Chapter 59
fifty-nine
“Do you have any sevens?” Sasha asks, leaning across the table, trying to squint a look at my cards.
Tucking them against my chest, I shake my head with a smirk. “Nope. Go fish.”
She groans, reaching for another card.
Since the girls and I decided we needed to switch things up tonight, instead of our usual chocolate and whisky, we’ve got wine, hard candy as currency, and we’re playing Go Fish instead of poker at Noia’s house in the woods.
Her calico cat, Goonie, is purring happily in my lap. Which shocked the fuck out of Noia, who told me he’s grumpy with almost everyone but her and Ryder.
“I swear you’re cheating,” she huffs, eyeing me suspiciously. “You’ve been way too smiley all night.”
I can’t help the grin that spreads even wider across my face. It’s been three days since Rowan and I got back from L.A., and I still feel like I’m floating.
This afternoon, he texted me a photo of himself on set, looking exhausted but happy. It’s his last day on set here in Lakeside, and I’ve been carrying that image around in my head all freaking day.
“Okay, spill,” Sasha demands. “You’ve been practically glowing since you got back. What happened on your trip to Cali?”
I bite my lip, trying to contain my excitement. “Well...”
“Oh my God…” Noia gasps, dropping her cards.
I laugh, heat flushing my cheeks. “We’re not fake anymore.”
Sasha’s eyes go wide. “Wait, are you guys actually together now? Like, for real?”
Taking a deep breath, I lay my cards down and look at my friends. “He told me he loves me. It took a minute for me to say it back, but yeah. We’re officially together.”
A happy squeal erupts from Noia as she jumps up from her chair and throws her arms around me. “That’s amazing!”
This startles the crap out of Goonie, who scrambles off my lap with a frustrated kitty growl before indignantly strutting away with his tail in the air.
“Awww!” Sasha joins in, leaning over to wrap her arms around both of us.
“That’s awesome!” Reyna exclaims at the same time Claire crows, “Good for you!”
As they clamor back into their seats, I can’t stop smiling. “It was... intense. We had a moment, and everything just clicked into place.”
“Can you tell us what happened, or is it too personal?” Sasha asks.
I nod, a lump forming in my throat as I remember finding him in his closet, surrounded by memories. “He was going through some old photos and letters. His parents’ accident report came in. Turns out his mom was pregnant when they died.”
The room goes quiet.
“No,” Sasha gasps, hand flying to her mouth. “Oh my God, that’s terrible.”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “He was really broken up about it. But being there for him, holding him... It put not only everything he’s been through, but what we’ve been through, into perspective. No matter how hard I tried to hate him, I never stopped loving him.”
Noia reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I’m so happy for you, Lizzy. Never doubted for one second you two were always meant to be together.”
A chorus of agreeable murmurs come from around the table.
I glance over at Reyna. She’s been quieter than usual, and I think it’s about time I asked her about how things are going now that she’s working closely with my brother.
“So,” I quip, giving her a pointed look. “How’s it going with Logan? You two have been working together for what, about a week now?”
She groans, tossing her cards onto the table. “Don’t even get me started. Your brother has been absolutely insufferable since he had to schedule us on the same shift.”
She’s not wrong. My brother has been a bit of an ass lately.
“Insufferable how?” I ask.
“He’s like... I don’t know how to describe it.” Frustrated, she waves a dainty hand in the air. “He’s always been a bit growly, but now it’s like he’s channeling his inner grizzly bear. Last week, I suggested we try a new computer program for keeping track of calls, and he literally snarled at me.”
“Snarled?” I raise an eyebrow, trying to picture my twin brother—the flirty and charming, if not somewhat broody firefighter—actually snarling at anyone.
“Okay, maybe not literally,” she admits, taking a large gulp of her wine. “But he did that thing where he rolls his neck in frustration and said, ‘There’s no point in fixing something that isn’t goddamn broken.’”
“Oh, boy,” Noia snickers, ducking her head into her wineglass in an attempt to hide her grin.
“It’s not just that,” Reyna continues. “Yesterday, Brex asked me to cover for him while he ran an errand during his lunch break, and Logan practically jumped down my throat about how I ‘shouldn’t be flirting with co-workers.’”
I exchange a knowing look with my friends.
Well, shit. Now I’m even more intrigued.
“Hold up,” I say with a tilt of my head. “My brother accused you of flirting with Brex? That’s... interesting.”
Reyna’s cheeks flush pink. “He’s being ridiculous. For one thing, Brex is a notorious flirt and a total womanizer. He’s like that with everyone.”
This is true. Brexton Saint—LFSR’s fire fighter helicopter pilot—does tend to get around. A lot. He’s even worse than Jax was before he and Sasha had their second-chance romance. His personality is all flirt, all the time.
“Sounds more like jealousy to me,” Claire adds, shoulders bouncing as she chuckles.
“No way,” Reyna scoffs, eyes rolling to the ceiling. “What happened between us…” She looks at me with a look of shock and worry on her face.
“It cool. I know you two hooked up last year. You don’t have to elaborate if you don’t want to.”
Reyna looks down at her cards. “It was amazing until it wasn’t.”
Then her shoulders come up and she cringes. With a groan, she buries her face in her hands. “Then, at the firefighter’s charity gala last week? We, um, both had too much to drink. One thing led to another…” she says, voice fading away.
“Oh, shit.” Freaking Noia being Noia, starts bouncing in her seat. Always looking for more fodder as inspiration for her romance books, this girl.
Letting out a resigned sigh, Reyna drops her hands. “We hooked up in his office.”
“You hooked up with Logan in his office?” Sasha sputter-gasps. “That’s so hot!” she crows, stuffing a butterscotch candy in her mouth. “Did you do it on his desk or the couch? Ooo, Ooo! I know! It was both! Amiright?”
“Sash!” Claire slaps her on the arm with the back of her hand.
“Ow!”
“It was stupid,” Reyna insists, blush deepening to crimson over milky-white skin. “He made it more than clear it was a mistake, and that going forward we should keep things strictly professional.”
“And how do you feel about that?” I ask.
“It’s fine,” she shrugs. “We’re both adults. We can work together.”
“Even though he’s being a possessive jerk who’s holding you at arm’s length?” I press.
“More like the length of a fire hose,” Noia snorts with a shake of her head.
Reyna takes another sip of her wine. “It may not seem like it, but can more than handle your brother.”
I shoot her a teasing grin. “Sure sounds like it.”
A chorus of giggles fills the room.
“My advice?”
Reyna nods.
“Growl back.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “But… he’s my boss.”
“Trust me. You gotta give as good as he does. Knock him off his high-horse, so to speak. Trust me. It would be the last thing he’d expect.”
“Okay. I guess I could do that.”
“Yeah, Rey. Bring out your inner beast,” Sasha snorts. “Hit ‘im where it hurts.”
What these girls don’t know is that Rowan told me Logan called Reyna an angel.
Which means he more than likes her. But Ro trusted me with this tidbit of info so I can’t say shit.
Gotta leave it to the universe and all that crap, I guess.
Should be quite interesting to see how this is going to play out.
I check the time on my phone.
“Well, ladies,” I say, standing from my chair to gather my winnings, shoving them into my bag. “Time for me to go. Gotta a hot date with the Sexist Man Alive.”
Hoots and hollers of “You go, girl!” and “Go get that dick!” follow me out the door.