“Oh.” She dragged her mind back from inappropriate thoughts and turned toward the
house, blowing out a breath. “Well, I have to start on the outside next. Out the front
I want to relay the tessellated tiles on the front porch, create some sort of garden
from the chaos out there, and put up a fence. I think I’ll start with the tiles.”
“And will you be getting help with that?”
“Are you offering?”
He hesitated. “I might be.”
What? She’d expected him to say,
Hell, no
.
“Why would you do that?”
His expression was unreadable as he leaned forward, planting both elbows on the table
and folding his arms. “It might be fun. Like doing a big jigsaw.”
“Huh. You could buy a thousand-piece jigsaw and do it in the comfort of your own home,
if that’s what rings your bell.”
“Okay, I have to confess, I’ve got an ulterior motive. I’m trying to get on your good
side, but you don’t seem too impressed.”
“You could promise not to tell anybody about last Saturday. That would impress me.”
“Done deal. I thought we’d agreed on that already?”
“I wasn’t sure. I never know when you’re being serious.”
“I’m completely serious about that, and…there’s something else I’m serious about.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on? You’ve never wanted to get on my good side
before.”
“I’ve never needed to ask you a favor before.”
“Intriguing. If it involves buying lingerie for one of your girlfriends, forget it.”
He grinned. “Nothing like that. I need a partner for…an outing.”
“And? That’s not difficult for you, surely? You have women hanging off you like barnacles
most of the time.”
“Well, it is a problem in this case. You see, I can’t think of anyone who’d be willing
to take part in this particular type of activity.” He shrugged. “Except you.”
“Me? Good grief. I’m almost loath to ask…go on, tell me, what kind of activity is
it?”
He cleared his throat. “Paintball.”
She stared for a moment, then laughed. “You mean, where people run around shooting
paint at each other? I can see your problem. I couldn’t imagine any of your bimbos
doing that.”
“Thanks, I knew you’d do it.”
“Hey, wait a minute. I didn’t say I’d go. So, this is why you came round today, and
this is the reason for the pizza and beer.” She took a drink of water. It made things
easier, knowing that he had a selfish reason. Now she wouldn’t have to lie in bed
tonight, wondering why he’d been so thoughtful.
“It’s your sort of thing. You won’t have to dress up. No heels, no makeup,” he said,
counting off items on his fingers. “And best of all, you’ll get to shoot me.”
“You do make it sound tempting.”
“Thing is, you see, it’s going to be boys against girls, and each team needs a leader.”
She sat back and crossed one leg over the other. “Who are these boys and girls?”
“They’re kids who need a second chance. Some are teenagers, some are in their early
twenties. None of them are bad kids; they’ve just made some bad decisions. Now they
are doing their best to turn their lives around.”
She studied his face for a moment. “And why are you taking them to paintball? Why
you
specifically?”
He shrugged. “Oh, you know. I promised someone. It’s a charity thing. No big deal.”
“So, I get to shoot you, and in return, you’ll help me tile the front porch. You really
are desperate, aren’t you? I hope she’s worth it.”
He gave her a blank look. “Who?”
“Whoever you’re trying to impress.”
“Who says I’m trying to impress anyone?”
“Oh, come on. I know you, remember?” Except…she didn’t know that he worked with kids
on a voluntary basis, did she? Could it be that there was another, better side to
him, one she knew nothing about? Because someone who volunteered with troubled teenagers
couldn’t be as self-centered as she’d always thought. If she agreed to go to paintball
with him, she could find out more.
She took a slow breath, considering her options. “All right, you’ve got yourself a
deal.”
“Thank you.”
He reached a hand across the table and as she leaned forward to shake it, she realized
that in agreeing to the deal, she’d committed herself to spending her spare time with
him, a couple of days of it, at least. Was she crazy? His warm hand closed around
hers and the way her skin tingled confirmed her suspicion that yes, she was.
Oh, well, she’d agreed now. There wasn’t much she could do, except remember that he
wasn’t someone she should get ideas about.
He went to fetch them both another beer, and while he did that, she took the opportunity
to clear away the remnants of the pizza. As she dumped the box into the wheelie bin
at the side of the house, she caught sight of Aaron through the window. In her kitchen.
