Page 106 of Ablaze

I know exactly what it would do to her if something happened to me . . .

I shove the thought aside, walking toward the back door to get to her, even as another thought springs up unbidden.

You’re being selfish and reckless. Willing to hurt the one person who looks at you like you hang the moon and stars in the sky every night. The one person who’s already been through so much.

But it’s not like every firefighter dies in the act of duty. So many are happily married, living their best lives and growing old with their spouses. Taking their last chance to love.

It’ll be the same for me and Mala, too.

I have to believe that. It’s not that easy to stow away a fear that’s been a part of me for so many years, as if it’s a simple carry-on inside the overhead compartment of an airplane. It’s a daily reminder, a mantra I have to believe in, for both mine and her sakes.

I lean down to place a kiss on the space between her neck and shoulder, making her jump in surprise. “What are the most kissable flowers in the world?”

She turns to face me with a smile stretched over her lips, her perfectly white teeth gleaming between them. “Tulips, of course.”

I bring my arm from behind my back, watching her expression morph from happy to elated. “Am I ever going to stump you?”

She takes the red tulip bouquet from my hand, burying her nose directly in them with a smile. “No. Not if you give me the world’s easiest riddles. Also,” she looks up at me, “these are my favorite flowers.”

Closing the distance between us, I lean down to brush my lips over hers. “You’d think I’d know everything about you after all these years.”

Her eyes crinkle at the ends as her smile brightens. “Nope. You’ll have to endure many more years with me to know everything.”

“How many? Give me a number,” I murmur, still close to her.

“Hmm.” She twists her lips, pretending to calculate something. “Approximately eighty-two years, ten months, and thirty-nine days.”

I lift my hand and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I think I can manage that.”

She giggles, clutching her bouquet closer. “Thank you for the flowers. Though, the huge bouquet you had delivered a few days ago still looks perfectly beautiful on the counter inside. You didn’t have to get me another one.”

I reach for the bouquet in her hands. “Well, in that case, let me return them.”

She draws the flowers away from my reach. “No way! Take your hands off my boyfriend’s flowers.”

The dogs that were playing yip and pant in the background, but we ignore them as I pull her into me again with my hands at her hips. “This boyfriend seems like a lucky guy.”

“The luckiest,” she whispers, closing her eyes, giving me a cue to put my lips on hers.

I do just that, but pull back when I start to feel myself harden inside my jeans and she giggles again, knowingly.

“Still thinking about the dog party idea?” I nod toward the area behind the wire fence.

She’s been talking about something she saw at the company she worked for in LA. Apparently, they owned a few open areas where they’d set up birthday parties and adoption events for dogs. They had obstacle courses and more space for dogs to run around in. She figured it would be a great way to expand her business, since the bakery would provide all the catering for the parties.

She turns over her shoulder, following my gaze before looking back at me with a forlorn look. “Yeah, but I don’t think it’s possible anymore.”

“Why not?”

I place my hands on her shoulders, my thumbs running up the warm skin of her neck and watch the way her lips move as she speaks. “I called the number on the For Sale sign that was there a few weeks ago, but the person who answered said someone took ownership of it already.”

“So, it’s gone?”

She shrugs. “It looks like it.”

My frown mimics hers. “I’m sorry. Maybe something else will open up nearby.”

She sighs. “It’s fine. Probably for the best for now, anyway. This way I don’t blow through my savings and can focus on more sales at the bakery and getting more catering orders in.”

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