Page 112 of Irresistibly Wicked

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. I do. That’s why I’m asking. I don’t know if it’s Zander, or Brian going to rehab, or both, but you’ve changed. You seem lighter, happier.”

“Thanks. I think it’s both, and his family and the friends I’ve made through them,” she said honestly. Then she forced those squishy feelings down deep, forcing steel into her spine, for the reality bearing down on her. “But you don’t have to worry about me, Cap. After this arrangement is over, I’m not going to fall off the wagon. I’ll snap back to my grumpier self and help Brian through his recovery.”

He smiled. “Shauna, you’re never grumpy. Closed off and tough, maybe. But not grumpy. Are you ready for Brian to come home?”

His coming home felt like a double-edged sword. “Yeah. I’m looking forward to seeing him.”

“Promise me you will not try to shoulder it alone this time,” he cautioned gently.

“I give you my word.” She met his gaze. “I’ve learned my lesson, and I’ll never try to cover up for him again.”

“Good. You know if you need me, I’m here for any and all of it.”

Warmth curled in her chest, but before she could respond, Howie shouted, “Hey, birthday girl. You leaving me with all the paperwork?”

Shauna turned back to Cap, but he’d already walked away, leaving her with the weight of his words and an ache she couldn’t quite shake.

ZANDER SAT IN his truck in the firehouse parking lot watching the rigs roll into the garage, hoping Shauna hadn’t spotted him. He noted the time, starting the twenty-minute countdown for Shauna to complete her post-call procedures of restocking, sanitizing, and whatever else needed to be done before he could bother her. Cap had told him it usually took about that long and had suggested asking Howie to do the post-call procedures for her, but Zander knew his girl too well. She hated shirking her responsibilities.

If the gods were on his side, she wouldn’t get another call right away, and he’d get to spend some time with her. He’d missed her today. Hell, he missed her whenever they were apart.

He zipped off a text, climbed out of the truck, and got to work laying out a nest of pillows and blankets in the truck bed, then set up the hibachi and cooler near the tailgate. He put out plates and silverware, glasses and drinks, and grabbed a few wildflowers from the field, tucking them into the string lights he’d hung around the frame of the truck bed.

After twenty minutes he made his way into the garage and spotted Shauna heading for the firehouse door with Howie. She looked tired, but so fucking beautiful, she was the best damn sight he’d ever seen.

“Shauna,” he called out.

She turned, startled, and her whole face brightened as he closed the distance between them. “Zan. What are you doing here?”

“Having dinner with my wife on her birthday.” He lifted his chin to Howie. “How’s it going, man?”

“Great, but you keep this up, and you’re going to give the rest of us husbands a bad rep.”

Zander laughed. “Better up your game if you want to keep your woman.”

Howie shook his head and headed inside.

With a hand on Shauna’s back, he said, “Can you sit outside for a bit?”

“Sure.” As they headed out of the garage, she said, “I thought you were having dinner with your family at the beach and then watching the fireworks.”

“And let my girl spend the anniversary of the day we met alone? I don’t think so.”

She looked at him like he’d hung the moon. “We have an anniversary,” she said softly, as if it were the first time she realized the day they’d met could be called that.

“Yes, we do. Technically we have several. The day we met, the day you saved my life, the day I proposed, the day we got married, the first time you stuck your tongue down my throat.” He pulled her closer and said, “The first time you seduced me.”

She laughed as he led her around his truck, and those dimples appeared, deep and devastating, when she saw what he’d done. She leaned into him and said, “You really do put other husbands to shame.”

“Only for you, Angel.”

Her glorious smile faltered. “This is incredible, Zan, but you know I could get a call at any time, and you went to so much trouble.”

“Don’t you think I thought about that?” He lit the hibachi. “Tonight is yours, darlin’. If you get called away, I’ll be here waiting when you get back.”

“No. Don’t waste your time waiting for me. Calls can take forever if they’re bad. Especially on holidays.”

“Save your breath, Flores,” he teased. “I’m a big boy. I can entertain myself until you get back.” His phone rang. Right on time. He pulled it from his pocket, seeing Brian’s name on the incoming video call. He brushed his thumb over the edge of the phone. He’d planned this moment for her. He wanted this moment for her, but that didn’t ease the tightness in his chest as he hit the green icon and said, “It’s for you, darlin’,” and handed her the phone.