TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1)

by Kallypso Masters

  Carmella’s face broke into a smile. “Yes. A thousand times yes!” She launched herself at him; he grabbed onto her and held on tight, finally releasing the breath he’d been holding.

  Tony heard the cheers from other patrons around them as he kissed her. He then fumbled to get the ring out of the box and on her hand before she changed her mind. She’d probably have to have it resized, because he easily slipped it down the length of her finger.

  Carmella’s jasmine scent filled his nostrils as he cupped her face and placed another kiss on her lips. Engaged. He and Carmella were going to be married.

  She’d said yes!

  The kiss became more passionate, which only made the other patrons break out into rhythmic clapping to encourage them. As if they needed any encouragement.

  When they sat down again, he added, “I don’t want to live a life without you in it, Carmella.”

  “Me, either. But I’ll admit that the last thing I expected tonight was a proposal.” She placed the hand with his sparkling ring on it over his on the table. “I think I started to fall in love with you on Capitol Peak, Tony.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “When we had that heart-to-heart in the middle of the night, it was the first time you’d shown your vulnerable side to me.”

  Vulnerability was sexy for women? Who knew?

  “That conversation moved me in a way no other man’s ever had before.”

  He cocked his head with a grin, not quite comfortable showing vulnerability but he was glad he had that night. “And here I thought women wanted macho, protective men.”

  “While that’s part of the complete package, it’s not what tugged at my heartstrings.”

  Tony thought back to when it had clicked for him that he was falling in love with her. “I know I first started to notice you as a woman when I placed that silly garter on your leg.”

  “What was I before that?”

  Okay, that didn’t come out right. “I mean as a woman I might be interested in dating. Not that I acted on it. My life did a one-eighty the next day, and the last thing I was thinking about was dating anyone. I was messed up for a long time.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I’m so proud of you for working through that trauma, Tony.”

  “I’m not sure I’d have been able to without you.”

  “Nonsense. You found a good counselor and were well on your way to sorting it all out before we got serious. I’m certain you would have, but thanks for saying I helped in some way.”

  “Yes, but I felt safe with you. Safe enough to show my vulnerability, as you put it. I was trying so hard to be strong in front of everyone that I didn’t realize sometimes you have to let down your guard. It’s not a weakness. Anyway, I’m comfortable doing that with you, Carmella.”

  They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before he continued. “What I feel for you today, Carmella, is so much stronger than anything I’ve felt before—and a million times weaker than what I’ll feel for you in the years to come.”

  Carmella’s eyes welled up again, but he meant every word.

  “I love you, Carmella. I always will.”

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to your impulsiveness, though, because I’m a planner by nature.”

  “You sure about that? Who invited me to join her on the spur of the moment in the Caribbean?”

  She quirked her mouth.

  “And decided to pull together a last-minute fundraiser to help me reach my goal so much faster?”

  “Oh, that took lots of planning. I was in my element then.”

  “Well, I guess that just seemed spur-of-the-moment to me, because I had no clue what you were up to. But that auction only cemented my feelings for you, Carmella.” He took a deep breath, not sure if he should admit the rest of this, but if he was going to be totally honest with her, he needed to be open.

  “I might have proposed sooner, but one of the things holding me back was whether you’d be able to handle life as a firefighter’s wife. But the way you rolled up your sleeves and went to work to find a solution—not to mention how you handled my nightmare—showed me you understand the challenges we’ll face in my career.” He bit the inside of his lower lip. “I had a talk with Mama about you.”

  Her eyes opened wide. “She knows about us?”

  “Well, I didn’t name you specifically at first, but she noticed the way we were looking at each other on the night of the gala.”

  She smiled. “Mamas always know, don’t they? Although mine hasn’t said a word to me yet, if she noticed us or not that night. They left soon after the gala to visit friends in Lombardy but are on a cruise ship now. I’ll wait and tell them in person when they fly home at the end of the month.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Why don’t you join me at Mama’s for Thanksgiving dinner? We can share with my family then.”

  She hadn’t even gotten used to the idea of being engaged, but she supposed the family needed to know sooner rather than later that they were a couple. “I’ll need to check with Sandro. That’ll be a busy weekend.”

  “Talk with him. You can still help out before or after dinner. I work the next morning but would love to have you stay overnight if he doesn’t need you here.”

  “Let’s play it by ear. I have to figure out when to tell Sandro about this too.” She raised her hand with the ring facing Tony.

  “Congratulations!” They looked up as the maître d’ brought over a tray with a bottle of champagne and two flutes. “On the house for our soon-to-be newlyweds.”

  They thanked him profusely and watched as he popped the cork and poured two glasses for them. His soon-to-be got Carmella thinking. When they were alone again, she asked, “How long do you think we’ll need to plan the wedding?”

  “At least another day or two. I don’t want to wait another minute to make you mine.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Always so impetuous.” Carm laughed. Would she ever get used to that? Most definitely. She lived a very regimented existence at work and loved the excitement and unpredictability Tony brought into her life. “Seriously, though, when were you thinking?”

