“What?”
George emerged from the back room at that moment with the ring boxed and bagged, and handed Josh his credit card and the receipt to sign.
“Nothing. Never mind. What about candles and flowers? You have those covered?”
He hadn’t given them any thought. As a rule, firefighters didn’t harbor the same fascination with wax-coated torches as the general public. He signed his name to the charge slip and handed it back to George. “Candles are responsible for an estimated 15,000 home fires every year in the United States.”
Roger crossed his arms. “They’re romantic. They set a mood. Same with flowers.”
Josh started to see the argumentative attorney under the nice-guy exterior. He glanced at his watch and dug in his heels. “I’m expecting Melody at my place in less than two hours.”
“Then we shouldn’t waste any more time debating, should we?”
Two hours later Josh moved the match to the tip of the second long white taper candle. When the wick lit, he flicked the match out and stepped back to take in the scene. Okay, points to Roger. The candles looked nice, and cast a warm glow over the table. The vase of red roses with a lot of tiny white flowers thrown in for who-the-fuck-knew didn’t hurt, either.
The sound of a car door closing quickened his pulse. Pathetic. A man who walked into burning buildings for a living ought to be able to hold his shit together better. He waited for her knock, and then walked to the door. As soon as he opened it, his pulse took off again, but this time for a familiar reason.
She looked beautiful—like a sexy angel with her shining blond waves tumbling over shoulders left bare by her body-hugging white dress. He might have spent an extra moment simply staring, because she smiled and tipped her head. “Am I too early?”
He leaned in and kissed her, telling himself to keep it romantic even as his tongue said “fuck that” and laid claim to her mouth. By the time they broke apart, they were both panting, and talking threatened to slip several notches down on the night’s agenda. “Bluelick, from my perspective, you’re just in time.”
The look on her face when she stepped inside shored up his priorities. She clearly hadn’t expected muted lights, soft music, candles, and whatnot. When her stunned eyes returned to him, he wanted to boot his own ass for not doing a night like this before. She deserved all the romance. Even if it wasn’t second nature to him. Moving forward, he needed to remember the small details, because the next time he planned a quiet evening for two, he didn’t want her looking at him as if she suspected the real Josh Bradley had been replaced with an alien imposter.
“What’s all this?”
“We’re celebrating. I have some big news.” He gestured for her to sit on the sofa.
She settled herself on the leather. “Funny, I have some big news, too.”
“I’m pretty sure mine’s bigger.” He took a seat beside her.
Her brows arched. “I bet you’re wrong.”
The corner of the ring box dug into his thigh. He shifted positions. “I wouldn’t bet against the house.”
“You might say my bet’s already down. In fact, consider me all in. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Fine. But no calling this thing before I’m finished talking. Hear me out completely.” He shifted onto one knee in front of her and reached into his pocket for the ring.
“Oh my God. Josh—”
“Shh. I haven’t even started yet, and you’re already interrupting.” A flip of his finger opened the box. Her eyes shifted from his face, to the ring, and then back to his face. Tears glittered now—bad sign? Her lips curved into a smile. Good sign.
“The first night we got together, I warned you I don’t surprise easily, but the truth is, you constantly surprise me. I wasn’t expecting prim, proper Miss Bluelick to stroll over and proposition me in the middle of Boone’s. I wasn’t expecting any of what happened from that moment on, and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to fall in love. But I did. Total surprise. And I want you to keep on surprising me for the rest of our lives.”
Her watery laugh eased some of the tension lodged between his shoulders.
“I love you, too,” she said, “but as for surprises, careful what you wish for, Chief, because I’ve got a doozy. I’m—”
“I’m not done, Bluelick.” He feigned exasperation. “Do you want the ring or not?”
“Yes!” She reached for it. He snapped the lid shut just before her fingers brushed the case. Her startled giggle made him want to throw her down on the sofa and seal the deal, but they had one more important item to discuss. “Not so fast. You have to sit quietly through the rest of what I have to say.”
She made a motion of zipping her lips and then folded her hands in her lap. When she looked up at him, amusement, excitement, and something he couldn’t label were flickering in her eyes.
He drew in a breath. Now for the tricky part. “I’ve accepted an offer to take over as chief in Cincinnati.” He watched her face as he spoke. Surprise, he’d expected, but not the wide-eyed panic, or the slow, unconscious shake of her head.
“Tell them no.”