Page 10 of The Fire Captain's Unexpected Baby
“My loser date is here,” I sigh, the memory flooding back.
“The man who left you tied up?” Aaron tenses and seems to take up even more space beneath the tiny table.
When I nod, the subtle movement of his hands draws my gaze. They clench into fists, which he tries to hide when he sees me looking.
He takes a deep breath, relaxing a little bit.
“I never really liked him that much or anything. But it’s pretty embarrassing to have that happen to you, you know?”
Aaron flexes his fingers, a smile spreading slowly across his face like sunrise. “Do you want to embarrass him instead?”
I arch an eyebrow at him. Was it even possible to embarrass a man who left me half-naked and tied to a hotel bed for someone else to find?
“What do you have in mind?” I ask.
“Come out from under the table, and I’ll show you.”
Chapter Four
Aaron
It’s easier than I thought it would be.
Paige emerges from under the table with me, hesitant to step back into the party. When she stands up, I place one hand on her lower back and guide her to the bar where she saw her so-called date.
“What are you doing?” she whispers, frantic. “I can’t go over there.”
“Relax, sweetheart,” I tell her with a smile. I tuck a strand of her ginger hair behind her ear in an intimate gesture. “We’re just going to grab a drink.”
“Sweetheart,” she repeats the endearment.
I see the moment it registers, the light that goes on behind her eyes. She lets a smile tug at her face, but she doesn’t totally surrender to it.
The bar is self-serve, so I step behind it and start pouring. Asking her what she wants to drink would be to admit that I barely know her. I let my hand hover over the wine bottles instead, until she nods at one.
She never takes her eyes off me, but I can sense her attention being pulled in another direction. I glance up and see the man who must be guilty staring at her openly. Before he gathers the courage to say anything, I pass her the drink and lead her back toward our friends.
“Paige,” Levi greets her when we approach, not missing my hand resting on her waist. “I didn’t know you already met the captain.”
“Long story,” she says. “Wouldn’t want to bore you with the details.”
She looks up at me and leans into my touch. For a moment, her hand rises to rest against my chest. God, it feels good to have her so close to me after a week spent wondering whether I’d ever see her again.
I should have known we would cross paths in a town as small as Crown Hill.
“Paige was one of the first people I met when I moved here,” I tell her brother, trying to be friendly. If he turns out to be overprotective, I’ll need to win him over early. “She’s made the transition easier.”
“And yet, the only nights I’d watched Noah were nights you were working, Aaron.”
He’s sharper than I gave him credit for, but I smile anyway as if this is a mere coincidence. “I didn’t realize you were her brother until now. Guess we’ll be spending a lot more time together.”
Levi doesn’t have a chance to respond before an older woman barrels over. She looks just like an older version of Paige, a carbon copy with white hair instead of ginger. She must have been a knockout when she was younger.
“I’m taking Noah home,” she says, reaching for the little boy. “You and Levi should stay and celebrate. Let me watch him tonight.”
“You really don’t have to do that,” Paige protests.
The woman looks at her pointedly, the boy already cradled in her arms. Her gaze drifts to me, causing Paige to drop her hand from my chest. “It’s about time you had some fun,” she says. “Tell me about it tomorrow.”
