Chapter Twenty-four
Twenty-four
He could still hear Alex yelling as Hank dragged him away.
“You ripped us apart for nothing, Miles!”
The words barely registered. He wasn’t the first firefighter Alex had accused of seducing Clarissa, and he wouldn’t be the last. A few months prior, Alex had broken into the fire station, climbing through a window after seeing Clarissa eating chili with Miles and Sam.
They had all been stunned to see him, cut off mid-laugh a discussion about a call for a water rescue that ended up being a large coat that had blown into the ocean.
Any thought of the jealous man disappeared from Miles’ mind the moment he saw Annie. He’d been looking for her since arriving at the fundraiser – late, due to a disaster with Bella’s hair.
She’d gone into town to get it done with a friend, bringing along pictures of a complicated updo. An hour later, she came home sobbing and said she would not attend the fundraiser.
“What if Noah sees me like this?” she had wailed.
Miles had shrugged, narrowing his eyes on the curls and pins in her dark hair. “Honestly, he probably isn’t going to notice.”
That wasn’t the comfort he thought it would be. Bella had cried out and thrown herself onto the couch.
He had been at a loss. The only thing he could think of was a story Annie had told him about her mom doing her hair for all the school dances when she was growing up. It took a lot of coaxing, but he convinced her to go down the street and show Clara the damage.
An hour and a lot of tears later, Clara was able to carefully disassemble the hairdo and put in its place an intricate and swooping braid. Bella cried again – tears of joy this time – and they rushed home so she could finish getting ready.
They were nearly two hours late to the fundraiser. He thought about texting Annie to let her know, but it seemed presumptuous. Why would Annie be waiting on him?
Then, all of a sudden, she appeared like an apparition of his mind, dressed in shimmering gold and catching the light like a diamond. Her dress was stunning, covered in flowers blooming over her curves and daring his gaze to drift down the deep neckline.
His heart hammered in his chest and the room emptied around him. All he could see was her. There was a perfect clearing between them, as though he were looking at her preparing to walk down the aisle.
The thought of it forced a lump into his throat.
A smile graced her beautiful face, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him. And since he wasn’t a groom standing and waiting for his bride, he could go to her, which he did – happily.
“Annie,” he said when he reached her, the intoxicating scent of her rose perfume throwing him momentarily. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Ah, you didn’t recognize me.” She shook her head, looking down at herself. “I know. I feel like an imposter.”
Miles scowled. “You’re not an imposter. You look stunning.” He wanted to add that she always looked stunning, but instead, he held his breath, waiting to see if his words had any effect on her.
But she just laughed her easy laugh. “You’re looking very dapper in your station-issued tuxedo.”
He tipped his head. “Thank you. I feel a bit like James Bond, especially after helping to kick Alex out.” He cleared his throat. “That’s my co-worker Cassandra’s ex-boyfriend. He’s made a nuisance of himself.”
“Sorry about him,” a woman’s voice said.
He raised his eyebrows. The woman next to Annie was speaking. He hadn’t noticed her until now.
“This is Lauren,” Annie said, noticing his surprise. “Our kids go to daycare together.”
“Unfortunately, Alex is my brother.” Lauren stuck out her hand, a bright smile on her face. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
He cast a glance at Annie, but she said nothing. Had she really been talking about him? Or had it been Alex?
“I’m sorry about my brother. He’s never been quite the same since falling off that cliffside.” She let out a loud laugh.
Miles looked at Annie, narrowing his eyes, and she lifted a dainty shoulder in a shrug, as if to say, “I don’t know if she’s kidding.”
“Maybe Roy needs to take a tumble off of a mountainside,” Miles said, chancing a smile. “Might knock some sense into him.”
Annie covered her mouth with her hand, laughing. “Is that a threat?”
“Not unless you want it to be.” He paused, pretending to think. “Though I don’t think I need to threaten him now. The judge did a good job of that.”
Lauren turned to her. “You never told me about that!”
Interesting. Miles knew more about Annie’s life than this friend. Was it possible that Annie trusted him more? Liked him more?
“I’ve been busy,” Annie said, shaking her head. “It went pretty well.”
“I’m so glad to hear it.”
Miles wasn’t going to cede the floor to the lesser friend. He caught Annie’s gaze. “I’m sorry I was late. Bella had a hair emergency.”
Annie groaned. “Oh no! What happened?”
He shrugged. “A bad updo, I guess. Your mom went through several different braids before finding one that Bella would accept.”
“Poor Bella.” Annie scanned the crowd. “I don’t see her, but I’m glad my mom could help. She’s always been a wizard with hair.”
“Yeah, I remember you saying that.”
He couldn’t stop staring at her. She was mesmerizing.
Her gaze fell back on him, catching his stare.
Miles cleared his throat. “This is really phenomenal, Annie. I’m so thankful to you and Margie. Let’s be honest—I’m especially thankful to you, for thinking of this and putting it together.”
Her chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “Well, thank you for saving us from fires.”
He rolled his eyes. “Lately we’ve been responding to low blood sugars, drunk drivers, and cats stuck in trees that end up being raccoons.”
She flashed a smile but said nothing.
Normally he could read her face, find the slightest hint of stress or worry or joy.
Now, though, it was as if she was blocked in some way. Was she overwhelmed? Excited? Was her friend not really a friend?
Something wasn’t right. He needed to find out what it was. He needed to create an excuse to spend the rest of the evening with her. Staring at her now, it became clear to him that it was imperative to keep her on his arm, not just tonight, but every night.
Someone grabbed his arm from behind. Miles turned to see Gemma, of all people.
“Oh, hey, Dr. Birch,” he said, keeping his tone light. The surprise of seeing her blew over him like a wind.
