* * *
Cassie: You are not putting it up for sale. It’s going to be fine. There’s no such thing as bad publicity.
* * *
Savannah: Not true. Being accused of trying to burn down your own factory is definitely bad. All bad. I’m done, Cassie. I don’t have the energy to defend myself, and I hate that you’ve been dragged into this mess.
* * *
Cassie: It’s not a mess. It’s just a rough patch. Seriously. Relax, go eat some scones, and let me take care of this. All will be well.
* * *
Savannah: Did you finally take up meditating?
* * *
Cassie: Nope.
* * *
Savannah: Is Olivia dosing you with her Valerian root tea? The one that puts three-hundred-pound men in an insta-coma?
* * *
Cassie: Nope. No tea. I prefer coffee; you know that.
* * *
Savannah: Then why are you suddenly so Zenned out? Because the big sister I know would not…
Oh…
I get it.
You’re riding the post-orgasm train to Relaxation Station. Aren’t you?!
* * *
Cassie: There could be some validity to that statement…
* * *
Savannah: OH MY GOD YOU DID IT!! YOU FINALLY LOST YOUR V CARD! I’M SO PROUD AND HAPPY FOR YOU!
* * *
Cassie: LOL. Stop. It’s not like I cured cancer. No need for all the caps.
* * *
Savannah: YES THERE IS!! THIS WAS A BIG STEP FOR YOU! BUT YOU DID IT! YAY!!!! GO YOU!!! GO FUCK WIN!!!
* * *
Cassie: One more all caps sentence and I’m turning off my phone.
* * *
Savannah: Okay, okay. But you have to tell me more! I want to know everything! Was it amazing? Is sex your new favorite toy? Do you have waking dreams about his penis because it’s the best penis in the world and all you want to do is be naked with it all day long?
* * *
Cassie: Yes, it was amazing. Yes, it’s my favorite toy. And yes, I think about him all the time, but not just that part of him. All the parts of him. His big hands and his smile and the way he laughs and how sexy he looks cooking eggs in his boxer shorts and how gentle he is with George Cooney, even when he wakes up with a raccoon claw in his nose.
All of him. The whole package.
* * *
Savannah: Oh dear… I was afraid of this. The train is passing Relaxation Station and heading straight for Put a Ring on It Crossing.
* * *
Cassie: No! Omg, no way. A ring isn’t anywhere on my radar. That’s nuts, Savannah.
* * *
Savannah: Is it? Because what you just described sounds an awful lot like love to me.
* * *
Cassie: I just enjoy spending time with him. That’s all. He makes me happy. Everything’s better with him around. Me included. I’m more relaxed and productive than I’ve been in years. I’m going to have this app ready to launch in a month and then all you’ll need to do is sit back and rake in the money.
* * *
Savannah: I wish I had even half your optimism.
* * *
Cassie: Maybe you should go get laid. It’s pretty great. I highly recommend it.
* * *
Savannah: Ha! Nope. No more of that for me. I’m going to become a nun. Or maybe Mary Poppins, a woman too busy magically governessing the needy children of London to mess with passing fancies like sex and romance.
* * *
Cassie: But wasn’t Mary Poppins dating that chimney sweep guy?
* * *
Savannah: No way! They were just friends, psycho. He may have had a crush, but Burt was not tapping the Poppins. She would have spanked him with her umbrella for trying.
* * *
Cassie: Well, maybe he liked a little spanky with his hanky panky.
* * *
Savannah: Who are you? And what have you done with my sister?
* * *
Cassie: I’m the alien pod person who’s taken over her pre-frontal cortex. You may call me Gorgon Rotovirus Twelve.
* * *
Savannah: You’re so weird. Is Ryan aware of how weird you are?
* * *
Cassie: Yes. *smiley face emoji* He likes me that way. He likes me just the way I am.
* * *
Savannah: Wow. I just teared up a little. That’s…
That’s beautiful, honey. I’m happy for you.
* * *
Cassie: Me too. I can’t believe it, really. That this is my life. That I get to wake up to an amazing man who thinks I’m beautiful and sexy and smart and who loves being with me as much as I love being with him.
* * *
Savannah: You just used the L word twice. You realize that, right?
* * *
Cassie: Yeah. I do. And maybe…
* * *
Savannah: Maybe?
* * *
Cassie: Talk to you soon. I’ve got to go see a man about a stuffed squirrel. Gordon is making a firefighter outfit for me as a surprise for Ryan. It’s his three-year anniversary of joining the department tonight.
