Page 1 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
Chapter One
Paige
Of all the places I thought I might end up tonight, this is the last one I pictured. The hotel is nice enough: modern art, clean linens, a TV without a layer of dust on its silver screen. But I don’t relish being anchored to the bed like a prisoner.
Maybe it’s my fault for not being honest enough with my date before we got into acompromisingsituation.
When he suggested that we do something out of the ordinary, I jumped at the chance. How many opportunities did I have to be treated as a woman rather than just as a mom? Summer was watching Noah for the night, giving me a rare night off.
The cold metal handcuffs latched around my wrists before I had even truly thought it through.
Alexander was nice enough. Attentive during what was supposed to be our first date. Sweet when he walked me to the hotel door,kissing me in a way that lit me up inside without demanding more than I was ready to give. Still, I kept major pieces of myself from him.
Noah included.
I made sure Noah wasn’t home before I went on a date with him. He stayed with Levi, Summer, or my mother. They had long since encouraged me to take the time I needed to be my own person. I no longer felt embarrassed to tell them about a date.
Summer knew I intended to spend the night with Alexander for the first time. And she knew that I wouldn’t do it at home, but that didn’t help me right now.
Because I’m handcuffed to the bed, and my date left me here.
Had taken the key with him, too. Guess he didn’t realize the keys were in his pocket in his mad dash to get away from me—as far away from me as humanly possible.
Of course, my clothes are on the opposite side of the room. My phone is nestled right in the back pocket of my jeans. I try to stretch my legs to the side of the bed, aiming to grip the denim with my toes to pull it closer, but no such luck.
If I can’t call for help and I’m shackled to the bed, what am I supposed to do?
There’s only one thing I can do, but it means I’ll have to let go of whatever shred of pride is still lodged deep in my chest. Someone has to let me out of these handcuffs. My wrists are already bruised from trying to pull free.
A flush creeps up my neck and covers my face at the prospect of what comes next. Still, I think of Noah and how good it will feel to get home to him—something I can’t do if no one helps me.
I tip my head back and let out the loudest howl I can.
I keep begging for help, trying to make it obvious that I’m in distress and not in the throes of passion. I yell out the room number so that they know where to send help.
“Can you hear me in there?”
“Yes, yes!” I call to the friendly voice on the other side of the door.
“You’re causing quite a racket. But I called 911 for you.” They sound a little abashed. “Don’t want to get too involved in whatever you have going on in there.”
“Thank you,” I gush. “Really, thank you.”
Relief rushes through me at the prospect of not having to yell anymore. Someone will be along to set me free from my predicament. I can laugh about this with Summer over several glasses of deep red wine.
One day, it will be a funny story for some unlucky firefighter, just like the stories Levi tells at the dinner table for our amusement.
I practice deep breathing until a knock sounds at the door.
“Ma’am, your neighbor called us. Do you need help?”
I cringe at the sound of the masculine voice. Of course, they couldn’t send a female firefighter to see what was going on. That is just my luck.
“No,” I call back, wondering if I could start over and try for a female firefighter.
“Should we leave?”
I sigh, realizing that this might be my one ticket out of here. “No.”
