Page 40 of Living with Fire
My stomach does a somersault as his eyes rove over me. It's not the first time I’ve felt the warmth of his gaze. The bar’s dress code is denim bottoms with black tops and it’s our choice in whatever that looks like. Today I went with a pair of light wash jeans and a black camisole with lace along the neckline that runs into a deep V between my breasts. It’s a little racy, but not racy enough that I couldn’t wear it to work. It caught Nate’s eye before we left, just like it does now.
When his eyes meet mine again, he smiles then glances at the clock. “How’s it going out there? You guys need some help?”
It’s only five. The bar isn’t too bad yet, but the dinner rush will start showing up soon. It was much worse at this time yesterday when the after work crowd came in, but today I’d be willing to bet we don’t get slammed for another hour.
I shake my head, dropping my shoulder against the frame of the door where I still stand. “Nope. We’re good. Bryn just sent me to take a break before the dinner rush comes in.” Pausing, I take a second to glance around the room at all the boxes piled up and then at Nate’s desk. It’s a disaster in here. “I was hoping you had a minute to talk.”
Nate raises an eyebrow at me. “That sounds serious.”
“Not serious in an ominous way,” I tell him with ease. “But first, are you hungry? Because I’m famished and I could use a bite to eat while we talk. I told Bryn I needed to see you, and she said to take my time.”
“Starving.” Nate’s eyes slide down to the V in my shirt, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. He shakes his head a second later, clearing his mind of whatever was going through it. “A break would be good.”
My stomach is full of butterflies by the time he gets to his feet. It seems like every time I remind myself that I cannot get involved with him, he does, or says, something that makes me waver. It’s as though there’s some kind of force beyond my control that keeps pulling me towards him.
We head out to the front of house, and I show off all that I’ve learned in the past two days by keying in our meals. Once I’m done, Nate fills a couple of glasses with sodas.
“Nate! How you doin’, man?”
We both look across the counter to see the man who gave me permission to drop a beer in his friend’s lap standing there. I’ve learned that the entire table was filled with firefighters from a different house. This guy, Tyson I think his name is, has been particularly flirty. When he catches my eye now, he flashes me a smile.
“Tyson Saxe.” Nate reaches across and shakes Tyson’s hand. “Saw you guys sitting over there earlier and was going to come by and say hi in a bit.”
“Beat you to it. Thought I’d come over and tell you how good your new girl is,” Tyson says, his eyes slipping back to me. I feel my face heat instantly and Nate tenses imperceptibly beside me. “She’s had us all laughing since we sat down.”
“Just doing my job,” I murmur, dread filling my stomach.
I wonder what Nate is going to think about this. It’s not like we’ve gone on a date, but there’s been clear interest on both of our parts, despite what I try to tell myself, and the way Tyson is looking at me in appreciation, I have little doubt that he’d ask me out given the chance.
The last time something like that happened to me, I ended up with a black eye and a lost job. Vincent had been sitting at the bar when I was working one night and one of the regulars was flirting with me, which wasn’t unusual. Vincent hadn’t taken kindly to it. The second my shift was over and we were in the car, he started screaming at me, demanding I quit. When I tried to stand my ground and tell him no, he hit me.
But Nate isn’t Vincent, and maybe he foresaw men hitting on me because he remains calm and collected despite being stiff as a board beside me.
“Guess I found the right woman for the job.”
I turn at his tone of voice, looking up to see him gazing at me with candor, a hint of affection in the blue depths of his eyes. It warms me from the inside out, melting away the dread that had turned my blood icy.
“Sorry to say that I’m stealing her for dinner, though,” he adds to Tyson, not sounding sorry at all.
Tyson obviously sees whatever has passed between Nate and me because he takes a step back from the bar, nodding his head in understanding. “Good to know, man. Just thought you’d want to know your girl is doing a good job.”
“Appreciate it. I’ll pop over to the table in a bit if you guys are still around.” Nate glances over to the table where the group is sitting, catching the eye of another guy, and lifts his hand in greeting.
After Tyson says goodbye, I pick at my nails as Nate leads me back to the kitchen. Our dinner isn’t ready yet, so we head back to his office, where we both stop just inside the door.
“Did you… I mean, were you…” I stumble, biting down on my lip. I want to know if what I just witnessed was him staking a claim on me, or something else, but I don’t know how to ask.
“Tyson can be a lot like Liam. He likes to date a woman for a couple weeks, maybe a couple months, and then it’s on to the next best thing,” Nate supplies.
“So you were just looking out for me?”
The same fire from yesterday is darkening his blue eyes. When he takes a step closer to me, I can feel the heat radiating off him in waves. My pulse quickens, anticipation filling my belly.
“Something like that.”
I don’t know exactly what that means, but words fail me when his hand comes up and he tucks a piece of hair that’s fallen out of my braid behind my ear. When it’s out of his way, his fingertips graze the skin of my jaw causing a puff of air to expel from my lungs.
There is nothing in this moment that I want more than for him to kiss me. The only problem, besides the one where I shouldn’t want it, is we’re at work. Anyone could come barreling around the corner into the office and catch us. That might not bother him, but it would bother me, so I blurt out, “We need to talk.”