Page 69 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
I’m still scared thinking about what this could be. I recently charged into a massive wildfire, burned both hands, and made it out alive. But the idea of Paige cooking for me sets my heart racing. My palms sweat.
The clock on the wall says that it’s almost time for me to go.
I have to do some kind of damage control in the evening. She said she wanted to cook at home, but she didn’t say that I couldn’t bring a dish to share.
I stop by the deli on the way over to her house, just a short walk off the main path.
“A tray of egg salad croissants,” I order at the counter.
The old man smiles and nods. He pulls a ready platter from beneath the counter in a chilled section. I pay and leave.
Dessert.
I double back to the deli to see if he has anything I could pass off as dessert. He raises two bushy eyebrows at me when I barrel back through the door.
“No refund on the egg salad croissants,” he warns.
“No, not that.” I laugh. “Do you sell dessert? Tonight’s kind of a special night. I’m not sure my girlfriend’s cooking skills are up to par. I just want to be prepared in case this is a disaster.”
“You’re the firefighter who has been seeing Paige,” he concludes with a chuckle.
“Guilty,” I admit, cursing how small this town is.
I didn’t even know that Paige shopped here at the deli, but I guess I should have assumed she did. It’s very close to her house.
“This is one of her favorites,” he says with a conspiratorial smile. “My tiramisu, made from my late wife’s traditional Italian recipe. You won’t find anything better in the entire state.”
I hand him the money, tell him to keep the change, and leave the deli feeling successful.
I was thriving in Crown Hill, making friends in all the right places and always discovering hidden gems. Now, I had authentic tiramisu in my hands—one of my mom’s favorites, too.
Whistling, I walk casually down the cracked concrete sidewalk to Paige’s house. I set the boxes of food down on the porch swing so that I can knock on the door.
I’m not prepared for the sight that greets me when the door swings open, though.
Paige is more dressed up than I’ve ever seen her. I genuinely thought she looked sexy in her scrubs at the hospital, but this?
She is wearing an emerald-green dress that ties at her small waist, and the low neckline draws more attention to her ample breasts. The fabric clings to her skin, highlighting every single soft curve. She’s showing off the very curves that she once found so repulsive.
Rather, that herdatefound so repulsive.
Maybe I’ve managed to change her mind.
Maybe I’ll have a chance to change her mind again tonight.
My eyes travel down to her hips, narrowing on her perfectly shaped calves. She’s wearing three-inch heels, closing the height gap between us in a way that I suddenly don’t mind. It puts her lips at just the right height for me to lean in.
I don’t say hello first. I go for the kiss like a man who’s been starved for weeks.
If the intensity of the first kiss surprises her, she says nothing. She kisses me back with abandon, heat building between us. I grip her hips and pull her flush against me. She moans when my cock pokes her thigh, an involuntary response to seeing her look like this.
My lips leave hers just for a moment to trail down her neck. I nip and trace my way to her exposed collarbone with my tongue. She lets out a little whimper and tilts her head to give me better access.
But then I hear it.
“Dada.”
I pull back from her in an instant, like cold water has been thrown on a raging fire. The oxygen has been sucked out of the room, and the blaze is no longer a threat.
