Chapter 26 #2
Jayden, six foot six and built like a battering ram, grinned wide and tossed something on the table like a grenade.
Fuuuck. It was the annual firefighter’s calendar, and there I was, the cover boy: holding a hose, wearing nothing but turnout cargoes low-slung on my hips, a helmet perched on my head, and a puppy tucked under my arm.
I looked fucking ridiculous.
A collective delighted gasp sounded from the table. Caleb cackled. Kiera shrieked. Ryder looked torn between laughing and grimacing. Emma and Penny pounced like it was Black Friday at Macy’s.
I should never have gotten out of bed this morning.
I risked a glance at Hazel. She waggled her brows.
Silent sarcasm. Beautiful.
Kiera glanced through the pages. “I’m torn. You’re my brother, so…ew. But someone’s been working out.”
“Right? Gimme.” Emma grabbed the calendar and thumbed through the pages, oohing and aahing. “You’ve been holding out on us, Tucker.”
“Sitting right here,” Caleb muttered, scowling. “And anyone looks good holding a puppy.”
Emma grinned. “Did you hear that? Caleb’s getting me a puppy!”
“We already have two massive dogs.”
“And soon, a new puppy as well,” Emma said on a laugh.
Penny got the calendar next. “Holy cow.”
“Holy cow squared.” Emma said.
Awesome. They found the centerfold—also me.
My crew was now laughing so hard, no noises were coming out.
Smart-asses.
“Look at those abs,” Penny said, then pretended to swipe for drool.
“Hey, I’ve got a six-pack too,” Ryder said.
“Yes, but Tucker’s is an eight pack.”
Glaring at Jayden and the others, I snatched the calendar back. “It’s for charity. Ask them.” I pointed to the jackasses I worked with.
My entire squad just laughed at me and headed for the coffee bar.
“Did you oil yourself, or did they have a person for that?” Emma asked.
Caleb gave her a raised brow.
“What?” she said. “I’m just saying, whoever has that job must be a happy person all the time.”
“Charity,” I repeated, then set my forehead to the table and banged it a few times, hoping I’d wake up in bed instead of here. When I didn’t, I lifted my head. “It’s for charity.”
Hazel’s eyes were flat-out laughing at me.
I ignored this and pointed at all of them.
“None of you know anything about anything.” I looked at the twins.
“Except for you two.” My gaze slid to Hazel.
“And you. The rest of you can…” I was going to say fuck off, but Abi and Alex were sponges. “Bite me.”
Alex shook his head. “Biting is a no-no. Even if Tommy took my cupcake at lunch without asking.”
I was still giving a hard look to the adults—minus Haze. “I mean it,” I said.
Penny leaned in and stage-whispered, “Is it just me, or does he suddenly sound all commanding like Ryder?”
“Okay, that’s enough,” I growled, reaching out to snag the calendar, only for Hazel to beat me to it.
She held it above her head, much as I’d done to her when she’d wanted my phone.
“If you want it,” she said in a singsong voice, “come and get it.”
Everyone laughed, and I growled. “I hate all of you.”
“Your abs say otherwise,” Emma said.
Hazel’s eyes danced, and she hugged the calendar to her chest like it was Christmas morning, smiling—and even though it was at my expense, I didn’t give a shit; I smiled helplessly back. For a split second, there was no history, no unresolved tension. Just us.
But, of course, Ryder had to ruin that too.
“You two ever going to get your sh—” Ryder eyed the twins. “Er, shizzle together?”
Everyone’s heads swiveled in unison to me and Hazel, eager for an answer.
Hazel saved me, just not in the way I wanted.
“We’re not…” She grimaced, her face scrunching up in that familiar endearing way that made me want to kiss her. “We’re not whatever you all think we are.”
Ouch.
Caleb leaned in. “You tell that to the chemistry between the two of you?”
Hazel snorted, and I could feel the tension between us crack just a little more. “It’s antagonism, not chemistry.”
“No way,” Caleb said. “Have you seen him mooning after you? He can’t keep his eyes off you.”
Emma put a hand on Caleb’s arm. “If your vagina doesn’t get a heartbeat when you see him—especially on that cover—he’s not the one anyway.”
Hazel choked on her coffee.
I stood. “Okay, we’re done here.” I glared at my siblings. “You all need to grow up.”
They were unrepentant. I grabbed Hazel’s hand. She let me.
On the sidewalk out front, she said, “I’m not giving this back.” And with that, she slid the calendar beneath her sweatshirt. Wait a minute, that was another of mine.
“The calendar or the sweatshirt?”
She lifted her chin. “Both.”
“Keep them.” My sweatshirt. My heart. My jugular. My everything. Hers.
She must’ve seen something in my face because her smile faded.
So did mine.
Something flickered in her eyes as we stood there, toe-to-toe, close and yet not close enough.
“I’m sorry about them,” I said.
She shook her head. “They love you.”
“They love you too.”
She shoulder bumped me, and I caught her hand again, not wanting the moment to end.
“Hey, um, about the other day. I…”
“Yeah.” She nodded, voice soft as she gently squeezed my fingers.
I pulled her in for a hug. She melted into me, arms tight. I closed my eyes and just breathed her in. “Maybe we could talk.”
She nodded, a strand of her hair catching on the stubble on my jaw. A small moment, but it felt incredibly intimate.
“I’m working today,” she said, pulling back. “Meet you at the house later?”
I nodded, and pretending she hadn’t told my family we weren’t what they thought—what had that meant?—I kissed her goodbye, not light, not soft, but a real kiss: direct, meaningful, real.
Just in case she needed reminding.
I didn’t know what would come next. But for the first time in days, I felt like maybe, just maybe, we had a shot.