At her fridge. Why did the picture look so right when it should strike her as all
wrong?
As he bent down, his jeans parted company with his T-shirt, tanned skin on display
in the gap above the denim. Then he reached into the shelf, one arm resting on the
top of the fridge door, and his T-shirt stretched across his back, his biceps revealed
as the sleeves rode up.
She groaned under her breath. Oh, yeah, it was going to be
really
easy to see him outside work. She shook her head and took care as she lowered the
wheelie-bin lid not to alert him to her presence at the window. She did
not
want him to think she’d been ogling. Even if she had.
Chapter Five
Jasmine’s heart was thumping so hard she was sure it was audible above the cacophony
around her—the raised voices of firefighters trying to make themselves heard over
the screaming and yelling of bystanders, barking dogs, the workings of the water pump,
and the roar of the fire itself. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the door of
the burning home, because Aaron was inside. Alone.
Two in, two out was the rule. Steve had gone in with him, but Steve was now being
treated by paramedics, and crew leader John had deemed the house too dangerous for
anyone else to enter.
Aaron and Steve had gone in to ventilate the house and hit the hot spots. As they’d
approached the door, a frantic woman had run screaming up the street claiming her
children were inside. Why they were alone in there was a question that would be asked
later.
Steve had brought out a young boy. Conditions had deteriorated. Aaron hadn’t reappeared.
This was the situation they all dreaded. They were highly trained, skilled, and careful,
but in a fire, anything could happen. Walls could fall down and often did. Things
could go bad in a matter of seconds.
More of those seconds ticked by. Jasmine, her eyes fixed on the doorway, could do
nothing but remind herself to breathe every now and then.
Someone called out Aaron’s name an instant before she saw him in the doorway with
a bundle in his arms. Her heart lurched sideways. The bundle moved. A child’s face
appeared, and her heart flopped back into its proper place leaving her free to breathe
naturally again.
The child’s mother cried out with joy and relief.
Jasmine knew how the woman felt. She wanted to scream too, but she didn’t. She kept
her joy and relief tucked away inside like the professional firefighter she was.
After Aaron had handed over the child to the waiting paramedics and removed his breathing
apparatus, his eyes met hers across the chaotic scene. She gave him a nod, then went
back to her task at the pump, aware the whole time of where he was, of what he was
doing.
Several minutes later he made his way over to her.
“Took you long enough in there,” she said, her tone deliberately businesslike.
“Sorry.” He gave her a small smile, which told her more than a full report would have
about the seriousness of the situation he’d been in. “I didn’t realize you had to
be somewhere, or I would have hurried it up a little.”
He leaned against the truck, inhaled deeply, tipped his head back, and exhaled. “Cute
kid. Apparently, whenever something happens that scares her, she hides in the laundry
basket. That’s where I found her, and fortunately for her, the laundry basket was
full of damp towels. That’s what saved her.”
Jasmine shook her head. “She’s a lucky little girl. Not many of us would even think
to check inside a laundry basket.”
“You can bet I will in future.”
There was a moment’s silence. Her fear had been justified; she saw the confirmation
in his eyes. He wouldn’t say it aloud, and she wouldn’t ask. They both knew the dangers.
She turned away to hide a shudder at the recollection of those anxious minutes while
he’d been inside the house. Losing a colleague had always been the worst-possible
scenario, the outcome they all dreaded. But today, her fear had been off the scale.
Her stomach was still churning from the tension.
What did it all mean? That Aaron was more important to her than the other members
of the team?
Because if that was the case, she was in big trouble.
He was her workmate and she couldn’t afford to care about him in any other terms.
She’d tried hard not to. She didn’t want to. She’d tried to tell herself she’d feel
the same way about any of her colleagues, but it wasn’t true, was it? This was something
more.
What if she’d been called upon to go in after Aaron? How would she have handled the
stress, the emotion? Her ability to think clearly, to make the right decisions would
have been compromised. She could have put them all at risk. She couldn’t bear to think
what the consequences of
that
might have been.
She couldn’t bear to think how she would have coped if he hadn’t walked out of that
door under his own steam, either.
“You should have exited the building when Steve got hurt,” she said, her tone sharp.