  “Hey, I’m totally serious here. Unless you have your heart set on a big wedding, I’m ready to take our vows any time. But I know the ceremony and reception mean more to the bride than to the groom usually. You decide when, where, and how.”

  She was silent a moment, then said, “I don’t want us to settle for what others expect or want us to do. Our big day should be what we want, first and foremost.”

  “Agreed.” His thumb stroked the knuckles of her hand. “Carmella, no matter where or how, I promise you that the day you say I do to me will be the most important day of my life so far.”

  “I’m loving this sentimental side of you, Tony.”

  “Don’t be sharing that around the station. I have a reputation to uphold.”

  She grinned while shaking her head. “I am sure they’ve already figured you out, but I will try to keep your secret when I’m around them.” She sobered at the talk of the station. No way would she ever want him to leave the Aspen Corners Fire Department while he was working so hard to put the new water-rescue squad together. Nor could she walk away from her job at the family resort.

  “We need to figure out where we want to live after we get married. Aspen and Aspen Corners would be a killer commute for one of us.”

  Tony bit the inside of his lip, and she waited to see what suggestions he might have. When he smiled, she relaxed a bit. “We both have strong commitments that we can’t shirk. What would you think about finding a place somewhere in between? Eagle or Wolcott would be perfect.”

  “To be fair and equal distance, Wolcott’s our best bet.”

  “Agreed. If I can’t make it home due to weather or something, I can always stay over at Mama’s.”

  “Do you have a lease?”

  “I’m on a month-to-month now, so I can move anytime.”

  “
That’s great.” Carmella felt almost giddy before thinking of a possible wrinkle. “I know your regular work schedule, but what about your SAR calls? You’ll be ninety minutes away from home base.”

  “No worries. Those calls send us all over the place. Remember the Capitol Peak hikers who got lost?”

  She nodded. The aftermath of that near tragedy had shown her a side to Tony she’d never expected to find and had opened her eyes to him as a romantic interest. Definitely a blessing.

  “I get texted the locations and show up to help when I can. Living in Wolcott, I might be closer to some emergencies than others on the team will be.”

  “Do you want to rent or buy?”

  “I’ll list my condo to sell so we can purchase our own place. I’m sure property prices in Wolcott will be comparable to those in Aspen.”

  “Will you have somewhere to stay if the weather’s bad on your end? I don’t want you on the interstate too late at night, either.”

  “I’m afraid there will be late nights for a while, but I can either stay with Sandro or at Mama and Papa’s, or even get a room at the resort in a pinch.”

  Talk returned to what they wanted in their new home. They agreed that neither would have time for mowing grass and plowing snow, not to mention that the costs of homes so close to Vail would be far beyond their reach, so they’d look at condos and townhouses instead.

  He squeezed her hand. “I’ll leave it up to you about decorating and all that. Bottom line, my only request is a mountain view and a 5-burner gas range in a kitchen with lots of countertops and storage space.”

  “That’s all, huh? Well, since I expect to benefit from the delightful meals you’ll prepare on that range,” she said, “I’ll make sure the realtor knows that’s a must. One thing’s for sure, it’s hard to find a place in the Colorado Rockies that isn’t beautiful.”

  “You’re sure you’re ready to move away from Aspen?”

  She thought a moment, then smiled. “I can adjust as long as we’re together in our own home. I hate being away from you any more than I have to be.”

  Home. With Tony.

  Tony opened the shower door, and they returned to her bedroom wearing towels. He hated the thought of leaving her more this morning than ever before, but she had to get to work, and he had a diving drill at the reservoir with some of the team members early this afternoon. This would be their first dive wearing dry suits, the only gear that could protect them from the frigid temperatures. Those suits were the first expenditures made with the funds raised at the gala; he couldn’t wait.

  Still, it meant leaving Carmella. Snow was predicted tonight, so they’d agreed he might as well stay in Aspen Corners because he was on duty tomorrow.

  “I’ll make us some breakfast.”

  “Just coffee for me. I’m meeting with Sandro in forty minutes, and we always eat together at our morning meetings.”

  Coffee sounded good to him too. He could get dressed later. With only a towel wrapped around his waist, he opened the door to the living room.

  “Sis, don’t freak out. It’s just me. I’ve got bagels and coffee!”

  Tony entered the living room before his brain registered that he should switch places with Carm. “What the—”

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Sandro demanded.

  “Hold on! I’ll be right out!”

  While awkwardly waiting for Carmella, the two men stared each other down. Did her brother always just make himself at home in Carm’s place? Tony would have to remember not to give him a key to wherever they moved after they were married.

  “Sandro, what are you doing here?” Carm had put on a thick terry robe, more than she usually wore around Tony.

  “I asked him first.” He pointed toward Tony.

  Tony wasn’t going to touch this with a ten-foot pole. He turned toward Carm to give him whatever explanation she wanted. Standing in the room wearing nothing but a towel in front of his future brother-in-law, Tony felt more than a little awkward.

  “You brought me breakfast?” she asked, dodging the question.

  “You haven’t been answering my texts since last night.”

  “Oh, I turned off my phone. Sorry. I forgot about it.”