* * *
Savannah: Ew. A squirrel? Seriously?
* * *
Cassie: Not ew. All of Gordon’s squirrels are sourced from naturally deceased rodents. No animals are caged or treated cruelly in the creation of his masterpieces.
* * *
Savannah: Roadkill, Cassie. That means they’re roadkill he picks up off the street. You are gifting your true love with roadkill. I beg you to stop and reconsider this choice.
* * *
Cassie: Nope. I have to follow my heart. And my heart says Ryan is going to treasure this thoughtful gift.
* * *
Savannah: All right. I guess you know best…
* * *
Cassie: That’s the spirit. Now go find a sexy Englishman, drag him back to your bed, and don’t set him free until he’s put a smile on your face. Check in soon.
Twenty-Four
Ryan
* * *
Sleep is impossible. I’m coming off a grueling forty-eight on duty, during which we actually saw action every few hours—summer is fire season and it’s hitting hard this year—but thirty minutes after I’ve collapsed onto my mattress I’m still lying awake staring at the ceiling.
My bed doesn’t feel right.
There’s something missing.
Someone missing…
I reach a hand out to the cool side of the mattress, wishing Cassie were here. This is the first time I’ve slept here alone since that first night. It’s amazing how quickly I’ve grown addicted to the feel of her next to me, the smell of her shampoo lingering on the pillowcase, the comfort of knowing she’s close enough to touch.
“But it’s four in the morning,” I mumble to George, who is curled up at the foot of the bed, waiting for me to nod off so he can take up his preferred position nested in my hair. “If I go over there now, she’ll think I’m crazy.”
No sooner are the words out of my mouth than I hear a soft tap-tap on the window. I sit up, squinting in the moonlight cutting through the crack in the curtains, heart lifting even as I warn myself that it’s probably just a tree limb hitting the glass. I swing out from under the covers and pad barefoot to the window in nothing but my boxer briefs, parting the curtains to reveal a wish come true.
Grinning so hard it makes my jaw ache a little, I unlock the window and pull it up. “Hello there, beautiful. I was just lying in bed, wishing you were here.”
She smiles and the night is instantly brighter. “I heard your truck pull up. I tried to go back to sleep, but I was too excited. I wanted to be the first person to give you a happy firefighter-iversary present.” She pulls what looks like a stuffed animal on a small black circular stand from behind her back and holds it up in the air. “For you.”
It’s a squirrel, I realize. One of Gordon’s taxidermied squirrels, dressed in a tiny firefighter hat and coat and holding an…ax? Yes, an ax.
It’s creepy.
And weird.
And oddly heroic looking, and I adore it nearly as much as I do this woman.
“Get in here,” I murmur roughly. “I need to thank you properly for this amazing present.”
She reaches up, and I grab her beneath the arms, drawing her inside as she walks her flip-flop-covered feet up the side of the house. “You really like it? You promise?”
“It’s perfect.” I set her on her feet, taking a quick beat to close the window so the mosquitos won’t get in, before I turn back to her, accepting the squirrel for closer inspection. I hold it up to the moonlight, admiring the detail on the costume. “It’s the best firefighter-iversary present I’ve ever gotten.”
It’s also the only firefighter-iversary present I’ve ever gotten. I can’t believe she remembered the date I mentioned offhand a few days ago.
“Oh, good.” She clasps her hands together in a fist at her chest, drawing my attention to the thin white tank top and tiny striped sleep shorts she’s wearing. “Savannah said you would think I was crazy.”
I set her gift on top of the bureau and turn back to her, sliding my hands around her waist. “It is crazy. But I love it.” I pull her against me, cock stirring as a closer inspection of her tank top reveals no bra beneath. “How can I ever thank you for your thoughtfulness?”
“You could take my shirt off,” she teases, dimple popping. “I think you’ve already disposed of it with your eyes. Might as well get rid of it in real life.”
“Have I told you how smart you are today?” I reach for the bottom of her top only for her to stop me with a hand on mine.
“No, you haven’t. But you can—and take off my shirt—as soon as we put George out. I believe in protecting the eyes of the innocent.”
“And the obnoxious,” I agree, starting for George. I scoop him up from the bottom of the bed, ignoring the grumbling sound he makes as I carry him across the room. “Get used to it, buddy. We’ll let you in later if you’re good.” I set him on the floor in the hall and close the door.
And then I spin and jog back to Cassie, making her laugh as I tackle her around the waist, sending us both tumbling onto the bed.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were happy to see me,” she says, looping her arms around my neck.