Page 20 of Heat Advisory

His mouth was hot and hungry against mine. We were both breathing fast, hearts pounding, the world outside the kitchen completely forgotten. He tasted like mint and root beer. It was a weird combination, but it tasted delicious.

Just then, a whisper yell from the stairs broke our intense moment.

“Cora, are you down there?” Morgan‘s voice was muffled but still floated down the stairs.

We both froze.

Jay pulled back, eyes wide, breathless but still holding me close.

“Sweet dreams, Cora,” he whispered as he kissed my forehead, soft and quick like a promise, and then he turned quickly and walked down the hallway, bare feet silent on the wood.

I watched him go as my heart raced and my lips tingled.

It didn’t matter that he was the type of guy who should have a warning label for being a danger to my heart. A girl still wanted to be wanted. It felt good when a hot man wanted to be with you. Especially one you’d dreamed about nearly every night.

7

“Water always seeks the lowest point. So does my luck.”

—It’s science

Jay

I was getting ready for my date with Cora when my phone buzzed. Morgan’s name popped up, and I was happy to take the call, even though I was running a few minutes behind, because I needed to know what I was picking up, suit-wise, today.

“Hey, favorite sister,” I greeted her.

She grumbled, but I could still hear the smile in her voice. “I’m your only sister.”

“Semantics,” I replied. “Hey, I’m about to head out the door, and I’m going to hit up the suit shop today to get what I need for your wedding. Can you text me the names of the styles and colors you picked again so I can make sure I get the right thing?”

“Yes, that’s why I was calling. I was going to have you write it down on a piece of paper and repeat it back to me so I knew you got it, but that works too. I’ll text it to you right now.”

“Thanks, appreciate it,” I told her and was just about to hang up when she shouted quickly into the phone.

“Send pictures of the receipt, or I won’t believe you went!”

I rolled my eyes but smiled. Maybe I could have Cora take a few pictures of me—an excuse to keep her close and maybe bring her into the changing room with me.

My smile morphed into a wicked grin just thinking about it.

My phone buzzed again almost as soon as I put it down. I really didn’t have time to answer it, or I was going to be late to meet Cora, but the minute I saw Sawyer Stetson—my boss’s name—on the screen, I knew I couldn’t ignore the call. It wasn’t a good sign for him to be calling, because I knew that meant I was about to get roped into something. However, I was trying to work my way up through the ranks, so I picked up.

“Hey, Jay,” he said after I greeted him. “I hate to do this to you on your day off, but the puke flu has been going around, and I’m down three firefighters today for the shift.”

Shit. I did not want to miss my date with Cora.

“I’ve got someone coming in for the back half of the twenty-four-hour shift, but I need someone for the first twelve,” he added, which meant I would definitely be missing the date since I needed to pivot to work.

“It sucks, I get that, but you coming in for stuff like this doesn’t go unnoticed by Leavenworth,” he said, mentioning the assistant fire chief’s name. “This is the kind of teamwork he remembers when looking at your application for investigator.”

I hated it, but I knew he was right. I was so close to getting this job I could taste it. I would make it up to Cora somehow, because I couldn’t pass this up, not when there was so much on the line.

“Yeah, no problem,” I told him. “Let me grab my bag, and I’ll be in.”

“Thanks, Jay,” he replied, sounding relieved. “I’m meeting with Leavenworth later today and will definitely mention this.”

After I hung up with him, I shot off a quick text to Cora to let her know I got called into work and wouldn’t be able to meet for breakfast, but I would make it up to her.