  “Guess you were distracted,” Sandro said sarcastically.

  Carmella merely smiled. “I still can’t figure out why you brought me breakfast. Our meeting is just half an hour from now.”

  “When you didn’t text me back this morning,” he glared at Tony a moment, “and didn’t answer your door a few minutes ago, I thought I’d better check and make sure you weren’t sick or something.”

  “That was really sweet of you, but as you can see, I’m fine.”

  “I heard the shower running,” again he stared pointedly at Tony as if he just realized the two of them had been in the shower together. Apparently, he hadn’t arrived early enough to hear them having sex in there. Thank God for small favors. “I decided we could meet here since I already had the bagels and coffee.”

  “That works for me. As you can see, I’m running a little late.” She grinned at Tony.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Tony said heading back to the bedroom, “I need to get dressed.” He’d leave it to Carmella to explain the engagement or whatever she wanted to tell Sandro about their relationship.

  Unfortunately, when he returned five minutes later, the two were seated at the table, and Tony couldn’t be sure what had been said in his absence.

  “Want half my bagel, Tony?” she asked, holding it out to him.

  “No, thanks. I’ll grab something on the way to Aspen Corners.”

  “Do you have a few minutes before you have to leave?” she asked him.

  “Sure.” She was the one who’d had the earlier commitment today, with the man sitting across the table from her at this moment to be exact.

  Without hesitation, as if she’d just been waiting for Tony to return, Carmella raised her left hand from her lap with the ring facing toward Sandro. “In case you’re wondering why I went radio silent, Tony proposed last night, I accepted, and we’ve been celebrating our change of status.”

  Sandro remained speechless a long moment as he looked from the ring to Carm to Tony and finally back to his sister.

  “Isn’t this a little sudden? You haven’t been dating that long.”

  “I figured you knew we’d started dating.” She shrugged. “And I definitely was surprised by the proposal.” Carmella turned toward Tony and smiled before turning her attention back to her brother. “But now that I’ve had some time to get accustomed to the idea, I think the timing is perfect.”

  Tony wasn’t sure what to say or do in this situation. He couldn’t read Sandro’s face as to whether he was happy or pissed, so he waited for them to ask him a direct question before he’d say anything.

  “Are you planning a long engagement?” Tony had the feeling Sandro was hinting at whether pregnancy had been the reason for the proposal, which kind of ticked Tony off.

  He needed to set him straight. “We’ve been seeing each other since the summer but decided to keep it under the radar so we wouldn’t have any pressure from family one way or another.”

  Ignoring Tony, he asked Carm, “Do Mama and Papa know you’ve been dating?”

  “I haven’t said anything. You know Mama. She’d have us on our way to the altar if she had any inkling we were serious.”

  “True, but she’s not going to be happy to have been left out.”

  “Yeah, well, they’re on their cruise now, but I’ll tell them as soon as they return. No sense saying anything over a ship-to-shore phone call that wouldn’t be very private.”

  A softening to Sandro’s features allowed Tony to relax for the first time since he’d found the man in the condo. “I guess congratulations are in order. Looks like we’ll be having another wedding in our intertwined families.”

  Tony didn’t want to think about the hoopla that would be involved once their mamas started planning a wedding.
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  “Carmella will make me the luckiest man on the planet when she says I do,” Tony told Sandro. “And I’ll take good care of her.”

  “You’d better, or you’ll have Marc and me to answer to.” Sandro stood and stretched out his hand. Tony closed the gap between them and shook Sandro’s hand.

  Sandro grew serious and Tony worried that he was already having second thoughts about whether he was a good match for Carmella. “Tony, I’m just glad you don’t have another sister. I’m not ready to settle down yet.”

  The three of them laughed, finally dissolving any tension in the room, and Carm came up beside Tony to wrap her arms around his waist. He reciprocated.

  Sandro bent to give her a peck on the cheek. “I only want to see you happy, Sis.”

  “I know, Sandro. Thank you for understanding why we didn’t announce that we were dating any sooner.”

  “I think I’d better get on the road,” Tony announced, because he obviously wouldn’t have any more time alone with Carmella this morning.

  “Oh, there’s something I need to give you—in the bedroom. And I need to get dressed before we get down to business, if you’ll excuse me a minute, Sandro.”

  Tony cocked his head, but accepted her hand and followed her into the bedroom. She closed the door and turned toward him. “I couldn’t let you leave without a kiss.”

  Tony smiled before the two shared a steamy kiss that he didn’t rush in the least no matter how long Sandro had to wait.

  “I’ll call you tonight,” Tony said after they broke apart.

  She grinned. “I’ll make sure I turn my phone back on.”

  But Tony didn’t intend to hide his kisses from Sandro or anyone else in the family once the news was out. They could get used to his public demonstrations of love for Carmella. He couldn’t wait to shout their engagement to anyone who would listen.

  The idea that she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him was worth shouting about.

  Chapter Forty

  “It was nice of Sandro to insist you accept Mama’s invitation to dinner,” Tony said. “She hated hearing that your parents would be away for the holiday.”