Page 8 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
Get it together, Evans,I tell myself.She’s a bridesmaid, not a piece of meat.
I force my eyes to travel from her vibrant dress to her face—and then my heart nearly sputters to a stop.
I would recognize that face anywhere.
Paige.
It’s the face that I see in my dreams at night. The fantasies that entertain me when I can’t sleep on a long overnight shift. Her ginger hair burns bright in the sunlight, a shade I wouldn’t be able to forget if I tried.
Her brown eyes are warm and inviting. The closer she draws to the rest of the crowd and me, the clearer I can see the crinkles at the corners where her soft smile lights her up. A notable change from the frazzled and embarrassed looks I got last week.
What in the world isthiswoman doing atthiswedding?
I’ve never been happier to have accepted an invitation that I didn’t want, to the wedding of people I barely know. The ceremony passed in a blur. I’m sure the bride looked beautiful, but she’s not the one I’m looking at.
As the bride and groom kiss, the crowd roars. Suddenly, the chairs are taken away, and the backyard transforms into a relaxed party.
For a moment, I lose track of Paige in the crowd.
“Nice ceremony,” I tell Zachary when he has a free moment. I have been searching for an opening to ask about Paige and her appearance at the wedding. “I’m glad you invited me.”
“You’re new in town.” He shrugs. “Least I could do. But you’ll have to excuse me. Summer is glaring daggers at me because I’m not dancing with her.”
I step back, and he crosses the backyard in just a few strides, taking his new wife’s hand in his own.
Paige stands just to the left of the couple, this time with a cute little boy in her arms. The toddler is wearing a tiny suit, just a little too big for his tiny body. There’s something endearing about the bow tie around his neck, a perfect match to his mother’s dress.
She mentioned she had a mom bod, and I have to agree. All softness and gentle curves. Whatever she thinks of her mom bod, I can’t forget it. This must be her little boy. I wonder if he is her only child. I wonder where the father is.
Unlike me, Paige seems to be perfectly content to be here. On this particular night, she looks confident and comfortable—like she’s home. She’s surrounded by a small group of men from the station.
Levi is parked at her right side with one hand on the little boy. He says something that makes her toss her head back and let out a peal of laughter that I can hear from here.
Jealousy spears through me, a sudden wave that I can’t control and would never have predicted.
Is it possible that Levi is the boy’s father?
She mentioned that everyone at the station knows her, but I did catch her in a compromising position. Who am I to judge if they have an open relationship? That is between the two of them, and I will steer as clear as possible of that drama if I can.
I watch her a little while longer, trying to pinpoint the dynamic among all of them. She seems to know everyone, but I look closer, trying to learn whether sheknowsany of them.
Maybe that’s why I notice when her gaze snaps to the edge of the party. The smile vanishes from her face, and her laughter dries up. Casually, I scan the yard for any sign of danger but find nothing.
By the time I look back, Levi has the child in his arms, and Paige has disappeared into the crowd, walking swiftly in the opposite direction.
I can’t let her get away from me.
Naturally, I follow her to see where she’s going. Maybe I can offer a helping hand and bring that smile back to her face.
* * *
Paige
This can’t be happening. Not here. Not at Summer’s wedding, with all of these people around us. This was supposed to be ahappyoccasion, not one where I wound up embarrassed in front of every friend I have.
If anyone has a right to be at this wedding, it’sme.
I’m in the wedding party, for the love of it all.
