Blaze (Bachelors of Sheraton Beach #1)

Chapter 1

Mary Johanna Bennett should have known something was wrong the second she turned onto Main Street and spotted all the cars parked outside Debbiecakes.

At eight-thirty on a Monday morning.

The Monday after the bachelor auction.

The entire town of Sheraton Beach appeared to be operating on caffeine, sugar, and gossip.

“Lord, give me strength,” Johanna muttered beneath her breath as she eased a red Mini Cooper into a parking space along the cobblestone curb.

The ocean breeze drifted through the cracked window, carrying the familiar scent of saltwater and cinnamon. Seagulls circled overhead while tourists strolled the sidewalks clutching shopping bags from the boutique shops lining Main Street.

Sheraton Beach looked beautiful this morning.

Golden sunlight bounced off storefront windows and glimmered against the Atlantic in the distance. Hanging flower baskets swayed gently from black iron lampposts while soft jazz music drifted from a nearby café.

Usually, this town soothed her.

Today, however, Sheraton Beach felt downright dangerous.

Because every person in town appeared to have awakened with one mission in mind: talk about the bachelor auction. And unfortunately for her, they also wanted to talk about firefighter Braxton “Blaze” Carter.

Johanna closed her eyes briefly and rested her forehead against the steering wheel.

She still couldn’t believe her girlfriends had played her like that.

Not just one of them. All of them.

Her phone buzzed in the cupholder. Already suspicious, Johanna grabbed it and scrolled through the incoming text messages, fully expecting nonsense from the Saltwater Sisters.

MILAN: We saved your life.

Johanna snorted.

TASHA: Girl, stop acting mad. That man looked at you like you were dessert.

NIA: Everybody saw it.

LEIGH: Also, social media is eating y’all UP.

Johanna immediately dropped the phone onto the passenger seat like it had overheated.

Nope. She wasn’t opening social media. Not today, and possibly not ever again if the women of Sheraton Beach planned to keep discussing her love life like a public service announcement.

Drawing in a steadying breath, she stepped from the car and smoothed her cream-colored blouse against her jeans. The ocean wind lifted several curls from the puff gathered at the top of her head, and she pushed them back while making her way toward Debbiecakes.

The second she opened the bakery door, warmth wrapped around her along with the heavenly scents of butter, vanilla, and brown sugar. The smell alone could probably qualify as therapy.

Unfortunately, not even Debbiecakes could fix what she was dealing with.

Conversations buzzed through the bakery beneath soft old-school R&B playing overhead. Women crowded around marble café tables clutching coffee cups while glass display cases sparkled beneath warm lighting.

Debra Beaumont moved through the gourmet cupcake bakery greeting customers in a fitted blush-colored jumpsuit and heels that appeared entirely too expensive to be standing anywhere near frosting.

“Morning, sweetie,” Debra called warmly the second she spotted Johanna. “You survived.”

Johanna narrowed her eyes. “Barely.”

A loud cackle erupted from the back corner, and Johanna turned toward the direction of her so-called friends.

Traitors. Every last one of them.

Milan waved wildly from a table near the window, her honey-blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders while oversized gold hoops flashed beneath the bakery lights.

“There she is!”

Heads turned instantly.

Several women grinned.

One older woman near the counter actually fanned herself dramatically.

“Oh, honey,” she drawled. “That firefighter was gorgeous.”

Johanna froze.

Debra pressed her lips together behind the register, clearly trying not to laugh.

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to come here,” Johanna muttered.

“Too late now,” Debra chirped. “Your business is all over town.”

Johanna sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

Johanna grabbed her coffee from the counter before making her way toward the table where Milan, Tasha, Leigh, and Nia sat looking entirely too pleased with themselves.

The women occupied the corner booth like they owned it, which, honestly, they practically did.

Tasha sat stretched comfortably against the window side, all long legs, caramel skin, and corporate-girl perfection. Her sleek black bob curved sharply against high cheekbones.

Leigh lounged beside her wearing dark skinny jeans, a leather jacket, and a grin full of bad decisions. Deep mocha skin glowed beneath the warm bakery lighting while waist-length locs spilled over one shoulder.

Then there was Nia.

Quietly pretty. The dangerous kind.

Smooth brown skin, soft almond-shaped eyes, and thick curls piled into a messy puff that somehow made her look both effortless and intimidating at the same time.

“Sit.” Nia didn’t speak often, but when she did, everybody listened.

Milan slid a red velvet cupcake toward Johanna the second she sat down. It was bribery.

Smart.

