Page 34 of Under Control
He grinned at her over his shoulder. “I don’t know if I could stand here in less. I might be too shy.”
“You are definitely not shy. And nobody can see you.”
“Is that an invitation?”
“Depends on how burnt you like your bacon.”
“Nope.” He sighed and shook his head. “Can’t mess with the bacon.”
“Then leave your pants on and breakfast will be ready soon.”
They’d worked up an appetite, so he did as he was told. Sitting at the table, he drank his coffee and wondered again what it was like to live in this building. Everything felt hushed to him, but he supposed a lot of that was superior construction. But did she know the other people who lived in the building? Or even on her floor? Were there polite nods in the elevator instead of block parties? A discreet email sent to the building management with a noise complaint rather than a threat shouted across three yards?
Derek had a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact this wasn’t a fancy hotel. Olivia lived here. This was the home she’d chosen for herself and it represented the world she belonged in.
She’s out of your league.
He couldn’t picture Julia and Isaac in a place like this, either. For a little while, maybe. They’d be on their best behavior and sit quietly with their tablets or talk to each other. But where did kids play around here? Where did dads take them out to play catch or to teach them how to ride a bike?
Logically he knew there were a lot of very happy people raising very happy children here. But he couldn’t picture himself here. Or his kids. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see what that looked like.
“You look so serious,” Olivia said, setting a plate down in front of him.
He smiled up at her, shaking off the unwelcome but very persistent doubts. “Just spaced out. This looks amazing. Thank you.”
She leaned down and kissed him before going and getting her own plate, which had more fruit and less bacon to go with the eggs and toast. “It’s fun to cook once in a while. I’m not very good with dinner foods, but I’ve always enjoyed making breakfast and I don’t have a reason to do it very often.”
“There has to be a reason to make breakfast?”
She laughed as she sat down and picked up her fork. “I make eggs and toast a lot, but I usually skip the bacon.”
“That’s the best part.”
“But cleaning up after making bacon isnotthe best part.”
“I’ll help you clean up, but then we should go back to bed for a while and recover from all that work.”
She gave him a look so hot, he was surprised it didn’t make the bacon sizzle in his hand. “I like a man with a plan.”
Chapter Nine
Derek sat on the hot street, leaning against the hot metal side of Ladder 37, wishing it wasn’t so damn hot and drinking the ice-cold water one of the volunteers who manned the canteen truck had handed him.
The hottest days of summer were a shitty time to fight fires in full gear, but those were the days people were most tempted to move their barbecue grills into the shade of a covered deck. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it set a triple-decker on fire and three families were displaced.
And made tired firefighters cranky as hell.
“You look beat, Gilman.”
He looked up, squinting against the ball of fucking hellfire that was the sun today, as Gullotti lowered himself to the street next to him. “Hey, LT. We clear?”
“Yeah, but we’re blocked in. As soon as the other trucks get packed up and move, we can return to quarters.”
“That house across the street over there has central AC.” Derek pointed to the condensing unit on the side of a nearby house. “I’m thinking about introducing myself and asking if I can crash on their couch for twenty minutes. Or four hours.”
“Been spending too much off time going back and forth across the city?”
Derek took another swig of water and then chuckled. “A couple of nights this week. Last night, since I’ll pick up the kids for the weekend when the tour ends.”
