to see a wide-eyed and confused Angelina enter the room. A quick glance at her phone showed Carm there’d been a text from the reception desk, but she’d been too caught up in this conversation to notice. Oh well. She’d have to find out what was going on with Tony after the party.

  The next ninety minutes whizzed by in a blur of greetings, singing the birthday song, having dinner, and then cutting and sharing an Italian cream cake the pastry chef had made. Tony didn’t sit at the table where they’d enjoyed their beers earlier. Instead, he was with his brothers, all of whom seemed to be in a serious conversation and didn’t appear to be happy about whatever they were discussing.

  What the hell was going on?

  Vowing once again to find out before he headed back to Aspen Corners, she first needed to move on to the games portion of the party. Tony would have to drive her back to her condo. She’d be able to talk with him then.

  Rafe continued to badger Tony to tell him what plans he’d made for his unexpected shifts off work. He supposed his big brother wanted to make sure Tony wouldn’t sit around moping—or self-medicating with alcohol. How long would it take for him to prove to Rafe that he’d started turning things around?

  “You need to change your routine,” Rafe said. “Don’t waste this opportunity.”

  “I’m not. I plan to go diving.”

  “Good,” Rafe and Franco said simultaneously. “You seem to be enjoying that.”

  Tony didn’t divulge that the dive center only had one opening for him all week. If Tony had checked before choosing to take this week off, he would have chosen a better time, but everyone must be trying to get in their last warm dives before the weather changed.

  Cold temps wouldn’t deter Tony, because he planned to dive in what his dive instructor called a dry suit that would regulate his body temperature even in frigid weather. Colorado didn’t have a lot of warm days, and Tony didn’t plan to give up on diving eight or more months out of every year.

  Tony also mentioned to his brothers, all of whom were riding his ass, that he had two appointments scheduled with Lisa.

  “Good,” Rafe said. “She can help you sort this situation out and get you closer to being able to handle the next one after you return to the station.”

  Tony resented Rafe’s bossy tone. “My head is on straight. What happened yesterday was a momentary lapse, that’s all. Everyone’s making too big a deal out of this. Nobody got hurt.”

  “Seconds matter in our profession, Tony.” His big brother, like any good fire lieutenant, would have to say that. Of course, Tony knew he was right.

  “What about the next call, Tony?” Matt chimed in.

  Why was everyone ganging up on him? He didn’t need this shit. Maybe he’d leave the party and go for a walk until it was over and he had to come back to take Carm home.

  “Okay, everyone!” Carm shouted above the chatter and laughter. “Time for some fun and games. Nobody’s allowed to sit these out.”

  At least I’ll have a distraction.

  Carm motioned the guests to get up and move to the end of the room. “Everybody form two even-numbered lines—whenever possible woman-man-woman-man—and then I’ll tell you the rules.” While they took their places, she retrieved from the corner the plastic bags filled with the balloons he and Carm had blown up earlier.

  Tony still had no clue what game she’d described to him over the phone last month, but guessed he was about to find out. “How can I help?” he asked as he approached her.

  She handed him one of the two bags and a box of safety pins. Angelina was first in that line, so she showed him how to attach the balloon to her dress at the lower back and sent him over to the other line to attach their balloons.

  When all but her and Tony’s balloons were attached, he watched as Carm silently counted the people in each line. She turned to him. “Tony, looks like you’re going after me so we can even out the lines.” She held one of the balloons toward him. “Can you attach my balloon?”

  He took out a safety pin and threaded it through the loose end of the tied-off balloon and pulled the fabric away from her back so as not to stick her. The swell of her ass in her tight-fitting dress turned him on. Might not be appropriate for the setting, but this game might be just what he needed to take his mind off his problems.

  “Now, turn around, and I’ll attach yours.”

  He turned around and while she attached the balloon, he checked out the others playing. She’d succeeded in getting everyone at the party into a line, including Carm’s parents as well as Mama and her date.

  “Okay, the ladies at the front of each line, I want you to go to the chair at that end of the room, bend over slightly at the waist, and hold onto the back of the chair.” She looked adorable sporti
ng a yellow balloon just above her ass. “The next person in each line, your job will be to run up to her and pop the balloon—without your hands or any sharp objects touching the balloons.”

  Seriously? Tony tried to figure out who would be popping whose balloon between him and Carm.

  Once Karla and Angelina were in position at the chairs, Carm yelled “Go!” Adam and Marc ran up to their respective wives and—holy shit! Shouts of laughter filled the room as the men kept jutting out their hips in an attempt to make contact with the balloons—not to mention the backsides of their wives—in incredibly lewd motions.

  Adam popped Karla’s balloon first, and he let out a belly laugh before swatting her on the ass and taking his position behind the chair waiting for Savannah to come up next. Their height difference made it hilarious to watch. Another pop and Angelina came to stand behind Tony.

  Suddenly, he had his confirmation that he’d be the one humping Carm’s ass to pop her balloon. Tony would have a fight on his hands not to get hard. As the other line moved faster than his, he worried that the game might end before he and Carm got their turn.

  Man, I hope not.

  Then Ryder, in Tony and Carm’s line, popped Megan’s balloon on the first try. The teams had evened out again.

  Yeah, boy!

  Carm didn’t make eye contact or small talk with him. All businesslike, he didn’t get the feeling she was as excited about this as he was. Well, she was the one who’d proposed playing this game. Perhaps she hadn’t thought every scenario through as precisely as she’d intended. Then again, maybe she had done this intentionally.

  Had she expected to have Tony behind her? Too late now. Game on.

  Carm thanked God she wasn’t standing behind Papa. That would be beyond awkward. As it was, she was behind Matteo who was behind Franco. Maybe she didn’t think this through as well as she did most things, but Tony hadn’t objected to it when she’d described the game to him over the phone.

  “Trade places, darlin’,” Matteo said to her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “This is highly embarrassing to have to pound a balloon against my big brother’s ass.”