Johanna narrowed her eyes while settling into the booth. “I want all of you to know y’all are terrible people.”

Tasha gasped dramatically, one manicured hand pressed against her chest.

“We are amazing people.”

“Amazing? You secretly bid eighteen hundred dollars on a man, in my name, without my permission.”

“Correction,” Leigh said proudly while sipping iced coffee through a straw. “We invested eighteen hundred dollars into the future of you and your man.”

Johanna stared at them. “He’s not my man.”

Leigh laughed loudly. “Keep lying to yourself.”

“I’m not lying. Blaze doesn’t belong to me… not anymore.”

Nia leaned forward slightly, amusement flickering in her eyes.

“Girl, please. Half this town watched you and Blaze act like divorced people still in love.”

Johanna groaned and glared at them over the rim of her coffee cup.

“I really hate y’all.”

Tasha smiled smugly. “No, you don’t.”

Unfortunately… she didn’t.

Milan took a long drink of her latte before shrugging gracefully. “Besides, we weren’t about to let some random woman buy him.”

Johanna blinked. “Buy him?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Nia nodded seriously. “Everybody already knows where he belongs.”

“Blaze is not a rescue dog.”

Leigh nearly choked laughing.

“Oh my God,” Milan wheezed, doubling over slightly. “You should’ve seen your face when your number went up on the screen.”

Johanna dropped her forehead directly into her hands.

The table exploded with laughter loud enough to turn heads again.

And somehow, despite the public humiliation, the gossip, and the complete betrayal… Johanna felt warmth spread quietly through her chest.

She could still hear the crowd screaming at the auction.

Still see the bright stage lights.

Still feel the panic that flooded her chest when the auctioneer yelled, ‘Sold!’ and Blaze turned toward the audience searching for her.

The memory sent warmth spiraling unexpectedly low in her stomach.

Johanna immediately sat upright.

No.

Absolutely not.

That man was a very bad idea.

Milan smirked slowly. “There’s that look.”

“What look?”

“The one you get every time somebody says Blaze’s name.”

Johanna picked up her cupcake and pointed it threateningly. “I’m warning y’all.”

Tasha grinned. “Girl, please. That man was your entire focus.”

“That was ten years ago.”

“And?” Milan said.

“And people move on.” Her own words sounded weak. Because the truth was, she had tried. Lord knew she had.

She’d dated, traveled, and built a life she genuinely loved. Yet somehow, no matter how many years passed, hearing Blaze’s name still did something strange to her chest. It was as though her heart remembered him before her mind had the chance to intervene.

Leigh’s expression softened slightly. “You know he never got married either, right?”

Johanna rolled her eyes even though her pulse betrayed her with one hard thump. “That means nothing.”

“Mm-hmm.” Milan dragged out the sound knowingly. “You didn’t see the way that man looked at you from across the stage.”

Johanna took a bite of her cupcake.

Unfortunately, she had.

And that was the problem.

Blaze hadn't looked shocked or amused. He'd looked pleased. Like somewhere beneath all those years and all that distance, a part of him still wanted her.

The thought unsettled her deeply.

Debra appeared beside the table carrying a tray of mini chocolate cupcakes.

“You ladies still talking about the auction?” she asked casually as she set the tray in front of them.

Johanna groaned. “Please don’t start.”

Debra laughed softly. “This town won’t be talking about anything but the auction for the next few weeks.”

Johanna dropped her head back.

Wonderful.

Tasha grabbed her phone. “Speaking of which…”

Johanna pointed sharply. “Don’t.”

Too late.

“I saw this on social media.” Tasha turned the screen around.

A photo filled the screen.

Blaze stood center stage beneath gold lighting like somebody's dangerous fantasy come to life.

Instead of a tuxedo, he'd fully committed to the firefighter theme, and Lord help every woman in Sheraton Beach because the man looked sinful.

Dark navy suspenders hung low against fitted black uniform pants that sat entirely too well on his narrow hips.

The black thermal stretched across broad shoulders and a chest built from years of carrying hoses, ladders, and people out of burning buildings.

The sleeves were shoved to his forearms, exposing powerful brown skin, intricate tattoos, and hands that looked capable of both rescue and regret.

A silver firefighter badge rested against the center of his chest while heavy black boots completed the look.

The overall effect should've been illegal.

But it was Blaze's face that turned the photo lethal.

That slow half-smirk suggested he already knew women were losing their minds in real time.

And judging by the comments underneath the picture, he wasn't wrong.

Milan snatched the phone dramatically before Johanna could look away.

“Wait.” She scrolled. “Listen to this one.”