“You shouldn’t have carried on alone.”
Still leaning against the truck, he rolled his head to face her. “Are you telling
me you would have come out? Because I don’t believe that for one second. Not knowing
there was a child inside.”
She dragged in a shuddery breath. Aware of his eyes on her she said, “We can’t save
everybody.”
“No, but we still try. You wouldn’t have done anything different in there.”
She squeezed her stinging eyes shut, afraid that the sensation might means tears weren’t
far away. She would never,
never
cry on the job.
“Are you okay?”
She heard the concern in his voice. He was the one who’d been alone in a collapsing
building, and he was concerned for
her
.
“I’m fine.” She snapped her eyes open and took a deep breath. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She didn’t have time for this; the fire still had to be fought. Nor did she want any
of her team to see her out-of-proportion reaction to the tension. It was bad enough
that Aaron had witnessed a moment of weakness. She would have to work out what had
happened here today, but in her own time. No way did she want anyone else to spot
that she wasn’t fully in control of her emotions.
“Rightee-o. Beer o’clock.” Dave rubbed his hands together as they left the station
after shift handover. “Who’s coming to the pub? I reckon we deserve it today.”
“You buying?” Kane asked. “And can I call Sasha to come and join us?”
Jasmine raised her eyebrows at Kane sounding so keen to see Sasha again. She hadn’t
heard from Sasha for a week. With a bit of luck she’d be able to have a chat tonight
and find out what had been happening between the two of them.
She nodded to Dave to say she’d be joining them. She was in no hurry to go home to
her empty house and the self-analysis that awaited her. She didn’t want to think about
Aaron’s close call, but the images were sitting at the edge of her mind and she knew
that if she went home now, she would relive it over and over. He looked perfectly
well, joking with Steve, slapping Dave on the back, while her stomach still felt like
it was full of butterflies, and it would be hours before her muscles relaxed.
Half an hour later, Aaron had gone to the bar to buy a round of drinks, and Sasha
had offered to help him carry them. Jasmine, left at the table with Kane, was chatting
to him about the coming football season, when Sasha left the bar and did a fast-walk
toward her, all but breaking into a run. As she drew close, she signaled with her
eyes that Jasmine should look toward the bar. She did, expecting to see a B-list celebrity
or someone equally unexciting, but all she saw was Aaron.
Oh, and a woman draped all over him.
Maybe that was an exaggeration, but they did look very pleased to see each other.
Sasha slid into the empty chair next to Kane and prodded his shoulder. “Go and help
Aaron with the drinks.”
“I thought you were doing that.” Kane stood as he spoke. “I would have gone in the
first place.” He shook his head as he walked off, mumbling about women who changed
their minds.
Sasha pulled a disgusted face. “She just came up and wrapped herself around him.”
Jasmine grimaced, then shrugged, acting unconcerned, with the emphasis on
acting
.
“This is Aaron in his natural habitat.”
She’d never been disturbed by the thought of Aaron with someone else before, and she
didn’t see why she should start now. But she’d never had to sit in close proximity
while he cavorted with another woman, either. It wasn’t the most fun she’d ever had.
Then again, seeing him in action provided her with a concrete reminder why she should
stay right away from him.
Sasha looked over her shoulder. “She’s pawing him the way my cat does when she wants
my attention. Wonder who has the sharper claws?” She frowned as she turned back to
Jasmine. “So that’s his type, is it? You know when a cartoon character gets run over
by a steamroller, then peels itself up off the road and keeps going? That’s how thin
she is.”
Jasmine laughed. “He says he doesn’t have a type, but they’re all the same in one
respect; they don’t care that he only wants one thing.”
“Well…” Sasha lifted a shoulder. “There are worse ways to pass the time. Oh, don’t
worry,” she said when she saw Jasmine’s expression. “I’m not going to join the queue
for some of what he’s offering.”
“Good.” Jasmine glanced across at the woman with Aaron. She probably spent more time
getting ready in one day than Jasmine did in a whole week. Make that a whole month.
But then, most women probably did. “No wonder he couldn’t find a paintball partner
anywhere on his list.”
Looking like she’d stumbled into the wrong conversation, Sasha held up her hands.
