The Spark Between Us: A Small Town Firefighter Standalone Romance (Berkeley Hills series Book 3) by Stacy Travis

Author:Stacy Travis [Travis, Stacy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fast Turtle Press
Published: 2021-09-19T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Braden

Morning smacked me in the head like a third-grade teacher who’d caught her star student reading porn.

Not enough coffee in the world could make up for how exhausted I was, but I awoke with a smile on my face and an anvil of guilt on my chest.

I should probably have had my head examined. Not probably. Definitely.

No question, I enjoyed last night. I more than enjoyed it, and that felt like a problem. Of course I knew Sarah was an adult capable of making her own decisions about when and with whom she wanted to hook up. The problem was me.

For two years, I’d intentionally dated women where there was no potential of more than a few nights of fun. Easy, uncomplicated. Sarah was the polar opposite—complex, intelligent, beautiful, witty—everything I wanted in a relationship that I’d spent two years convincing myself I didn’t want.

Nothing permanent could ever develop between us. She had five and a half more months in town and had outright called us a fling. Whatever fun we had or continued to have was temporary, but I already knew that the more time I spent with her, the harder it would be to let her go.

I would. I’d have to. No sense worrying about that today.

Last night I’d curled my body around her and fallen into a deeper and more relaxed sleep than any time in memory. Watching her sleep next to me in the morning, her honey brown hair streaking the white pillowcase with light, I felt . . . content.

It had been a long time since I’d woken up feeling happy and hopeful about something other than the adrenaline rush of a fire. All my habits—speeding down the open highway on my bike, working out until I ached, doing emergency rescue and fighting blazes—made my pulse race without risking my emotions. Now, after one night, I found myself wanting to risk it all.

She will leave. Everyone leaves.

That sobering thought shot the wind from my sails. Messing around with Sarah would never end well. Better to call it a one-time indulgence and not let it happen again—if I could hold myself to it. Problem was, I didn’t want to, not at all.

I raked both hands through my hair.

I’d never been so grateful for a twenty-four-hour shift. I needed time away from the house, away from Sarah. I needed to cool the fuck off and spend my time with dirt and dudes who’d distract me from everything at home. The firehouse had always reliably filled that role in my life, especially for the past two years.

Why did I feel like everything was different? It couldn’t be. Not just after one night.

If I were honest, I’d have to admit it wasn’t just one night. Sarah had slid effortlessly beneath my skin the moment I saw her on the ground outside her car. The two weeks since then had been a prison of my own making. Last night, she set me free.

When I sent her off this morning

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