Page 159 of Burn

It starts by Mila jumping at the waitress’s question and you can imagine what happens next. Or maybe you can’t so I’ll just tell you. She kicks me in the balls.

Her hand flies to her mouth. Mine knocks her foot away and then cups my balls that might as well have been kicked up into my gut because that’s exactly how it feels. “Goddamn. . .” I breathe out, or try to.

“I’m so sorry!” Mila reaches across the table for my white-knuckled fist. “So sorry.”

In the process of her reaching for my hand, she knocks over the candle next to her which then catches her napkin on fire.

I can’t make this shit up if I tried to.

“It’s a good thing you know a firefighter,” I say, shaking my head before dumping my water on the napkin.

When it’s steaming, I glance at Mila. Despite what just happened, she’s a gorgeous chaos. God. Damn. Chaos never looked so adorable.

The waitress is still standing there, looks at me, and then Mila, who bursts into a fit of laughter and holds her stomach. “Is she okay?”

I wave the waitress off. “Go away.”

I know, rude, right? I can’t help it. Not only am I still in pain, but I can see under the laughter, Mila’s moments away from crying and I don’t want this ruining the evening for her, despite how much pain I’m in.

Standing, or trying to—I’m a bit hunched over—I take Mila’s hand in mine and make her stand with me. Her eyes cloud with emotion, but it’s her shaky inhale that catches my attention.

“You okay?”

She nods and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m a little embarrassed that just happened though.”

“Don’t be. One of the things about you that I love the most is how unpredictable our time together is.”

That earns me another laugh. “Unpredictably crazy.”

“I love your crazy.”

Company

Two or more firefighters organized as a team, led by a fire officer and equipped to perform certain operational functions. Compare with platoon and unit.

Though the trip has been a complete disaster, Caleb takes me out on the dock our last night here. I think it’s a dumb idea, but heinsistsI go with him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I warn, careful of my every step, fearing at any minute I’ll be taking a plunge into the water. “I might fall in the water, and you’ll have to rescue me from drowning.”

“I’ll be sure to slip you tongue when I give you mouth to mouth.” Caleb teases, pressing his lips to my temple. “Close your eyes,” he whispers in my ear, wrapping his arm around me. “I’ll guide you.”

I let him because I trust him. The dude could tell me to jump off a bridge and I’d trust the bastard would catch me before I died. That’s how tight our bond has become.

“We remember certain experiences for a reason.” Caleb presses his lips to the side of my head as we walk. “I want this one there as a day you spent with me.”

“You mean the day I set a tablecloth on fire with a candle, was bit by a duck, and covered in hives from massage oil?”

He laughs. “Yep.Exactlylike this.”

Opening my eyes, I shake my head. “Nice.”

“Keep your eyes closed,” he whispers in my ear, moving to come around to stand in front of me. I do as he says and his hands drop from my hips. “Okay, open.”

When I do, his smile is warm.

My eyes drop to his hands. In his palm is a gold lock and key.

“In Paris, they have this thing called a Lock of Love. The key is thrown into the water to symbolize an unbreakable love, and the lock is chained to a fence.” His breath comes out like steam as he laughs lightly.

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