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“You want to head home and grab a nap before Greta leaves for the day?” I ask. “I can make it until closing time alone.”

Greta is Naomi’s nanny, but she only watches Noelle when Jake and Naomi are both at work. Naomi could afford a legion of nannies, but she doesn’t want to give up a moment with her new daughter, not even the moments that leave her exhausted.

“That would probably be a good idea,” she says, sighing as she stretches her neck to one side and then the other. “Jake’s at the station for the next two days, so I’ll be doing the night feedings solo. I need to grab my rest when I can get it.”

I frown. “That sounds pretty brutal. Do you want me to come stay with you and help out? We could take turns getting up with Noelle.”

She shakes her head as she hangs up her apron. “No way. You’re already here at four in the morning almost every day. You need your rest, too. I’ll be fine. I’m getting better at going back to sleep. I can usually get in a solid two hours between feedings. And I don’t want to leave Noelle with anyone else until the honeymoon. I feel bad enough taking four nights away from her then.”

“It’s only four nights,” I say, with a firm wag of my finger. “And you and Jake deserve a honeymoon. Noelle will be fine. Mom and Dad will be holding her constantly. By the time you get back, she’ll be so spoiled you won’t be able to put her down for a second.”

Naomi smiles, clearly not upset by the possibility. So far, she seems to find parenthood utterly delightful, and Jake is equally blissed out. He’s crazy in love with both of his girls, and so excited to add to their family he suggested he and Naomi stay on the waiting list at the adoption agency and hope for baby number two within the year.

Seeing their newly formed family together is enough to make my chest tight with gratitude. They’re so happy and in love. It shows in every glance, every touch, every tired smile.

I’ve been dying to start a family of my own for ages, but I’m not even a little jealous. I’m too happy for my sister and thrilled to be Noelle’s godmother.

And at the moment, I’m too distracted by my own Hansen brother to be envious of Naomi’s.

It’s been hell staying away from the window all day, resisting the urge to sneak a peek at the firehouse across the street where I know Jamison’s also on a forty-eight-hour shift.

Mere minutes after Naomi hugs me good-bye and steps out the door, I’m at the window, pushing aside the curtains. Seconds later, as if summoned by my spying eyes, Jamison pushes through the station’s front door, looking so good in jeans and a Bliss River Fire T-shirt it ought to be a crime.

No one should look that good in a T-shirt.

Or out of one for that matter.

Not that I’m complaining…

By the time he crosses the street and breezes through the bakery door, I’m so hot from watching him swagger my way—I swear, even his walk makes my panties wet—I can’t help rushing across the empty bakery and jumping into his arms.

“Happy to see me?” he asks, laughing as he catches me.

“Deliriously,” I say, claiming his mouth for a long, slow, sultry kiss.

As our tongues stroke hello, his laugh becomes a low moan. He angles his head, deepening the kiss as he hugs me tighter, drawing me up his body until my feet leave the floor, but I hardly notice. I’m already floating, my head spinning as his yummy Jamison smell teases my nose and the minty, earthy, taste of him whets my appetite for more.

Within minutes, all I can think about is dragging him to the upstairs apartment I inherited when my brother, Mick, moved in with his girlfriend.

“If I knew no one would come through that door in the next ten minutes, I’d take you upstairs for a quickie,” I whisper, trailing kisses down his throat as he squeezes my bottom through my stretchy black skirt.

“I’m on duty.” He sets me down but makes no move to pull away. “You’d be interfering with my ability to be fit to fight.”

“You’ve got your beeper.” I take his hand in both of mine and tug him toward the stairs leading up to the apartment, my body clearly having a mind of its own. “You could be back across the street in a minute or less.”

His eyes darken. “It would have to be thirty seconds or less.”

“I’d help you tie your shoes,” I promise, my pulse racing.

He makes a hungry sound that instantly has my nipples tight and tingling. “If you’re serious, we should put the closed sign on the door, don’t you think?”


Tags: Lili Valente Hometown Heat Romance