Page 69 of From the Embers

I glance at him. “Thanks, bro.”

He clasps my hand and squeezes it. “Trust me, the last thing I wanna do is stand here and watch you two make out. By the way, your parents are on their way. Abby too.”

“Appreciate it.”

Daryl leaves and Adi still clings to me.

When she pulls back, her eyes are bloodshot and her cheeks pink. She wipes her nose with her sleeve. “Please don’t ever do that to me again.”

“It was an accident, baby girl. These things happen, it’s part of the job.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I don’t like it when shit goes wrong either, but the important thing is, everybody got out. I knew what I was in for when we went in there.”

“And it was dangerous. I saw the footage, D, it was insane!”

“It was, but our team is pretty phenomenal.”

“You are pretty phenomenal.”

I brush back her hair, really taking her in. “I thought of you, right before I went under.”

Tears fall from her pretty eyes again. “I dropped the phone when JJ called me.”

“I heard.”

“I h-had to tell Daryl. Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m never gonna be mad at you, Adi. If you think I’d ever do that then you don’t know me at all, and we need to rectify that.”

“This is nuts. Us. What if you don’t like me? What if I don’t live up to, to⁠—”

I place a finger over her lips. “First, I don’t like you, I love you. Second, you don’t just live up to any expectations you think I have—you exceed them. I love everything about you. I want to be with you. I want to start a life with you. Today. Now.” I swipe one of her runaway tears with my thumb. “I hope you want that, too?”

“I do.” She sniffles. “Just the idea of losing you sent me into panic mode. I just froze. I can’t imagine a life without you in it. I love you, D, so much.”

I press a kiss to her adorable nose. “I love you, too.”

“You’re not just saying all this because you’re on pain meds?”

I laugh. “Nope. There’s no getting rid of me now.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

We kiss, and she’s careful, so much more than I want her to be, but I wince when I reach for her.

“Hey,” she says. “You’re supposed to be on bed rest, which means I’m in charge now.”

“There’s my girl.”

She strokes my cheek. “Your crew is pretty amazing, but Dylan and AJ said you went back in there when the flames had overtaken the apartment.”

“I couldn’t leave knowing there was a kid trapped. It’s what we do.”

“That’s just it,” she whispers. “You’re that kinda guy. The guy who goes running into burning buildings without any fear. You take on impossible tasks and come out the other end. I think you’ve always been my hero, and not just because you pulled me out of a fire when I was four, but because you have a big heart, Denver James Banks, and I love every inch of it.”

“Maybe you’re my hero, for being so brave, for looking after your sister when she was sick. I saw who you were, too, when we were both so young.”