Page 375 of His Virgin Romance Series

MILES

Isaw the fire engine come in, and a few minutes later I saw Seth jump out from the back of the truck. His uniform looked worse for the wear. He was covered in black soot, and he wore an expression of exhaustion. He and his team had been out for hours, and they had needed to call in back up too.

For the first time since I’d been assigned to the fire station, I saw the heroism in what they did. It was an absurd thing to even think considering everyone knew what firemen did and what they risked every day. It was just indicative of my own narcissism that I hadn’t appreciated that fact until just now. I had just been so preoccupied with my own problems that I had failed to take into consideration that these men were doing something I could never do. How they treated me shouldn’t have affected my perception or my respect for what they did.

I wanted to talk to Seth casually so that I could just slip in a few questions about Gabby, but I knew this wasn’t the time. I gave him his space and concentrated on the work I needed to get done.

I worked another couple of hours, and then I headed into the lounge area where the men relaxed between calls so that I could sign out with Seth. He was lying flat on a sofa with a pillow over his head, but as I approached he looked up.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I replied. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“You didn’t,” Seth replied, and I noticed he didn’t seem as hostile. “I was up… just resting.”

“Difficult day?”

“We had a major fire in the city precinct,” Seth replied. “Lost two people.”

“No.”

“Yeah,” Seth sighed.

No wonder he didn’t sound so hostile towards me. He was probably too exhausted to be anything but deflated.

“But we managed to save a few dozen others,” Seth continued. “So… that’s something.”

“That’s huge,” I said. “I’d count that as a victory.”

Seth sighed hugely. “When you lose someone… anyone… it’s hard to count anything as a victory.”

“You’re right… sorry… I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

“No,” Seth said, swinging his legs down and stretching a little. “I know that’s not what you meant. So… done for the day?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“Okay, consider yourself signed out.” Seth nodded. “I’ll write the time down when I find the roster.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly.

“Is there anything else?” Seth asked.

“No… I just…”

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to know if you mentioned my offer to Gabby… about the apartment,” I asked.

“I mentioned it to her,” Seth said, without letting anything away. “It’s up to her… she’ll consider it.”

“Great…”

“Goodbye, Miles.”

“Right.” I nodded, recognizing the dismissal. “Goodbye.”

I headed out of the station and started the walk back to the apartment. It was going to be my last few weeks here, and I was sadder than I expected to be. It had to do with all those memories of Gabby that I’d accumulated over the last few months. She was in every inch of that apartment now, and even though it had been difficult for me living with her memory, it was still preferable to living without it. I had been dying to call her and speak to her for the last few days, but I didn’t want to overstep.

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