He turned to introduce Gemma to Annie, but Annie was already slipping into the crowd.
He wanted to go after her, but he couldn’t be so rude to Gemma. He turned to her. “I must admit, I did not expect to see you here. Is this another one of Bella’s setups?”
Gemma laughed, throwing her head back. “I swear it isn’t, and I’m not stalking you. A friend of mine asked me to come to this. He was a doctor in our practice, but he retired to the island a few years ago.”
“Aha, so you’re trying to follow in his footsteps,” Miles said.
She let out a breath. “Yeah, I’ve only got about twenty years left to retirement.”
He leaned back on his heels. “I’m sure they could use a pediatrician on the island if you’d like to move sooner.”
She stared at him for a long moment. Long enough for Miles to realize what he’d just said.
“I wonder that myself,” Gemma said graciously.
Though they’d had a pleasant breakfast together, Miles had no interest in dating this woman. Bella hadn’t been bringing it up as frequently, likely because she was involved with Noah, who was also wandering around somewhere.
It was best to clear the air. “Listen, I’m sorry about Bella pulling you into all this, but – ”
Gemma put up a hand. “Please. We don’t have to do that. I really was just curious about the man on the billboard.”
He smiled, shaking his head. “Aren’t we all? He seems great.”
“It was such a wild romantic comedy sort of idea. Sometimes those things work out, you know? You have to take risks.”
Risks. The idea of it sent goosebumps over his arms. That was one thing he didn’t like, even as a firefighter. Especially so.
“Of course,” he said with a nod.
Margie appeared at his side, pulling him in for a hug. Naturally, she already knew Gemma. It made it easy for him to slip away in search of Annie.
Except Clarissa cornered him.
“I debated telling you this,” she said.
His eyes strained over the crowd. Where could Annie have gone?
He cleared his throat. “Debated telling me what?”
Clarissa lowered her voice. “It’s embarrassing. It’s about Alex.”
“You shouldn’t be embarrassed about Alex. It’s not your fault he is the way he is.”
She sighed. “Yeah, well, for some reason he’s fixated on you now. I guess the billboards drove him extra crazy.”
His mouth tilted in a half smile. “I have the tendency to do that.”
“Gross.” She punched him in the arm. “Listen to me.”
He stopped looking around and focused his attention on her. “What’s up?”
“I had an anonymous letter dropped off at my door.”
“Is that a signature Alex move?”
“I guess,” she shrugged. “It said my new boyfriend would get to watch his world burn around him. I can only assume he means you, even though I find you disgusting and would never date you.”
Miles knew she wasn’t just saying that; she fully meant it, always treating him like an annoying little brother. “You’re too sweet.”
“I’m serious. I wish he wasn’t fixated on you, but he is. He can be dangerous. I’m so sorry you’re getting dragged into this.”
If Alex was targeting him, what’s the worst he could do? Surely he wouldn’t be dumb enough to actually come after Miles?
Or would he come after someone else? Someone like...Bella?
A zing reverberated through his nerves, from his hands down to his feet. If Alex did anything to Bella, if he as much looked at her the wrong way, he was done.
Blood pumped into his ears and he forced himself to take a breath. “I know how he can be. I will tell Bella to look out for him, and if he comes anywhere near me – well, he won’t be able to write letters anymore.”
Clarissa stared at him for a long beat. Then, she took a deep breath and said, “Okay.”
After breaking free from that conversation, another group pulled him in – some of the volunteer firefighters.
He talked to them, leaving as soon as it was polite, and kept looking for Annie.
Every time he tried to break away from whatever group had sucked him in, he stumbled into another conversation.
It reminded him of when he was a groom at his wedding. He barely got a chance to eat or drink anything before the night was over, then he and Madeline had collapsed into bed that night exhausted and delirious.
What would Madeline make of this night? What would she have thought of Bella’s hair disaster, her date with Noah?
Of Annie?
It was bizarre to think of it, but he was sure they would’ve gotten along under different circumstances.
He finally found Annie again. She was talking to a large group. He tried to elbow in next to her, but as soon as he arrived, she excused herself and disappeared into the crowd.
By the end of the night, he’d seemingly talked to everyone at the fundraiser except Annie. It was hard to shake the feeling she was avoiding him.
Perhaps he’d finally gone too far, making a nuisance of himself. She clearly had another life, a full life, that didn’t involve him showing up at her door all the time.
As the night went on, it became impossible for him to ignore. Annie was not waiting around for Miles. She was not looking for him and didn’t want to spend the evening alongside him.
By chasing her, he was no better than Alex, in some ways. If she’d wanted to talk to him, she would have. If she’d wanted to dance with him, she easily could have.
He stopped chasing her. Miles told himself it was better this way.
As he was about to tell Gemma, he didn’t have the space in his life for anyone else.
There was only space for Bella – and apparently, Bella’s hair.
He had no interest in dating, no interest in finding a girlfriend or a wife or anything.
That was as true today as it was when Bella put up that cursed billboard.
At the end of the evening, Margie surprised all of them with an award she’d made up: “Best Firefighters on San Juan Island.”
As goofy as it was, it was fun to accept it and stand for pictures. As he stood in the crowd, looking out into the flashes, he caught a glimpse of Annie. She was leaning against the bar, her eyes on him for the briefest of moments, before disappearing again.
All in all, it was a magnificent evening. They’d raised nearly two hundred thousand dollars, everyone had a great time, and he had gotten to catch up with people he didn’t always get to see.
Yet when he went home unsettled that night, something kept nagging at him. No matter how many times he pushed it away, it kept popping back into his mind.
If it were so true that he could so easily turn down all these women, and he had no interest in them, why, why could he not fall asleep without thinking one last time of Annie?