“You’ve lost me. A what?”
Jasmine told her briefly about the bargain they’d made.
“
Oh
. What are you going to wear? Do you need to borrow some shoes?”
Jasmine stared. “Sasha, it’s paintball. I’ll be wearing full-body overalls and a full
face mask. And my oldest, smelliest sneakers.”
“Darn. Not a very good choice of activity for a date.”
“Because it’s not a date. I just told you, we made a deal. He asked me because I’m
the only nongirlie female he knows.” She nodded toward the woman at the bar. “As you
can see.”
“Hmm. Did it occur to you he might have asked you because he really wanted to ask
you on a date and didn’t think you’d go?”
“No. Trust me, he didn’t. Anyway, we’ve just established that I am so not his type.”
At the sound of high-pitched, look-at-me laughter behind her, Sasha tensed. “They’re
coming over, aren’t they?”
“Yup.”
“Okay. Pretend you’re not bothered.”
“I’m
not
bothered.” It wasn’t like the scene at the fire; her feelings about
this
, she could hide.
Aaron set down a glass in front of Jasmine. “You don’t mind if Cindy joins us, do
you, ladies?”
While he’d addressed both of them, Jasmine found that his eyes were on her. She shook
her head in what she hoped was a couldn’t-care-less way.
Cindy settled on the chair that Aaron pulled up to the table for her.
“So, Aaron,” Sasha said as he settled at the table alongside Cindy, “Jasmine was just
telling me about this paintball thing you two are going to do. Sounds like fun.”
Jasmine frowned at Sasha, who she knew would definitely not consider it fun. So what
was she up to?
Cindy’s eyebrows rose at Sasha’s words.
No Botox then
, Jasmine thought, then gave herself a mental slap. There was no need to test out
her own claws.
“It should be, and hopefully, the kids will enjoy it. It’s a charity thing,” he said
with a dismissive shrug.
Cindy squeezed his forearm and smiled at him. “Very admirable.”
Jasmine cleared her throat. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “Especially the
winning part.”
Aaron shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint you, but that’s not going to happen.”
“We should all go on to that new nightclub on Hindley Street,” Cindy said as if there
weren’t a conversation going on. “What do you all think?”
“Sure,” Aaron said. “I’m up for it, if everyone else is. What do you reckon, guys?”
Jasmine sipped her drink. She had no idea about any new nightclub and even less desire
to find out.
“Not me,” Sasha said. “I’ve got a very early start in the morning.”
Kane looked disappointed. He said, “Count us out, then.”
“That’s a shame,” Cindy said. “What about you?”
Jasmine looked up. “Me? No, thank you. I don’t go to nightclubs.”
“Really? What do you do for fun, then?”
“Jasmine gets her fun from renovating her house,” Aaron said.
“Well, that’s not
all
I do.” Why did it matter that she sounded dead boring? “I have to go now, anyway.”
She drained the last of the beer from her glass and pushed it away. “You two have
a great time.”
“Oh, we will,” Cindy said, smiling at Aaron.
“Are you sure you have to go?” Aaron said as Jasmine got to her feet.
She nodded. Aware of Sasha’s concerned expression, she gave her a tight smile to indicate
that she was fine.
“We’re leaving too.” Sasha stood, and Kane, after looking up at her in surprise, gulped
his beer.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Sasha said when they’d made it outside.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t she be?” Kane caught up with them. “Am I missing something?”
“Not a thing,” Jasmine said firmly.
“Aaron’s in for a good night.” Kane’s eyebrows waggled, and then he rubbed his arm
where Sasha had thumped him. “What was that for?”
“For being a moron,” Sasha said. “I can’t believe he sat there flirting with her in
front of…everybody.”
“To be fair,” Kane said, “it was Cindy doing all the flirting. Aaron doesn’t have
to do anything; he attracts women like a dung heap attracts flies.”
“An apt comparison.” Jasmine laughed. “You two have a good night. I’m off.”
As if she didn’t feel bad enough about her reaction at the fire scene today, thanks
to Kane she now felt even more ridiculous. And she’d better hold on to that feeling
because it was better to recognize the stupidity and pull back from it than to let
herself fall for Aaron and lose everything she valued.