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Whether Beth admitted it or not, it was a big deal. At least, to him.
He slipped his arm around her waist and cupped her ass in the palm of his hand as he tucked her head into his shoulder. It was a near perfect position and he didn’t have any desire to move from it until morning. Drew kissed the top of her head and rested his cheek on her hair. “I’m glad you told your family about me.”
She didn’t say anything for a long time. He thought maybe she’d fallen asleep. Then, in a soft voice she said, “Me, too.”
***
Chapter 25
When Drew arrived for work on Sunday morning, the station was full of activity. The outgoing shift had recently returned from a fire and everyone was busy cleaning equipment and getting debriefed. As he walked by some of the guys, he thought he heard one of them mention arson, but didn’t get a chance to question it before he heard his name being called.
“Parker!” He looked up to find Chief Franks peering over the second-story railing.
“Morning, Chief.”
“I need to see you in my office at eight sharp.” Chief Franks’ gaze landed somewhere behind him. “You, too, Cameron.”
Willis Cameron, captain of one of the ladder trucks, shot Drew a questioning look as they both headed toward the locker room to stow their things. “Any idea what that’s about?”
Drew shoved his duffel bag into his locker. “I thought I overheard one of the guys downstairs mention arson. I’m guessing another building was targeted last night.”
“Bomb and arson really needs to catch this guy already. What’s it been . . . six buildings now? I wonder if there were any people in this one.”
“I guess we’re going to find out.” Shutting his locker, Drew began walking toward the kitchen with Willis. “And even if this one wasn’t, sooner or later there will be. His luck is going to run out.”
“True that.”
Lucky for Drew, Beth had brought home some of her amazing blueberry muffins on Saturday and he’d enjoyed them and a cup of coffee before leaving her house that morning. She’d gotten up to see him off even though he told her she didn’t have to. Sitting there with her at her table eating breakfast had felt very domesticated to him. It had only been a week and yet it felt as if they’d done the same routine hundreds of times.
Drew smiled as he poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. He was taking his first sip when his crew found him.
“There you are. I thought maybe your big date had worn you out and you’d called in sick.”
Of course, everyone in the kitchen heard Romeo. They all stopped what they were involved in and turned their attention on Drew.
He took his time, taking another drink of his coffee before he responded. “You think I’d let you off that easy, Romeo? Someone’s got to be here to keep you in line.”
Some of the guys chuckled. Romeo was a great guy, but he had the habit of talking first and thinking later.
“Come on, Parker. You’ve got to give us some details here. Let us live vicariously.”
Drew took his coffee over to the table and sat down. Although he still felt protective of his relationship with Beth, he knew it was a lost cause to keep it from the guys he worked with, especially his crew—they were like family. Since he was planning to be with Beth for a long time to come, they were going to have to know about her sooner or later.
Before he could figure out what to say, Baily pulled up a chair beside him. “It’s the café lady, right?”
“Yes.”
Romeo whistled. “Oh man. You’ve got good taste. That is one hot piece of ass.”
Drew gave him a hard stare.
“Oh wow,” Irwin said, finally piping up for the first time. “It’s like that, is it? Better watch what you say, Romeo. Looks like our captain here has it bad for this one.”
Some of the other guys were still paying attention to their conversation. Others were starting to drift out of the room. It was nearing eight and the previous shift was eager to head home—probably to get some sleep since they’d most likely been up all night fighting that suspected arson.
“You should bring her to Romeo’s barbecue,” Baily said.
They all nodded.
