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I play it cool. “I meant to only hug you but I got carried away. I was really relieved and grateful. That’s all.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s the long and short of it.”
“Oh.”
“Was there something else you needed?”
“I wanted to get to know you.”
“You wanted to get to know me in the middle of the night?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you a firefighter?”
“Yeah, so?”
I enjoy giving him shit. “What if there’s a fire and you’re not there?”
“I’m not on call tonight or tomorrow.”
“You couldn’t have texted me in the morning.”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I needed to see you now.”
This might be the most infuriating and confounding man I’ve ever met. He simply refuses to be knocked out for the count.
And what is with the dopey grin on my face? “I’ve met a lot of weird people today, but you are the weirdest by far.”
“I’m actually pretty normal.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I play fantasy football. I drink black coffee. I don’t know what a real housewife is, but I’ve watched all of Grey’s Anatomy. I have six nieces and nephews and on everyone’s sixth birthday they get a ride on the fire engine. I roast the turkey every Thanksgiving, and on Mother’s Day I take my grandmother to brunch at the Rushmore Hotel in Gold Hill.”
I hold up my hands. “OK, stop. You don’t have to give me your padded résumé.”
“Padded?” Rowan laughs.
I glare at him but can’t wipe the smile off my face. He laughs. “God, you’re freaking adorable.”
I sigh, wishing that comment didn’t feel so good. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
I don’t mind him knitting his fingers through mine as we stroll toward the creek.
“So what will you do if you end up getting fired, which I don’t think you will, by the way.”
I’ve spent a lot of time tonight thinking about this.
“I’ll go back to Bloomington and beg for my job at the library, I guess. Wait out the semester, then re-enroll after Christmas, and I hope to get enough credits together to make up for what I’m losing. Rethink my entire final research paper, and scramble for another internship.”
Rowan is thoughtful for a moment. “What’s Bloomington like?”
