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Jared turned on the charm. “All in the line of duty, ma’am.”
Mike was ready to punch his buddy back to reality. But Jared had impressed the woman next to him. She giggled and her face lit up like she was sitting next to a superhero.
Mike turned to Cassie. “A few of these guys are still on shift. The rest will head home.”
“That’s a lot of trucks out there.” Tammy fluttered her eyelashes and tilted her head to gaze up at Jared. “Which one is yours?”
“Well now, funny you should ask. That’s my baby right there.” Jared pointed to a truck in the parking lot.
“The one with the long ladder?”
“Yep. That’s the one.”
Like hell. The quint was Laredo’s baby and he wouldn’t let anyone else touch it. Although, in all fairness, Jared had driven the quint before Laredo had joined Station Eight.
“It’s so long. How do you drive that thing in the city or around sharp turns?”
“Long arms,” he said, setting down his beer and extending one arm. “And lots of practice. I take care of her, give her what she needs, whether it’s a bath or a quart of oil, and she purrs like a little kitten.”
Oh Christ. Jared was pouring it on a bit thick.
“I just give the wheel a spin and she cuddles right up. Never lets me down.” Jared bared his pearly whites.
“Wow. It’s long and—”
“Fire,” Cassie sputtered. “Uh, ladder. I mean, it reaches up how many floors?”
Mike wanted to laugh at the double entendre. Tammy flirted just as outrageously as Jared. When she mentioned long, Cassie had jumped in as though she had to save Tammy from herself.
“That one is eighty-five feet,” Jared said, but Cassie continued as if he had not answered.
“Tammy. David and Christopher.”
Who were David and Christopher? Husbands?
Mike searched for rings on the girls’ fingers. Neither one had a gold band or a diamond. Cassie seemed nervous and her eyes were definitely trying to relay some message.
Tammy raised her arm and glanced at her watch. “Oh. Uh. I need to be going.”
“Another engagement?” Jared asked her.
“You have your duty. I have mine.” She gave an apologetic smile and reached for her purse.
Mike knew an evasive answer when he heard one. He guessed Jared had the same thought, for he stood without any coaxing.
“Nice to meet you, ladies. Maybe we’ll see you again sometime.”
“I hope so,” Tammy replied.
Mike turned to Cassie, wondering if she felt the same as her friend. He wouldn’t mind seeing her again. “I would like that.”
When she didn’t answer, he rose, making a point of brushing against her with his thigh. He heard her intake of breath and inwardly smiled.
Awareness.
Should he ask for her number—or take a chance of running into her at the restaurant again? Since she stared at the table, he decided he’d leave things up to her.
***
