Page 31 of Living with Fire
Lifting the tray, I give him one last smile before I’m headed back to the table where the two men sit, nursing their beers. Liam’s the first to spot me, which doesn’t surprise me, and he elbows Brody who turns to look my way.
I set the tray down and pick up the first plate, handing it to Liam.
“Dinner is served, guys,” I say because they’re both too silent for my liking.
“He giving you a job too?” Liam asks, and my eyes snap to his, certain I’ll see contempt in the brown depths.
There’s none there, though; he’s just looking at me inquisitively, trying to figure it all out, and when I look at Brody, he’s wearing a similar expression. Neither of them look like they’re judging me, or that they’re worried I’m taking advantage of their friend, and I could sag with relief over that.
“No,” I say softly, dishing out Brody’s plate and then mine. I slide back into the booth. “They just got kind of busy in there so he’s helping out for a few minutes.”
I drop the serving tray to the bench beside me and take a deep breath, eying them both with resolve. It’s better to get the questions out of the way before I dig into my dinner. They both got distracted earlier, asking me about Preston, and then Colorado, and my time in Santa Rosé over the summer. Now I take the opportunity to fill them in on the day Nate and I have had.
When I’m finished, I’m filled with relief that neither of them is looking at me any differently. There’s no disdain in their eyes, no suspicion narrowing their gazes. Nothing but the same two friendly faces that I’ve been looking at all evening.
But my relief is short-lived.
“He likes you,” Liam says, in the most serious tone I’ve heard since I met him.
I shake my head, picking up my burger. I had one at brunch, but I have a thing for burgers and fries. They’re my number one comfort food, and after the last couple of days I’m definitely seeking comfort. “He doesn’t know me.”
“You haven’t been sitting where we’re sitting all night,” Brody says, and I look up in surprise to see him wiping his hands with his napkin, his dark eyes focused on what he’s doing. For him to voice an opinion before Liam can jump in is astonishing, which makes me want to pay close attention.
“There are varying degrees of like, Savanna. Just because he doesn’t know you well doesn’t mean he doesn’t know to like you. Sometimes it’s a feeling you don’t understand, but you know is true.” His eyes slowly rise to look at me and I swallow hard at the honesty in them. “What I know to be true is that I haven’t seen Nate look at a woman the way he looks at you in a very long time.”
“If ever,” Liam adds in a mutter.
“Why are you guys telling me this?” I ask, slightly irritated that they’re divulging Nate’s secrets and what it’s doing to me, and my resolve about not leading him on. I can’t get involved with this man. I don’t even know him.
I set my burger—the one I haven’t even taken a bite out of—back down on my plate with a frown of frustration. Continuing, my voice rises with each word, “As his friends aren’t you supposed to keep stuff like that close to the chest? It’s not like we’ve even been on a date. It’s not like we can go on a date. I don’t know him. I just got out of something. And even if I hadn’t, my life is a mess right now. I have no job, no apartment, hell, I don’t even have my own clothes!”
“Douchebag bosses don’t count as getting out of something,” Liam scoffs, and I wish that’s what I had meant when I said that, but I don’t correct him. He nudges Brody with his elbow. “I think she likes him back.”
I huff when Brody nods his agreement, and then nearly jump out of my skin when Nate slides into the booth next to me asking, “Who likes who back?”
My eyes plead to both of them to keep their mouths shut, and I nearly lunge across the table at Liam when I see his eyes fill with mischievousness, taunting me from where he sits. I suddenly understand the warning that Nate gave me when we first got here. I thought I could handle Liam, but I haven’t even known him for a few hours and I’m contemplating murder if he opens his mouth.
“The couple at the bar,” Brody says casually and my eyes dart to him, gratitude evident. “We were debating if she’s falling for whatever he’s saying.”
When Nate looks in that direction, Brody shoots me a wink and I grin at him. I think being the strong, silent type offers Brody the perspective of observing everything going on around him and he picks up on things that most of us don’t. That’s definitely working in my favor right now as the big man comes to my rescue.
Glancing at Liam, I stick my tongue out in victory, and he rewards me with a laugh.
The rest of dinner goes by with the guys asking me more questions, some of which I answer, some of which I dodge, and me asking some in return, most of which involve firefighting. We laugh and talk like we’ve all been friends for years, which I learn the three of them have been, so I’m the odd duck out, but they don’t make me feel like it at all. I don’t remember the last time I felt so included in a social situation that didn’t involve my brothers and Maddie back home.
“Let me get those,” I tell Nate as he starts piling the dishes to clear them from the table.
He gives me a quick shake of his head. “I’ve got it.”
“I need to use the bathroom anyway. I’ll drop them off when I go by,” I tell him, pushing my body against his to get him out of the way, ignoring the heat that rushes through me at the contact. “Besides, it’s your turn in the hot seat with Riggs and Murtaugh.”
“Boo! Hiss!” Liam glowers at me. “We’re firemen, not donut loving glory hunters!”
I walk away with the dishes, laughing all the way to the kitchen over the three scowling men I leave behind. My belly is full, and my mind feels hazy, thanks to a shooter and a couple of good beers, and better company. My soul feels like it’s had a dose of medicine that I didn’t know it needed.
For the first time since I moved to Santa Rosé I have a sense of belonging, which baffles me a little. It’s not like I know these guys very well, but they’ve made me feel right at home. Maybe it’s easy for me to get swept away in those feelings because it’s been so long since I’ve felt them, and maybe I’m letting my guard down a little bit because of it, but it feels so good that I can’t help myself.
At least not for tonight.