Love Song(67)

“And, what, I’m supposed to chase him?”

“Fuck no. We don’t chase. We attract.” Shrugging, Annaliese grabs the last couple french fries on her plate and pops them into her mouth. “If we want them, we do things to make them chase us.”

“I don’t like playing games.”

She grins. “Games are fun.”

I sigh and pick up the vodka cranberry I’m still shocked the bartender served me without asking for ID. I have my fake one if needed, but it’s rare I don’t get carded, especially in a family town like Tahoe.

“No, they’re not fun,” I finally answer. “I don’t want these weird mind games. I don’t want to chase or be chased. All I want is someone who makes their intentions clear.”

Not someone who kisses me and then cries about it afterward.

And certainly not someone who stays with me for almost three years while secretly thinking I’m the most boring, least passionate woman on the planet.

Isaac’s words continue to prickle at me. To sting. But deep down, I know there’s some truth to them. I loved him, but I didn’t crave him. And he didn’t crave me. Maybe he did at first, with all the love bombing, but once he won me over, his enthusiasm waned. When we were in bed together, Isaac never looked at me like…like he might die if he couldn’t have me.

“Okay, then let’s find that someone,” Annaliese declares. She twists in the booth and surveys the bar. “Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but… It’s like a firefighter porn in here.”

I did not notice, but now I do. I realize the counter is littered with young men and several women in navy-blue fire department shirts and sweats. I see a lot of roped forearms and defined biceps, probably honed from long days at the academy, and all the guys are loud and boisterous, shouting and laughing as they loiter at the bar and pool tables.

“Why are they all so young?” I ask Annaliese.

“Oh, it’s the recruit class. My brother’s there too.” She nods toward the end of the bar, where a cute guy with big dimples chats with two other fire cadets.

“Eddie wants to be a firefighter?” I say in surprise.

“Yup, and don’t even get me started. This fool was in college. Did two years and then boom—drops out and enrolls in the fire academy. My parents almost had simultaneous cardiac arrests when he told them.” Annaliese waves at the group. “Edward!” she calls. “Come say hi to your sister!”

Breaking away from the group, Eddie strides over to our booth. Last time I saw him, he had a wild head of hair, but it’s all been shaved off, giving him a clean-cut, professional air now. He greets us with a broad smile, slinging his arm around his sister in a side hug.

“Do you remember Blake?” Annaliese asks him.

His brown eyes brighten when they meet mine. “Oh, hey. Yes. Beau’s cousin.”

“Well, not cousin, but we’re really close, yeah.” I grin at his shirt. “How’s the fire academy?”

He grimaces. “Ugh, we had the worst day. They made us run a hose advance, like, a million times.”

“What’s a hose advance?” I ask curiously.

Eddie groans and rubs the back of his neck. “Okay, so picture dragging an anaconda the size of a tree trunk and it’s thrashing around, full of water, while you’re crawling on your knees in fifty pounds of gear. Oh, and the anaconda hates you.”

Annaliese and I burst out laughing. “That sounds awful,” I inform him.

“You have no idea. By the end of the day, my arms were shaking so bad I couldn’t even open a water bottle. Had to get Dave to do it for me.” He glances across the bar and signals to the friends he abandoned, gesturing for them to join us. “You gotta hear about this prank Mikey pulled on our instructor today. Mikey, get over here!”

Three guys amble up to our booth, one of them instantly catching my attention. He’s not super tall, but he’s got a great body, a crooked smile, and flirtatious blue eyes. Eddie introduces him as Dave.

As he slides in next to me, he checks me out, but not in a creepy way.

I check him out too, also not in a creepy way.

Annaliese doesn’t miss the current of awareness that travels between us. Her lips curve in a smile.

“So,” she says brightly. “Shots?”





Chapter 23


WYATT





I CAN’T SLEEP. AND IRONICALLY, it’s not because of insomnia. After a shitty day that saw the return of my writer’s block and a general sense of discontent, I was genuinely pumped to go to bed tonight.

But then Blake went out with Annaliese. To a bar.

So now I’m lying in my bed counting the minutes until she comes home, because I can’t rest until I know she’s all right. Don’t get me wrong. I trust Blake. Annaliese too. It’s everyone else that I don’t trust. Especially all the drunk, horny dudes who are probably drooling over her right now.

What if she meets someone else tonight?

I choke down the groan that’s lodged in my throat. The idea of her with somebody else rips at my insides. I can still taste her. I can still feel the press of her lips again mine and the heat of her tongue. That kiss wrecked me. And it only whetted my appetite, leaving me craving another taste, wanting so much more. I hate how badly I want to open that door again.