Wildfire Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters: Wildfire Crew #1)(30)

As she got changed, she noticed that Rory was carefully keeping his eyes fixed on a shelf of safety helmets. Her stomach sank a little. If he really thought she was sexy, shouldn’t he be trying to steal a peek?

“These are better, I think.” She pinched a roll of extra fabric, wrinkling her nose. “But I’ll need a belt.”

“Try these.” He moved in close, fastening a pair of suspenders to the waistband. She sucked in her breath as his fingertips skimmed over her shoulder blades, adjusting the straps. “There. Move around a bit, let me see if they hold up properly.”

She obligingly squatted down, bending and twisting. The pants were definitely roomy around the waist, but they didn’t threaten to expose her ass.

“Feels good to me.” She straightened, bouncing on her toes. “What do you think?”

He didn’t answer.

“Rory?” She turned—and was caught in the full force of his stare.

Heat rushed over her. For all that she was wearing multiple layers of protecting clothing, she felt utterly naked.

But not exposed. She felt…worshipped.

Just for a second. He blinked, wrenching his gaze away.

“That looks good.” His voice had gone rough and growly. “Take them off now. I mean, uh…” He shook his head sharply, turning on his heel. “Put them with the rest of your stuff. Just got one more thing to find.”

She did so, adding them to her growing pile of gear. Protective jacket, pants, backpack, fire shelter, tools…he’d already found her everything on the standard equipment list. She couldn’t imagine what else he thought she’d need.

He cleared his throat again, still noisily clattering around at the back of the storeroom. “So. Stork, huh? Any other nicknames?”

There were, of course. Her warm glow faded, quenched by cold reality. She couldn’t flirt with him, even if she was almost sure now that he might not entirely object.

For all her nervous prattling, she still hadn’t told him the truth about herself. Every time she tried, she found herself babbling about something else instead. Like stupid childhood nicknames.

“What was your childhood nickname?” she asked.

And there she went, racing away down the slightest diversion. Maybe if she just kept talking long enough, she wouldn’t have to tell him. Surely he had to have worked it out by now?

If he found her conversational topics odd, he didn’t show it. He cast one of those wry, crooked smiles at her over his shoulder.

“Buttbrain,” he said, totally without rancor. “At least, that’s what my twin called me. Still does, sometimes.”

“You have a twin?” Her brain fused and melted at the thought of two of him. “Are you identical? Is he a firefighter too?”

“Yes, no, no.” He pulled out a crumpled garment, shook his head, and stuffed it back into a box again. “We look pretty similar, but people don’t tend to get us confused. Not like Callum and his brothers. They are identical. All three of them.”

“Wow.” She had a sudden terrifying vision of three identical, glowering red-heads. “It must be nice, growing up with someone just like you.”

“Don’t ever say that to Callum.” His mouth quirked. “Though you should definitely suggest that to my twin. I want to see the look on Ross’s face.”

“Oh, does he live near here?”

He snorted. “Nope. He flatly refuses to even come out to visit. I think he’s suspicious I might somehow forcibly recruit him onto the squad. He lives back in England, in Brighton. It’s a city on the south coast.”

Now she was really confused. “Then why would I ever be in a position to be able to say anything to his face?”

He hesitated. “Uh…just a figure of speech. Do you have siblings?”

“No. Thankfully.”

He cast her an odd look. “Why thankfully?”

She shrugged. “I’m not great with people. Even my own parents found me difficult. I guess a brother or a sister would have found me equally baffling. It’s bad enough being the odd one out when there are only three of you in a family.”

“That sounds very lonely,” he said, softly.

She turned away from the deep, gentle gold depths of his eyes. “It’s all I’ve ever known. I’m used to it.”

He was silent for a moment. She concentrated on folding her new turn outs, aligning the seams precisely.

“Edith.”

She jumped, startled by the unexpected closeness of his voice. She whipped round to discover him standing just behind her, a t-shirt in his hands. For such a big man, he was as soft-footed as a cat.

“Last night I told you this squad is like a family.” He held out the garment. “I meant it. You aren’t alone anymore.”

She looked down at the folded t-shirt.

THUNDER MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS.

She shoved her hands into her pockets, where they couldn’t betray her longing. “Rory, I—”

“You still feel like you don’t belong. Like you’re different.” He balanced the crew t-shirt on one hand, taking her arm with the other. Gently but irresistibly, he drew her hands out of her pockets. “Edith, the rest of the squad, we’re…we’ve known each other since childhood. That’s all. Just give it time, and you will fit in here. I promise.”