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Rhys rested his elbows on his desk, steepling his fingers together under his chin. “If you don’t want to do this, I understand. Chase and Archer both have young kids, so it’s better for them to stay there full-time. You have a little more flexibility. I had hoped you could help in your downtime. I will not pressure you to officially take any of those jobs permanently.”
I didn’t want to say it aloud, but this was perfect for me. Winter was the off-season for hotshot firefighters. I never liked being bored. Yet, I felt pulled by opposing forces. Knowing that Tish would be my primary support on this project made it almost irresistible. But I knew she might not like that idea.
This wasn’t a problem I could discuss with Rhys because he would tell me to back the fuck off around Tish. I decided to do the logical thing. “Okay, I’ll make it work.”
“Talk to the crew at the station, let me know when you have some in-between times, and we’ll schedule your travel.”
At that moment, there was a light knock on Rhys’s office door. “Come in!” he called.
I knew it was Tish before she even opened the door. For me, the magnetism of her presence could reach straight through the door.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said, as soon as her eyes landed on me.
She was composed. With her hair pulled back tightly, she wore a fitted skirt and a silky blouse that fell to her hips. My mind conjured up the image of her blouse unbuttoned and that skirt rucked up around her hips while I teased her. I forcibly kicked my thoughts off that track. Fuck me.
“You didn’t interrupt,” Rhys replied. He gestured her through the door. “I was just speaking with Griffin about a project for us. He’s going to help out when he has time in between firefighting this winter with some things at the brewery in Willow Brook. I’d like you to be his main contact here.”
Tish’s eyes flicked from Rhys to me and back to Rhys. There was the barest hint of a flush on her cheeks. “Of course.” The phone rang out in the reception area. “I’d like to get that if you don’t mind,” she said.
Rhys waved her away with a smile. “Answer the phone.”
Tish gave me a quick nod, giving nothing away in her gaze.
That was the last time I saw her. For months.
Chapter Eleven
Tish
Griffin: Hey, I haven’t seen you in the office at all. Hoping everything is okay.
I stared down at Griffin’s text and let out a sigh. Though a part of me wanted to be a coward and just ignore him, that didn’t feel right. And yet, I most definitely didn’t have the courage to tell him the whole truth.
Before I could chicken out and overthink it, I tapped to open the text screen and replied.
Me: Dealing with some family things. That’s why I haven’t been in the office. I think you already know this, but it’s really not a good idea for me to see you. I’m not sure when I’ll be back in the office.
As soon as I hit send, I didn’t block Griffin, but I muted him. It had been three weeks since that stupid kiss. I rested my elbows on my kitchen table and tried not to cry. I was beyond startled with the direction my life had taken.
I tapped my phone screen again, this time pulling up the screen into the portal for my doctor’s office. I wasn’t lying when I said I was out of the office because of family things.
“Oh, my God,” I muttered on the heels of a shaky breath.
Three months ago, before I’d seen Griffin again and discovered he was my boss’s brother, I’d been dating a guy. I met Paul through a dating app, the scourge of modern humanity. He’d seemed like a nice enough guy, nice enough that we went on multiple dates. In a startling and pleasant surprise, he hadn’t sent me dick pics. At all.
I shook my head every time I thought about the overwhelming number of dick pics offered up by guys on dating apps. I’d liked Paul enough to go past kisses, and then that fated night happened.
That night had been the first time in a long time I’d done something other than kissing with anyone. We had all of the responsible conversations about birth control, expectations, and so on. He wore a condom. Until he didn’t. The sex had been nothing more than okay. I was cautious about all the shitty things men could do, spiking drinks and more. Hell, in college they’d gone past spiking drinks to carrying around needles to jab girls with date rape drugs. I thought I’d been so on top of it. I did all the things to make sure Paul was safe. I’d checked his background, checked his work history, and so on. Not a single red flag came up. Until he slipped the condom off right at the end. By the time I realized what had happened, it was too late.
He made a show of getting up to dispose of the condom after we had sex. But I was no idiot. I felt the semen running down my legs between my thighs when I stood.
“Did you take your condom off?” I asked.
Paul with his rumpled dark hair and nice brown eyes glanced over, not quite meeting my eyes. “It must’ve slipped off.” His tone was too casual.
I’d known in that very moment that he was lying. With my stomach churning and a discombobulating sense of betrayal rocking me. I’d stared back at him while I stood there naked. “I need you to leave.”
“Now?” His eyes widened.
