Page 24 of Heat Exchange
“Heartwarming.” Aidan set the empty mug back on the table. “Sorry it didn’t work out. Maybe the next one.”
“Maybe we’re destined to be single. We should move in together and I’ll just leave all my shit around and you’ll clean up after me, like that old TV show my dad used to watch.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Hey, Kincaid,” they heard Gullotti call from the other room. “Come give me a hand for a minute.”
Scotty knocked back the rest of his coffee and stood up. “No rest for the awesome, my friend.”
Aidan watched him rinse his cup and set it upside down on the drying mat before leaving the kitchen. There might be a weird kind of domesticity around the station, but he had no intention of becomingThe Odd Couplewith Scott Kincaid, best friend or not. He was still holding out hope he’d find the perfect woman who loved him and could handle his job and wanted to have some kids and a dog.
His thoughts turned to the woman who didn’t make any secret about not loving the firefighting, though. He wasn’t sure how she felt about him, kids or dogs, but he already knew that while shecouldhandle his job, she didn’t want to go through it again.
Pulling out his phone, he cast a guilty glance in the direction Scotty had gone, and then pulled up his texting app. Cursing himself for a weak, stupid son of a bitch, he tapped on Lydia’s name.
Hey.You busy?
It probably took only seconds for her to type in her response, but it felt like forever.
Alittle,but not slammed.What’s up?
Just wanted to say hi.
Hi back.
He smiled at his phone, but then felt like an idiot. It was like being back in high school again.
Before he could come up with anything brilliant or charming to say, another text from popped up.
Getting busy but text me your schedule later and I’ll take a turn saying hi.
Okay, he typed.Talk to you soon.
Just as he hit Send, the alarm sounded. He took the few seconds to rinse his coffee mug and tucked his phone in his pocket. Once in the bay, he stepped into his gear and grabbed his helmet and coat.
“Great,” Eriksson said as he jogged by. “Another fucking genius barbecuing on the second-floor deck of a three-decker.”
“You’re kidding.”
Danny climbed into the driver seat of Engine 59 and flipped the siren on. “Let’s go save the structure from the morons who live in it.”
Chapter Seven
LYDIAENJOYEDTHECOOLbreeze washing away the last traces of humidity as the sun started dropping in the sky. She and Ashley were walking to a little Italian place they loved, and since they had plenty of time before they met Becca and Courtney, they took their time.
Karen, Rick Gullotti’s girlfriend, had offered to take a shift and give Lydia a night off, and she’d jumped at the chance without even running it by her dad. She hoped spending some time with her friends and Ashley would distract her from the fact she hadn’t seen Aidan in several days. There had been a fewjust saying hitexts here and there, but she hadn’t seen that face of his since the night he kissed her at Kincaid’s.
“Oh my gosh, Lydia Kincaid!”
They stopped to chat for a minute with what seemed like the hundredth person who recognized Lydia and wanted to welcome her home—this time an elderly former elementary school teacher who never let anybody forget she had to teach all three Kincaid kids how to read. Maybe she should have worn a hoodie.
“Danny texted me earlier,” Ashley told her when they’d started walking again.
“Really? Is that good or bad?”
“I don’t know. I was mad when I got the text. I wanted him to call me instead, so I could hear his voice. I miss his voice, a lot.”
“You misshim.”
