Light up the Night (Firehouse Three #2)(14)

Seeing Belinda again had only reminded him of the ugliness they’d had, and holding Everly after that encounter was like finding shelter from a snowstorm—warm, safe, heaven.

He never wanted to stop kissing her.

“We’re back,” Kyle called.

Everly tore her mouth away from his, and Drake’s sense of loss was profound. Damn it. If he didn’t like Kyle so much, he’d cheerfully have murdered the bastard for showing up right then.

“I think we did all right,” Kyle said as he and his dog moved into the booth. When he caught a glimpse of them, he froze, gaze darting from Drake to Everly and back again. An evil grin spread across his lips. “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

“No, not at all,” Everly said, unconvincingly. She rushed over to his side, leaving Drake and Gossamer alone in the back corner of the booth.

“Well, f*ck,” Drake said, sinking into the chair.

Gossamer just snorted and curled up into a lumpy ball at his feet.





5.

How Everly had managed to keep herself together for the remainder of Drake’s volunteer shift she had no f*cking clue. But somehow, she had. Probably because Kyle had been in the booth with them for the last twenty minutes, cracking jokes and teasing Drake mercilessly. If not for his presence, who knows what she might have done?

God. The thought of kissing him again made her knees turn into Jell-O. What the hell was she doing? This wasn’t like her at all. She almost wanted to shoot a text to Jesse. Or pull Charlie aside for a little girl talk. But she couldn’t justify the time right now. It was almost go time for this insane bachelor auction, and she was running in a billion different directions at once.

After helping the dessert caterers set up their display, she hastily gave the last two volunteers their dogs and shoved them out into the festival. Every bachelor would be walking a dog down the runway, so she was still assigning firefighters and pooches right up until the wire. Even when Jesse stopped by, she didn’t have a chance to breathe, let alone chat with her best friend. When Drake had requested Gossamer, she hadn’t said a word, but inwardly? She wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or not.

On the one hand, Gossamer’s looks were repulsive, so people were usually naturally repelled by the poor dog. On the other? Beside Drake, the dog actually looked cute, and the pair of them together made Everly’s stupid girly heart melt.

She was in trouble. Real trouble. In just an hour or so, Drake would be up for bids. And she was going to basically sell the right to date him to some other woman. The very idea made her sick to her stomach, but what could she do? Beg him to spend the time with her instead?

“Stupid,” she muttered as she clipped a lead to the last dog’s collar.

“Sorry?” It was Kyle, again.

“No, I was just thinking about something.” Everly smiled too brightly as she straightened and handed him the lead. “Sorry. You should head backstage, it’s almost time to start.”

“Hey,” Kyle said, catching her arm in his broad hand. She locked eyes with him. “Sorry I teased you earlier. Drake’s the new guy, so it’s kind of habit to give him shit. But seriously, you two look good together.”

“We’re not together,” Everly said automatically.

“Yeah?” Kyle wound the leash around his hand and quirked a reddish brow in her direction. “That’s not what it looked like to me. But he’s a good guy. You should give him a shot.”

Kyle waved and ambled off in the direction of backstage. Everly stood there for a long moment, wondering what she should do.

Had she and Drake looked like a couple earlier? And why didn’t that idea totally freak her out?

Shaking her head, she got back with the program.

With all the dogs either with firemen bachelors or back at the shelter, Everly left the booth in the volunteer’s capable hands and dashed into the building at the end of the aisle.

She had to hand it to Allison, the place looked good. Refreshments from Sprinkles were spread out along one wall, and there were plenty of places to sit and chat. A small stage took up the back wall, with a little catwalk for the bachelors to parade down. Allison herself was decked to the nines, looking like Vanna White’s younger sister, dripping with silk and rhinestones. With a rueful glance down at her khaki shorts and embroidered polo, Everly sighed.

Compared to a woman like that, what chance did she have with a guy like Drake?

The crowd inside the tent was getting larger. She should check in with Charlie and make sure she had everything she needed. But a bobbing, dark curly ponytail caught her eye, and she lifted a hand. Jesse had found Sirius, it seemed, and just in time. If Everly didn’t talk with her best friend about this soon, she’d positively explode. She took a few steps in that direction.

“Jess—”

“Everly, it’s time!” Allison’s hands clamped down on Everly’s shoulders and she steered her toward the stage. “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?”

“You’re the shelter director! You need to get us started.”

“Started?” Everly’s feet balked at the idea of walking up those steps onto the stage, but Allison was relentless. She pushed her toward the back of the room, ignoring Everly’s protests. “No, I’m not talking on the microphone, oh no.”