Johanna already hated where this was going.

Milan cleared her throat and read, “‘A firefighter that fine… baby, I'd be burning toast every Tuesday.’”

Leigh slapped the table screaming.

Tasha nearly fell against the booth laughing.

Nia wiped tears from under her eyes. “That woman was honest at least.”

Johanna grabbed for the phone. “Y’all are ridiculous.”

“Oh no,” Milan cackled, pulling it away. “It gets worse.”

She scrolled farther and read, “‘Blaze’s so fine, my smoke detector would be working overtime.’”

The table collectively lost its mind.

Even Johanna laughed at that one.

Because unfortunately… it was accurate.

Tasha fanned herself dramatically. “You ended up with the firefighter fine enough to become a local internet sensation.”

Johanna shook her head. “He is not a local internet sensation.”

Nia blinked slowly.

“She’s right,” Leigh said as she scrolled through her phone. “Blaze is trending in three counties.”

Milan nodded. “Three counties and counting.”

Tasha leaned across the table grinning wickedly. “And let’s discuss the fact that Blaze looked directly at you before they even started the bidding.”

Johanna froze. The memory hit her instantly. Blaze standing beneath those lights looking entirely too handsome for public spaces while the auction host joked with the crowd.

Then his eyes found hers.

And stayed there.

Out of every woman in that packed ballroom, she was still the only one he saw.

Lord.

Johanna grabbed her coffee quickly before her friends noticed the way her cheeks warmed.

Too late.

Nia smirked softly. “There she goes.”

“Don’t start.”

Milan leaned back against the booth dramatically. “That man wanted you before the bidding even opened.”

Tasha nodded. “Honestly, the rest of the women should get refunds because Blaze never looked interested in anybody else.”

Johanna rolled her eyes.

But deep down she remembered it too. The way Blaze stared at her from that stage like the auction itself didn’t matter.

It was his eyes.

Even in a photograph, Blaze somehow looked straight at her as though the crowd, the stage, and the hundreds of people around him had ceased to exist. That look had always been her downfall, which was why every encounter since his return to Sheraton Beach left her feeling off balance.

Johanna swallowed hard.

“Oh my God,” Milan whispered dramatically.

“What?”

Milan pointed directly at her. “You're still in love with him.”

“Stop saying weird things in public,” Johanna hissed.

Debra chuckled knowingly as she walked by carrying another tray of cupcakes.

Every last one of them was a traitor.

Nia leaned closer. “Question.”

Johanna immediately didn’t like her tone.

“What?”

“If Blaze asked for another chance… would you give it to him?”

The table fell quiet.

Even the music overhead suddenly seemed softer.

Johanna stared at his photo on the screen. The familiar smile tugged at one corner of Blaze's mouth, and those warm brown eyes still looked exactly the way she remembered.

Years ago, those eyes had made her believe they would last forever.

Then Blaze left, and Johanna learned the hard way that love didn't always stay.

Johanna carefully pushed the phone away. “I don’t know that man anymore.” The words came out calm and controlled. But deep down that wasn’t what scared her.

What scared her was the possibility that she still knew exactly who he was.

Outside the bakery windows, a fire truck rolled slowly down Main Street.

The sight of it made her stomach tighten instantly.

Nia also noticed. “Girl.”

Johanna stood abruptly and grabbed her purse. “I have to get to work.”

“You’re running,” Leigh teased.

“I’m employed,” she called over her shoulder.

“Mm-hmm.”

Ignoring the laughter following behind her, Johanna headed for the bakery door. But before she reached it, Debra’s voice stopped her.

“Johanna.”

She turned.

Debra smiled gently while boxing up cupcakes behind the counter.

“For what it’s worth…”

Johanna waited.

“It’s never too late.”

The words landed softly. Dangerously.

Johanna forced a laugh she didn’t feel. “My feelings for him died a long time ago.” But even she heard the lie in her voice.

Outside, sunlight spilled across Main Street while the ocean breeze lifted her curls again.

She walked toward her vehicle trying to ignore the strange ache blooming beneath her ribs.

Trying not to think about Blaze’s smile… his voice, or his eyes that found her across that crowded auction room.

Trying not to remember how it once felt to be loved by him.

Her phone buzzed again. This time from an unknown number. Johanna frowned. Then read the text message.

One meal. That’s all I’m asking ~ Blaze

Johanna stopped walking.

For the first time since the auction ended, she realized the real danger had never been standing in that ballroom while her friends bid on Blaze.

The real danger was Blaze Carter asking for another chance.

Because a part of her still wanted to say yes.